Just finished reading the latest edition (4th) of Dan Kennedy’s…
…”The Ultimate Marketing Plan”.
I ‘d read a previous edition (2nd) many years ago and decided it was time for a “refresher” course in the basics and see what new material Dan thought worth including.
The new edition is a comprehensive update…
…while still containing the core principles of Dan Kennedy style direct response marketing.
One of the chapters covers…
“Profitably Using Marketing Technologies And Online/Internet Marketing Media”.
Note the emphasis on “profitably”.
It’s no secret that on a personal basis Dan might be described as somewhat “hostile” towards the internet and much modern technology.
But that doesn’t mean he is blind to the marketing opportunities.
He is, however, like the master direct marketer he is, insistent that any channel pays its way and demonstrably produces an acceptable return on investment.
With that in mind, here are a couple of items from that chapter on using social media for marketing.
The first is an example of a big success…
“Two partners with a mobile taco stand selling Korean BBQ tacos were struggling in the cluttered, competitive, urban market of Los Angeles. Their business breakthrough came from Twitter. One partner began broadcasting the the truck’s locations, times there, and descriptions of unique food items on Twitter, in advance and in real time, hour by hour. They also encouraged their happy customers to tweet while enjoying their tacos, to spread the word.”
The result?
“Their follower list grew exponentially, from 10 followers to 100 to 500 to 5,000. Their truck was soon mobbed at every stop, and a second truck was added.”
This has always seemed to me to be an ideal marketing application for Twitter. If you have a business, where regular updates provide real value for customers, and the food service industry is a good example, then the micro-blogging platform can be highly effective.
The next item introduces a note of caution, however, and provides a reality check on social media as marketing media.
Here are the results from Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual survey of restaurant customers and restaurant owners on the topic of social media…
Only 8% of customers follow a restaurant on Facebook, but 61% of restaurant owners have a Facebook page and actively market via Facebook
Only 15% of customers anticipate following more restaurants on Facebook, but 78% of restaurant owners have plans to increase their use of Facebook as a marketing tool
Only 3% pay attention to a restaurant via Twitter, while 53% of restaurants use Twitter for marketing purposes
Only 9% of customers expect to use Twitter more regarding restaurants they use, while 66% of restaurants intend doing more with Twitter.
In the survey, more that one third were younger than 35.
I confess, I was rather stunned by this. Remember, this is in the restaurant business which, on the face of it, is well suited to use social media marketing.
So, the success of the taco truck could be the exception, rather than the rule.
Dan’s conclusion?
It’s essential to track results and allocate marketing resources in line with the results you get.
Of course that applies to all marketing but especially with channels like social media where it’s all too easy to get caught up in the excitement of the latest “new thing”.