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CONVERSATIONAL MARKETING IS...

by Jannice Almansur -

Uniquely well suited to small businesses budget friendly - does not take a large investment in fact many techniques are DYI. Removes barrios between you and your community. It is with friends, family, relatives, colleagues (your community). Being an expert resource within a niche (you do one thing and you do it well).

Conversational marketing is...

Marketing via online social media sites

1. No cost for entry (they are free...sign-up and get started today)
2. Topical relevant (extreme growth in user subscriptions: multi generational, ethnic, gender)
3. Most relevant and popular (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Blogs i.e.   Blogger and Word Press)
4. Easy to use no special skills required
5. Real-time - interactions (two-way communication) A two-way interaction
6.   No location barriers
7.   Helps you drive qualified traffic back to your website.

Conversational marketing is...

Affordable and powerful with real measurable outcomes

As smaller organizations that do not have huge budgets that they can just throw money at every approach out there and see what sticks, it needs to be an effective budget friendly approach. Even choosing to work with a professional company to set-up sites, develop and manage strategy and maintain communities are affordable to most small budgets. If you can't currently make investments, DIY options are plentiful, there is information everywhere on the web to help with most aspects of getting your business on the right track.

Conversational marketing is...

Helpful, educational, entertaining, relevant (timely)

The concept of marketing by real time two-way interactions allows you to capitalize on your expertise and passion about your subject. Instead of spending your time trying to attract clients by shouting at them with ads, you can engage them by providing what they need most...Help to get something done and education on how to do something, or even just by entertaining them or engaging them in relevant topical events.

Conversational marketing is...

Smart and requires planning and strategy

Conversational marketing is research, discovery, planning, strategy and implementation. This means that it is not a quick fix. You need to be in it for the long haul. With the exception of those of you that consider "Writer", "Video Producer", or "Spoken Word Artist" your profession, it will not be easy, but it will be worth it in the long run. Through this approach you will build a portfolio of "Brand Assets" that would be the envy of any Fortune 500 company, but they will be uniquely yours...uniquely your story.

Conversational marketing is...

Very specific and targeted to your ideal clients

Once you get clear on who is your ideal client, what they want or need, and how you can fill that need, then fulfill that gap with the information, resources, tips, tricks and how to's...In a word "content", then you will have under your control the most powerful marketing approach of the 21st century. 

Conversational Marketing Is Not... Learn more

CONVERSATIONAL MARKETING IS NOT...

by Jannice Almansur -

Not a substitute for high quality products and services. Companies with less-than-stellar reputations can converse with consumers and the mere act of conversing will fool some of them some of the time, but such engagement realistically has little tangible impact if consumers are not satisfied with what you are selling them.

Consumer perception is based primarily on the quality of the products and services you provide and improving those things is often not easy for companies. If you are not providing your current clients with a quality interaction with your products, services or support then this approach may not be the best option for you unless you are trying to get honest feedback to fix your issues. Expect not to be able to ensure the conversation is one-way or the other, you cannot control the feedback, that’s a risk you take when you open your company up to negative feedback & truly understand the importance of the word ‘social’ in social media. Best practices around customer interactions are the only route for success with conversational marketing.

Conversational marketing is not...

Not marketing through interrupting (i.e. Viral Marketing, Spam, Banner Ads, Pay-Per-Click Marketing)

We are all aware of the annoying series of advertisements that we must endure when we do not have TIVO, or the 20 seconds of ads that precede that latest viral video that you are trying to watch, or the flashing banner ad for insurance or mortgages on the site you are visiting. Marketing through interruption is the advertising concept that says put the brand and message everywhere, on buses, on television and radio commercials, on blimps over football stadiums, in glossy full page magazine ads and on t-shirts and other swag. It is the marketing equivalent of "Shock and Awe". It does not seek to build relationships, it does not look to understand the customer's true needs outside of focus groups and psychometric data-mining nor does it care about how much you may dislike it or wish it to stop. It is increasingly brash, loud and obnoxious, like a stalkerish masher in a singles bar as the night nears last call. Consumers seek any method available to shut it TIVO, by averting their eyes and attention away or by simply tuning it out.

Conversational marketing is not...

Not about driving streams of unqualified traffic to your website

Rather than trying to generate huge streams of traffic to your site, whether unqualified or not, in the hopes that some visitors will stay long enough to perhaps click a link and purchase a product, subscribe to your newsletter or engage your services, Conversational Marketing seeks to attract the correct target for your specific products, services or expertise and instead focuses on fulfilling their needs. The concept of marketing by real-time two way interactions allows you to capitalize on your expertise and passion about your subject. Instead of spending your time trying to attract clients by shouting at them with ads, you can engage them by providing what they need most...Help to get something done and education on how to do something, or even just by entertaining then or engaging them in relevant topical events.

Conversational marketing is not...

Not accumulation marketing

Conversational marketing is research, discovery, planning, strategy and implementation. This means that it is not a quick fix. You need to be in it for the long haul. With the exception of those of you that consider "Writer", "Video Producer", or "Spoken Word Artist" your profession, it will not be easy, but it will be worth it in the long-run. Through this approach you will build a portfolio of "Brand Assets" that would be the envy of any Fortune 500 company, but they will be uniquely yours...uniquely your story.

Conversational marketing is not...

It is not an excuse to continue to engage via unsuitable marketing techniques. 

Poor product and customer support will cause some social media contact points to be used as the best place for consumers to share bad customer experiences.

Conversational marketing is not...

Not overly generalized

The process and results delivered are your unique prospective on topics and information of interest to your audience. So you should not be talking about puppies when you are an expert on roofing, foundations and house framing. First while everyone loves puppies, you need to respect your audience's time by giving them exactly what they are looking for without unrelated fluff. Next the key to success this marketing approach is providing valuable content that educates, answers questions or entertains. So, keep specific and keep in on topic.

Conversational marketing is not...

Not ego-driven (Me, Me, Me marketing) - Gimmicks - "get anything quick" schemes

Don't be so inwardly focused that you forget that it is also about content that starts with you giving them resources! Just keep in mind that it is not marketing through interruption, it is about providing value and don't be afraid to promote others who have valuable information that your audience will appreciate knowing about. Content sharing is a great opportunity to showcase other great vendors, because you are only as good as your resources, if you have great contacts with other businesses that offer services that compliment and partner well with yours and your audiences needs, it is a great win for you and them!