77% of B2B marketers integrate blogging into their communication mix
The aviation industry is rich with valuable content; yet just a few manufacturers and suppliers use social marketing to increase the reach of their marketing programs.
Taking a snapshot of active social marketers in the aviation industry portrays the following:
10% get it and use it
25% claim to understand it and see its value but have yet to implement
65% don’t understand it or where to start
If you fall into the later two categories, perhaps it’s time to do something about it.
If your gut tells you that the creative execution is weak, then rethink the concept and direction.
Developing creative concepts that work through multiple communication channels is challenging. Even if the original concept was founded on customer insight, big data crunching, and support from the HiPPO (Highest Paid Person Opinion), realizing that you’re in a hole and going nowhere is tougher. People-to-people marketing is about making emotional connections and if it does not feel right, then most likely it’s the wrong creative execution.
Social marketing can build relationships during the extended sales cycle.
Today, a few innovative aviation marketers are using social marketing to extend the engagement with key constituents during the sales cycle. Relationship driven, people-to-people marketing is generating brand awareness, highlighting thought leadership, and humanizing the brand.
The increase in blogging is fueling trade name infringements
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.
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 →
Strategy and tactics must work together to achieve business goals
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.
Customers no longer measure brands based on message, but on interactions they have with them.
Social marketing is changing the way customers interact with your brand
My theory on why the aviation industry has been slow to adopt and implement social marketing is because aviation manufacturers are stuck in the mindset of business-to-business instead of people-to-people marketing.
The business-to-business (B2B) mindset is based on selling products and services to accounts. Contrast that mindset with people-to-people (P2P) where the emphasis is focused on improving the customer experience. Customers no longer measure brands based on message, but on interactions they have with them.
Aviation marketers that have successfully adopted social marketing understand that delivering on the brand promise can be done effectively on social platforms. Take a look at Jet Blue, Southwest, or Virgin America Airlines. Each one has been able to get tangible results through social marketing about how well they deliver on their brand promise.
Aviation marketers that choose to ignore the power of social marketing run the risk of becoming a second tier brand by not being able to monitor the customer experience in an unadulterated environment.
8 behaviors required to enhance the customer experience:
Good customer relation management (CRM) starts with good traditional CRM. You cannot expect to improve CRM by adding a social component if the legacy CRM platform was not good to begin with.
Customers expect more. Resolution of problems is a given. Now, customers expect a brand to be proactive within the community of users.
Build customer empathy at all levels of interaction. This should be the golden rule for sales, marketing and customer service – Treat customers as you would like to be treated yourself.
Everyone is a representative of the brand. It only takes one bad experience to drive a customer to a competitor.
Talk with the customer, not at the customer. Customers can tell when the conversation is scripted. Authentic conversation starts with empathy for the customer’s situation and offer of a resolution based on a thorough understanding of the product and service offering.
Don’t leave customers waiting. We live the era of real time engagement. Responding to a customer service issue in 24 hours is not acceptable.
Use social media platforms for problem solving. Enabling self-help through social platforms spreads knowledge and customer feedback across the community of users.
Change the way you measure customer satisfaction. Backward looking measurements that tell you what happened are no longer as effective. Consider a forward looking measurement like a net promoter score that tells you how satisfied your customer is with your service or product offering.
People-to-people marketing is the measure of brand engagement. Creating trust through conversation and helping customers solve problems builds brand loyalty.
I’m interested in hearing from my fellow aviation marketers. What have been your greatest challenges in implementing social marketing? Please share your experiences in the comment section below.
Offering valuable content extends the engagement cycle
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.
Differentiating your brand from the competition involves more than just features and benefits.
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.
Marketers can use social networks and key word optimization to increase their blog following.
Blogging with no followers is like the sound of one hand clapping. Building a following can be time consuming and resource intensive. Below are 10 tactics for gaining traction and building a solid community of followers.
Life After Advertising 