Social Media

Marketing Lessons Learned From The Presidential Election

The presidential election resulted millions of Americans dealing with complicated feelings, especially if their candidate lost. But businesses might be looking at the presidential election in a different way. There are successful marketing lessons that can be learned from the presidential election.

Social Media Beats Traditional Advertising

It goes without saying that technology, social media in particular, is a dominant force in politics. It is hardly surprising that political ad spending reached 1 billion for digital media.

President Obama was the first president to successfully leverage social media before it became as ubiquitous as it is today. Elected president, Donald Trump, used Twitter as major component of his marketing strategy, instead of leveraging traditional tactics like TV ads causing a reduced the cost of campaigning significantly. President of Infogroup Media Solutions, Gretchen Littlefield, stated, “candidates have leveraged social platforms, especially Twitter, to not only broadcast messages but to build excitement around their respective campaigns.”

Although both presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, have had success in speaking to their supporters through social media, more than once Trump has put his foot in his mouth and damaged his own campaign due to what he posted on Twitter.

Businesses must budget to fulfill a position to a person devoted to social media, who can speak on behalf of the business and should be monitored. Information on posted on social communities should be limited since a spur of the moment bad decisions can completely destroy marketing efforts.

Simplicity is Key

Simplicity always works best for appealing to a mass market.

All originated in 2008, Barack Obama’s message “Yes We Can” resonated with the electorate, and it won him two terms as president. Similarly, Donald Trump was an advocate to the message of “Make America Great Again.” It’s a rallying cry that encourages people to crowd around him. Trump uses simplicity as a tool of persuasion. Throughout the presidential campaign, Trump used a general rule: simpler speech is more persuasive.

Simple words alone have not contributed to Trump’s success; it is more complicated than that. Undeniably, Trump’s simple and simplistic words are a key weapon when it comes to persuading people.

Business’s brand should have a simple message that instantly helps stand out from the crowd.

Know Your Audience

Whether people love or hate Donald Trump, he has played to a very select crowd of voters who believe in his message and who want to support him. Entrepreneur Magazine emphasized that Trump’s tough-talking “I don’t care what the experts think” attitude that appeals to Americans. Trump gave voice to feelings that are widely shared nationwide.

Similarly, the business brand doesn’t have to appeal to “everyone.” Know your target market and speak to their concerns in a relevant way

Donald Trump is a fascinating one-of-a-kind figure in American politics and business. Businesses do not have to become like Trump to learn from how he’s marketed himself and built his brand.

This blog post is a response to Social Media in Organization’s Week 12 Assignment:  Political/Social Media Observations.

Social Media is the Most Effective Customer Service Tool!

Who hasn’t experienced a customer service nightmare? We all have in one way or another. Many of us avoid the agony of sitting on the phone long periods of time, which is where social media comes to play! Within minutes, social media can help customers to receive answers in an efficient and fast way.

Social media provides opportunities for keeping in touch with prospects and customers, maintaining customer relationships, and building brand. In addition, it has become a tool has had a great impact on the customer service industry for various reasons.

Instant Gratification

Customers are using social media to avoid long periods to waiting to speak to a representative. Social media is about interaction. It is essential that customer perceive the business to be ready to help. When customers have comments about the products and services, businesses must engage and interact. Social media allows businesses to respond the audience an almost instant surprise response their questions, comments and concerns. Studies have found that customers will receive a fast response to any inquiry is it communicated via twitter. In fact, most concerns will be addressed within 60 to 90 minutes. According to a J.D. Power survey of over 23,000 online consumers, 67% of consumers have used a company’s social media channels for customer support. Customers know that the company cares is committed to handling customer service issues quickly at high quality service.

Human Response

Many of us do not like dry and robotic responses. The most successful businesses to added personality to any social media response, after all, humans are in control of these online communities. During a four-hour light, a customer tweeted JetBlue for his non-functioning screen. Not only JetBlue showed sympathy in their response, they offered credit for his trouble. As a result, the happy customer tweets:

One of the fastest and better Customer Service: @JetBlue! Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving.

According to research from McKinsey, 70% of the buying experience is based on how a person thinks they are being treated. Humanizing the experience will engaged customers in a creative way will build an audience and the brand. Customers know when they are talking to a real person, rather than just another faceless company.

Online and Offline Connection

Interaction across all channels shows a customer-centric approach. Not all issues can be handled online. Some issues can become too complex to be realistically resolved in 140 characters or less. Businesses move the conversation “offline” by using private messages, email or a quick phone call. Not only this protects the customer from exposing to sensitive information, but also resolve the customer’s series of questions. Social media can facilitate connections. Some instances, a face-to-face meeting or even a phone call can be more valuable than an online conversation.

Creates Lifetime Fans

Lifetime loyalty is created once the problem is resolved. The fan will most likely give a positive word-of-mouth marketing boost. Friends of fans will be know how much the business cares about its customers. The domino effect will convert social media fans to customers. After all, customers who feel valued are the most loyal and attract others. Loyal shoppers will become brand advocates. Peter Shankman realized he would arrive home too late to prepare himself a meal. Just before his return flight took off, he jokingly tweeted his favorite restaurant—Mortons—to meet him at Newark Airport with his usual Porterhouse.

Hey @Mortons – can you meet me at newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours? K, thanks. 🙂

To Shankman’s surprise, a Morton’s Steakhouse employee drove 23 miles to the airport to greet him with a free full meal! Customer service is more than telling people how awesome the products and services are, it is about creating stories that do the talking.

Businesses use social media as a customer service channel to meet and exceed customer’s expectations. By delivering an outstanding customer service, businesses are promised a stronger relationship, a stronger company brand and customer loyalty. Bottom line, social media is a great way to connect with customers, and it’s a great way for customers to connect with you!

This blog post is a response to Social Media in Organization’s Week 11 Assignment: A Problem That Can Be Addressed And Perhaps Even Solved Using Social Media.