Category: Social Media

Race Cars on a Cruise Ship? Surprises Abound in Travel Marketing

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Norwegian Cruise Line is a leader in the travel industry and an expert in product launch marketing. Their CMO and Senior VP, Meg Lee, is Drew’s guest for this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. Tune in as Meg and Drew talk marketing over a glass of champagne aboard Norwegian’s Bliss ship in NYC.

On this episode, Meg shares her tips on how to handle product launch marketing and the benefits of having diverse channels of marketing. She touches on how she sells fun, whether it’s through the authentic, smoked Texas BBQ (prepared off-ship!), or the electric race car track available to guests on the ship. Overall, she talks through how she completes her main job: filling 16 huge ships with excited travelers. 

Click here to listen to this entertaining and educational episode.

What You’ll Learn

Use a variety of marketing strategies when launching a product

Meg and her team at Norwegian Cruise Line recognize the importance of using many different marketing channels when preparing to launch a new ship. Using social, video, print, and word of mouth platforms allow the Norwegian brand to reach as many people as possible. It’s always important to curate and organize the content you’re developing so that the right message can be shared at the right time.

Relationships can be your best marketing strategies

In the travel industry, the best resource available for product launch marketing is travel agencies. The relationships Meg has built with travel agents are invaluable and offer an unparalleled level of expertise and knowledge to potential customers. Forming relationships in your own industry like these should be a top priority.

The benefits of using creative product launch marketing strategies

By using creative marketing for your B2B or B2C business, you can stand out from the competition. Creative ideas make your brand memorable and allow you to go deeper into storytelling mode. Without creative storytelling, you’re just sharing data and facts. Meg also urges marketers to never let fear be a driver of their decisions.

Timeline

  • [1:04] Meg’s Renegade Rapid Fire segment
  • [6:35] The customer journey for Norwegian Cruise Lines
  • [9:52] Why differentiation matters for Norwegian Cruise Line
  • [12:47] How the Norwegian brand leverages word of mouth marketing
  • [14:15] The challenges of marketing and selling a brand new cruise ship
  • [22:17] The role of B2B marketing in the travel industry
  • [27:55] How Norwegian Cruise Line utilizes video marketing strategies
  • [31:09] Meg’s “two do’s and a don’t” for marketers

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Going Beyond Marketing Through Social Media and Listening to Customer Voice

Posted on by Drew Neisser

As the CMO of Hootsuite, Penny Wilson has some fantastic insights into the social media listening industry and why identifying the customer voice of your company is essential. Not only is customer voice important for executing exceptional customer service but it can also be used as a tool to effectively communicate with executive boards and chief financial officers.

Drew Neisser asks Penny about her journey towards Hootsuite and the top questions on why listening to your customers is critical. The idea of going “beyond marketing” is explored and Penny’s understanding of this concept is unparalleled.

You can’t afford to miss their discussion on upcoming social media trends that could help your company grow by leaps and bounds. The top challenges faced by CMOs are also discussed in this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

It’s sure to be an educational and inspirational episode that you don’t want to miss.

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What You’ll Learn

  • [1:07] Drew introduces the guest for this episode, CMO of Hootsuite, Penny Wilson
  • [4:40] How social media is helping companies go “beyond marketing”
  • [5:57] Penny’s part in a new leadership team at Hootsuite
  • [7:53] Unpacking the voice of the customer
  • [13:02] Finding insights for your company through listening to the customer voice
  • [19:43] Hootsuite’s challenge of breaking out of their original market
  • [23:32] Drew asks Penny about the main challenges for CMOs
  • [24:25] How can CMOs provide CFOs with the tools they need to understand the importance of marketing?
  • [27:00] Social media opportunities that are often overlooked by companies
  • [29:33] How AI can revolutionize the social media tools companies are using

Customer voice is a tool that reaches beyond just marketing

By taking the time to understand your company’s customers and the preferences and expectations they have, you can capture their collective voice. While this voice has obvious benefits in product/service development it can also allow you to examine their entire journey with your company. Listening to the voice of your customers allows you to build a culture that encourages the customer to direct the company and lets the customer lead. Devoted listening creates loyal customers which leads to valuable insights. The listening process should be built into every level of your company, with employees being empowered to become representatives of your company. For more information on how identifying your customer voice can be an asset to your company don’t miss this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

The greatest challenge faced by CMOs and how Hootsuite has conquered it

Penny’s career in marketing has allowed her to understand some of the greatest challenges faced by CMOs today. One of the most prevalent issues is the constant need for CMOs to get approval from top-level company leaders for their social listening and marketing campaigns. This challenge requires CMOs to tie marketing to a tangible outcome – a challenge that can be solved by using hypothesis-driven tools and metrics. Dive into this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite to discover how Penny and her team at Hootsuite are enabling companies to create more effective marketing campaigns by offering information on the returns on investment for marketing campaigns.

The most overlooked opportunities that exist through social media listening

Penny explains to Drew that the best marketers should be paying attention to the fact that not every customer or employee is 100% comfortable with social media yet. Educational training components can be built into the company culture or customer interface to allow those with less experience to catch up with the current trends and techniques. She also explains that while artificial intelligence is definitely making an appearance in the social listening spheres, it’s not going to overpower the human element of marketing and customer interaction. No matter how your company goes about social listening to uncover the voice of your customers, keep in mind Penny’s best acronym for marketing – SCALE – social, customer-centered, authentic, listen and learn, and engage. You and your company will benefit from listening to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, so be sure to listen.

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How to Reach Your Zone of Focus and the Top Marketing Trends for 2018

Posted on by Drew Neisser

For the 60th episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew Neisser interviews Peter Shankman – author, serial entrepreneur, and a world-renowned speaker on social economics. He is a top-tier expert on customer service, social media, public relations, and advertising – all while spreading the idea that incredible things can happen when creativity, determination, and ADHD meet.

Drew asks him about best advice for entrepreneurs and how to work in your zone of focus on this engaging and entertaining episode. You’ll discover Peter’s ritual suggestions and what’s on the horizon for marketers in 2018.

You don’t want to miss Peter’s insights into the top marketing mistakes to avoid. He also uncovers why social media relates so strongly to marketing and the foundational beliefs behind storytelling and public relations.

Drew and Peter’s conversation will leave you wanting more, so be sure to listen (click here to listen now).

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What You’ll Learn

  • [0:50] Drew introduces the guest for the 60th Renegade Thinkers Unite episode, Peter Shankman
  • [4:00] How Peter was able to write a book in 31 hours after finding his zone of focus
  • [6:24] Ritual suggestions for marketers in 2018
  • [12:00] New ideas on the horizon for marketers
  • [13:00] The importance of public relations in B2B marketing
  • [15:14] Public relations and marketing mistakes to avoid in the new year
  • [19:00] How do we measure public relations?
  • [22:28] Social media and how it relates to marketing
  • [25:18] Why Twitter is becoming less valuable in a B2B marketing situation
  • [28:35] Best use of social media as a brand within the marketing mix
  • [30:14] Rapid fire questions with Peter Shankman

Why finding and working in your zone of focus is critical for ultimate success

When Peter had two weeks to finish (and start) a book he had committed to writing, he did what works best for his brain. He booked a roundtrip flight to Tokyo and wrote all ten chapters of the book over 31 hours. While this type of work schedule may not be ideal for everyone, Drew and Peter discuss the importance of finding what works for you and focusing solely on tactics within that zone. As conversations about resolutions become increasingly more abundant, Peter counters that line of thinking by explaining that “resolutions fail, but rituals succeed.” To learn more about Peter’s story and to learn from his successes don’t miss this stellar episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

The top marketing trends to look for in 2018

2018 is sure to be a cornerstone year for individuals and businesses alike. Peter talks with Drew about why listening is of utmost importance in the marketing realm, but why it has to go beyond listening for a break in conversation so you can share your thoughts. They also discuss why conversations across the world are moving away from distrust and into an age of wanting to believe in the truth again. Understanding hot topic ideas such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, and why Twitter’s heyday may be ending are all covered on this episode, so be sure to take the time to listen.

Public relations in B2B marketing and why having an audience is a privilege – not a right

As B2B marketers it’s key to understand how public relations relates to your company. Public relations helps people to believe the information they’re consuming, which is key for audience engagement. The audience your company targets deserves high-quality content delivered on a timely basis, and Peter explains that companies should never take their audiences for granted. Connecting what you have to what the industry needs, and conveying it in a thoughtful, concise manner, is a key PR strategy in B2B marketing. You can’t afford to miss the rest of Peter’s insights that will help you start off 2018 with a burst of productivity, so don’t miss this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

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Incorporating Listening into Social Marketing for Increased Customer Connections

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On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew Neisser asks CMO of NetBase Solutions, Paige Leidig, the top questions surrounding social listening and analytics. With over 80% of tweets mentioning brands and the social media analytics industry being a $2.7 billion operation, it’s critical to know how listening can increase your customer connections.

Drew and Paige dive into social listening to give you and your business the best chance to hone your target market and utilize the best marketing channels possible. You’ll also discover how artificial intelligence in the form of Natural Language Processing can revolutionize your metadata processing.

The toughest challenges and biggest surprises encountered in social marketing are covered in this episode. You also don’t want to miss Paige’s top tips for CMOs in 2018.

This conversation is sure to provide critical social listening insights, so be sure to listen (click here to listen now).

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What You’ll Learn

  • [1:40] Drew introduces this episode’s guest – Paige Leidig, CMO of NetBase Solutions
  • [3:00] What is social listening and social analytics?
  • [8:15] Paige shares a great example of social listening information used in revolutionary ways
  • [10:12] The main three marketing channels most brands utilize
  • [12:13] What is the state of the art technique for social listening?
  • [15:36] How can you differentiate your competitive advantage via social listening?
  • [16:59] Natural language processing (NLP) – Artificial intelligence to moderate meta social media data
  • [20:52] Top areas marketers miss while listening to customers
  • [23:49] Paige shares additional example stories on why social listening is critical
  • [28:19] How changing your message for your target market can increase sales and customer engagement
  • [33:35] Why customer stories are of utmost importance in B2B marketing
  • [36:33] Paige’s tips for CMOs moving forward into 2018
  • [38:00] Common surprises encountered when entering into social listening

The practical benefits of incorporating listening into your social marketing strategies

The premise behind social listening is aggregating all public data that’s published on millions of social media platforms and analyzing it to provide key insights into your industry. There are multitudes of practical benefits to social listening, including having the availability to quickly change marketing techniques if the listening offers new feedback on how the market is reacting to a campaign. It enables your company to create content that adds value to the market and encourages high-level digital connections with your customers. Microsoft and Apple are only two examples of top-tier companies utilizing social listening in their marketing strategies and their successes are demonstrated across the board. To hear their full stories be sure to give this episode a listen.

The top three channels used in marketing and how new technology can improve the data analysis process

Paige walks Drew through the main three channels that brands utilize on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. The company’s own channel is the most obvious, followed by partnered content channels. But the most valuable channel is through earned content – where people are talking about your brand/content and the signature characteristics that they find interesting and applicable. The best insights come from this channel alone. In order to analyze all of the data that comes through the earned channel, companies should utilize a new form of artificial intelligence called Natural Language Processing or NLP. It automatically sifts through millions of posts, images, and videos to determine the main themes and sentiments of the messages. This data is analyzed across dozens of languages in real time and offers critically important insights into your social marketing strategies. You don’t want to miss this conversation, so be sure to listen to the full audio.

Top social listening tips for CMOs and how to avoid the biggest mistake in marketing analysis

If social listening is done correctly, your company has the opportunity to see huge progress made in your marketing campaigns. As 2018 approaches, Paige encourages other CMOs to be spending 80% of the marketing budget on digital marketing and to move beyond demographic marketing into psychographic marketing. He shares with Drew the biggest mistake to avoid in social listening, which is using false metrics derived from your own channel to drive marketing campaigns. There’s a whole world of opportunity that exists in your earned channel, you just have to be infinitely curious about your customers. You can’t afford to miss these applicable lessons from Drew and Paige so be sure to listen to this engaging episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

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Social Marketing Campaigns: Engagement Matters More Than Publication

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For some time now the social marketing campaigns of most brands have consisted of scheduling out loads of content through Buffer or another social management tool and letting it run. Kevan Lee, Director of Marketing at Buffer says your promotions, blog posts, and podcast episodes are undoubtedly filled with valuable insights, but a shift is taking place in the social media world that demands you modify your strategy. Users of social media – the very ones you’re trying to reach – are valuing the “social” part of social media more than the “media” part. In short: Engagement matters more than publication.

What does that mean for a brand? It means a new approach to social media is in order. To help us get our heads around what exactly that means, Drew recorded this conversation with Kevan and discussed the shifting social media landscape, how social marketing campaigns of the past must give way to genuine transparency and engagement, and how small to medium-sized businesses can do social right.

Sounds intriguing, don’t you think? Be sure you listen (click here to listen now.)

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What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Why hell hath no fury like a social detractor and why businesses need to use it effectively to listen, learn and engage.
  • [1:50] Kevan and the team at Buffer work in a fully remote team environment
  • [3:00] The reason Kevan believes writing is vital for marketers to learn
  • [4:26] The changes that have happened in the social media world: engagement matters more than publishing
  • [6:19] How the Buffer team markets Buffer through engagement: No ROI for social
  • [10:26] What does it mean to be “on brand” – the Buffer approach
  • [14:59] Brands that have been using social media effectively these days
  • [20:24] The biggest mistakes Kevan sees brands making on social
  • [24:33] Buffer’s transparency ethic and how it impacts their planning and engagement
  • [32:13] Kevan’s advice for medium-small businesses when it comes to social

Most social media activity is crap simply because brands feel they HAVE to schedule something to publish. Try on a new social marketing approach: Be active, be on brand, be engaged

As Drew and his guest, Kevan Lee, of Buffer spoke about current social media trends, Drew pointed out how much of what’s out there is the epitome of irrelevance. Most brands are guilty of adding to the noise instead of adding to the conversations already happening on social. Kevan responded by saying that a good social campaign these days involves being active (and he’s got an interesting definition of what that means), being “on brand,” and being engaged.  In this conversation, he shares clear explanations of how a small to medium sized company can pull off each of those 3 elements of effective social, so don’t miss this conversation.

If you don’t have something meaningful to say in a week’s time, your brand has bigger problems

The biggest part of being a brand that adds true value on social media is to only post things that are truly relevant and valuable. But because the “old way” of doing social marketing insisted that companies fill up their channels with content (relevant or not), many in the marketing department are scratching their heads about what it means to be truly meaningful. Kevan Lee, Director of Marketing at Buffer says if you don’t have something meaningful to say in a week’s time, your company has a bigger problem than you realize. Find out what he means by that statement and how he proposes companies adjust their social media strategy on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

Be among the 20% of brands who actually respond to mentions on social media

Engagement matters on social media, especially for companies. But Kevan Lee points out that only 20% of companies these days even respond when they are tagged or mentioned on social. It’s unthinkable when you realize that the person who tagged your company is likely a customer or prospect – the very people you’re looking to reach. So naturally, the most obvious thing you can do to increase the effectiveness of your social marketing is to be among the 20% of brands that monitor your social accounts and respond when you’re mentioned. Start a conversation, engage, solve problems. That’s the “social” part of social media, and it works.

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Story-Driven Content Marketing That Drives Leads

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In her role as CMO of Tungsten Network – a leading global supply chain enabler – Connie O’Brien has taken on a huge task: she’s spearheading the first content marketing campaign for the company in a very long time, and she’s focusing on friction to do it.

How so? Through the collaborative efforts of a handful of agencies, including Renegade, it was discovered that one of the main places the accounts payable process experiences difficulties is through the friction that exists in the systems and processes involved. So the team Connie assembled set out to discover, from customers and prospects alike, where the key points of friction were and what could be done to smooth out those problems. THAT positioned Tungsten to custom-tailor solutions to the exact problems the marketplace was experiencing.

This conversation is a quick but deep dive into the process the team at Tungsten spearheaded to discover what customers really felt about the frustrations they were experiencing in their accounts payable process, address those concerns effectively, then use content marketing to get the word out about those solutions.

Connie’s brilliance is obvious in this conversation, as is her humility and desire to give credit where credit is due – to her team. Enjoy.

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What You’ll Learn

  • [0:30] Urban gardening and content marketing: both require experimentation & work
  • [2:54] Who is Connie O’Brien?
  • [8:43] What Tungsten Networks does and what got them onto their current content marketing approach
  • [12:18] Engaging employees as advocates for the company on social media
  • [14:56] The decision to talk to customers in an unfiltered way
  • [17:32] The creation of the Friction Finder customer feedback and diagnostic tool
  • [19:51] How Connie manages a multi-agency team for content marketing
  • [23:10] Integrating storytelling into her content marketing strategy
  • [25:03] The difficulty of measuring the value of the campaign effectively
  • [28:23] The primary lessons Connie has learned: Listen & Watch Results
  • [30:02] A quick summary of what Tungsten did and the results so far

It’s not easy to get unfiltered feedback from customers or prospects, but Tungsten Network figured out a way to do it.

One of the primary things that enables effective customer analysis is the power of an honest answer from the end user. Those kinds of answers aren’t easy to get because not only do people simply want to be “nice” when asked direct questions about service and satisfaction, they also can’t always remember the details of their frustrations on the spot. That’s why Tungsten Network went about it a different way – by creating a free tool that offered real value to people they wanted to hear from, whether they were customers or not. It’s called the Friction Finder, and in less than 2 minutes it allows you to assess the extent of the friction in your accounts payable process and provides actionable insights into what you can do about it. That saves you time, money, and eliminates a lot of stress. Find out more by hearing Connie’s description of how Tungsten’s extended team came up with the idea, how they implemented it, and the kind of results it’s provided.

The “official” social media marketing your company is doing may not be enough. Here’s how Connie O’Brien engaged employees to compound the company’s efforts

When you stop to think about the way social media marketing works you’ll quickly realize it’s about a couple of things: compelling content, shared broadly. Each of those has its own challenges, but the broad sharing feels like something you as a CMO or marketing leader can’t really control. Or is it? Connie O’Brien realized that some of her best advocates for the company’s new campaign were the people working on it – her employees. In this conversation, Connie shares how employee involvement on social media helped the campaign’s reach and how she was able to get them to buy-in and be involved. As a result, the company’s ability to do effective customer analysis was increased dramatically. You don’t want to miss this part of the conversation.

Managing a multi-agency team effectively in order to reach the goal of better customer analysis is tricky business

As part of the team that came alongside Tungsten Network to build the Friction Finder content marketing campaign, we here at Renegade saw first-hand what it takes to manage a multi-agency team, and Connie O’Brien did so beautifully. During this conversation, she admitted the challenge but also pointed out that it’s much easier when you work alongside true professionals who know their piece of the puzzle backward and forwards. The end result? Tungsten was able to do the kind of customer analysis needed to create the solutions their prospects needed, and sales are climbing. Listen to the entire conversation. There’s a little bit of something for every company that’s looking to up its content marketing game.

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