Mad 4 Blog

Are you building an online social media platform from the ground up? You’ll want to gather an audience who is willing to follow your words, sign up for notifications, and participate in your vision. But in order to do that, the very first thing you have to do is earn your audience’s trust. Don’t settle for short-term goals, like a one-time sign-up. It isn’t enough to entice readers with nifty tricks your platform can do that the other guys can’t (although that helps). You’ll also want to get them excited about future endeavors, and keep them coming back for more. You want them to visit your platform every single day, and then tell all of their friends to sign up, too. Essentially, you want to earn their trust and then keep it. Here are five ways to gain an online audience’s trust through social media marketing:

1. Stay Engaged. Update your own platforms regularly (at least once a day). Then, use other networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to keep subscribers informed between updates. Give them reasons to reply back (such as a prize incentive for participation), or provide interactive media such as widgets and polls. Build personal rapport by answering every reply you receive. Weekly newsletters, personalized emails and geo-targeted updates will also help your network feel connected as individuals.

2. Write Directly. You aren’t creating this platform for you; you exist for your audience. Keep in mind that you’re providing a service to them, and that rewarding their loyalty is a first priority. Write short, engaging articles that will keep their eyes on your page. Provide content that is of interest to them. And be completely frank and honest—speak directly to your audience, in a friendly and familiar (not fake) tone. Remember to make sure you are communicating with them, not speaking at them.

3. Get Personal. Let your readers and subscribers know who they’re talking to. Put up a picture of you (or something that represents you—not just a static logo). Set up a profile or ‘about me’ page that’s much more personal than A/S/L. And always be transparent about your social media agenda. “We’re trying to reach 1,000 fans on Facebook!” is much more relatable than “Sign up for us on Facebook!” Give everyone access to you, with multiple revenues to communicate (a comments section, phone number, email address, and physical mail address).

4. Limit Yourself. As with any marketing campaign, you’ll only find success with social media marketing if you target your audience. Although it’s easy to get giddy at the thought of how many people can be reached via online marketing, if you create a campaign that’s generic enough to appeal to everyone, you’ll probably never make a connection with anyone. Your images, words, and product features should have one specific recipient in mind. You’re far more likely to retain a loyal audience base if subscribers feel you’re addressing their particular needs.

5. Be the Best. The only way to be the best at what you do is to become very familiar with what else is already out there. You don’t have to sign up for all of your competitors’ products, but sign up for some of them. You don’t have to read all the books on your subject matter—but learn which book has gained the most attention in your industry (the one your competitors and audience might be reading), and study that one. That’s how you can find little untouched crevices of opportunity, dig yourself a niche, and really stand apart. No matter how competitive your industry, you can always be the best at something—even if it means picking one area to dominate (such as above-and-beyond customer service). Subscribers will feel confident that you’ll always satisfy them in your specialty area. Of course, if you can be the best at everything—well, that’s even better.

Well my final day has come and gone, and I can’t help but see the multiple ways this summer could have turned out.  After a rough start, personally and professionally, to my summer break, I desperately searched for an advertising internship of some kind.  It could have been paid, or not; it could have been 10 hours a week, or 40; it could stretch my abilities to no end, or instead teach me; all that mattered was that I had something to keep myself busy and learn the industry in the process.

An entire month of calls, e-mails and interviews proved worthless and I was having even more trouble with my personal life at home.  A break-up and countless battles with my parents later, I stumbled upon Mad 4 Marketing.  It was too good to be true: a legitimate marketing firm, literally down the street from my house, wanted me as an intern.  It was not paid, it was 3 days per week, but it would let me garner valuable experience and a resume booster (and maybe even a recommendation letter).  I jumped upon the opportunity and climbed aboard the Mad 4 Team.

Three months, a new head of knowledge, and a recommendation letter later, I can now look back on my summer without regret or dissatisfaction.  I rather look back with gratitude and exuberance.  I wrote blogs, edited everything from artwork to website text, ran errands and made pots and pots of coffee (everyone makes coffee at some point).  I did the dirty work, plenty of marketing research, and learned how a marketing firm works. I gained experience in each division of the marketing firm: business, creative, interactive and strategic.  In the process, I learned many things that could have never been taught in school or by working for a huge firm.  As a result, I now feel (and am) more prepared for the big marketing world out there.

Coming into such a close-knit family, as Mad 4 Marketing is, was intimidating at first, and continued to be a challenge, as I was the young college intern with little actual marketing experience.  However, the Team guided me along to success and I’d like to think into their family.

With that, I’d just like to say “Thank You” to everyone that made my experience at Mad 4 Marketing so, for the lack of a better word, great.

With much Mad 4 Love,
Andrew “The Intern” Kaplan

When websites—especially popular, well-known websites—link to your page, your website has not only been given free promotion, it will also command higher status in organic web searches, thanks to the Google Page Rank formula. The number of ‘inbound links’ a website collects, the more relevant it’s considered. That’s why collecting links is currently a hot trend in the world of online marketing. But as people grow keen to the benefits of inbound links, and develop new ways to disingenuously acquire them, the Page Rank formula continuously revises how links will weigh on website status.

Google devised the Page Rank formula in order to both signify a quality website and qualify that site for higher listing in organic searches. Page Rank—which is most often discussed simply as PR—assigns a 1-10 score. If you’re trying to increase traffic and get your website noticed (whether to attain customers, grow your brand or sell ads) you want a score of PR3 or higher. Top sites boast PR7-8; select few are 10s. Though the actual equation for this formula is highly guarded, it’s been known to change to accommodate the ways that people use the web.

In the beginning of page ranking, inbound links were considered a highly relevant factor when determining a site’s relevance and popularity. It establishes that others are reading and affiliating with your website. In some circumstances, a link is posted for perfunctory reasons, such as when websites are partners. Other times, links are supplied to browsers as suggested reading for similar content—in effect, it’s akin to a recommendation or business referral. The person with the most (and most prestigious) referrals is going to seem like the most qualified candidate, the most credible resource.

However, it wasn’t long before savvy web marketing professionals developed ways to elicit and trade links. These days, it’s common practice for sites to proffer inbound links quid pro quo. Now, links have become a cheapened commodity; they go for trade. And once something can be bought and sold, it can no longer be considered objective.

To make up for the compromised status of inbound linkage, Page Rank has reduced the merit of reciprocal links. If sites swap links, they essentially cancel each other out. More valuable are singular links—where one page links to another, and the other does not return the linkage. Because this looks like pages are offering impartial validation—and it’s less likely they’re in cahoots—these links may be given more weight within the complex Page Rank formula. But that won’t stop marketing sites from working around the new PR red tape. Currently in fad are triangle trades, wherein one site links to a second, the second to a third, and the third to the first. Everyone gains one inbound link, and no penalties are deducted by the PR system.

Despite all of the complicated PR mechanics (and the fact that they seem to change faster than you can refresh your browser) the bottom line is that it’s still profitable and advisable to collect links for your website—but you may want to eschew trade propositions in favor of one-way inbound links, for now.

In advertising, there’s nothing like grabbing people’s attention with something a little bit different. When we began work on the campaign for the first Baptist Medical Plaza in Broward County, we knew we had to do something out of the ordinary. After all, Baptist is no ordinary healthcare provider; it’s the largest faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization in the region, and just as it treats its patients with care, we had to do the same with its brand.

Some of the hundreds of pineapples that were given away at the Grand Opening Health Fair in Coral Springs.

While the whole of Miami-Dade County is familiar with Baptist Health and its logo, Broward County is not, so it was like starting from scratch. The campaign had to be educational and inform consumers of the top-quality urgent care and diagnostic imaging they could receive at a Baptist Medical Plaza. As well as this, we had to familiarize consumers with the Baptist pineapple logo, a symbol of hospitality and one they could begin to trust.

The 360 degree campaign began by introducing the pineapple in small teaser ads on consecutive pages of community publications and then went on to full page ads, a pay-per-click campaign, banner ads, mall signage, a series of direct mail postcards, outdoor billboards, sponsorship of various community events and a grand opening health fair.

To further illustrate and encourage community involvement at the health fair, we enlisted the help of ‘adbikes’. For miles around, cyclists rode around Coral Springs on bicycles with integrated A-frame signage that carried graphics of big white pineapples and invited families to the health fair for free health screenings and family fun.

Adbike cyclists before they set off, outside the Baptist Medical Plaza at Coral Springs.

The riders wore branded t-shirts, were briefed to answer questions about the event and the plaza itself, and also handed out flyers. The eye-catching mobile billboards delivered high-impact impressions at a relatively low cost. And the best part? This unconventional community advertising is environmentally friendly and promotes health and fitness. This was healthcare marketing with a different spin.

With more plazas planned to open throughout Broward in 2010, Broward County certainly has something to be excited about. For more information about the new plaza, please visit www.BaptistHealthBroward.com.

If I had all the answers, I would be a very wealthy woman.  But I do have a few tips that have helped me over the years. They may not be foolproof, but coming from a New Business background at many ad agencies, I feel they can dramatically increase your chances of gaining new business and helping your company grow.

First of all, many advertising agencies fail to treat themselves like a client. We always put our clients first, as we should, but we often neglect our own marketing and self-promotion in the process. We are very good at preaching to our clients that marketing and advertising should never be put on the back burner but we are just as guilty of doing it ourselves.

Secondly, RELATIONSHIPS are key.  If you think about job hunting, an all too familiar scenario in today’s tough economy, most people find their next position by networking or though a connection they made in the past.  Yes, everyone who job hunts constantly checks the job boards and career websites for new postings, but how many people do you know who landed their career by responding blindly to a job posting?  I can’t name one person, but I can name more than a handful who are happily employed because they were willing to network at various groups and events, constantly building relationships and contacts.

Once the agency has successfully networked and managed to effectively market themselves, next comes the first meeting with the prospective client. At this crucial stage, a time for first impressions, many agencies tend to take the “let me tell you about us and why we are so great,” angle. Realistically, do you think this prospective client wants to listen to you proclaim your greatness?  Instead, make the meeting all about them. Ask questions about their businesses. Take an interest in their success. I’m sure you will have done your research prior to meeting so use this opportunity to learn more and ask insightful questions.

Finally don’t be scared to ask for their business.  As the saying goes, ‘if you never ask you will never know.’

At Mad 4 Marketing we work everyday to incorporate these very same ideas into our own New Business Plan so if I didn’t ask I wouldn’t know:  How can we help you with your advertising and marketing?