FEBRUARY 3, 2012 10:59 PM by StevenBridges
By Joe Kutchera
How should brands adapt their communications and engage consumers in the age of social media? Surprisingly, a book first published in 1936 best highlights how to “win friends” on social platforms, written long before Al Gore “invented the Internet.” Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” outlines fundamental approaches on how to build long-lasting relationships with friends, colleagues, and consumers.
Our team here at Acento has had the opportunity to develop a general market social media strategy for our clients. That means a lot of research, analysis, and thinking on how brands should interact with consumers on Facebook, LinkedIn, and whatever new social network pops up next.
Multitudes of books and white papers discuss the tactics and statics of social media. But very few books successfully outline the psychological dimensions of engaging consumers on social platforms as well as Carnegie’s book.
As marketers, we need to appeal to the nobler interests of our fellow consumers within the social sphere (and allocate human resources to support honest, immediate responses via social media response teams).
That’s far easier said than done.
Fortunately, many of Carnegie’s principles, however basic, provide a roadmap on how we can successfully communicate with customers and colleagues on social platforms. We know we can’t push our messages out into the world anymore. It’s up to us to break away from status quo marketing and truly communicate with consumers on a one-on-one basis.
Carnegie’s most relevant principles for managing social communities include:
• Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
• Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
• Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
• Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
• If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
• Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
• Dramatize your ideas.
Obviously, this sage advice and story telling requires a 180-degree shift from the marketing of yore. We need to ask questions of our consumers in order to become good listeners…and have a staff that can respond to consumers’ concerns.
In an excerpt of the updated version of the book, “‘How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age,” the New York Times published, “Messaging speed is instantaneous. Communication media have multiplied. Networks have expanded beyond borders, industries, and ideologies. Yet rather than making the principles in this book obsolete, these major changes have made Carnegie’s principles more relevant than ever.”
FEBRUARY 3, 2012 10:38 PM by StevenBridges
Proprietary research from Google indicates that 32% of Hispanics are more likely to have a smartphone than non-Latinos. Other research reveals that 93% of Latinos use a mobile phone regularly and that 65% use them as their primary internet connector.
FEBRUARY 3, 2012 10:38 PM by StevenBridges
According to “The Mamiverse Study of Online Latina Moms and New Media” by Mamiverse, Online Latina Moms view jobs and education — more so than immigration — as the top two most important issues in the upcoming presidential election, are concerned with “what’s wrong with America,” but are optimistic about the future and believe that “if Latinos stick together, they could change America for the better.” Jobs edged out education as the most important issue by one percentage point. Health care came in third, followed by immigration.
JANUARY 4, 2012 06:59 PM by StevenBridges
According to an article in the Huffington Post, a recent survey indicated that over the past decade spending on personal care products by Latinos grew more than 40% — almost three times faster than growth seen for non-Latino consumers. Additionally, according to the survey, Latinas are “significantly more likely” to use many beauty products — including perfume, mascara, and facial cream than non-Latinas.
JANUARY 4, 2012 06:58 PM by StevenBridges
As reported in Hispanic Business Magazine, U.S. Hispanic buying power is projected to grow 48.1% to $1.6 trillion between 2011 and 2016, according to an analysis by industry researcher IBISWorld. The general U.S. population’s buying power is expected to grow only 27.5% during the same period. The sectors that can expect to see a Hispanic bump are department stores, where Hispanics spent about $22.1 billion in 2011, expected to increase 1.6% by 2016; single-location full-service restaurants, $10.4 billion, to be up by 1.7% over the next five years; and automaking, $9.8 billion, which will rise 1.9% by 2016. The largest percentage gain over the next five years is expected to be in consumer electronics, at 2.9%
DECEMBER 14, 2011 10:21 PM by StevenBridges
By Steve Roth, Director, Agency Development
When I was in high school, I struggled with Spanish. No matter how much I studied, I just couldn’t wrap my head around a foreign language and, as a result, I ended up with C’s and D’s. Then came college. Ugh. Two more years of foreign language requirements and I once again found myself knee deep in… you guess it, Spanish. I somehow managed to make it to the finish line with a D, a halleluiah, and a pitcher of cold beer to celebrate. I was finally done with Spanish… or so I thought. Quite a few years later, I found myself out in California freelancing as a creative (in English) for a boutique Hispanic agency. The people were nice, the work was interesting and the food was amazing. I think it was the food that convinced me to accept a position as the agency’s first head of new business development.
Knowing little about the Hispanic market, and even less about the agency world, I rolled up my sleeves, ducked my head and charged forward. During my six years at the agency, I gained a real appreciation for the Latino culture, the people and the importance Latinos place on family. I often found myself telling my gringo friends that we non-Hispanics could learn a lot about family values by looking at the Latino culture. In the Latino family, it’s a priority to spend time with family and friends. My boss at the time was from Colombia, and I remember him saying that as much as he loved the quality of life in America, he truly missed the social aspect of life back home where people didn’t need an excuse to drop by the house and visit. Parties would often start spontaneously, and they always involved music, dancing, drinking and celebrating time spent together. Three years ago I was recruited by Acento and my immersion into the Latino culture magnified ten times.
On my first day at the agency, I was blown away by the colorful, art-filled offices which are built around a large kitchen area where everyone eats lunch together, and the conversation revolves around personal life, family, and of course, the food. There’s a real bonding among the team at Acento, a family where people work hard, play hard and enjoy each other’s company. It’s fun to invite people to our offices. You feel the Latino culture the moment you walk through the front door. It’s a welcoming place and a terrific agency to promote. Outstanding work, amazing people, authentic culture… what more could a guy want in my position?
NOVEMBER 30, 2011 07:06 PM by StevenBridges
According to the Pew Internet and American Lifestyle Project, 18% of Latinos that use the internet have accounts on Twitter, compared to only 5% of white non-Latinos, and 13% of African American non-Latinos. On Facebook the same thing holds true, with 54.2% of Latino internet users on Facebook, followed by 47.7% of white non-Latinos and 43% of African American non-Latinos.
NOVEMBER 29, 2011 11:55 PM by StevenBridges
Roberto Orci, Jr., son of Acento president/CEO Roberto Orci, shares insights on the crossroads of entertainment and marketing in his presentation at the 2011 Mid-West Hispanic Conference in Minneapolis. Roberto Orci, Jr. and his partner Alex Kurtzman are the producing/writing team behind some of today’s biggest studio films including “Cowboys and Aliens,” “Star Trek,” and “Transformers” as well as hit TV shows such as the new “Hawaii Five-0″ and “Fringe.” In addition to his work in television and film, Roberto Orci, Jr. is teaming with Roberto Orci, Sr. and Acento to create original content for the internet and beyond.
Part 1
Part 2
