Older, Affluent Consumers Go Social

To get your target market to hear your brand message, you must be sharing that message in the places where you find your target market. Pretty basic business tenet? We thought so but, given how many small luxury brands are still neglecting social media in their marketing, apparently not as basic as we thought.

Recent reports show that social media usage continues to increases among wealthier and older Americans. Today, 68% of U.S. Internet users with incomes greater than $75,000 use now using social media.¹

Meanwhile, if you continue to buy into the “Facebook is for kids” myth, it’s long past the time to look at the facts:

• 77% of U.S. Internet users between 30 and 49 use social media.¹
• 52% of those aged 50 – 65 use social media. ¹ 
• 65% of college-educated U.S. Internet are active on social media sites.¹

Research also reveals that Facebook continues to be the most popular social tool, with 67% of U.S. Internet users logging on and staying active. Important for luxury brands to note: Facebook is being used by 73% of U.S. Internet users with an income greater than $75,000, making these wealthiest Americans the most active Facebook users.¹ 

Twitter meanwhile, continues to be the second most popular social networking site, and 32% of U.S. Internet users over the age of 30 are active on Twitter.¹

Finally, Pinterest continues to gain momentum, and is more likely to attract higher-educated, affluent women¹.

Still questioning social marketing, or just unsure of where to start? Let us help…

¹as reported by Pew Research Centre 

The Point of Pinternest

So maybe you've heard of the new creative site called Pinterest, or maybe you have been completely out of the loop. Either way, I'm here to break it down for you--because there is nothing more exciting then learning about new blogging platforms, right? (Well, there are probably more exciting things, but...) Pinterest is essentially a virtual pinboard. What do I mean by pinboard? Well, you know a bulletin board that you may have in your office place; a space where you can clip inspirational pictures, articles, phrases, etc.? This website is basically that concept, only an online version. You can create different boards which all feature collections of things you love. Additionally you can follow other boards--in some ways it is very similar to sites like Blogger, Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter. On all four of these sites you can "follow" or "friend" other individuals whom have similar tastes, interests, and thoughts.

Why join? Well for starters it is a very new website that is gaining attention among the fashion and design-minded. Start up a Pinterest account, spread the word, and be the tech-savvy-expert amongst all your friends and colleagues! But besides being the cool guy/gal, chatting away about "pinning" this and "pinning" that--Pinterest is, more importantly, a great source for networking. Tons of bloggers, artists, and designers have accounts and the coolest thing about it is that, "When you follow a new person, you get to see all the things they find fascinating online and each new thing that catches your eye takes you to more boards that will continue to take you deeper and deeper down an Alice in Wonderland hole of amazing stuff," (read more here). From a designer/artist standpoint, Pinterest is a great tool for collecting/presenting/dreaming up potential collections and designs. Visualize a specific image, maybe it's the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Statue of Liberty in New York City; you are inspired by the sculpture, the colors, the lines, the dimension. You decide that you want to design something around this particular object so you collect tons of patterns, color swatches, and ornaments that inspire you. Since you are able to create multiple boards on the site, create one for this project and share it with your design team and clients. By having every image located on this one board you are creating an organized space to share your vision.

Why is Pinterest so easy and convenient? Well for starters once you join Pinterest asks you if you have Facebook and/or Twitter accounts. If you do (which you should because they are great business tools to utilize!) then you can simply click a button, log into your accounts quickly via Pinterest and the site will find all of your followers/contacts/friends that have Pinterest accounts--could finding friends on a new website be any easier? I think not! Even better...all you need to do is install a special "Pin It" button to your browser bar (works on Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome) to "pin" things directly! After the button is bookmarked you can grab an image from any website and then add it to any one of your pin boards. The best part is that since you are pinning from a website, Pinternest grabs the source so you credit the original designer/creator of whatever you are "PINNING." So what do you think? Are you going to start "pinning"? Do you need my help? Check out my Pinterest account here (I just started one too!).

You are only as strong as your weakest tweet

Tweet, Re-Tweet. Are we friends on Facebook? These are terms that have become a part of our everyday life. With all the social media websites available now, which one works best for you personally? Or for your business? Truth be told, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can all be beneficial…if you understand how to use them correctly.

Recently, an editor at a B2B magazine wrote: “We still think Twitter is the dumbest thing ever.” Previous to this statement, Facebook and LinkedIn were praised for how successful they are as social media outlets. We were concerned to read such an unfortunate and misleading criticism of a tool that generates millions of dollars for companies who understand how to use it to its full potential. For businesses, Twitter can lead a new found success. Those 140-character statements can make a world of difference.

Here are just two success stories from using Twitter:

• Computer-maker Dell, an early Twitter adopter, offers its “followers” easily tracked Twitter-only discounts. These have generated US$3 million in sales, $1 million in the past six months.

• Blair Hirtle, sales coordinator for Fairmont Hotels, noted that the Fairmont Empress offered a special discounted room rate on Twitter. The result was “increased occupancy. Much more successful than any traditional ad buy and it cost minimal time and labor.” Now seven Fairmont hotels have Twitter accounts.

The secret to their successes? Using Twitter efficiently. Here are some tips to get yourself started in the right direction.

• Twitter gives companies the opportunity to personalize themselves with society. Consumers today tend to connect with people rather than organizations. Putting a face on a company can make it more real and personable. On Facebook, company profiles are made and then spread by “liking” the page. This doesn’t give quite the same personal touch and interaction that tweeting can.
• Listen. Twitter is not just about posting Tweets and walking away. What are people discussing? Who is mentioning your brand or category? Understand the conversation and participate in it.

• Follow people! The more people follow you, the more they know what you’re about. This works on the basic product selling and marketing point. Twitter has turned into a place where companies research about potential employees and consumers research about potential purchases. So, your tweets are giving the world an opportunity to learn more about you, your products, your knowledge and your specialty.
• As I mentioned before, sell your product, but your expertise. It is probably the most basic concept of the social media websites. Give useful information about what you do, your business specialty, and what you’re selling for all your followers to see.

As the most misunderstood of the social networking tools, Twitter is often the most criticized and ridiculed. But it is, conversely, also one of the most effective. The popularity of using Twitter correctly has spun off another website, twittergrader.com. Anyone with a Twitter account can check the grade of their account, be it 0-100. If your grade isn’t as high as you thought it would be, the site gives you tips on the bottom of the page on how to improve your Twitter grade. With the introduction of twittergrader.com it is even easier to turn your Twitter account into one of the “Twitter Elite” joining the ranks of The New York Times, Fox News and BBC World. Like they say, you are only as strong as your weakest tweet.

Networking: A Business Basic Worth Revisiting

I've had networking on my mind this week. And by networking, I mean the good old-fashioned,  face-to-face variety. Amid the myriad of things you must do when launching a business (or maintaining a business, or growing a business!) is networking until you think you can't possibly smile anymore. And then, networking some more. While I'm clearly a huge fan of social media and other promotions, nothing beats getting your face out there and forming personal connections. 

Yes, this is Business 101. Yet the subject of networking has come up randomly in several conversations this week and I found a common feeling among a variety of business professionals: networking is, at best, tolerable and, at worst, miserable, for one main reason: too many groups that claim to be for networking really amount to private clubs. As one businesswoman so hilariously said to me this week about a certain local business "networking" group: "I stopped going; they're so clique-y that I forever felt like the fat girl at the junior high school dance." I've had my own similar experience with a particular women's group that I can only describe as slightly less inclusive than the characters in the film Mean Girls. 

Baffling, isn't it? The basic idea of networking is to expand your contacts and, ultimately, grow your business. And, especially in this economy, who doesn't need to do a little of that?

I offer up as a positive example the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce. Admittedly, after said experience with the "Mean Girls", I most definitely fell into the networking-is-a-necessary-evil category. This week, however, I walked into a Chamber event, knowing not a soul in the room, and was met by an "ambassador" Terri Abbruzzese of Warwick RI-based PuroClean. Terri introduced me around and generally made sure I felt comfortable and welcome. Helping her in that task was, well, pretty much everyone else at the event. Ahhh, I thought. A networking event where people actually want to network. Heaven!

I understand from my own experience in groups where I was a long-standing member... it is all too easy to fall into the comfort zone of chatting with those you already know. But, consider: by not introducing yourself to that fat girl at the junior high school dance, you just might have missed out on meeting the love of your life or the most loyal best friend of your life. Don't similarly let opportunity slip away for your business.