CeCi Dadisman, on Empowerment in Marketing
As a digital marketer, nonprofit empowered and public speaker, Ceci Dadisman loves helping people take their marketing strategies to the next level. She is nationally recognized as a leader in digital and social media marketing and specializes in the integration of these techniques into traditional marketing methods. She empowers marketers, small business owners and freelancers to take their digital presence to the next level via individual coaching.
The definition of an Unapologetic Woman in the field of marketing, Ceci spoke with our Social Media Strategies class via Skype with tips on using Social Media for Business. There were two key concepts that Ceci talked about in her time with us that resonated for me as an aspiring journalist:
1. On Social Media, Content is King. Ceci notes, "If you talked to people the way advertisers talked to people, they'd punch you in the face." Everything is slightly more casual on social media, but content is key. Photos are extremely important as they provide a visual to express this content and drive conversation and awareness to anything you post. Ceci stresses the importance of adding images and/or graphics to every single post, as it provides a more native and eye-catching appeal for your target audience. You should have enough text to engage and interest people, but only a few talking points. Too much additional text on social media can bore the viewer and they honestly won't even read it. Post with the saying in mind, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Ceci extended this conversation to advertising saying "Advertising is an Extension of Content." She gave three things to focus on in your posts:
1. VISUAL--As noted above, people want to see visuals. This is what resonates with them, what they remember.
2. RELEVANT-- Think again to your "Perfect Persona" before creating an advertisement or content in general. Do they consider themselves relevant to this information? Will they see this information as valuable? Will they act on it?
3. CLEAR CALL TO ACTION-- A place for your audience to click and take action in their next steps to growing your brand.
2. Note your Target Demographic. Especially as a business, it is important to note who your audience is and what type of social media they are using. Those you are trying to reach may use social media differently than you do, or at different times. Ceci advises creating one "Perfect Persona" in figuring out who your target market is. Write down attributes--age, gender, household income, geographic location and any other pertinent background info--then create this one perfect person to represent your audience and help you gain insight as to how to use social media most efficiently and effectively to cater to them. Cecil outlined the top three used Social Media platforms to help us decide where our target market may lie:
1. FACEBOOK: With the largest market with the fastest adoption rate and most engaged users, Facebook appeals to a broad spectrum of users. 56% of internet users 65+ years old now use Facebook regularly, which is important to note if this is your target age.
2. INSTAGRAM: A relatively younger crowd will be found on this platform, as 53% of young adults ages 18-29 now use Instagram regularly. Other demographics to note are that Instagram users tend to be female, of Hispanic or African-American descent and of urban or suburban areas.
3. LINKEDIN: This platform reaches a more professional audience, so if you are looking to reach college graduates or those in the corporate field, this platform is for you.
Another interesting aspect Ceci noted is how to market to different demographics within the same company. She does this by using different images/words to appeal to different groups. For example, one of her clients is a restaurant who wanted to host a "Ladies Night." In efforts to reach multiple generations of women to attend, one campaign was used with different language and photos. For a younger generation, more slang and images of young women "partying" was used via the restaurant's Instagram and Twitter accounts, whereas reaching the older generation was a bit more formal in language. This can be very helpful when trying to reach multiple audiences for the same campaign in the most effective and resonating way.
Ceci provided our class with great insight on utilizing social media for businesses and creating our own personal brand. To view her personal website and learn more, visit: http://cecidadisman.com
xx
Mackenzie
