Tweet, Snap, Share, Post, Pin: Five Creative Ways to Get Your Customers to Do Your Marketing For You

Today’s digital age is also the post-advertising era. Armed with access to nearly limitless data and information, customers have grown disengaged from commercial culture as we once knew it and disillusioned with canned corporate marketing messages.

This is especially true of the latest generation of consumers – the Millennials (aka Generation Y). Encompassing roughly 72 million young Americans, the oldest of whom are now reaching their mid-30s, the Millennials represents the most educated, diverse, technologically proficient generation ever in the U.S., with tremendous spending power that is expected to eclipse that of the Baby Boomers within the next three years.

Another hallmark of the Gen Yers is that they have a strong aversion to "push" marketing and prefer brands that are engaging and already embraced by their friends. According to Christine Hassler, author of 20 Something Manifesto, “Friends are the biggest influencers for Gen Y. If their friends have something and endorse it, that's all they need.”

All of this evidence points to an inescapable fact of doing business in today’s culture of the Web: nothing holds greater sway than word of mouth. If you want to grow – and especially if you want to capture the up-and-coming Millennial dollar – you need the help of your customers and fans.

However, these customers and fans aren’t simply sitting around, waiting at the edge of their seat for the opportunity to promote your products and services. It’s up to you to get the ball rolling by structuring campaigns that reach your customers where they live (i.e., social media platforms) and give them opportunities to share that tap into their motivations and fit naturally with their habits and lifestyle.

Here are five creative ways you can leverage social media to connect with your customers and get them to do your marketing for you:

1. Solicit their stories.

Sometimes spurring your evangelists to spring to action is as simple as asking them to. After all, who doesn’t love sharing stories about themselves?

Everyone can agree that medical supplies is hardly a highly glamorous field. However, Medtronic Diabetes, which develops and sells diabetes management products, has achieved a 2-to-1 return on investment for their entire social media program based on the success of their Share Your Story Facebook app.

Since launching the app in June 2013, nearly 300 customers have shared stories and photos using the app, and over 80% of users have opted to allow their photos and stories to be used by Medtronic Diabetes in other ways. To maximize the mileage they get from this great user-generated content, Medtronic is also proactive about contacting those who have shared their story to participate in photo shoots, video testimonials and guest blogging.

When Steve, a Facebook community member, posted a photo from his 2012 wedding using the app, Medtronic followed up with a request to guest post on their blog, “The Loop,” which the company started as a forum to foster discussion about living with diabetes. Steve happily complied, penning the article “Getting Hitched With Diabetes: The Groom’s Perspective,” which they reposted on their Facebook page.

Key to Medtronic’s success is that they are very specific in the framing of their request. When the company first launched its app, the prompt asked users to share “moments in your life of living well with your insulin pump or continuous glucose monitor,” but they found that the majority of participants would write only one or two lines. In March 2014, they retooled the wording to say, “Share with us your personal story about the pivotal moment you switched to the pump and CGM, and how insulin therapy has helped you focus on the wonders of life,” and they discovered that this more specific request elicited much more rich and detailed tales from their customers.

While you might wonder why Medtronic’s customers are so eager to share their stories, Amanda Sheldon, director of digital marketing and communications, explains: “We know our customers and know that they like to support each other. Our hope that social media would bring this all together was definitely met.”

2. Share the spotlight.

As the relentless onslaught of the selfie has shown us, social media is the ultimate “Look at me!” medium. Tap into your customers’ love of all things me-centric by creating a campaign founded in giving them the opportunity to shine a spotlight on themselves – and on your products in the process.

Clothing brand Free People has come up with an ingenious way to integrate customers' Instagram shots with its website. The company has begun attaching individualized hashtag information cards to its jeans. Customers are encouraged to take pictures of themselves in the pants, tag them either with #myfpdenim or more specific tags for different jean styles (such as #fpanklecrop for the 5 Pocket Ankle Crop or #fpsorbettiedye for Sorbet Tie Dye Jeans). These photos not only appear on Instagram but also on the relevant product’s page on the company's website (after being approved by site moderators, of course) in a special section called "Free People's Style Community."

This brilliant campaign succeeds on two levels. First, by designing a platform that turns their customers into models, Free People has created the ultimate indulgence for the selfie-aholic. Second, they overcome an obstacle that has plagued e-tailers since the concept was invented, which is giving shoppers the confidence to make a purchase without being able to see, feel and try on the product in person. But now, through the magic of Instagram and social sharing, Free People empowers potential buyers to see how a pair of jeans looks in real life. Win-win!

3. Give to get.

Sometimes, you need to be willing to give a little bit in return for the great promotional juice your customers are providing to you. Often brands use contests as a way to motivate fans to snap, share or post in exchange for the chance to win a prize.

However, prizes certainly aren’t the only way to incentivize your followers. An even better way is to share your time and expertise. For example, Zappos – a company that has built its reputation on providing exceptional customer service – has created a forward-thinking Instagram campaign that is the perfect marriage of its trademark service and customer engagement.

Capitalizing on the popular #OOTD (“outfit of the day”) hashtag – which has more than 23 million images attached to it – the online retailer has launched a pilot program for a personalized shopping service called NextOOTD. When a customer posts a selfie with the hashtag #nextOOTD, a Zappos stylist will comb through their Instagram history and respond with personalized shopping recommendations catered to their unique style.

This campaign is social media engagement at its very best. First, it’s easy for customers to participate in. By building on the already familiar #ootd hashtag, it’s a natural extension of a well established habit for Instagrammers. Second, it’s personalized: this concept of selfie shopping allows Zappos to interact with people like a human, not a brand, which is exactly what every company should aspire to do on social media. Finally – in perfect keeping with Zappos’ mission of delivering happiness – it’s a great way to surprise and delight their customers, especially the type of selfie-wielding fashionistas who are most apt to use the #ootd hashtag in the first place.

4. Bank on bloggers (and other influencers).

Here’s an interesting fact for you: Research has shown that one-fifth of the consumer population is composed of key influencers who impact the purchasing activities of 74 percent of the population.

Chief among these influencers are the legions of bloggers and vloggers who have masses of dedicated followers hanging on their every word. If you can put these prominent opinion-pushers in your corner, you can turn the power of word-of-mouth marketing up to 11.

Blue Apron is a new start-up subscription service that delivers meal kits – including pre-measured ingredients and recipe cards – in refrigerated boxes on a weekly basis to its members.

According to Ken Fox, one of the company’s investors, Blue Apron’s target market is comprised of “People who like to cook at home but don’t always have time for shopping,” and their hope is that these people “discover the ease of cooking with Blue Apron [then they] start to do it more often, and to get their friends and family members into it, too.”

And who could fit that profile better than mommy bloggers – specifically Katie Bower of the hugely popular blog Bower Power? Katie has nearly 15,000 followers on Facebook and more than 25,000 on Instagram, so needless to say, there is no lack of moms (and other busy women) who identify with her and look to her for great ideas and advice. And as it so happens, Katie also recently gave birth to her third son, so she has no lack of demands on her time.

For the price of a sponsored post, Blue Apron reached all of her followers in the form of a glowing review written with Katie’s trademark candor – along with a series of fun images depicting the process of receiving the box, unpacking its contents with her adorable boys, preparing the meals and enjoying the dinners together as a family.

The end result is a testimonial that is 100 percent authentic – and 100 percent more effective than anything the company could have said about itself in a perfectly polished ad campaign.

5. Create a marriage of mediums.

All of this talk of social media posting, hashtagging and sharing begs the question: how can you take advantage of your fans’ promotional activities to reach a broader audience that includes those who don’t follow you on these networks?

The answer: integrate your social media campaigns into your traditional marketing efforts. Case in point: Ben & Jerry’s wildly successful #CaptureEuphoria contest.

In 2012, Ben & Jerry’s tapped into its Instagram community (which at the time numbered 120,000+ strong) to cast the starts of its latest ad campaign. The company invited fans to post photos tagged #captureeuphoria that they felt depicted intense feelings of joy. From sunsets to wedding photos to cute dogs to beach scenes, these user-submitted snaps were collected into a special gallery on the company’s website.

One interesting thing you’ll notice about the contest: there was no requirement to feature the company’s products in the photos. Rather the idea was to associate the emotion of euphoria with the experience of eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream – very clever indeed.

At the conclusion of the contest, more than 25 shots were selected and featured in hyper-local media in the winners’ hometowns in ads that popped up in locales ranging from billboards to buses to neighborhood bars.

The Ultimate Business Growth Resolution for 2017: Make the Most of Marketing Attribution

As we enter into a new year filled with limitless opportunities and prospects, why not resolve to build a smarter, more profitable business? But in a world where there are so many outlets through which you interact with your customers – from radio and TV to direct mail and email to your website and social media and beyond, how can you know for sure which of your efforts are really working and which are not? That’s where marketing attribution comes in. Marketing attribution is the practice of determining which channels are most effective in attracting and converting customers – both online and off – in order to:

• Measure how many marketing dollars should be allocated to each channel.
• Optimize content to drive more traffic and conversions.
• Attract new customers and win back former customers.
• Sync up offline programs with online campaigns.
• Accurately forecast your marketing budget.

Marketing attribution goes beyond simply counting clicks or following customers’ paths to making their purchases; it uses complex algorithms to determine which channels are driving the most revenue. Naturally, you’ll want to invest more dollars in higher-performing channels. If marketing attribution is such a powerful business growth tool, isn’t everyone taking advantage of it? Actually, no. According to Forrester, only 24 percent of marketers currently measure campaigns across multiple channels, which means that there is a huge opportunity for you to gain a competitive edge by taking the plunge into marketing attribution this year. Here are eight steps you should take right now to get started:

1. Clarify your objectives.

With information coming at us from all directions and devices, it can seem next to impossible to measure the ROI on any given campaign. So what’s the best way to narrow down all the possible factors to determine what’s actually influencing your customers’ behavior? Before embarking down the attribution road, you must establish clear direction. To get the results you seek, start by making a list of questions to help you clarify your objectives: Which channels produce visible results, and which can’t be seen?

• Which metrics will you track in order to gain the insight you seek? Revenue, lead volume, etc.?
• How many conversion points will the attribution system track?
• How do you currently capture and report on metrics? What are some areas where you’d like to see improvement? How do stakeholders receive data reports? Is there a better way to keep them informed?
• What mechanisms will be used to collect the data, such as specialized software or online forms?
• Does your company have in-house expertise on implementing an attribution model, or do you need to leverage an external resource?

Take the time to determine clear objectives before embarking down the marketing attribution path, so you can choose a solution that provides the end results you desire.

2. Start small.

In the digital age, there’s almost no limit to the amount of data you can collect and analyze about your customers and your marketing efforts. However, if you’re new to attribution, keep it simple in the beginning by focusing higher-level data, such as revenue and marketing spend, to avoid becoming overwhelmed with numbers. Save the more granular customer data for future iterations when you’ve got more experience under your belt.

3. Leverage technology.

If interpreting data feels like trying to read foreign language, the first step is to acknowledge what you don’t know and seek external resources to make the job easier. It’s not necessary to hire an expensive in-house expert; there are plenty of effective and affordable solutions available to help you analyze complex data and generate actionable insights. Whatever tool you choose, just be sure that you’re getting clean, accurate and trustworthy results.

4. Match up your metrics.

You probably already have discrete metrics and measurement tools in place for each marketing channel that you currently employ, from email to pay-per-click to social media campaigns. In order to make effective use of marketing attribution, however, you’ll need to establish a set of common metrics that you can use across all channels in your attribution analysis.

5. Work together.

Building a successful marketing attribution program depends on getting buy-in across your organization. Involve all of your key players – from managers to marketers to developers – when choosing a platform and planning its implementation. Collaborate to ensure the right questions are being asked and the relevant data is being collected.

6. Don’t expect perfection.

Rarely is any data set 100 percent clear and comprehensive. There will inevitably be some data that can’t be captured, leaving blind spots in your analysis. Without a crystal ball, there will always be invisible factors – both online and off – that influence your customers’ purchasing decisions. Despite these inherent limitations, even a partial set of attribution data will create a strong foundation for planning successful campaigns across multiple channels. As long as you’re looking at reliable sources, that information can be used to optimize your existing marketing campaigns and plan for future testing and analysis.

7. Compare attribution models.

Under the broad umbrella of marketing attribution, there are a number of models to consider, each with its own strengths and limitations: First and/or Last Interaction: Either the first or last point of contact is given full credit for the conversion.

• Pro: Interaction-based attribution uses previous purchasing behaviors to assign different levels of importance to various touch points.
• Con: This type of attribution can sometimes be subjective.

Last Non-Direct Click: All credit for the sale is attributed to the last indirect point of contact, such as an email link.

• Pro: This model enables marketers to gauge the effectiveness of their external marketing campaigns.
• Con: The Last Non-Direct Click method runs the risk of discounting a myriad of factors that come into play after the customer has clicked through the email.

Last Adwords Click: In this model, the most recent paid search click gets full credit for the conversion.

• Pro: This model enables marketers to gauge the effectiveness of their search spend.
• Con: The Last AdWords method runs the risk of discounting any influences that came after the click.

Linear: In this balanced attribution model, the credit is equally weighted among all points of contact in the path to conversion.

• Pro: This model is simple and straightforward, making it a great entry point for getting starting with attribution.
• Con: The linear method could attribute more credit to a touch point than it actually merits.

Time Decay: Whichever touch point occurred in the closest time proximity to the conversion receives the most credit.

• Pro: It seems logical that the later touch points ultimately prompted the conversion.
• Con: This model disregards initial points of contact, which may have helped to build brand loyalty.

Position-Based: In this type of attribution model, the first and last touch point each receive 40 percent credit, while the other 20 percent is distributed equally across all other interactions.

• Pro: The Position-Based model is a good choice for marketers who want to highlight how leads are generated and then how they ultimately convert while still accounting for the points of contact in between.
• Con: This model runs the risk of giving mid-funnel touch points less credit than they deserve.

8. Consider building your own model.

Every company’s attribution needs are unique. To ensure that everyone in your organization gets the relevant, accurate information they need to make informed marketing decisions, consider building your own attribution model. By partnering with a firm experienced in developing customized, cloud-based business management software, you can work together to design a solution that is tailored to your specific needs and objectives. Here’s to helping you build a more effective marketing and business growth engine in 2017!