You may be asking yourself at this point “How is this 17 year old kid a marketing genius?”  I’ll tell you why: it’s because he knows how to promote and brand himself.

Bieber Social Media Fever

Justin Bieber is the direct byproduct of social media marketing done right, and we can all learn something from his efforts.  Bieber rose to fame after his mother taped and posted videos of him singing on YouTube.  It caught the attention of the right people and he was signed to a major record label in 2008.

Bieber has also engaged his fans over Twitter.  When he was just starting out, he would tweet about his shows and appearances to spread the word. In the beginning only about 10 girls would show up, but towards the end, entire malls would have to be shut down due to safety concerns.

Since then Bieber’s Twitter account has grown to more than 17 million followers (only Lady Gaga has more) and he continues to engage them by answering questions and retweeting comments.  In fact, Bieber’s social media marketing strategy has been so effective he was the number one trending topic of 2011.

Baby, Baby, Braaanding

Bieber is amazing when it comes to branding himself as a teen heart-throb.  He knows exactly who his target audience is and is taking no prisoners.

Who else has their own Barbie, singing toothbrush, dental floss, piñata, nail polish, headphones, and high-end perfume?

Nobody (that I know of anyway).

The boy bands of the ‘90s only wish that they had the brand development magic that Justin Bieber has today.  You’ve gotta hand it to the kid—he knows he just doesn’t appeal to teenage boys as much as he might like it to.  So he plasters his face and name on products that appeal to pre-teen girls, because that’s his target market.

Not only does he have his picture plastered on every product you can imagine, but he has his own motion picture, Never Say Never, which grossed more than $29 million its opening weekend. Bieber’s documentary grossed more than Michael Jackson’s This Is It opening weekend (music aficionados are probably cringing right about now).

Sesame Street has also created Justin Bieber puppet and music video spoof of his Never Say Never song.  You know you’ve sealed your fate in pop culture history when the longest running children’s television program creates a character in your image.

What We Can Learn from Bieber

Persistence and investing time into your customers pays off.  Bieber understood something that a lot of professionals don’t,  that you need to turn your customers into fans in order to be successful.  It is important for businesses to integrate customer engagement into their social media marketing strategy if they want to turn their customers into fans for life.  If Justin Bieber can engage more than 17 million fans, your business should be able to handle it as well.

Bieber can also teach us about focusing our brand development efforts.  Bieber’s not going to be releasing his own brand of Axe body spray anytime soon because he realizes that that’s not his target market.  As much as we’d all like to think that everybody is our target market, the fact of the matter is they’re not.  The sooner businesses realize this, the more successful they will be.

Whether you want to admit it or not, we could all take a few pointers from Justin Bieber.  For tips on brand development strategies, read this post.

Do not issue press releases about your latest store opening or how much your company grew in the past 12 months. Nobody cares!

While gaining coverage in the local media requires effort, getting written about in the newspaper or talked about on television is much easier with a strong pitch. Community newspapers are read more often than national publications in some neighborhoods, and local articles about your company will drive leads and position you as an expert in your industry, which could elevate your online public relations campaign.

I sat down last week with Lendio spokesman Dan Bischoff, and Patrick Wiscombe, a radio producer at KNRS in Salt Lake City. The podcast was originally slated to be 30 minutes. By the time we finished chatting, however, we had spoken for more than an hour about ways businesses can get the attention of local reporters. Listen to the podcast now here.

You needn’t be a news junkie to convince reporters to write about your business. But you must understand the media just enough to seem a bit savvy. Knowing who the journalists are in your area and the beats they cover is a great start.

Part one of the podcast has tips for localizing regional and national news stories, and ideas for making your press release more appealing with the addition of photographs, video and sound bites. We discuss the value of being mentioned in the local press and ways to brainstorm newsworthy topics that reporters in your area will find interesting.

The conversation will continue in part two which will be available at http://www.lendio.com/blog/ on Feb. 27.

Let me know if you have been successful using any of our tips. I’d also love to hear other advice you have for small businesses trying to court local reporters.

It is now another election year and there are plenty of opportunities for the presidential candidates to utilize social media. If we take a look at who has the most Facebook fans and Twitter followers, we can take an educated guess at who will win the 2012 presidential election.

<a href=”http://www.prmarketing.com/blog/predicting-the-2012-president/” mce_href=”http://www.prmarketing.com/blog/predicting-the-2012-president/” source=embed ><img src=”http://www.prmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/predicting_the_president.jpg” mce_src=”http://www.prmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/predicting_the_president.jpg” alt=”Predicting the 2012 President” width=”800px” class=”infographic” /></a>

Cartoons from:
Barack Obama
Mitt Romney
Ron Paul
Rick Santorum
Jon Huntsman
Lady Gaga

Sixty percent of Americans will judge your company based on your online presence, think about that for a moment. Though your website plays an important role in your online presence, there is more to it. People search for your brand and judge your company based on what comes up on search engines as well. Investing in online PR helps you manage your online presence and it isn’t something that solely belongs in the future. In fact, it is becoming a vital part of any marketing strategy in this day and age. Having a powerful online presence can put your brand leaps and bounds ahead of the competition with minimal effort on your behalf. Do you want to set your brand apart? Well you need to be tech savvy in our tech-savvy world.

<a href=”http://www.prmarketing.com/blog/online-pr-opportunity-and-results/” mce_href=”http://www.prmarketing.com/blog/online-pr-opportunity-and-results/” source=embed ><img src=”http://www.prmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/traditionalonlinepr.png” mce_src=”http://www.prmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/traditionalonlinepr.png” alt=”Your First Date With Online PR Infographic” width=”800px” class=”infographic” /></a>

1. Repurpose old posts. Even though you might feel like the biblical quote “there is nothing new under the sun” rings true, there is still plenty that you can do starting with things you have already written! Try going through your archived posts and look for opportunities for new content. Maybe a post has information that is outdated or your opinions on a topic have changed, which can make for an easy opportunity to write fresh content.
    

2. Research your competition. Make sure you are staying up-to-date with your competitors and what they are talking about. Odds are you will find a lot of discussion about a topic and in turn, that discussion could easily be a post for your site.
    

3. Create a guide, eBook or tutorial. If you feel like you have already covered a topic well enough, it is always a good idea to write a guide about that topic. A guide or eBook allows you to elaborate on your expertise and easily helps readers learn.
    

4. Guest blogging. Encourage guest posters or even become a guest poster yourself. This will not only help build your site content, it will help build trust and bring in a whole new audience of readers to your site.
    

5. Start a series or a list. Starting a list or a series helps give you a focus. It also helps engage readers by giving them something to look forward to.

There are countless other ways to help you with content writing ideas. Whatever your industry, make sure you are researching your competition, updating your content, keeping vital information easy to find on your site, and promoting your site to new audiences by guest blogging.

When I was watching the Super Bowl growing up it was really all about the game. Between each quarter and at halftime my friends and I would line up in the street and play football until our moms would shout that the game was back on. While I no longer play football in the streets, I can see a lot of moms and wives shouting to their boys that the commercials are about to start.

What Makes a Great Commercial

Commercials are expensive and don’t necessarily give companies the same return that they used to because of the increase in production costs and media buying. However, buying a spot during the Super Bowl has become a huge part of brand development for those that can afford it. I wanted to dig deep and learn what the all-time most successful Super Bowl commercial was from a marketing standpoint. I came to my conclusion based on brand recognition, ad recognition, ad continuance or longevity, and popularity.

The Finalists

I wouldn’t call myself a Super Bowl commercial fanatic so I did a little research. Some of these may be before my time but they are still worth mentioning. The list of contenders is as follows:

• 1973 – Joe Namath featured in Noxzema
• 1984 – Apple introducing Macintosh
• 1993 – Michael Jordan vs. Larry Bird playing HORSE for a McDonald’s Big Mac
• 1995 – “Bud” – “Weis” – “Er” and the talking frogs
• 2002 – Budweiser Clydesdales’ paying respects to New York
• 2010 – Snicker’s Betty White playing football

The list is pretty short. Even though the Betty White commercial hasn’t been around long enough to qualify, it’s Golden Girls’ Betty White playing football so what else matters? While these were all strong contenders and put up a good fight there can only be one winner. Before I tell you who the winner is and why, answer a few questions.

• Which commercial ran the longest with its original message?
• Which commercial will run again this year?
• Which commercial can nearly every person in America quote?
• Which commercial has extended to the World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, America’s Cup, Miss America Pageant, World Cup, Winter Olympics, American Idol, Full House (the TV show), Con Air, Hot Shots, Aladdin, Ellen, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and the Game Plan?

The Winner

You’ll know who reigns if you can answer this question: “Tom Brady, you just won the Super Bowl. What are you going to do next?”

If you said “Going to Disney World” or “Going to Disneyland,” you would know that none of the commercials mentioned above wins. The real winner is actually Disney.

The original commercial aired during the post-game festivities in the 1987 Super Bowl featuring Phil Simms. The beauty of the campaign is its simplicity. Disney has kept this commercial going for 25 years with its original theme and has kept the same messaging. Its reach extends to other sporting events, television shows, movies, and popular culture. Most companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars producing their ad, but Disney barely forks out over a few thousand to produce theirs.

While this is not my favorite commercial to watch, it definitely beat out the rest of the competition from a marketing standpoint. From a personal standpoint, my favorite is the Clydedale’s playing football. What has been your favorite Super Bowl commercial of all time?

Why are most successful companies today putting most of their budgets into PR?

Let’s look at an example.

In the spring of 2008 an online gamer with the username “Levinator25” found a glitch in his Tiger Woods golf game. Apparently when Tiger’s golf ball flew into the water at a specific point in the game, Tiger could walk out onto the water to retrieve the ball.

He posted a simple 30 second video exposing the glitch and called it the “Tiger Woods Jesus Walk.” This video received an amazing 800,000 views and is rated 4 ½ stars, which is unheard of among the infamous harsh Youtube audience.

EA Sports, the company who manufactured the game responded with a video of their own as a response, showing Tiger himself actually walking on the water and proclaiming “it’s not a glitch, he’s just that good.”

The EA Sports response video received a staggering 6 million views and a perfect 5 star rating!

When most people think about PR they think of large companies with big budgets. Traditionally PR may have been press releases, media coverage, and managing what the public thinks of your company but it has evolved. Now, managing that public persona can be done much more effectively using online PR. Online PR combines image management with social media, social press releases, media outreach, and targeted media relations. Effectively utilizing online PR builds a powerful and beneficial online presence.

Good publicity has many benefits that extend beyond impressions. Most people don’t realize that these additional benefits can be far more powerful than the publicity itself. The initial publicity is just the tip of the iceberg. People should also expect to:

1) Super charge SEO efforts

In addition to the publicity that you get when you earn editorial stories in publications and blogs, having a link or even a mention of your company on a credible site can increase your page ranking with leading search engines. Your online releases should include a healthy dose of keywords to link back to your site.

2) Gain credibility

People do business with those they know, like, and trust. Having a credible publication mention your company’s name in a positive way will have a substantial effect on gaining the trust of those you wish to work with. You need to use this credibility to create the needed momentum for good PR.

3) Experience more effective marketing/advertising

Once mentioned in a reputable publication, you will be able to refer to those publications in your marketing efforts. In addition, it will make your brand more recognizable. Publicity done right can positively impact your target audience and surge other marketing efforts.

At the end of a good campaign, you can come out on top just like EA Sports.

Convincing with Content

Social media marketing, blogging, and website content should all be designed to convince. Often, people reiterate the importance of quality content and compelling content, but the purpose of your content is equally significant. Although there is not one sure-fire way to convince through content, there is a key component that can certainly help. Worthy of mention is the Unique Selling Proposition.

The USP differentiates your product or service from the competition. By definition, the USP is essentially saying, “buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.” I have one word for you that will spotlight your specific benefit in your content: because.

The Benefits of ‘Because’

Specificity keeps content clear and compelling. By using the term because, you become specific and remain credible while revealing a reason why.

Ellen Langer, a social psychologist, documented the power of because. She performed a personal experiment where she asked others to cut in line to use a copy machine. Langer tested three different ways of asking and recorded:

Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?

60% said yes.

Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?

94% said yes.

And here’s where it gets even more interesting.

Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?

93% said yes.

Using the trigger because is clearly influential. In fact, it’s so powerful that the reason why didn’t necessarily matter. It goes to show that a simple word can make all the difference in whether or not people will be interested in buying what you offer. Being assertive and giving a reason why can further your purpose and get people to take any form of action.

Don’t just use the word ‘because’ just because. Harness its power because it will be beneficial for you and your content marketing goals.

A mustache theme has been integrated for the logo and to add a humorous flare. Stansberry wanted the logo to have the Teddy Roosevelt look. The site has already taken off and has sparked plenty of interest as an up-and-coming social media network. The site already has 634 active users on Facebook and 404 tweets. With all the buzz surrounding this new site, it has the potential to be just as likeable as Pinterest.

Just like Pinterest, Gentlemint provides plenty of brand development and social media marketing strategy opportunities. It’s a great outlet for companies whose main target market is men. Brands such as Gillette Razors, Old Spice, AXE, and Cabela’s can easily find themselves promoting their product to resonate with the manly men within. Some suggestions for building your brand on Pinterest can be easily applicable to Gentlemint as well, read more about brand development on these types of sites here.

Does that mean Gentlemint is reserved for males only? TimeNewsFeed may have said “This community runs on pure testosterone,” and  a person might assume that females would not be able to post pins or participate, but that is not the case.

“It really has less to do with being a male or female, or kittens or bacon, and more to do with encouraging users to add stuff around that theme,” Stansberry also told Mashable.

So there you have it. Men and women are both welcome to the new “testosterone” site, but keep the theme or pin it elsewhere.