In response to the questions we frequently receive about how best to utilize these new technologies, we’ve collected some of our favorite articles on five of the most important new media for innovative marketing efforts.

Take a look, and don’t forget to share any thoughts or questions in the comments section at the bottom of each posting!

1. Digital Signage
Thinking about bringing digital signage into your stores? Here are five key things to consider before it’s installed.

2. Email Marketing
Check out six simple steps for developing an effective email marketing strategy—or improving the one you already have.

3. Maximize Your Website
How well is your website performing? Learn how two valuable tracking tools, from a web audit to GreenTrak web analytics, can help your site achieve optimum success.

4. Mobile Marketing
Would text message marketing be an effective way for you to reach out to customers? Should a branded iphone app be part of your new media marketing strategy? Check out the benefits of mobile marketing, and get answers to your FAQs.

5. Social Media
The benefits of business blogging, plus a few points to consider before you dive into—or dispel the value of—social media.

A consultant group we respect recently recommended that companies wait to get involved in social media because there are “no clear and obvious benefits.” While they may not be “clear and obvious,” we believe that the benefits of social media are significant. Here are three of them:

1. Positive Customer Touch Points Build Strong Brands

How many connections do you have with customers once they’re out of your store? Pursuing cost-effective ways to increase the quality and quantity of your touch points with customers is critical in the management and growth of your brand. Social media is a direct vehicle, cutting through the clutter to bring your message to the front of a customer’s mind. It is a positive, memorable, and cost-effective way to reach out to existing customers.

With 300 million Facebook users, your customers are already there. Conversations about your brand are happening right now. The question is whether or not you want to join these conversations. Many consumers now expect the level of transparency and interaction that social media provides. They expect to have a voice, and to receive information in the medium of their choosing.

2. The Buzz of Online-Only Offers

A good story travels fast across networks of friends, and social media only increases the velocity. Of course, a story sent to a customer from those they trust the most will get more attention, and be viewed as more credible, than conventional advertising. The key is to make your post compelling enough for someone to pass it on. This usually means a worthwhile offer (“free” is best) combined with an interesting spin (for example, check out Sprinkle’s “whisper” offers).

3. The Power of Dialogue

Most companies understand the power of great customer service to build lifelong loyalty, generate word of mouth stories, and turn a bad customer experience into a memorable example of customer care that will be retold by customers again and again. Monitoring social networks for questions and complaints about your brand will identify new opportunities for customer care.

There are a lot of ways to harness the power of social interaction on the Internet. Social media is more than Twitter and Facebook. Consider the piece we referred to at the beginning of this article, which stated that Apple doesn’t believe in creating communities. Then take a look at the “discussions” feature (often referred to as “communities” on Apple’s homepage), not to mention the dialogue in the comments section of iTunes and the massive community of fan bloggers monitoring Apple’s every move. The power of the Internet lies not in pushing information, but in dialogue.

A consultant group we respect recently recommended that companies wait to get involved in social media because it changes so often, most companies do it poorly, and there are “no clear and obvious benefits.”

It is true that many get it wrong and that social media is always changing. This is not a reason to avoid the medium, but a warning to enter social media with a plan, and a commitment to doing it right. Social media is unlike any other platform, so there will always be a learning curve—no matter when you start. It will always be a platform in transition. If you’re waiting for it to stand still, you’ll never get started, and companies who avoid the medium are missing an invaluable opportunity. Consider how websites were perceived in the early 90s. Many companies wondered about the value of having a website, but it quickly became apparent that customers expected them to have an informational website, and that a content-rich web presence would prove to be a valuable business tool. It’s likely that social media will follow a similar pattern.

Elden’s Foods shares deals, recipes and Minnesota Vikings’ spirit with Elden’s “fans” on their Facebook page.

The statement that there are “no clear and obvious” benefits does not assert that the benefits of social media are lacking; benefits do not have to be “clear and obvious” in order to exist. This assertion does, however, acknowledge the commonly held concern that there are no clear ways of measuring them.

Many hesitate to participate in social media for this very reason. Because it requires companies to relate to customers and measure ROI in unfamiliar, unconventional ways, it is often perceived as ambiguous or mysterious.

And executives are right to reject any marketing expense that lacks measurable results. When considering social media, however, it’s important to remember that it is possible to measure the results of your social media initiative—you just need to use the appropriate metrics.

These metrics often differ from those of traditional marketing. In addition to tracking the redemption of online-only offers, for example, track the number of followers/fans you have, the number of customer interactions that occurred with your brand via comments, re-tweets, replies, etc., and the number of links to your site that resulted from each post to a social media site. (For example, when you post a Facebook link to this week’s ad, see how many of the visitors to your ad page arrived using the link.)

When considering social media ROI, it is also important to remember that some of the most important factors determining a business’s success simply cannot be captured and tracked on an Excel sheet. How do you measure the strength of a customer’s relationship with your brand, the number of times they mention your store throughout the course of a week, or the passion with which they recommend you to a friend? How do you track the conversion of an occasional customer into a raving fan? The answers aren’t always clear. Yet by defining key metrics, mapping out a social media strategy that supports your existing promotional calendar, and assigning ownership to the right person or partner, your marketing team will remove most of the mystery surrounding this one-of-a-kind activity.

1. Value shoppers are here to stay.If there is one long-term lesson retailers should take from 2009, it is the importance of a strong value positioning strategy. Value shouldn’t be the central focus of most brands, but it needs to play a part in any supermarket’s overall strategy. Retailers who have maintained a well-crafted value message through the years reaped the rewards during this economic downturn. Stores that neglected this part of their positioning strategy are now working hard to convince customers of their low prices, as they should. There are a lot more coupon clippers and ad shoppers than there were two years ago, and the new frugality is here to stay. Like generations before them, consumers have been changed by this difficult time, and will remember these lessons throughout a lifetime.
2. Digital signage will become a mainstream marketing solution.Since hardware prices have dropped, the return on investment that digital signage provides makes it a no-brainer for most supermarkets. Digital signage will continue to spread as retailers find proven providers, run pilot programs, and discover the benefits.
3. Social media will be adopted by most brands, to mixed results.Facebook users grew from 150 million to 350 million this past year, and the average age is now slightly over 50. Users now expect to interact with their favorite brands on fan pages. Successful media strategies will transition from one-way websites to an emphasis on interacting. They will focus on authentic, inventive ways to listen to and have fun with customers. Unsuccessful strategies will feature one-way communication on quickly created Facebook and Twitter pages. These will be the companies who say in 2011, “We tried social media, but there’s just no ROI.”
4. Private labels will continue to evolve into fully realized brands.Considering the current state of the economy, an increase in private label sales is no surprise; what’s unexpected is the transition of many private label products into true brands. This new crop of private labels maintains the private label value perception, and has personal meaning to customers in a way that generic store brands never could. Brands like Target’s “Archer Farms”, Safeway’s “Eating Right” and “O” (and most of the products on the shelves of Trader Joe’s and Fresh & Easy) connect to a customer’s lifestyle, and own a strong quality perception. Look for more stores to focus on the development of their private labels in 2010.
5. Stores with strong brands continue to dominate the market.This is cheating, since strong brands have always dominated the market, but it’s a valuable reminder. The recent economic strain has already eliminated many stores with weak brands, and solidified the hold of those stores who have invested in their brands. The market leaders will be those with a unique identity, who relate to customers emotionally and make a compelling, rational argument for shopping at their store.

If you’re interested in help with your value positioning, digital signage, social media strategy, private label, or brand development, let us know.

Wishing you a prosperous year in 2010!