The 80/20 Rule
With Facebook at 500 million subscribers and growing and e-blasts and e-newsletters as mainstream marketing tools, it’s increasingly easy for businesses to be romanced by the allure these tools provide in sending sales messages to broad social networks. It comes up so frequently in our client discussions that it’s worth putting online and sharing the BDC Advertising perspective of how to properly balance and craft sales messages and informational messages in your online and/or social networking campaigns.
Think…”sales messages are an earned privilege.” That is, you have to earn the privilege to send them to your database or through the various social networks you may be a part of. Specifically, we use the 80/20 rule. 80% of our web-based messages are informational or educational messages and 20% are sales.
These networks will recieve your sales messages if you’ve provided useful information that creates the proper environment and relationship to send sales messages. As Alex Brauer, President of BDC Advertising, says,”It’s all about building and growing communities. The goal is to build membership and expand your networks as quickly and broadly as you can. In doing so, the goal is to deliver information they look forward to receiving. That may be a favorite recipe, destination, how to improve your mileage, rigging for salmon, upcoming event, notable date or any one of a million different messages…it’s endless. The key is they need to be useful, fun, entertaining, easy-to-read and relevant. You’ll grow your community quickly if you stay this course.”
“Sales messages will be allowed, or more appropriately, tolerated, if they’re kept to a minimum. Understand that these messages will likely have negligible impact. Unless the offer is so incredible that they’d be crazy not to participate, expect yields of less than 5% and in most cases less than 1%. That means if you send out 6,000 e-blasts with a sales message expect a return in the order of 60 or fewer people to respond.”
“I see the sales message taking a different form”, observed BDC Vice President, Trey Carskadon, “When you’re talking about new products, changes in personnel, upcoming opportunities or emerging trends you’re sending a sales message, albeit a very soft sales message but a sales message nonetheless. You’re leading the market to the watering trough…it’s their decision whether or not they’re going to drink from it.”
Carskadon continued, “With this approach comes some important opportunities, savy companies will become more disciplined in their messaging and create messaging campaigns designed to systematically create anticipation of upcoming events, opportunities, seasons that will ultimately drive sales. In marketing to the agricultural community for instance you’ll want to start crafting your messages in spring and summer with a goal of sending your strongest sales message after the harvest when farmers have been paid for their crops. It’s what we do in Alaska to target dividend check expenditures that occur in the Fall with everything from snow machines and boats to vacation offers. All the information leading up to that point are messages and information that build a case for the products or services your selling. No doubt about it, it’s a much more methodical, measured and patient approach but it’s a winning approach and one you can add to everything else you’re doing to get the word out about your business.”
“We all agree, it’s editorial, informational, educational content that wins the day in these social networks and e-newsletter approaches. The 80/20 rule is a great guideline and in some cases it may skew 90/10 or 95/5. The bottom line is that sending out an endless string of sales messages and specials is the surest way to kill the growth of the online communities you may be trying to build. ”
Study Confirms Value Of Print Advertising
A recent study by Southwick & Associates, a leading market research firm from Florida, indicates that among hunters and anglers, magazine/print publications are still their primary media choice for information. 44% of the hunters and 33% of anglers surveyed placed print media as their primary media source.
25% of anglers selected the Internet as their primary source of information, while 15% of hunters watch hunting-related TV shows as their primary source of media.
Beyond the fishing and hunting categories there are pockets of growth within the print media. Large city newspapers continue to struggle as the media market becomes increasingly fragmented between cable TV and the Internet. Subscription numbers continue to plummet nationwide. However, smaller community and small city newspapers seem to be holding their own.
In fact, even in depressed areas like Bend, Oregon which has suffered through an unprecedented decline in home sales and real estate values, the Bend Bulletin, the city newspaper, is thriving. This uptick is being played out across the nation as neither cable or Internet sources have yet to unlock the small city, small town news gathering effort.
BDC Advertising Vice President, Trey Carskadon commented, “Over the past 3 years we’ve been watching this trend closely. We don’t have a dog in this fight other than to stay abreast of the advertising and information trends that are going to best serve our customers. The consensus in our office is that the market wants timely, reliable, trusted information. If they can get it more conveniently or faster through Internet or TV they’ll gravitate in that direction otherwise they’ll wait until the newspaper comes out. This trend gives small community newspapers a decided advantage over other media. As news budgets dry up it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for these organizations to have a presence in smaller markets. More broadly, we believe this signals opportunities within the media and print, especially in specific markets that depend on accurate information, to provide deep, insightful and useful information not found in either TV or Internet resources. Print still offers the most meaningful opportunity for deciminating the greatest depth of information on a single topic, to specific, targeted audiences. The Internet has become it’s own worst enemy as viewers have to wade through reams of hyperbole, inaccuracies and conjecture. It’s wild-west approach to information has marginalized its efficacy as a primary informaton resource on topics that demand clarity, fact and accuracy. The Southwick study confirms what we already believed through our own experience. Print is still valuable media and a strong Internet presence is equally as essential…it’s all about balance and not putting too many eggs into any one marketing basket.”
Social Utopia
The features that are important to you, might not be useful for the next person, and the important thing is a balance between usefulness and a bloated program. Proponents of Twitter like its ease-of-use, 140 characters at a time. This social platform thrives on a staccato-like simplicity, but some feel the technology a bit too minimalistic. Facebook users enjoy posting their own interactive content, or just perusing the content that others create. It’s the expansive content sharing that helped Facebook rise to fame. Facebook has been able to keep things personal by surrounding you with people and things you like, while their business is growing like a hungry teenager. When your personal friend posts a picture of their new car, it is kind of cool to see it while not worrying about getting their floor-mats dirty.
Think about your friends. Aren’t you closer to some than you are to others? In your ideal social media platform, perhaps you can place friends at different distances and create new circles of friends who are all talking about the same thing and your grandmother doesn’t have to hear about you painting the town on Saturday night. This is doable in Facebook, but a user must create a special Facebook page, and then hope that people will visit you there.
Whatever the next big thing is, I hope you create it and I want to be involved, helping others make sense of it all and facilitating valuable connections, blurring the line between business and friendship.
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Crimson Trace has shipped nearly a quarter-million sets of Lasergrips to gun owners. The U.S. Military, major law enforcement agencies, security-minded citizens, target shooters and handgun-hunters around the world know this: When it comes to quality products and a commitment to servicing the needs of our customers, Crimson Trace is a name you can trust.
BDC’s Dutch Bros. shrine
What is the fuel that keeps the web development fire burning here at BDC? A caffeinated concoction called the Big Hot Kicker, crafted ever so delicately by our neighborhood Dutch Bros. baristas. As a token of our appreciation, we have spent countless hours designing a pyramid-like shrine in the 4th dynasty Egyptian style. We hope this is an appropriate monument to the hard work our friends at the local watering hole. We have had a few calls from Las Vegas executives about the “conspicuous similarities” to the Luxor Hotel & Casino, but we think what we have here is unique. Keep doing what you do, Dutch Bros. and we will continue to create the most innovative and interactive websites for our clients.
Teach a Man to Fish
Kevin Saelee is no ordinary web developer, he is a master of complex code and possesses an almost primal instinct many across the world can relate to; the instinct to find and catch the largest fish. A Northen California native, Kevin felt at home knee-deep in the aqua waters of Lake Shasta, where he fished regularly with his friends and family. Growing up, Kevin was comfortable catching bass, the occasional trout, and enjoying the California sun.
When it was time to go off to college, Kevin decided to attend the Art Institute of Portland where he majored in web design and interactive media. He soon found himself downtown Portland, a city-dweller with no transportation to experience the joys of hooking into a big fish.
“I used to love fishing. I missed the whole experience,” said Saelee.
But Kevin’s fortunes were soon to take a dramatic turn. He accepted a position as a web developer at BDC advertising, a world-class agency based in Oregon City, OR. where he would be influenced by many avid fishermen at BDC who share Kevin’s passion for landing the big one. Among the seasoned fishermen here is BDC Advertising President Alex Brauer who recommended a few fishing locations.
“I started working on different fishing websites and looking at Alex’s fishing trophies and started remembering the fun of it all,” said Saelee.
Saelee recalled talking with Trey Carskadon, Vice President of BDC about his fishing experience as well, which includes numerous trips to treacherous buoy 10 on the Columbia river and television and radio hosting of popular outdoor-related programs where he shared his fishing knowledge. Kevin’s return to fishing was all but imminent, but first he would need to learn the techniques and locations for fishing is in the Pacific Northwest, not a small feat.
“Trey had all the specifics, what lures to use, which rods, and the specific techniques,” Saelee said.
Kevin’s quest to find the best fishing in Oregon will undoubtedly continue… probably for the rest of his life.
One thing is certain, the team here at BDC will continue to help Kevin in his fishing exploits and as he continues to produce exceptional web sites and applications for BDC clients, it won’t be long before he gets the invite to jump on board the BDC company boat for a real fishing experience.
The day will soon come when the trophies will find a new home on the wall above Kevin’ desk. When Kevin lands his first big fish, we’ll be there to congratulate him while remembering everything good about sharing wholesome outdoor experiences with friends, family and coworkers that make us all feel proud.