Are You “Like”-able?

Facebook released new statistics on Wednesday that really showcases the power of the “Like” button.  The bottom line is that people who click the Facebook Like button are more engaged, active and connected than the average Facebook user … they have 2.4-times more friends and click 5.3-times more links to external sites than most Facebook users.  This means websites with a “Like” button through Facebook Connect get significantly more traffic, visitors, page views, and time spent online.

So, as Mark Ramsey pointed out on Twitter, why don’t more radio station websites integrate the simple plug-in?  For that matter, why doesn’t *every* website?

Facebook also claims engagement can increase by 100-300% by publishing compelling updates to those who “Like” you; citing ABC News +190%, Gawker +200%, Sporting News +500%, and deep site growth for NHL.com.

Action Steps:

Borders tears down walls.

Borders, the bookstore, revealed plans this week for new concept stores which allow shoppers to mix/burn CDs, map their genealogy, and publish their own novels.  The retailer has plans to open 14 of these stores in 2008 with more in the future, hoping to bridge the gap with industry leader Barnes & Noble.

The stores will feature digital centers for music purchases, genealogy searches through partner Ancestry.com,  or access self-publishing upstart Lulu.com.  Customers may also print their pictures with the “Borders Digital Photo Printing” system.

“If you don’t have something you do better than the other guys, then frankly the customer doesn’t really need you,” Jones said. “This is really intermingling the typical bricks and mortar with the Internet and digital worlds.”

Although 14 stores will not drive the bottom line, Borders chief George Jones explains “It isn’t a matter of taking best-selling fiction and trying to price it lower than the next guy.  [Borders is creating] a headquarters where people come for knowledge and entertainment.”

What are we doing to provide our target audience with content on demand and more touch points with our talent?

Jones lays it out simply, “If you don’t have something you do better than the other guys, then frankly the customer doesn’t really need you.”  His concept combines typical bricks and mortar retail with the Internet and digital worlds.  Our challenge to do find ways to do the same thing with our brands.

Relationship Marketing. It’s like a marriage.

I was just turned on to a study by Dr. Arthur Aron at Stony Brook University in New York.  Aron recruited a bunch of middle-aged couples and separated them into three groups based on his initial survey.  One group was instructed to spend 90-minutes/week doing familiar social activities.  The second was to spend 90-minutes/week doing more exciting activities that appealed to both partners in the marriage.  The control group was not given an assignment.

After two months, he again surveyed the couples.  The ones who enjoyed more exciting activities were found to be happier than the other two groups.

Your relationship with loyal customers is much like a marriage — which is why it’s called “relationship marketing.”  Over time, it’s easy to find yourself in the rut of doing the same things.  Or, worse, you could neglect your relationship by not giving your partner any attention.  If your personal relationship is stale, safe, and boring; then, it’s easy for a more exciting suitor to come along and steal your lover.  They may even seek out a more exciting companion if the relationship becomes really mundane.

Like any relationship, your marketing strategy needs to maintain activities that are proven to strengthen your bond to the consumer.  But,  you should also develop those new, exciting twists that rekindle the spark that first attracted them to you.

What have you done lately to make your most loyal consumers fall in love with you all over again?

Paige comments

Radio Marketing & Promotional guru Paige Nienaber of CPR responded to my earlier post about Engagement & Loyalty marketing.  Since he’s usually right on the money when it comes to his radio insight, I thought I’d move him comments to the main blog.  Thanks, Paige!

“One of the stations had a massively cool bit this past Fall. Great visual. Live on the website for a week. But to watch it, you had to sign up for their social networking club. As my 16 year-olf niece said “F that, I don’t want more spam”. (Heavy dripping teen sarcasm is implied.)

One of the challenges is that people just don’t care that much about radio anymore. We’ve dumbed it down and surgically removed the creativity and theater and fun to the point that we’re just iPods with commercials. And at most stations the carrots that are dangled through the programs just aren’t worth the time and labor to earn them.

I’m a Points Geek. Super Mega Elite American Status. No real work or effort required except do what I do and get rewarded for it. And we’re all going to China for the Olympics. But even that carrot would b questionable if they made me go through some of the hoops that we do with out listeners.

With a certain company pulling the goalie so-to-speak and effectively removing their stations from the streets and community, I questioned this judgement with one of their VP’s. The database marketing should be a wedge in the pie. Not the pie. I told him that if I called Obama and suggested that he pull his volunteers and stop making appearances and just sit in an office and send emails to people, he’d fall off his chair laughing.

Loyalty is hard-earned. You get it one listener at a time. And you do it the personal way.”

Marketing – Engagement vs Loyalty

I just watched a brilliant video satirizing the current state of advertiser/consumer relationships. It was produced by Geert Desager, the Trade Marketing Manager South East Asia for Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions. Openhere is his agency. The video speaks for itself, but watch it and then I’ll share a few of my own thoughts about engagement and loyalty marketing programs.

The obvious point of this video is clear: marketing is typically a one-way street. We tell you what we want you to think about our product; but, we just don’t listen to your needs or perceptions and respond accordingly. Here’s where loyalty and engagement marketing can fill-in the gaps left by awareness marketing (advertising).