Recently I received a Notice of Infringement Cease and Desist letter over the blog and newsletter name Altitude Marketing. This came as a surprise because I’d been publishing the blog and newsletter for over a year. It seems that “Altitude” when combined with “Marketing” violated a trademark registered by another marketing consulting firm.
Continue reading
58 Social Media Tips for Content Marketers published by the Content Marketing Institute is an e-book about selecting social marketing channels and identifying best practices of how brands use these channels to connect with their customers. Aviation marketers should pay particular attention to aligning social media platforms with audience following. Below are findings from the e-book that are relevant for marketers in the aviation industry: Continue reading
Jeriah Owyang, Industry analyst with the Altimeter Group, posted an article defining strategy and tactics by their associated actions. Below is my interpretation for aviation marketers:
Aviation manufacturers need strategic thinking and tactical execution to move the business forward. If you have strategy without tactics, then the big idea is never implemented. If you implement tactics without a strategy, you end up herding cats.
Continue reading
Jonathan Goodman wrote a guest post for Pro Blogger website on how to build relationships with influencers in your market segment, which he called the “Diamond in the Rough System.” My interpretation of Jonathan’s insight provides a road map to get your content noticed and build a following in the aviation industry.
The Diamond in the Rough System of relationship building:
The Diamond in the Rough System is a way to get the influencers to want to approach you. It can be applied to any large social medium. For the purpose of this article, I’ll focus on using Twitter.
The Diamond in the Rough System will teach you how to find the diamonds behind the Twitter scenes and mine them.
First, understand that there are influential people in the aviation industry:
The influencers are the ones in control of the big brands. They have hustled and built an empire and a great network around themselves.
The trade publications are usually large organizations with multiple levels of staff. Determining which head editor to make contact with can be challenging.
The bloggers are gaining altitude in the aviation industry. Depending on who follows them, they can be very influential.
The beat reporters and supporting editors are easy to access and have a lot of influence as to what goes into the publications. They are the diamonds in the rough.
Using Twitter to build relationships with beat reporters and supporting editors
Most beat reporters and editors have modest followings on Twitter. So while they get 100+ emails a day, they might only get two @ mentions on Twitter. Which do you think they would be more likely to respond to?
How to find the diamonds in the rough
How to court your diamonds
Now that you’ve found these people, respond intelligently to their tweets. If they promote a blog post or article with a link, take the time to read the article and respond with a piece of feedback or a question.
You should not respond to every tweet. Respond only if you have something intelligent to say and not more than once or twice every couple of days.
Don’t ask for anything in return. Your bio on Twitter says who you are, and includes a link to your work.
You should have a headshot as your profile picture in Twitter. People like talking to and doing business with people, not faceless organizations.
photo credit: chase_elliott via photopin cc
“Commerce is about selling more products and services, but people are about desires and aspirations.”
Marc Gobe, Emotional Branding, Revised Edition
What do Victoria’s Secret and Virgin America share in common? Both understand the power of a brand culture and are able to translate that into a memorable brand experience. Aviation marketers that are seeking to define their brand need to consider a people-to-people marketing approach and understand that relevant brands are not based on messaging or logo design but on the experience associated with the brand.
Continue reading
Strike up a conversation about social marketing with senior leadership and chances are they will roll their eyes and tell you a story about someone posting something to a Facebook page. The reality is that very few understand how to implement or integrate social marketing within established marketing channels.
Continue reading
Historically, digital banner ads average a .05% click-through rate. So what’s happening with the other 99.95% of the viewers that see your online advertising? Mostly, the viewer already knows what is waiting on the other side of the ad — your website. That’s not to infer that your website is of poor quality or lacking content, but most aviation industry websites are electronic brochures with a “contact us” page.
Continue reading
In the aviation industry all brands have competition. A successful brand goes past the product’s functionality of features and benefits and creates an emotional connection with their customers. Understanding what drives your customers’ decision-making process provides the foundation for brand differentiation and preference.
Continue reading
“How Social Media Is Changing Brand Building,” published by Forrester Research, identifies three strategic roles that social media should play in brand building. Author Tracy Stokes correctly identifies that social media in and by itself cannot build brands but must be integrated with overall brand strategy and complement paid and owned media.
Continue reading
Digital technology is affecting the 4 marketing P’s – Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion – by extending brand engagement. Adept aviation marketers are adding value to their brand by providing digital services that complement the user’s life style and the core product offering.
Continue reading
Life After Advertising 2.0 