1. How to be a social brand in a social online environment

2. What’s this all about ? Like many of you, I have been stockpiling ideas and frustrations in my mind. This short presentation is to make you aware of what to do and what not to do when devising a modern marketing campaign in a social, conversational, highly critisized, ever changing climate. Enjoy , and don’t forget to comment and visit my blog. Michel Depière

3. 92% of all people believe statistics you just make up. Do you believe this?

4. Create value not products Don’t look at your consumers as consumers. They are people and they need your product because it will augment their lives in some way. Tell them how and they will respond accordingly.

5. Most of the time people do not care about your product, it only matters that they care at the time that they need it . You do not need everything you have every day of your life and neither will your consumer. The most important thing is when the time comes, they will think of you.

6. No one idea will suit all of your audience. Make sure it suits the ones you want. There is no such thing as an idea that speaks to every single person you that might be interested in your product. Choose one niche and pick the message and medium accordingly.

7. A brand is the sum of your consumers . You can guide the creation but not set it in stone. Your consumers are people too. You can not control the way they think but you can provide the information that they need thus steering them in the direction you want.

8. Quality is more important than ever, but quantity is needed to have your consumer experience the quality. Your audience can not experience the quality of your product if they don’t know it or can not find it in the stores.

9. The message always prevails over the medium. When you create a marketing campaign, you should always realise that what you say is more important than how you say it. If you are new at push mail marketing, social media marketing or guerilla marketing, form your message before you think of the way you want to advertise it.

10. Marketing is to show the right consumer the right product at the right price . This is not an idealistic statement but a commercial one. It is no use to have two of the three points ticked off if the third isn’t involved. If the right consumer has the right product he will not buy if the price is too high. A consumer will definitely not buy a product that he does not need, even if it has the right price. Most importantly, you can have the best product at the best price but if no one knows about it it… what’s the use .

11. Web is not a stand alone medium, viewers have to be present to have it take effect. You can not expect an online campaign to be succesfull if you do not guide the visitors to your message. They can come from anywhere: other sites, email marketing, direct marketing, billboards, tv campaigns etc… but they have to know where to find your great website.

12. Web is a not a destination . It's an experience . If you have a website: use it. Keep creating content , campaigns and user interaction. The web is constantly buzzing with activity and so should you. If the constant flow of information on your site stops , so will your visitors .

13. Content is king You can have the most beautiful website, best banners and most clicked email campaign, your audience will forget you if you have nothing to say .

14. Some things never change : free is still a powerful concept Of all the words of all the languages in the world, there is none that is more commercially appealing than the word “free”. Use it to bond with your audience: giving away free products or samples is great but you can go far with giving advice , giving support or just information .

15. Passive advertising is dead ! Not interacting with your audience is the biggest pitfall of all. If you have something to say, make sure you are ready to listen, respond and react as well.

16. You can not be " present " in social media. You have to be social too. Creating online accounts on twitter, profiles on facebook and a channel on reddit does not suffice . People expect you to have new information for them, whether it is educational, commercial, entertaining or any other message. Don’t let your social networks sites be an account of your short lived presense on them but a gateway to your active brand.

17. Use your audience and have them use you . If you want to know what people think: ask them! If they ask what your brand has to say: tell them! The conversational web is a more valuable source of information than any survey.

18. Social media is not Only participating . You can't participate if there is no topic : provide one ! If you’re present in social media, that’s one battle fought. If people talk about your brand, that’s even better. You can not control what they say, but you can control whether or not they talk about you. If they don’t, give them something to talk about.

19. Which is better: paying for ad words to get people to find you or people sharing the experience for free with their contacts. Actively pulling people to visit your website can only go that far. If your visitor likes what he sees, he will tell others. Provide them with something to share.

20. People are individuals too. Treat them like one and not like many. On today’s web, you can not generalize . People are very aware of their individuality . You (yes you) can make a difference! Make your audience feel validated in their individuality. Do not advertise to the masses but to the person.

21. A person is the sum of the social groups they belong to, a person online is still the same person . Traditional sociology gets that a person is the sum of all the social groups he or she belongs to. He’s Indian, a man, an accountant, he plays squash… etc. Being a person online does not change these facts. He is still an individual.

22. Brands are people too! So act like it. Your company is not just a company. It’s people with lives and ideas. Do not advertise on social site as a company but as a person , advocating the strenght and values of the brand. This will make your visitor connect much better with you.

23. For more information on me and my personal brand, You can contact me here: [email_address] twitter.com/mdepiere Markethings.wordpress.com