Please blog this reading here @ our course blog by Wednesday, April 10th class.
No exceptions without Dr. W's consent.
Read THE DRAGONFLY EFFECT, Wing 3.
Blog THREE specific observations you wish to share re: Wing 3.
Aim for 3-4 sentences for EACH observation, combining author's quoted text with your own analysis and experience.
Finally, pose A SINGLE QUESTION you would like to ask the class and Dr. W, once you finish and blog the entire reading.
Be prepared to share this blog post in class with our PComm posse.
Finally, pose A SINGLE QUESTION you would like to ask the class and Dr. W, once you finish and blog the entire reading.
Be prepared to share this blog post in class with our PComm posse.
WING 3: ENGAGE
ReplyDelete1. “Engagement has little to do with logic or reason. You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you can’t engage them emotionally, they won’t be swayed.” (p. 73) This is one of the keys aspects of a successful marketing campaign, especially in Wing 3 of this book. The authors continue to discuss various examples of companies or organizations that have fostered positive engagement with customers- whether it be the organize relationship between lenders and lendees around the world through KIVA or the immense rise in their donors when the website was featured on Oprah for example. The truth is that as effective as we have been accustomed to believe in the arguments of logistics, statistics and fact, unless a potential target customer feels emotionally involved with the brand, message or efforts of whatever goals are being presented, they are extremely unlikely to participate. In summary, the right- emotional, personal, and feeling side of the brain is winning the marketing social media method currently at stake.
2.“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.’ You can only engage your audience with something that engages you. The place to start is by seeking out what is real and personal for you about your particular cause. Understanding that will lead you to what might engage others.” (p. 91) This section of the Engagement focus of Wing 3 focuses on the importance of Authenticity. As mentioned in the book, true passion (just like laughing or sneezing) is contagious! By empathising your shared values and beliefs in an authentic manner, the more easier it becomes for customers to develop a sense of trust and reliability with you. Once again KIVA reigns as a top example of this type of communication- instead of sticking to the sad, pathetic and guilty emotional responses of early 90’s ‘poverty ads’- you know, the ones that make you feel awful for spending so much money on a Starbucks coffee instead of a starving child- instead they focus on being transparent with their lenders and allowing them to participate as much or as little as they desire. By providing just the right amount of information, ‘soft audits’, backstory, and data lenders are able to connect with their potential donees without having to feel forced into anything whilst within that process. Built on trust, and what it’s founders call ‘radical transparency’, KIVA all but perfect the use of authenticity in an effective marketing strategy.
3.“Some people are Facebook people. Some are Twitter people. Some go to portal sites. The fact is, each person has his or her own media preferences. Therefore, it helps to mix up the media that you use and coordinate your efforts to drive people to the social media the enable them to act.” (p. 97) In order to be successful in a social media campaign, the ability to effectively mix different forms of media is key. Not everyone visits the same sites, uses the same social channels or shares their interests in the same way- and the broader you can expand your range the higher the chance will be of reaching target audiences (as long as you engage effectively throughout all channels without spreading oneself too thin). In this sense, the Obama campaign did a phenomenal job of reaching and spreading their message- by participating in DOZENS of social media outlets, they were able to get into contact with a majority of their potential voters and volunteers, and use their own specific preferences and interests to guide them to Obama’s campaign- making it extremely easy to personalize their relationship with these efforts by promoting not only Obama himself, but rather his SUPPORTERS- and this proved to be one of the driving factors to his eventual success.
QUESTION: How can companies or organizations that are trying to Mix their Media efforts prevent from ‘spreading themselves too thin’? As important as it is to reach as many target audiences as possible, what is the balance of expanding your efforts while not jeopardizing the quality of the message?
1. When trying to engage your audience, you have to take the approach that you and your cause are a brand. “Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual short cuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers—and the emotional attachment people form as a result. A simple and apt definition of a brand is a reputation, based on a collection of memories” (81).
ReplyDelete2. Although logic and reasoning are good persuasion tools, emotions have the power to move us (figuratively and literally, as in move to action). “By developing the right side of the brain, you can build engagement through ‘uniting an idea with an emotion.’ Compelling stories do just that” (82). When constructing a store, it is important to keep in mind to; think in arcs (your story should build increasingly), start wide (start with many stories and then edit them down), and know when to shut up (be efficient in your story telling).
3. To be able to engage with your audience you have to know what is important to them, to empathize with them. “One way of creating an instant connection is to stress similarities with your target audience. Research shows that perception of similarity can increase rapport” (89). Compliments are also an effective way to build rapport. And one of the most effective ways to engage your audience is to use “behavioral expectations:” “a simple act of social comparison can trigger conformity—and thus get people to do what you want them to do” (90).
Q. How do you engage your audience and use these tools if your target audience does not comprise of majority social media users?
1) While many companies and organizations do try to persuade others by using logic and reason, the book suggests that persuading through emotion is more powerful, because “by developing the right side of the brain, you can build engagement through ‘uniting an idea with an emotion’” (82). This makes sense because different people have different stances on what is logical and reasonable, and even if they agree with the logic and reason, it can be easily forgotten. Persuasive stories that evoke emotion cannot be argued against and they are more memorable. I have noticed many organizations are taking this into account and are starting to tell more stories on their websites etc.
ReplyDelete2) It is not surprising that social marketing campaigns that “…engage people by making them feel a positive emotional connection,” are more successful than campaign that make others feel bad for someone (94). I believe that this is because guilt appeals can make the person in need seem too helpless. Even if someone chooses to donate money to help a person in need, that person will still need help later on. Kiva does a great job at this because it shares information about the potential lendee and how they are helping themselves to live a self-sustainable lifestyle. The lender then feels like their money is going a long way.
3) “Put the question or the problem to your audience; ask for their ideas” (100). This is not only important when you are trying to engage your audience, but it is important when planning and creating a social marketing campaign. Sometimes you may think that your ideas are great, but they may not resonate with those you are trying to reach. This is a reason to hold focus groups, which allow you to gain feedback about your marketing campaign and then fine-tune your campaign to make it more successful in the long run.
Question: The book talks about how the Obama campaign sent out a billion emails to engage their audience. However, with a small organization, can sending out emails backfire due to the fact that they can annoy people?
I found this statement very interesting; “Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers and the emotional attachment people form as a result.” I believe it is sometimes forgotten that although the product advertised is extremely important, creating some type of connection with the audience is sometimes even more important. Creating a strong, powerful, reputation is a difficult task that businesses strive for.
ReplyDeleteThe third design principle is to be authentic. Personally, I connect with real, genuine campaigns and believe that audiences as a whole feel similarly. To create authenticity, organizations must “Step out from the background, get ahead of the numbers, and put a name, face, and a few personal facts behind your cause and you will increase engagement.” In today’s world there are so many campaigns presented to the public that lack authenticity. Unique authenticity will set you apart from the rest.
Charity: Water is one organization that has truly followed the four design principles of engage. The founder’s story is “one that evokes themes of redemption, change, and hope—engages others on an emotional level.” Photographs and videos of the problem in the developing world evoke empathy in the audience. Charity: Water is authentic and honest with donors. And finally, Charity water is very involved with social media and outreach in the community. These principles have proven to be very successful.
Question: How has Charity: Water been able to maintain such high levels of interest while engaging supporters and action in water projects for an extended period of time? In many cases supporters are very engaged at the start but loose interest over time.
Wing Three:
ReplyDelete1) What I enjoyed reading in the book was that "If Grab Attention is about getting people to notice your cause, Engage is about what happens next-compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love (75). This tells us that there is much more then sending a message to an audience. It shows how we need to be passionate about what we are marketing, and our goal is to be able to open others to the same feeling in order for our message to sell.
2) Engaging others can mean most companies will "realize that storytelling can enhance loyalty, advocacy, and hiring retention, they start looking for stories everywhere, updating their sites with 'tell us your story' pages and consumers and employees to post testimonials on Youtube (84). When I read this quote I found it funny that we were learning about this in another class, and now I am starting to see more of its importance. For a previous assignment I was told to bring in stories in magazines or newspapers written by everyday people. We focused on how much attention this brought to the magazine and how many people read them daily.
3)Since the campaign I am working with is about Charity:Water I found it interesting to read that "The campaign evokes the third principle of Engage, be authentic, through it's commitment to transparency. Donors give knowing where their money is going-and through reports and updates, they are connected to their results (104). When meeting with our group we noticed this action they took and found it very impressive how up-to-date they keep their websites, inventory, and news to the people. We realized that through this connection and bringing forth their testimonials they were able to gain loyal donors.
Question: What's the most effective way to engage people? Is it through video, writing, or more so music and sounds?
WING 3
ReplyDelete1. “Engagement has little to do with logic or reason. You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you can’t engage them emotionally, they won’t be swayed.” (pg 75) In this passage, the author tries to explain how engagement goes beyond the content of the message and dives into an important deeper connection. This emotional connection helps to motivate the audience to do everything in their power to help.
2. “Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience it offers-and the emotional attachment people form as a result.” (pg 81) Audience members will create this emotional experience through their familiarity and understanding of the product or behavior. People who have had good experiences with a company or organization are more likely to support them; this is also called brand loyalty.
3. “If you’re not truly moved by the story you’re telling, no one else will be, either. You can only engage your audience with something that engages you.” (pg91) I really like this passage because it makes rational sense. It describes how motivation is contagious. If I am motivated to do take action, others I talk to will be more likely to follow suit.
Question: How do you engage people on an emotional level if they don’t have any previous experience with your organization?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete-Engaging your audience means you are, “compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love” (pg 75). Even if you have good points that compel your audience to get involved, you still need to make sure that you engage them emotionally. If they actually grow feelings for your cause, they will be more likely to support it from start to finish.
-Creating an interactive website has proven to be a successful way to engage your audience. This allows companies to “ask their customers what really matters to them” (pg 76). By providing extra information about your product, and a way that consumers can ask questions and have them answered, you are able to keep your audience on your webpage for longer amounts of time. You also provide an extra service that makes your audience become dependent on the information you have to offer. Though, the whole time you are providing them with an interactive service, they are the ones in control and asking the questions.
-Before you attempt to engage your audience, it is first important “to be engaged by them” (pg 88). You need to understand exactly what your audience requires. Find out what is important to them, and make sure your campaign is relevant to what they believe. By molding your strategy around what your audience will best respond to, you are giving your campaign the best chance to resonate with them.
Q: How do you find out whether or not you are successfully engaging your audience? Can’t there be signs of success without having an audience be engaged?
1.One of the most efficient ways to engage the audience is to empathize with them. “To engage with others, you must empathize with your audience’s needs and feelings” (p.89). It is characteristic of humans to feel more compelled to donate, sign up for a cause, etc when they have a personal connection to it. Honing in on your target audiences connection to the cause will benefit your campaign.
ReplyDelete2.It is important to remain authentic while marketing your campaign because “the more authentic consumers perceive a brand to be, the more they value it” (p.92). Often times, brands view themselves as authentic, but the public has a different opinion. Marketers can prove their authenticity by providing statistics, images, and personal facts about the cause.
3.Using multiple social networking sites allows marketers to reach different target audiences. Not everyone has a Facebook or Twitter account, therefore it is important to utilize both. “One benefit of mixing media, matching distinct media types with distinct audiences, is that it allows you to build opportunities for conversations, feedback, and the collective creation of brands and ideas” (p.99-100). Each of these elements are imperative for getting a message seen and heard by the public.
How important do you think it is to use multiple social networking sites?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1. Engaging an audience requires an emotional connection which is very difficult to create. "Engaging others is more of an art than a science. Engagement has little to do with logic or reason," (p. 75). It can be argued to be the most challenging of the four wings because it involves causing people to care very deeply or even fall in love.
2. There are nine characteristics of highly engaging campaigns: transparency, interactivity, immediacy, facilitation, commitment, collaboration, experience and trust. The case studies outlined the book show how real companies and organizations have engaged their audience. For example, "Kiva sends Kiva Fellows out into the field to find and promote stories of entrepreneurs, developing and augmenting the brand, without Kiva headquarters exerting control over the end result," (p. 80).
3. Four principles of engagement should be kept in mind when designing products that you will use to get a strong emotional connection from your audience: tell a story, empathize, be authentic, and match the media. By using these to promote your "brand", a cause can achieve a great deal of engagement. "Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers - and the emotional attachment people form as a result," (p. 81).
Question: Is targeting still important when figuring out how to engage your audience?
Dragonfly Effect Wing 3
ReplyDeleteObservation 1: “Stories move us, make us feel alive, and inspire us.” ((82) One way to really engage your audience is by telling your story and reeling them in. This becomes very personal when you open yourself up. Know what to say, how to say it and when to shut up.
Observation 2: Kiva is a great example of being authentic, which creates trust with your audience. “Kiva strikes a fine balance between sharing compelling information and overwhelming potential lenders with too much information.” (94) The company also allows its lenders to share their stories which creates dialogue and meaning to new lenders.
Observation 3: The use of photographs and videos are very powerful and create empathy and this is what Scott Harrison found out when he started Charity Water. By showing what is possible by displaying visual imagery your audience becomes engaged. This goes for TOMS shoes as well, featuring user-generated videos on their Facebook page of the brand’s good deeds. A picture is worth a thousand words as the old saying goes, is so very true. Testimonials and pictures sell a product.
When you are looking to engage your audience using imagery and videos, should you start by sending emails using these techniques that direct them to your facebook and website?
Dragonfly Effect Wing 3:
ReplyDeleteWing 3 of the dragonfly effect is to engage. Once you have completed wing 2 and grabbed the attention of your audience you must engage them so they stay interested in your cause. “Engage is about what happens next-compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love.” In order to be successful at this you must activate their limbic brains and engage them emotionally.
To properly engage your audience, think of yourself and your campaign as a brand. Strategize for your campaign the way a marketer would for a company. “Marketers considered their customers: who they were, what they were going through, and what they needed most.” Monitor your reputation and how people perceive your efforts.
There are four design principles to help with engagement:
Tell a story; Story telling can “build engagement through uniting an idea with an emotion.”
Empathize; “To engage with others, you must emphasize with your audiences needs and feelings.”
Be authentic; “If you’re not truly moved by the story you’re telling, no one else will be either.”
Match the media; “The fact is, each person has his or her own media preferences. Therefore, it helps to mix up the media that you use and coordinate your efforts to drive people to the social media that enable them to act.”
Question: The book suggests that campaigns use a variety of social media outlets so they can reach a broader range of their audience (who have different media preferences.) In that case, what would you suggest to someone who may not want to use some of the major platforms? I.e. doesn’t want to make youtube videos or isn’t good at maintaining a blog.
Getting someone to actually care about your campaign is a much more daunting cause then having them just notice it, you need to make people actually feel a part of it and have it be something that they care about. ‘Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science…but if you cant engage them emotionally, they wont be swayed.”
ReplyDeletePeople understand stories and we are able to connect with stories better than logic, they are something that we are able to engage with. By telling a story you are able to make it personal and therefore give it that human feel that many people look for when they are going to engage with a campaign. “Its important to personalize the protagonist, make the protagonist seem real so that the audience begins to feel a personal stake in what happens.”
It is important to make sure you are able to create engagement with people across all media platforms, and it may not necessarily just be through social media, emails, sms and physical forms of media are also important, although you should consider that just because a person uses Facebook, does not mean they use twitter etc. you should plan to mix and utilize as many forms of media possible and the most that make sense. You need to keep in mind the platform being used and the mind set of the person using that platform. “Some people are Facebook people. Some are Twitter people. Some go to portal sites. The fact is, each person has his or her own media preferences. Therefore, it helps to mix up the media that you use and coordinate your efforts to drive people to the social media that enable them to act.”
Question: When trying to appear authentic, at what point does the trying to appear authentic, look too much like a publicity stunt.
The Dragonfly Effect: Wing 3
ReplyDelete1. Wing 3 is arguably the hardest of all three because “love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science.” When dealing with Engaging the audience you can’t always take logic or reason into account. Instead you have to play off of the limbic and reptilian brains in order to get people to become emotionally invested. Even if you have the best argument you won’t be effective until you engage your audience.
2. It’s important to cultivate a whole image of your product, or a brand. This brand has to be an emotional reputation “based on a collection of memories.” You can use the Four design principles of Engagement: Telling a story, Empathizing, Being authentic, and matching the Media.
3. It’s important to mix and match media. Not all people subscribe to the same social media sites or will engage with your product online. You should create a “symbiotic relationship between online and offline sources,” and pick the media that best caters to your targeted audience in order to get the best possible response.
Question: What happens if you start a campaign and start to lose emotional investment in it? Can you still maintain authenticity even if you, personally, are going through a hard time with your views or support?
Observation 1: When talking about the Kennedy/Nixon televised debates, the authors say, "Voters gained access to something pivotal they could not discern by listening to the radio for reading the paper: the emotional tenor of the candidates…Social media has made it even simpler to amplify the message." I don't find this relevant to social media, and yes social media amplifies a message, but doesn't necessarily create emotional tenor.
ReplyDeleteObservation 2: Design principle 1 is tell a story. Stories are what can hook a viewer/reader, and create some of the stickiness talked about in chapter 2. "Story is not only our most prolific art form, but rivals all activites---work, play, eating, and exercise---for our waking hours. We tell and take in stories as much as we sleep and even when we dream."
Observation 3: "Kiva strikes a fine balance between sharing compelling information and overwhelming potential lenders with too much information." It is important to know what you want to share with audience, just as it is important to know how much. Kiva is successful, because they share compelling stories, that are light hearted without making the audience feel guilty.
Question: Can you rely too much on your audience?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1. “Most companies don’t place a high value on stories. And yet the stories told by employees and by customers are significant assets. When brands realize that storytelling can enhance loyalty, advocacy, and hiring and retention, they start looking for stories everywhere…” A good example of this that I remember from class is the man who started Charity Water. His story about how he started is compelling, engaging, and inspiring.
2. The two things that make up authenticity are: having a sturdy valued message, as well as, having the skills and capability to pursue that mission. In addition, “being authentic is as simple as being open, clear, and genuine.” Even though Toms is a very successful company, there has been controversy over whether or not the shoes are made in sweatshops, which in my opinion questions Toms’ authenticity.
3. Today, in order to have a successful social marketing campaign it it’s important to use every type of media. “One benefit of mixing media, matching distinct media types with distinct audiences, is that it allows you to build opportunities for conversations, feedback, and the collective creation of brands and ideals.” Social marketing campaigns today not only use traditional media but they also use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, etc. to drive every type of audience to act.
Question: In class we talked about the controversy about whether or not Toms shoes are made in sweatshops. Despite the fact that Toms is an extremely successful campaign, would this mean Toms isn’t authentic?
Wing 3
ReplyDeleteHow to Make People Connect With Your Goal
1. After grabbing people’s attention, they must stay engaged and fall in love with the mission. “You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you can’t engage them emotionally, they won’t be swayed. According to a Navy ” The only way people are going to support something is if they truly believe in it and have a passion for it.
2. Social media is a powerful and effective means to engage audiences because messages are able to reach the public quickly. “Social media has dramatically increased our ability to engage with people and tell them not only that we are here, but also to show them why we are here, and how our presence promotes regional stability, enables prosperity and fosters cooperative security.” Social media allows for audiences to easily interact with the brand and stay engaged over a period of time.
3. Characteristics of engaging campaigns include transparency, interactivity, immediacy, facilitation, commitment, co-creaction, collaboration, experience, and trust. There are also four principles of engagement, which include telling a story, empathizing, being authentic, and matching the media. With all of these elements combined, a campaign will be created that is engaging and will make people passionate about the cause.
Question: How do you maintain emotional involvement in a campaign over a long period of time?
1. Some characteristics of a highly engaging campaign are transparency, interactivity, immediacy, and commitment. The brand should share news as it happens even if not in their best interest. For example, Doctors Without Borders received so many donations for tsunami victims that they said it would not be ethical to continue to accept any more donations. “Information flows between community and brand, and actions are initiated by both producers and consumers.”
ReplyDelete2. “You can only engage your audience with something that engages you.” Being authentic is an important design principle to consider when trying getting others interested. “Studies have demonstrated that anything that increases feelings of closeness and connection between individuals increases the lengths to which they will go to offer assistance.” An example of this is using personal images or stories to reduce “social distance.”
3. Using a different mix of media will drive people to the social media that enable them to act. “One benefit of mixing media, matching distinct media types with distinct audiences, is that it allows your to build opportunities for conversations, feedback, and the collective creation of brands and ideas.” Making it easier for people to contribute will result in more engagement.
Week 12: Wing 3 – Engage
ReplyDelete1) First design principle outlined in this chapter is to Tell a Story. “By developing the right side of the brain [through story telling], you can building engagement through ‘uniting an idea with an emotion’” (82). This process engages the limbic brain and sets aside logic and reason to engage the reader thru emotion and a compelling story. The Obama campaign is an excellent example of storytelling and how this campaign harnessed the story of one man to create something bigger and attaching the importance of supporters to it.
2) Second design principle discussed in the engage wing is utilizing empathy. In combining a good story, empathy is necessary to gain the audience’s attention. Emphasize that you and your story/campaign connect with them. “To engage with others, you must empathize with your audience’s needs and feelings. One way of creating an instant connection is to stress similarities with you target” (89).
3) The fourth and final design principle for engaging is matching media. For high levels of engagement it is important to make a synthesis of traditional (offline) and social media (online) messages. “One benefit of mixing media, matching distinct media types with distinct audiences, is that it allows you to build opportunities for conversation, feedback, and the collective creation of brands and ideas” (99-100). The most effective and engaging media is combination of both forms and connects with the target audience from all angles.
Is there such a thing as social media overkill for a campaign?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1.Engaging people is a key component in a successful campaign. Once engaged, people connect with your goal. There are four characteristics of highly engaging campaigns. These include transparency, interactivity, immediacy, facilitation, commitment, cocreation, collaboration, experience, and trust. “To succeed you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.”
2. There are four design principles to engage. These include telling a story, empathize, be authentic, and match the media. In order to tell a story you must “find compelling, sticky stories to convey critical information. Remember:less is more.” In order to empathize “ as you engage let your audience engage you. What is important to them? How does that relate to your campaign?” In order to be authentic “true passion is contagious. The more authentic you come across, the easier it will be for others to connect with you and your cause. Emphasize your shared values and beliefs.” In order to match the media “How and where we say something can be as important as what we say. Align communication and context.”
3. Charity: water is an example of a campaign that used the four design principles of Engage. The first method was telling a story. “His personal story-onw that evokes themes of redemption, change and hope-engages others on an emotional level.” Charity: water “evokes empathy through the use of photographs and videos that reveal the urgency of the water situation in the developing world.” Charity:water evokes authenticity letting donors know where their money is going through updates and reports on the website. Charity:water matches the media by updating their various social media platforms consistently.
“Engage is about...compelling people to care deeply, maybe even call in love. Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science” (75). Emotions are what drive people to make decisions, if you can’t get someone to feel something, they won’t take any action at all.
ReplyDeleteThe first design principle of engagement is telling a story. Storytelling is something that sets humans apart from other animals. It “rivals all activities---work, play, eating, and exercise--for our waking hours. We tell and take in stories as much as we sleep--and even when we dream” (82). I am much easier engaged in a company or product if I can emotionally connect and relate to the story I’m being told.
“When brands realize that storytelling can enhance loyalty, advocacy, and hiring and retention, they start looking for stories everywhere, updating their websites with “tell us your story” pages and asking consumers and employees to post testimonials on YouTube” (84). Of course! One of the most important parts of the Rancing Revolution project we are working on in my group is to figure out how to get people to “share your story” on their experience with bullying, and I think it will be really successful if people can relate to each other and their own struggles with bullying.
Question:
How can you empathize with many people with varying interests at one time?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1) “The numbers are impressive, but Kiva is about much more than that. It’s about replacing daunting statistics on global poverty with compelling individual stories, and enabling personal connections.” It seems a personal story is the fastest way to engage people because it is innately emotional.
2) “ Most of my tweets were very me-focused” I think this is trap many people fall into they most information and nothing inspiring or interesting. Followers want to know the people the emotion not always the facts.
3) “The place to start is by seeking out what is real and personal for you about your particular cause.” If there is one lesson I have learned from this book it is this to engage you must truly care. I have never gotten such an amazing response as when I told the story of what my world might be without sports, because I cared others latched on and wanted to help me. They had felt my passion.
Q) I wonder how people work the fine line between emotionally connective and too emotional that you shut off the media?
1. “The vast majority of us attempt to persuade using only the left side of the brain, which is to say, with logic and reason. Persuasion, though, occurs as much, if not more, through emotion.” This is why in an election or vote of any kind when people say, “its not a popularity contest” they are usually wrong. When we associate someone with our own positive emotions we often look past the logic or reason and pick them any way because we feel that we are going with our gut.
ReplyDelete2. “Although the basic premise that authenticity matters has always resonated, many have argued that authenticity is particularly important in this Web 2.0 world—partly because there are fewer artificial barriers standing between us.” There are so many stories on the Internet that its hard to decipher which ones are real and which are bogus. After a particular story becomes viral, all of a sudden there are a million other people with similar stories asking for help that they become overwhelming and the faces just get lost in the crowd. “With social media, authenticity matters more than ever before”
3. “Some people are Facebook people. Some are Twitter people. Some go to portal sites. The fact is, each person has his or her own media preferences.” I’ve found that if I might show my friend something I’ve found online only to find that they have already discovered it but we have both found whatever it is on completely different sites. Sometimes there is a gap between what is popular on different sites but the biggest stories or topics are always the ones that have been promoted on a range of social media sites.
Question: It seems that the design principles are something that advertisers can use to manipulate us, how can you sort out the companies that are truly trustworthy from those that just know how to play the game well enough to make us believe them?
WING 3
ReplyDelete1) “Engage is about what happens next… Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently.”(75) I agree that getting people evolved with your campaign is the hardest part. To create awareness and provide information is the easy part… People don’t mind spending the time to listen but actually finding a way for them to actively get involved and stay involved is not skill it’s art.
2) “Characteristics of highly engaged campaigns: 1) Transparency – share news as it happen, 2) Interactivity – Information flow is a two-way process and actions should be initiated by both producers and consumers, 3) Immediacy – Release information to the community as soon as it becomes available, 4) Facilitation – Company should act as a caretaker of the brand development rather than it’s controller, 5) Commitment – Commit to your company success, 6) Cocreation – Ideas are as likely to come from the community as they are company employees, 7) Collaboration – Producers and consumers work hand in hand, 8) Experience – View products or services as experiences, 9) Trust – Through transparency, Cocreation and collaboration, trust is built.”(81) These characteristics I feel are the main ingredients to a sustainable campaign. In order to be as successful as you want you’ll need the community on your side.
3) Four Design Principles to engage your audience can be remembered by the acronym TEAM: “T- Tell a story: Find a compelling, sticky stories to convey critical information. Remember less is more, E- Empathize: let your audience engage you, A- be Authentic: True passion is contagious, the more authentic you come across, the easier it will be for others to connect, M- Match the media: Align communication and context.” I believe these 4 design principles will help connect a campaign and it’s empathy for its target audience.
Question: If your campaign doesn’t directly have a call to action, how can a campaign get its target audience to fully engage so it doesn’t go unnoticed?
1. The book says, "Engagement has little to do with logic or reason." This is an interesting connection to our class. While grabbing attention or taking action might involve the neocortical brain, engaging relies on the limbic brain. The engagement process is all about feeling.
ReplyDelete2. The book suggests that a highly engaging campaign be transparent and immediate. It says that as information becomes available it is released to the public. I work at a radio station. This seems extremely important. As we get info, when we allow the community in on our processes for change, we are met with much less resistance.
3. I think it's really interesting that during Wing 3, my two majors are interesting. Wing 3 focuses on storytelling and the principles for storytelling. A writer is supposed to evoke empathy, focus on a protagonist and get attention on the first page. This is also important for evoking empathy during a social media campaign.
Question: Is a first-person story more successful in engaging the audience for the cause?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1. “By developing the right side of the brain, you can use engagement through uniting an idea with an emotion” (82) A lot of companies use this technique when marketing there brand- It’s more than selling a product. Successful campaigns appeal to experiences and emotions to get there targeted audience to buy in to whatever it is they are selling. The book states the storytelling is inheritably something that human’s desire and need in their lives. By appealing to people’s emotions campaigns can build loyalty from their customers.
2. “To engage with others you must emphasize with your audience’s needs and feelings.” (89) I like this section of the book because I think this is true in many ways besides just marketing. The book states that research has indicated that similarities can increase rapport. It’s fundamental to be able to relate to the audience that you want to engage. Relating to one another makes individuals feel comfortable with what the message is asking what to do and also build relationships with that individual. Thoughtful consideration of know their needs and feelings shows you have a good understanding of who they are.
3. “You can only engage your audience with something that engages you.” (91) I like this quote because it makes the cause of your organization feel real. It gives your audience an understanding as to why you care about the cause. Without having an understanding as to why you care, it’s hard to convince others to care.
Question: I feel this book has a lot of great examples of organizations or businesses that have had a lot of success using these techniques. However, a lot of the examples they use seem to be already successful organizations or organizations with at least a lot of purse strings. What are some grass root organizations that have used the same techniques that have had large success?
1. Once you grab the attention of your target audience, take the next step by engaging them. “If Grab Attention is about getting people to notice your cause, Engage is about what happens next-compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love. Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science (p. 75).”
ReplyDelete2. Be interactive in your campaign to engage your audience. “Information flows between community and brand, and actions are initiated by both produces and consumers. Example: VolunteerMatch has become the web’s most popular volunteering network by designing a service that focuses on making it easier for good people and good causes to interact and take action (p. 80).”
3. The more social media your campaign is a part of, the more people see what you’re are doing. “Some people are Facebook people. Some are Twitter people. Some go to portal sites. The fact is, each person has his or her own media preferences. Therefore, it helps to mix up the media that you use and coordinate your efforts to drive people to the social media that enable them to act (p. 97).”
This chapter discusses trust as a characteristic of highly engaging campaigns. I remember someone in class mentioning that Tom’s shoes buyers need to fill out a form to actually have a pair donated. Whether this is true or not, how do we know who to trust?
1. “Stories move us, make us feel alive, and inspire us”
ReplyDeleteIt is important to make sure that the stories that you tell about your brand are compelling enough to want to inspire people to action. You have to be able to keep people engaged.
2. “One way of creating an instant connection is to stress similarities with your target audience. Research shows that perception of similarity can increase rapport”
You want to be able to reach your audience in a way that makes them feel like you have something in common and that they can instantly connect to you and your brand. A good way of doing this would be to empathize with their feelings and needs.
3. ” Although brand is conveyed products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers and the emotional attachment people forma as a result”
I thought this was very interesting because it’s the reason why so many more companies are starting to hire people to work on their public image rather than just selling a product. They’ve realized that the message that they put forth and the way they behave can have a greater impact on whether people chose to buy their products.
WING 3
ReplyDelete1. Engaging is "compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love". It is the "most challenging of the four wings", because it pulls at the emotional aspect of marketing. If you cannot get your audience emotionally connected, it will be a lot more difficult, and sometimes nearly impossible, for you to engage your audience.
2. One way to really engage your audience is by using social media. By using social media, it "allows companies to ask their customers directly what matters most to them". It gives a sense of connection between customer and company. This also can develop positive relationships and encourage the audience to be engaged in your campaign.
3. The four design principles of engagement include telling a story, empathizing, being authentic, and matching the media. Storytelling "inspires" the audience. "Our appetite for stories reflects the basic human need to understand patterns of life". Empathizing is understanding "what is important to your audience, how does it relate to your campaign, and whether you have created a campaign in which you can continuously listen to your audience". Being authentic shows the reader that you actually believe in what you are preaching. "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader." This means that if "you are not truly moved by the story you're telling, no one else will be, either". Matching the media is knowing which social media platforms your audience use, and how to "coordinate your efforts to drive people to the social media that enable them to act". Start big, and then downsize and specify your audience.
Question:
What if you have been hired by a company that you're not overly passionate about, and they ask you to spearhead a campaign and "tell a story" or write something that isn't as emotional for you. Even though you tried, how can you be sure that the person writing what the audience is reading will always be feeling that emotion they are trying to give off?
ReplyDelete“If Grab Attention is about getting people to notice your cause, Engage is about what happens next-compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love” (75). This harps back to the concept of stickiness. People could understand your cause and could find it very noble or important, but when they step away from the computer, will they talk about your cause? Will they donate to your cause? What in you media made them want to help out and what sticks with them?
“Being authentic is as simple as being open, clear, and genuine” (93) People can see through lies. It is not difficult to see which organizations are more involved than others. It is important to not put on a persona of something you/ your cause is not. If your cause has to do with children in Africa, you had better show poor kids in Africa.
It is important to diversify the way that you put out your media as well as the different mediums you use. “Some people are Facebook people. Some are Twitter people. Some go to portal sites. The fact is that, each person has his or her own media preferences”(97). If you put together a great Facebook campaign, you are going to reach a lot of people, but you will not reach as many people as you could have if you implemented a strong Twitter presence and some chat room presence as well. Focusing on one single social medias source will leave you connecting to a lot of people, but not as many as you could.
Do most people consider Engage to be one of the most important wings, or is it even?
Wing 3:
ReplyDelete1.) "Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science" (Page 75). After you are able to grab somebody's attention it is important to be able to keep them engaged and interested in your topic so that they are able to stay involved.
2.) There are four design principles of engagement that are needed in order for an effective social media campaign. These principles include: telling a story, being able to empathize, the ability to be authentic and being able to match the media. These four design principles are defined by the term "TEAM" and represent the important areas of engagement.
3.) When telling a story in order to keep your audiences engaged, it it important to "make it sticky." (Page 85) "Draw your reader deeper through suspence, by providing partial information: giving the audience a taste of what's to come- but not giving them too much information. As they wonder what happens next, they become more engaged and the story becomes sticky in a way that makes it difficult for them to disengage."
Question: How are you able to empathize with such a wide variety of audiences??
“Compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love. Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science. Engagement has little to do with logic or reason. You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you can’t engage them emotionally, they won’t be swayed.” People need to feel like they are making a difference on an individual level. With Kiva for example, they are able to see exactly what their investing in and how it is benefiting someone else’s life. It creates a very intimate and personal experience, and therefore keeps them engaged.
ReplyDeleteTransparency is extremely important when it comes to creating a successful and “highly engaging campaign.” “The brand shares news as it happens, even if it might not appear to be in its best interest. Example: Doctors Without Boarders received so many responses to its request for funds to help the victims of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami that it quickly fulfilled its requirements. Rather than continuing to take donations for that cause and using them for some other purpose, the organization said that it could not ethically continue to accept donations for tsunami victims.” It may not always be the best news, but people like to feel in the loop. It helps to keep their attention and makes them feel like they know exactly what is going on with the organization of which they have chosen to be a part. “As a result of transparency, cocreation, and collaboration, trust is built between the producers and the consumers of the products and services.”
The vast majority of us attempt to persuade using only the left side of the brain, which is to say, with logic and reason. Persuasion, though, occurs as much, if not more, through emotion. Indeed, writes Daniel Pink, author of Drive, “Right-brain dominanace is the new souce of competitive advantage.” By developing the right side of the brain, you can build engagement through “uniting an idea with emotion.” Compelling stories do just that.” “Humans aren’t actually wired to understand logic; they’re wired to grasp stories.” Every good campaign needs a good story to engage people and catch their attention in the first place, otherwise your message just blends into the 3,000 other media messages that we are exposed to a day.
Q: Why is it that some people fail when using social media to try to engage their audiences?
1. "Engage is about what comes next- compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love" (75)
ReplyDeleteEngagement, and a successful branding and advertising campaign, is all about getting people to fall in love. Positioning your brand so that it creates a spark with consumers. Engagement is about gaining loyalty, creating value, authenticity, and driving consumers to become so invested that they will keep checking your website weekly, or purchasing in-store regularly.
2. Authenticity is key to creating a brand that consumers can trust, and feel invested in. By putting out content that is transparent, on-brand, and valuable, brands can gain loyal followers that will stick by their side through the years. One example of a brand that has gained this sort of following is lululemon. As a former educator for the brand, I've seen how crazy our guests go over new items, and the sort of loyalty they show is amazing. However recently, in the wake of quality control issues and recalls, brand loyalty is wavering. While the company did a great job of addressing the issue and making sure customers could return the affected sheer yoga pants, consumers are not happy about an overall decline in quality, and they have begun to jump ship. While it is not easy to gain a loyal following of fans or make people "fall in love", it is just as important to maintain that relationship. Give customers a reason to distrust you, and they will.
3."Match the Media"- "Some people are Facebook people. Some are twitter people. Some go to portal sites. The fact is, each person has his or her own media preferences. Therefore it helps to mix up the media that you use and coordinate your efforts to drive people to the social media and enable them to act." (92).
While I mostly agree with this statement, I think that anyone who truly has a firm grasp on their target market knows which social media sites their customers are likely to engage with. This doesn't mean that I don't think having a presence across multiple channels is important. I think that tailoring your message in a way that makes sense is the most sensible thing to do.
Q: For businesses that aren't non-profits or companies with a heart-warming culture or story to share, how do we engage (when the goal is to sell something) while remaining authentic?
1.One of the most efficient ways to engage the audience is to empathize with them. “To engage with others, you must empathize with your audience’s needs and feelings” (p.89). That becomes very personal when you open yourself up.
ReplyDelete2."Kiva sends Kiva Fellows out into the field to find and promote stories of entrepreneurs, developing and augmenting the brand, without Kiva headquarters exerting control over the end result," (p.80). ----There are nine characteristics of highly engaging campaigns: transparency, interactivity, immediacy, facilitation, commitment, collaboration, experience and trust.
3.“One benefit of mixing media, matching distinct media types with distinct audiences, is that it allows you to build opportunities for conversations, feedback, and the collective creation of brands and ideas” (p.99-100). Not everyone has a Facebook or Twitter account, therefore it is important to utilize both.(different target audiences)
1. The characteristics for highly engaging campaigns are: transparency, interactivity, immediacy, facilitation, commitment, correlation, collaboration, experience and trust. There are also four design principals of engagement. Using these tools simultaneously is key in creating and maintaining a highly engaging campaign. “To engage, it’s necessary to view yourself and your effort as a brand. Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers and the emotional attachment people form as a result. A simple and apt definition of a brand is a reputation based on a collection of memories.”
ReplyDelete2. When using the design of telling a story, it is important to know affective ways of getting your message across to your audience. “Most companies don’t place high value on stories. And yet the stories told by employees and customers are significant assets. When brands realize that storytelling can enhance loyalty, advocacy and hiring and retention, they start looking for stories everywhere, updating their website with ‘tell us your story’ pages and asking consumers and employees to post testimonials on YouTube.”
3. Being authentic and allowing a personal connection to be made between the campaign and the individual is key for success with and with social media, authenticity matters even more so than it has in the past. “One reason that authenticity compromises two factors: (1) having a strong values-based mission (Who are you, and why do you exist?) and (2) possessing the skills and ability to execute on that mission. Although companies are often privy to their own values-based mission, they don’t always have the skills and abilities to execute on that vision.”
Q: What is another campaign, not mentioned in the chapter, that embodies all of the design principles of a highly engaging campaign?
1. "Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science." (75) I found Pampers' technique to engaging audiences very interesting and also impressive. Relaunching the website they considered how their target market was feeling, (overwhelmed, confused and tired!)By providing tools for new parents on the site customers become invested in the diaper brand emotionally because of the helpful tips. This way parents continued to revisit the website because something emotionally beneficial was available to them.
ReplyDelete2. One of the most effective ways to engage audiences is to use the design principle of telling a story. "Stories move us, make us feel alive, and inspire us." (82) Tapping into the limbic brain, audiences are inclined to remember brands that present a story that is emotionally stimulating. Barack Obama mastered this in his 2008 campaign when people like Kate Albright-Hanna started documenting the stories of Obama supporters. By association Obama, the 'brand for president,' was affiliated with these emotions. (84)
3. I think 'Match the Media' is one of the most important, and perhaps overlooked, design principles of engagement. Today with the hype over social media it is important to remember that every person as their own preferred type of media. Depending on your target group, more than one type of media is necessary to enable audiences to act. Obama's 2008 campaign is another great example. Not only did Obama's campaign engage audiences via social media, they also provided offline opportunities, "so that people could physically, rather than just virtually, become involved." (98) Obama's mixed media approach also provided audiences to respond. "Engagement and empowerment are best achieved when information flows in both directions." (100)
Q: Social media seems to be the latest craze in marketing campaigns. Is the effectiveness of social media marketing because it is new and exciting, or is it truly the peak of marketing strategy? Will something develop to replace it?
“Stories move us, make us feel alive, and inspire us.” (p111) When we hear a story, we try to relate it to our experience or experiences of others that we know. A great story evokes emotion and can cause people to become more interested, intrigued, and motivated to learn more. The more a person wants to hear your story, the more likely they will spread your story to others.
ReplyDelete“How to tell a story: get attention fast.” (p114) If you are telling a story, you have to have a great hook. A great hook will keep your listener interested to know more. If you lose the listener with a poor hook, they are less likely to hear the rest of your message. Because there are so many messages people listen to each day, having a hook to your message and grabbing attention quickly, will ensure the rest of your message is heard.
“The way to ensure that the cause becomes compelling and authentic to people, is to incorporate a wide variety of details that may strike different chords in different people over time.” (p121) When you tell your story, make sure you focus on all details. Some details resonate more with other, but it’s always good to include as many details as you can, so you can capture more of your audience’s attention. If your story is real and authentic, it will naturally be compelling to people who connect to your words. Even some who don’t directly connect, may find parts of your story compelling because of the passion you have when you tell it.
1. In order to reach and persuade your target audience, you must first understand your audience. A deep understanding of who your audience is and what motivates them, will allow you to tailor effective and persuasive messages that engage them. In other words, a campaign begins by first allowing yourself “to be engaged by them.” (With 'them' referring to your target audience pg. 88)
ReplyDelete2. “Stories move us, make us feel alive, and inspire us.” Pg. 82 an effective way to connect to your target audience is through the method of storytelling. Sharing a personal story allows you to build an intimate relationship with your audience that strengthens the effectiveness of your message.
3. Story telling is just one of the four design principles. The other three include; empathizing, being authentic, and matching the media. Combining all four-design principles is key to creating and maintaining a successful campaign that reels in and “sticks” to the target audience.
Q: If a campaign requires an overally emotional or ‘dark’ story, what are some strategies to keep the story authentic, without scarring or intimidating the target audience?
1. Kiva is one example of a company that has successfully navigated the tricky world of donating money. By overcoming the idea of donating money to the disadvantaged, this program empowers the people looking for loans, and allows the lenders to continually support different projects. By using stories of the lenders, a connection is established between the lenders and the entrepreneurs.
ReplyDelete2. Storytelling is an important aspect in creating a sticky, memorable, interactive, and successful campaign. It's important to not tell to much or too little, as well as have a solid pattern. "Give them what they need, maybe a little less, and nothing else" as the book says, which is important in keeping things concise.
3.The four design principles of engagement are tell a story, empathize, be authentic, and match the media. These four principles work together in creating specific, trustworthy, and captivating campaigns. By incorporating each of these facets, a campaign can successfully engage their audience.
Q. Can a campaign be successful if they only follow a few of the four principles?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1. “Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging other is more of an art than a science (p.75.)” I feel that this is an interesting observation because love is more of a science than an art. So, if engagement is an art, it then takes a certain type of person whose environment has contributed to their interest in engagement. Engagement has no real guide lines it simply just is while one would think love would be something that a consumer just has but it doesn’t work that way.
2. “ You can only engage your audience with something that engages you (p91).” In the argument of being authentic it states at that an audience would know when you are not as passionate about your product. I feel that this is a tricky piece because there are many marketers who market products that they have no real attachment to where does their success and lack of success lie?
3. I do feel that the advice of mixing up the media is important. I as an individual have a blogger, twitter, instagram, facebook, Pinterest, and the list goes on, with that list I expect to have access to your product on almost every single on of those sites to keep me interested. That being said I expect to be entertained by your marketing and I do feel that “… it helps to mix up the media that you use and coordinate your efforts to drive people to the social media that enables them to act (p.98.”
Question: How do you market your campaign that is interactive enough to allow others to engage with out losing the message?
1. “Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers and the emotional attachment people form as a result.” (pg81) Yes, the way a product is advertised must be visually pleasing in order to grab a consumer’s attention and get them interested, but there is more that goes into getting them hooked. People must be able to connect to the product on a deeper level, rather than just being attracted to something’s visual appeal.
ReplyDelete2. “By developing the right side of the brain, you can build engagement through “uniting an idea with an emotion.”” (pg83) This also ties into the first observation made because this is how you can hook a person’s attention. Giving a reason as to why an individual can relate to something will make it that much more appealing to them.
3. “We can become engaged with a brand—or with someone else’s goals—for a broad range of reasons. Perhaps the most important is personal relevance. For example, if someone close to you is suffering from breast cancer, you might be more likely to give time or money to an organization that funds breast cancer research. If you are devoted to environmental causes, a brand that shows the same commitment could draw you in more easily.” (pg88) When preparing to advertise a product it is important to consider the audience it is that you are trying to reach, and once you have figured this out, it is important to try and really relate to them.
Question: When trying to target an audience emotionally, it is ever possible to be overemotional?
1. The authors' recommend creating a consistent brand to engage with your audience. "Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers- and the emotional attachment people form as a result." (81)If you tug at peoples' heart-strings, you will have much better luck gaining their loyalty than if you take a cold, impersonal, and fact based approach.
ReplyDelete2. A point the authors made about using facts versus emotion to persuade your audience could make a big difference to social marketers: "Persuasion, though, occurs as much, if not more, through emotion." (82)This is critical because most people would assume giving straight facts would be persuasive, but rather, it is more persuasive to appeal to emotions.
3. A very interesting point the authors made to get people to buy in to a cause was to implement social comparison. They say, "A simple act of social comparison can trigger conformity- and thus get people to do what you want them to do." (90)This is an interesting commentary on the human condition; that we are more likely to begin a certain behavior if we see that that's what "everyone else" is doing.
Question: What happens when you try an emotion based campaign like they recommend, but it's still not catching on and spreading to the masses?
1. The 3rd wing talks about how engaging the audience requires an emotional connection that is sometimes difficult to create. It goes on to say that it is probably the most challenging of all four wings because, “love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science.”
ReplyDelete2. It is also important to make sure the whole image of your product, and brand are shown. This is can me done through the four design principles of engagement. These principles include; telling a story, empathizing, being authentic, and matching the media. This emotional attachment is a key component to helping the viewer relate to your product.
3. There are also some major characteristics of highly engaging campaigns. These characteristics include; transparency, interactivity, facilitation, collaboration, experience, trust, commitment, and immediacy. This is important because not everyone will use the same media outlet, by covering this you will deepen your ability to target the audience that meets your products requirements.
Question- which characteristics are most used, and why?
Wing 3
ReplyDeleteAudience attention is hard to gage. By giving them a way to relate or a reason to pay attention, success rate will be much higher. If you give someone a motivation to help themselves or a way to solve a pre-existing problem they have, they will listen much more attentively. “ “Social media has dramatically increased our ability to engage with people and tell them not only that we are here, but also to show them why we are here, and how our presence promotes stability, enables prosperity and fosters cooperative security.” “(p79)
2.Your authentic mantra is important. If your audience thinks that you are being genuine and telling the utmost truth, then they are more likely to support your argument. People respond to signs of love, and authentic life. “You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you cant engage them emotionally, they wont be swayed.”(p75)
3. Your delivery is important; the way in which you communicate is important to your audience. “Engage is arguable the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging other is more of an art than a science.”(p75) If your audience is having trouble understanding you or relating to your story, then it is likely that they will tune out. “If grab attention is about getting people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love.”(p75)
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1. “Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently and engaging others is more of an art than a science.” Engaging people has a lot to do with emotions and influencing people to think a certain way. If customers can develop a passion for the brand, it will be successful.
2. The following are characteristics of highly engaging campaigns: transparency, interactivity, immediacy, facilitation, commitment, cocreation, collaboration, experience, and trust (80-81). All of these qualities make for an engaging campaign. They all help the campaign hit the emotional chords of the audience they are working with.
3. The four design principles of engagement are 1. Tell a story, 2. Empathize, 3. Be authentic, 4. Match the media. A good way to remember these principles is by the acronym “TEAM.” This chapter focused on engagement. The design principles really help with the connection between consumer and company.
Question: Is it easier to engage an audience for non-profits since organizations are usually trying to achieve something positive for the community? How do we engage audiences whose brand may not be very emotional to begin with?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1. Engaging people is arguably the most difficult part of the system. This is because it is more of an art than a science. “Engagement has little to do with logic or reason. You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you cant engage them emotionally, they won’t be swayed” (p. 75). Media tends to amplify emotional appeal.
2. The 9 characteristics of a highly engaging campaign are: transparency, interactivity, immediacy, facilitation, commitment, cocreation, collaboration, experience, and trust. The one I find specifically important is transparency. This is when “the brand shares news as it happens, even if it might not appear to be in its best interest.” (p.80). this allows the followers of the brand to feel connected and that they are a part of the process, therefore “engaged”!
3. Charity: Water is an excellent example of an organization that effectively engaged its audience. First off, there was a story told, “his personal story- one that evokes themes of redemption, change, and hope- engages others on a personal level” (p.102). The second principle, evoke empathy, was when Harrison used images to display and relay the work that was being done to the donors. The third principle, be authentic, was shown through updates on the website and various other forms of transparency. Lastly. Matching the media to the message, Charity: Water has heavy usage on most social media sites and is updated regularly.
Question: What if your initial story ends up contradicting your campaign in someway in the future?
Wing 3:
ReplyDelete1. The characteristics for highly engaging campaigns are: transparency, interactivity, immediacy, facilitation, commitment, correlation, collaboration, experience and trust. There are also four design principals of engagement. Using these tools simultaneously is key in creating and maintaining a highly engaging campaign. “To engage, it’s necessary to view yourself and your effort as a brand. Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers and the emotional attachment people form as a result. A simple and apt definition of a brand is a reputation based on a collection of memories.”
2. It is not surprising that social marketing campaigns that “…engage people by making them feel a positive emotional connection,” are more successful than campaign that make others feel bad for someone (94). I believe that this is because guilt appeals can make the person in need seem too helpless. Even if someone chooses to donate money to help a person in need, that person will still need help later on. Kiva does a great job at this because it shares information about the potential lendee and how they are helping themselves to live a self-sustainable lifestyle. The lender then feels like their money is going a long way.
3. The four design principles of engagement include telling a story, empathizing, being authentic, and matching the media. Storytelling "inspires" the audience. "Our appetite for stories reflects the basic human need to understand patterns of life". Empathizing is understanding "what is important to your audience, how does it relate to your campaign, and whether you have created a campaign in which you can continuously listen to your audience". Being authentic shows the reader that you actually believe in what you are preaching. "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader." This means that if "you are not truly moved by the story you're telling, no one else will be, either". Matching the media is knowing which social media platforms your audience use, and how to "coordinate your efforts to drive people to the social media that enable them to act". Start big, and then downsize and specify your audience.
question: of all the characteristics we read about, which are the most used, and why?
1. An example about how he started is compelling, and inspiring. It seems a personal story is the fastest way to engage people because it is innately emotional. “Most companies don’t place a high value on stories. And yet the stories told by employees and by customers are significant assets. When brands realize that storytelling can enhance loyalty, advocacy, and hiring and retention, they start looking for stories everywhere.”
ReplyDelete2. The brand should share news as it happens even if not in their best interest. Some characteristics of a highly engaging campaign are transparency, interactivity, immediacy, and commitment. And there are two things can make up authenticity are: having a sturdy valued message, and having the skills and capability to pursue that mission. As well as “being authentic is as simple as being open, clear, and genuine.” is important.
3. “One benefit of mixing media, matching distinct media types with distinct audiences, is that it allows you to build opportunities for conversations, feedback, and the collective creation of brands and ideals.” Using a different mix of media will drive people to the social media that enable them to act. To make it easier for people to contribute will result in more engagement, to make every type of audience to act in social marketing.
Wing #3: Engage
ReplyDelete1. A large portion of engaging your audience is to first understand them; their demographics and what life situations they are going through (Papers example pg. 76-77) Once information or advice is provided that will be helpful and useful for them they will be engaged. Social media platforms make a great bridge from you to your audience. Advice that is shared should use the focus elements seen in wing 1 and 2.
2. Telling stories are a great way to engage audiences especially when they are personal and attention grabbing. Keep in mind throughout the entire story what you want your audience to do; stay on track and do not wander off too much. “We approached it like we were a part of a movement. I think a lot of other campaigns have missed opportunities where they think of the Internet as just another place to put their TV ads. (84) When used to their potential stories can really capture an audience and find huge success.
3. Matching your media to your message may be one of the most important of the focuses. Updating your platforms regularly and consistently to create distinctive messages will pay huge dividends in the long run. Where you choose to advertise whether it on on tv, internet or a physical advertisement, know your message and the audience that is receiving the message. Never make them look too hard to find you; the advertisement should be catered to them and thus engaging them.
Question: when you are trying to be empathetic what if it no longer works to engage or create change?
Wing 3:
ReplyDelete1. A person’s experience with a brand is just as important as any physical products that represent the brand. “Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual short cuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers—and the emotional attachment people form as a result. A simple and apt definition of a brand is a reputation, based on a collection of memories.”
2. If your target audience feels that you understand them and are just like them, they will be more receptive to your messages. “One way of creating an instant connection is to stress similarities with your target audience. Research shows that perception of similarity can increase rapport.”
3. Finding a way to get people personally or emotionally involved works easier than trying to involve them based on facts alone. “Engagement has little to do with logic or reason. You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you can’t engage them emotionally, they won’t be swayed.”
Question: What if you end up in a situation where you have no real investment in the campaign you’re working on and can’t get that connection with your audience, how would you engage them?
Wing 3:
ReplyDelete"Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science," (75).
-Many campaigns can be attention grabbing-whether they use shock, fear or aesthetic appeals--but campaigns that go further and obtain engagement are the truly successful ones.
"The marketers found that a substantial portion of Pampers buyers are first-time parents, who are inexperienced, confused and tired, Pampers took this knowledge, found a fit with its familiar, trusted brand, and followed up with a Web strategy that transformed the Pampers website from a presentation of static brand information, to a complete "new mom information portal," (77).
-This case study shows just how important understanding your target audience truly is.If you know who they are and what they want you can grab their attention, get them and engaged and meet their needs.
"To engage, it's necessary to view yourself (and your effort) as a brand. Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is that experience that it offers-and the emotional attachment people for as a result," (81).
-It is true-you remember a product/service/campaign through its particular brand. Your experience with the given brand is what you will remember and what will make or break customer loyalty.
Question: How do you get an individual to engage in a campaign if your product is something purely materialistic and even whimsical. Take for example a mid-priced clothing line like Roxy. Apart from getting your audience to engage in an "image", what else can you get them to engage in?
1. An important factor in Kiva's success with micro lending is allowing people, donors in specific, to feel a certain level of connection. "It's about replacing daunting statistics on global poverty with compelling individual stories, and enabling personal connections" (74). By telling stories about the peoples' struggles and the life changing affects the micro loans have, lenders are able to see the true impact of their donations.
ReplyDelete2. When money is the motive, persuading people to use their purchasing power is a complex process that relies on much more than just stating the facts. ""you might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you can't engage them emotionally, they won't be swayed" (75). Engaging the limbic brain proves to be one of the most challenging and also crucial components in persuasion.
3. In order to engage your audience, persuade them to buy, an keep their attention/loyalty to your product, you must remember to be engaged by them as well. "What is important to them? How does that relate to your campaign? Have you created a campaign in which you can continuously (and easily) listen to your audience?" (88).
Q: What are some of the most creative ways you've seen marketing campaigns try to engage their audiences?
1. Engaging an audience is arguably the most important and challenging of the wings because you are trying to get people to fall in love with your message/brand. “Engagement has little to do with logic or reason. You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you can’t engage them emotionally, they won’t be swayed” (page 75). Engaging is all about tapping into the limbic brain, or ones gut, and making them invest in your campaign.
ReplyDelete2. I really liked with The Dragonfly Effect said that engaging an audience is all about creating a positive experience for them. “To engage, it’s necessary to view yourself (and your effort) as a brand. Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers- and the emotional attachment people form as a result” (page 81).
3. The more connected one feels to a product/message, the more likely they are to engage with the brand. “Studies have demonstrated that anything that increases feelings of closeness and connection between individuals increases the lengths to which they will go to offer assistance” (page 91). In order to create this closeness it is important to be authentic with the audience and create a personality.
Question: What is the best social media to make an audience feel connected to a brand? Facebook? Twitter?
Wing 3:
ReplyDelete“If grab attention is about getting people to notice your cause, Engage is about what happens next- compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love. Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science.” (p. 75)
Love has little to do with logic or reason, so it may seem hard to strategically plan how to make someone fall in love with your company or idea. How can you get people to care deeply about your company or cause if there’s no rhyme or reason to it? This is how some companies fail while others truly succeed.
“The vast majority of us attempt to persuade using only the left side of our brain, which is to say, with logic and reason. Persuasion, thought, occurs as much, if not more, through emotion.” (p.82)
This goes hand in hand with the above quote. That it really is difficult to persuade people with logic or reason. For instance in most political campaigns, it isn’t about the facts (which it should be), people are easily persuaded by strong messages of love, freedom, liberty, and America. Our limbic brain is easily triggered when it comes to things like this.
“Being authentic is as simple as being open, clear, and genuine. We look to Kiva as a prime example of how to do this well. Much of Kiva’s success is due to its authenticity. Kiva’s philosophy and culture were built on trust and what its founders call “radical transparency”. (p.93)
Kiva’s business model is effective because it is true. It is based on telling how their company works, not marketing a certain idea to make a profit. People, although easily persuaded by marketing techniques and trickery, really value and admire transparency, because it is so hard to come by these days. Ironically transparency itself seems like a pretty good marketing technique.
1. Engaging people is the most difficult of the four wings. The book defines engaging as “compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love” (75). In order to engage people you have to connect with them emotionally rather than presenting them with facts or using logic as to why they should be convinced.
ReplyDelete2. Storytelling is a tool that can be used to connect with people emotionally and engage them. When building a story, you should think about why you care and why you are passionate about your cause. This will make it easier for you to translate your passion to the audience and have them feel the same way you do. Having protagonist, tension, and reader empathy are important to have in your story as well.
3. Photos and videos are a way to create audience empathy and engage people. Visual imagery is more powerful and memorable than words and are a way to effectively communicate a message. In addition, images have the ability to convey human emotion more effectively than written word.
Question: Do you have to create suspense in all stories in order to engage an audience? Are there other story telling techniques that work just as well?
Wing 3
ReplyDelete1) "If grab attention is about getting people to notice your cause, Engage is about what happens next-compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love." If you get your audience emotionally engaged, it will have a later longing affect than a good marketing plan with no emotion.
2) "While you are starting a campaign intended to engage your audience, remember to first be engaged by them. What is important to them? Have you created a campaign in which you can continuously listen to your audience?" You need to always be engaged in your audience and what their main interests are. By listening to and keeping up with what your audience wants/ likes, you will have a more successful campaign.
3) "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader." In engaging your audience you need to be powerful, emotional and truly believe in what you are saying to convince not just them but yourself. When you truly are moved and believe in what you are talking about people will connect on a personal level with you.
Q - Does a campaign need all 4 "Wings" to succeed
Wing 3: Engage (sorry this is late)
ReplyDelete1. I find the idea behind Kiva remarkable. I think it is incredible that they have a 98% repayment rate. I had no idea the amount of publicity it got. After appearing on Oprah, the surge of visitors following the broadcast crashed the Kiva website for four days! I think the idea was more important than the promotion because it is such an engaging idea.
2. It is interesting to me that companies are not just marketing their products anymore. They are attempting to get into the minds of consumers by engaging them with alternative, relevant ideas that can be linked directly to the product. For example, on page 77, the author uses the example of Pampers. Pampers figured out that their buyers are first time parents who are inexperienced, confused, and tired. So, they launched a website providing key-parenting tips, and their sales rose from $718 million to $826 million in 5 years. This section taught me that it is vital that you think outside the box in order to maximize profit.
3. It is essential to use the four design principles to create lasting memories for consumers, create brand loyalists, and establish a positive brand reputation. These four principles are: 1) Tell a Story 2) Empathize 3) Be Authentic 4) Match the Media. This means you should tell sticky stories to convey critical information, find out what is important to your audience, be authentic and genuinely passionate (if you aren’t passionate about this idea, find something you are passionate about), and align communication and context.
Question: I am still amazed that Kiva has a 98% repayment rate. What else do they do to ensure that this number stays so high?
The “Engage” wing is about compelling people to car deeply so that they get involved. “Engage is arguably the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently, and engaging others is more of an art than a science.” (p 75) Because of the stories that Kiva shared, they got people engaged because of the bond that occurred between lenders and entrepreneurs.
ReplyDelete“To engage, it’s necessary to view yourself (and your effort) as a brand. Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts, and people, what matters is the experience that it offers- and the emotional attachment people form as a result.” (p 81) The simple definition they used of a brad was reputation, based on a collection of memories. The four design principles of engagement to seen powerful, lasting memories are 1) tell a story, 2) empathize, 3) be authentic, 4) match the media.
Within your story you must empathize. “While you are starting a campaign intended to engage your audience, remember to first be engaged by them.” (p 88) You have to find what is important to your audience and find how that would tie into your campaign. You must also be authentic. “Studies have demonstrated that anything that increases feelings of closeness and connection between individuals increases the lengths to which they will go to offer assistance.” (p 91)
Is there a way to measure the engagement of your audience?
Wing 3 Engage:
ReplyDelete1) “To engage it’s necessary to view yourself and your effort as a brand. Although brand is conveyed by products, advertising, visual shortcuts and people, what matters is the experience that it offers and the emotional attachment people form as a result.” (81) As a consumer a brand can easily “grab my attention” however, if I’m not in love with the product the only way I will repurchase is if the company keeps me engaged be it with email promotions or coupons. There must be something in it for me. For me to bookmark a company’s page again, there must be something in it for me not just savings but informative interactive dialogue will keep me coming back.
2) “Most companies don’t place a high value on stories. And yet the stories told by employees and by customers are significant assets.” (84) These are as good if not better than receiving personal recommendations from friends. Conversely when you see employees of a company using products of competitors you have to wonder why they aren’t using their company’s items. When I’m considering purchasing an expensive item I often go to YouTube and watch testimonials, often times you will find interesting facts about a product and may even purchase other items without having ever originally wanting that item.
3) “Therefore, as you learn about your users’ goals and needs, also get to know their social identity—who is important to them. “ (89) I consider this a type of peer pressure, if others have it, want it or are wearing it then not having it can make you feel like an outsider. Though we all consider ourselves independent thinkers and purchasers, in reality if the style is LULU pants, Levis or Livestrong then most want to have it. They may say its because it’s a great product but look how quickly Livestrong items has become what “not” to wear. The products’ are the same but the connotation that the brand now has has been tarnished.
Question: What impact does a endorser have on making or breaking the “engagement” one has with a product?
The engage stage is about getting people to know what to do once their attention has been grabbed. It is about “compelling people to care deeply, maybe even fall in love”. The book argues that engage is arguably, “the most challenging of the four wings, because love occurs infrequently…engagement has little to do with logic or reason”. This makes the engagement the hardest step in the marketing process.
ReplyDeleteWhen for profit companies use socially media to engage their consumers immediately go to outlets like facebook, twitter or instagram. Recently companies have begun to use “Idea Pages” which “allows companies to ask their customers directly what matters most to them.” One company that has employed this method is Starbucks with their mystarbucksideas.com. I think this is an innovative method in that it allows companies to make their consumers believe their option matter—just further enhancing their image.
“A simple and apt definition of a brand is a reputation, based on a collection of memories”. The four design principles of engagement used to create this reputation are: Tell a story, Emphasize, Be authentic and Match the media. It is important to us these methods to “seed powerful, lasting messages”.
Question: If engagement fails is it better to first re assess the problem you are addressing or re assess the campaign you attempted?
Observation 1: "Engagement has little to do with logic or reason. You might have brilliant arguments as to why people should get involved, but if you can't engage them emotionally, they won't be swayed." The books discussion of Kiva's mission has stuck with me the most because its mission it to connect you directly to the people you are trying to help. There are so many risks when donating money to an organization, but with Kiva you are "helping people help themselves." With a 98% return rate, it makes you feel good that you were able to help someone out, especially when there's essentially no risk for you.
ReplyDeleteObservation 2: "As a result of transparency, co-creation and collaboration, trust is built between the producers and the consumers of products and services," The book then gives an example of Ben and Jerry's loyalty to everyone involved in their ice cream making process. They are environmentally, socially, and economically responsible, which is why they have huge customer loyalty.
Observation 3: "If you're not truly moved by the story you're telling, no one else will be, either." Upon reading about Scott Harrison's success (through his charity, not nightclub and fashion ventures), it made his charity's mission more purposeful because it showed his true passion for helping others by putting himself in other people's shoes. By limiting his resources and putting himself in places where he could truly see and document extremely impoverished places, he was able to make a difference and raise $13 million.
Question: Is there a way to measure the success of your campaign based on audience engagement?
1.Getting people to engage in your plan is essential. The most effective way to do this is to try and get people’s emotions involved. The more personal and emotional connection one can make, the more dedicated they will be. Also, the more positive of a relationship you build, the better. Bringing out negative emotions in your audience probably isn’t the best idea. Positive energy in your marketing plan will benefit your organization the most. Anything appealing to one’s right side of the brain will allow the information to be easily absorbed and digested by your viewers.
ReplyDelete2. If you are not passionate and devoted to the project yourself, your audience stands little chance to become fully engaged in your work. The best work often comes when the author or producer enjoys what they do. When abundant emotion is put into a project, it is likely to receive emotional connections from viewers. “Engage people through making a positive and emotional connection” p. 94. Positivity goes along way when it comes to emotional connections. It keeps the audience coming back for more when your work makes a positive impact on their life.
3. Visuals can play a big part in how emotional content resonates with the audience. Visuals relate to the most primitive form of memory. Long-term memory often refers back to pictures and bits of “big picture” images. This does not mean you have to rely solely on visual content. Sounds, specifically musical, will often “ring a bell” for the viewers long after their initial exposure to your work. Social media outlets like Instagram, Vine, and Pintrest provide audiences of all kinds with the visual contact they desire. Not to mention, YouTube has extensive video resources for any and everything.