Cut Through Information Overload With Effective Storytelling (infographic)

Did you know that on average, it’s estimated that people see 5,000 marketing messages per day?  This means getting your message heard is a very challenging task indeed.

As SMB owners, building brand recognition takes time and dedication, and what this infographic from LookBookHQ & Beutler Ink indicates is that there’s no better way to do this than with a story!

An effective story not only cuts through the noise that every day advertisements deliver, but it also makes your brand more memorable to your target audience.  This infographic discusses how you can make your brand stand out with effective story telling.

While the infographic says it is for B2B marketing, the lessons learned from it apply to all audiences. The art of storytelling can be tricky, but learning to tell a compelling story is the foundation for building strong social relationships and, more importantly, brand recognition and advocacy.

Do you try to tell a story when you talk about your brand? Have you had success or failure when trying to tie a compelling story about your SMB? I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

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Poll Results – What’s In A Name?

Last week, we asked our readers to weigh in on our poll about whether or not it was a good decision for Starbucks to remove their name from their logo. 78% said that they think taking off their name won’t have any effect on their sales, while 22% said that they thought taking their name off was a bad idea.

The majority agreed that Starbucks wouldn’t see any major consequences from removing “Starbucks Coffee” from their logo.  Amazing really, that they were so bold as to remove their company name from their logo and yet people don’t feel it will have any impact on their brand.

Marketing 101 would dictate that every brand needs to have a name, but when you are a large multinational like Starbucks, Nike or Apple, they can cleverly remove their name and rely on their brand reputation to give them recognition.

The take away for SMB owners is that once a brand resonates with your audience, explains what you do, and what value you bring, then it is the brand values that they remember, the visual of the logo becomes secondary.  In this case, Starbucks continues to make custom coffee regardless of having their name on their logo; people see their logo and know that’s the place to go for custom coffee.

Have you thought about what brand values your brand communicates with your customers? I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

Brand Advocacy – Shares Drive Action 10 Times Higher Than Paid Impressions

Rarely do we think of tweeting, posting or pinning as drivers for social advocacy, but that’s exactly what they are. Every day people have millions of conversations about brands around the world, which result in increased brand recognition and sales.

In a recent study conducted by Ogilvy, they looked at 7 million media mentions, 22 brands and 8 feature films spanning four countries.   Their study suggests that social shares drive action at a rate as high as TEN TIMES that of paid impressions! In some cases, passion about a brand generated more advocacy than blockbuster movies!

The research suggests that up to 80% of reach from marketing campaigns now comes from network amplification through advocacy. This means brands that can’t generate substantial advocacy will simply pay more to market less efficiently than those who make advocacy a brand priority.

The study makes five recommendations to help brands build advocacy and amplify passion:

1. To drive passionate advocacy, know and focus on your fan’s true advocacy
2. Identify and use your brand’s differentiated advocacy drivers
3. For global relevance, emphasize product features
4. Move beyond the blunt metric of “sentiment” to tracking advocacy levels
5. Encourage and enable advocacy everywhere

For full details go to: http://www.slideshare.net/socialogilvy/socialogilvy-advocacy-studyjuly2013-1

I hope you have enjoyed this insightful presentation about how advocacy mentions help brands significantly amplify their marketing.

I am always interested in hearing from you. Did you enjoy this study? What is your take away? Will the results of this study influence your strategic marketing? If so, how?  Let me know in the comments below.