Successful Marketing? Make it Cause Related.

Cause related marketing is one of the most successful forms of marketing. People have a hedonistic need to feel involved and part of something. A brand that sells a certain lifestyle or movement are the ones who last in the competition.

We can look at examples such as Livestrong bracelets, Toms shoes, anything that is pink to support the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign and more. When consumers purchase these items, they are willing to pay a little more than they normally would because they feel as though they are doing good. If a consumer buys a pair of Toms shoes, they know that they are helping a child somewhere because Toms donates a pair of shoes for every pair purchased. If you're going to support a brand, why not support a brand that gives back?

The founder of Pura Vida Bracelets was a guest speaker for my Direct Marketing class today at San Diego State University, and I was really intrigued at the meaning behind his brand. Pura vida means "pure life" in Spanish. When you purchase a bracelet, it helps provide more jobs for artisans in Costa Rica along with reminding yourself to enjoy life slowly, celebrate good fortune & not taking anything for granted. There is more to the story but the meaning behind the bracelet was what got me; I am now a supporter of Pura Vida Bracelets. :)

Isn't it just so amazing how consumers are happy to pay for a bracelet made of waterproof strings with a small charm attached because the brand stands for something that the consumer feels represents them?

Cause related marketing = success. Point blank period.

The Secret to LinkedIn

Although we all may have a LinkedIn, most of us don't use it to its full potential. With over 135 million users on this social media site world wide, we need to take advantage! It's a great networking tool to have, on top of your Twitter and Facebook. Here are some useful tips to make the most of your LinkedIn profile:

• In order for your profile to be more searchable, it needs to be at least 85% completed. Just remember, "first impressions are everything, and skimping on your personal profile will quickly decrease your value."
• Don't think that you can only connect with people you personally know on LinkedIn. There are over 135 million users to connect with, start connecting with aquantiances and HR reps to maximize your network. It will help you create more business opportunities.
• Keep your LinkedIn profile updated. You never know who may land on your profile, and as I mentioned earlier: first impressions are everything.
• You can customize your LinkedIn URL. Just click on the edit profile tab to change it. This is my URL: http://www.linkedin.com/in/trinhstephanie
• Don't forget to recommend! As Business Insider stated, "The more you give, the more you receive. A solid recommendation can potentially save someone's else life by setting them up with their future employer."
• Follow and join as all the groups that you are interested in so that you can stay up to date on these companies/organizations.

Now go out there and network!

From Business Insider

Cause Marketing Night 2011

The event turned out great! I had an amazing time and I was able to meet many new people including the founder of Pybob, Shelly Bowen. She is definitely the sweetest person ever. :)

There were many great paintings donated for the event and it was a lot of fun being able to watch bidders go through bidding wars for their favorite artwork - so much excitement and cheering!

 

Here's a photo from the auction.

The Masterpieces from Cause Marketing Night 2011

Recap of Cause Marketing Night 2011

Ad 2 San Diego

I've recently joined Ad 2 San Diego, an organization for people who are 32 and under and are in the San Diego advertising, marketing, and communications community. Ad 2 San Diego helps create future advertising and marketing industry leaders through education, leadership development and networking programs. I'm part of the communications committee and part of what we do is blogs, newsletters, promotional emails, etc. I had the honor of posting my first blog post about an upcoming event Ad 2 San Diego is hosting, Cause Marketing Night 201, and I am excited to share it with everyone!

Click here to see my blog for Ad 2 San Diego!

Google+

Do you have a Google+? If not, then what are you waiting for!? It is definitely going to be the next best thing since Facebook. It took Facebook 2.5 years to get 18 million users. It took Google+ only 21 days.

When you add friends on Google+, it automatically asks you to place them in a listed "circle" and when you post updates, you choose which circles you want to the post to be visible to. This is perfect for mixing business and pleasure! Now you can add your coworkers and family and not worry about them judging your posts that were meant for friends only.

Also, when you download the Google+ app onto your Android, every time you take pictures, those pictures automatically upload into a private photo album for you on your Google+. I find this to be very convenient, and I love it!

This is what my Google+ looks like:

... and yes, I'm following Tyra banks on Google+.  :)

What is Social Media Marketing... exactly?

 Social Media Marketing is not just about updating a company's Twitter, or posting Facebook posts. Anyone can do that. Social Media Marketing is about trying to see how much traffic can be gained through these social media sites and interacting with fans. Having followers on a company's social media site helps bring more brand awareness and keeps the consumer up to date on special promotions and news about the company. Not to mention, the more followers or "likes" you have, the better you look.

When a company posts links up on their social media sites, it is of their best self-interest to be able to track how many people have clicked on the links. There are ways to track the links, and a company's main goal is to get a lot of clicks because that means that the company is doing a great job at engaging their fans.

I use bitly.com to shorten my URL links for Twitter and it also allows me to view the stats on how many times the link has been clicked on. An account will need to be created to keep track of the clicks, but you can also sign in through Twitter or Facebook. Bitly.com is a great resource to have for marketing; plus, it's completely free!

Twitter. Make it More Personal.

I was volunteering at Marketing Melodie's Digital Media Now seminar and I learned quite a bit about personal branding from Melodie.

Here are some helpful tips I learned about Twitter:

When using Twitter, it is important to know that interacting with the your followers and creating hashtags to track what people say about your brand (ex. #marketingnerd) are some things that help bring in more traffic and followers to your Twitter account. You don't want your twitter to be boring and sound like a spam page, personalize it a bit! Create some dialogue with your followers. Post/retweet information that you found useful, and is related to the industry that you are interested in. Intrigue your followers, ask them questions and get them to interact with you. Give your Twitter some personality, but don't break the rule of being professional. You can do all this and still keep it professional. ;)

 www.marketingmelodie.com