The Social Media Marketing & Communications guide for Natural Health and Wellness insiders.

Where’s the “Occupy Your Health” Campaign From the Natural Health Sector?

One of the smartest pros in the real-time PR arena (David Meerman Scott) just released a book called “Newsjacking.” The idea is that you tie your message to a current news item to get attention.

Along similar lines, it occurred to me this morning that I’ve seen just about everything (and anything) tied to the “Occupy” movement now. Dozens of Occupy this and Occupy that photos have come across my facebook news feed. (An important note about facebook photos in a moment.) Some are cute. Some are profound. But nothing so far about natural health.

So I grabbed a couple free images from a stock photo site and created two “Occupy Your Health” pics. It took me about 15 minutes. Obviously I’m not a graphic designer, but hopefully you get the idea.

Sweetener Under Fire: How Coconut Bliss Used Social Media to Protect Their Reputation in Real-Time

In early 2010 anti agave syrup sentiment was gaining momentum, led in part by articles by Dr Mercola like this one – viewed 385,958 times at last count.

Mercola article damning agave syrup

Google search “agave dangers” today and you’ll get nearly a million hits.

That could be very bad news if you’re a natural foods dessert company using agave syrup as your sweetener – which is precisely the position Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss found themselves in.

Custom Facebook Landing Pages: Should You Have one?

A B2B client recently got a pitch for custom facebook landing page design. He forwarded it to me for my opinion.

Not sure what a custom facebook landing page is? Here’s one from Whole Foods and another from Genuine Health.

It wasn’t a bad pitch. This agency will design you a custom facebook landing page for around $400. They make some vague suggestions about including a coupon offer as incentive to persuade visitors to “Like” your page.

Here’s the thing:

It’s tempting to design a custom facebook landing page showcasing your logo, products and promotions. (Most companies do LOVE to look at themselves in the mirror.) You’ll be able to show it off to your marketing director or whoever. Everyone can crowd around and say “Wow. That looks really great. It really integrates the brand.” or something like that.

If the goal is to stick your official identity on everything you touch, go for it. But ask yourself… What are you really trying to do with your facebook page? Is it just more advertising? That might not be the most useful approach.

Facebook Advertising: Why Are Businesses Getting It So Wrong?

I clicked on a Facebook ad recently and was reminded how easy it is for businesses to miss the mark and alienate their audience. The ad I clicked promised a specific product for a specific price, then directed me to the advertiser’s homepage.

Here’s a screenshot of the ad:

The homepage where I got dumped had no mention of the deal advertised. I had a look around the site but couldn’t find the $695 offer.

I was irked, but curious. What were they thinking? Did they hope that the ad would get me to their website, then I would forget all about the promise of a week long getaway for $695 and just sign up for their (much) higher priced packages? Was this a bait and switch? Or did they think I’d take the time to search their site for the advertised deal?

So I emailed them. Here’s the email thread:

Friends, Fans, Followers and Contacts – An Argument For LESS

Whether it’s Facebook fans or friends, Twitter followers, or LinkedIn connections – there’s an almost unchallenged belief that more is better when it comes to Social Media numbers.

If Social Media channels were simply free advertising, perhaps this would be true. After all, the value of any advertising vehicle has traditionally been determined largely by its reach – ie: The value (and cost) of advertising is proportional to the number of people it reaches.

But Social Media is a different game – a game where “advertising” is generally the least effective approach and where numbers can be misleading.

The ONE Thing Your Website, Blog or Facebook Page Absolutely MUST Have…

It’s not any particular function, plug-in or widget. It’s not a sign-up box or RSS feed. Those things don’t apply equally across the board. I’m suggesting that what virtually ALL websites (and web strategies) must have to be successful today is… flexibility.

Here’s why:

Social Media Happy Surprises – Stories from the Frontline of Natural Health

Social Media is full of happy surprises. Unexpected opportunities are a fringe benefit of participation. Many companies initially enter social media with hopes of quickly “driving sales,” but the smart people usually discover other benefits to the bottom line… Benefits to PR, HR, and the larger sales cycle, plus personal connections with the people who matter most to their business.

Here are four Social Media Happy Surprise stories from Nature’s Path, Naturally Savvy, Edible Vancouver and CulturedCare Probiotics.

Nature’s Path

“A great surprise Nature’s Path experienced through Twitter was when we were able to connect with our local Board of Trade for an initiative to help the homeless. The Board of Trade put out a call on Twitter to local companies to donate products to a program it was launching to deliver food, water and first aid supplies to homeless and vulnerable communities in our area. We just happened to see the post and were able to deliver product the next day. It was such a good news story, that it was reported in our local media.”

Kylie – Nature’s Path
http://www.naturespath.com/
http://twitter.com/naturespath

Tuesday Tweaks: How to keep your facebook fans happy even when they’re not

Call it the Triple-A protocol for Facebook wall interactions. (Every good system is better with a snappy name right?)

1. Acknowledge
2. Address
3. Accountability

The Triple-A protocol applies to both POSITIVE comments and NEGATIVE comments on your Facebook wall.

Here’s a recent example from a wellness retail chain’s facebook wall (edited for privacy and clarity).

CHFA Expo West: Highlights from the Trade Show Floor (Part 1)

The CHFA Expo West 2010 show is over, and I thought I’d recap a few highlights with you.

Prairie Naturals (Full-disclosure: client) received a record breaking FOUR awards at Saturday evening’s annual CHFA awards. Congratulations to the Prairie Naturals team, to the other suppliers who were nominated, and to the retailer nominees and winners.

Prairie Naturals have gone from “zero to sixty” on Twitter and Facebook in just a few months and have enjoyed some big wins. I’m proud of them .

Interestingly, the winner of this year’s Retailer award – Community Natural Foods -is also using Twitter and Facebook to deepen their customer experience.

Of course all of the industry’s big NHP players are present at the annual CHFA Expo events, but what I want to focus on today are some of the up-and-comers that caught my eye with their innovative products and/or remarkable branding.

Facebook Fans: What’s The Crucial Number?

Here’s the short answer right up front: Quality beats Quantity.

A thousand facebook “fans” who don’t actually care about your brand or you products are less valuable to you than one single, true fan who does. This probably isn’t news right?

So why do we act as though numbers are important?

Truth is, we’re usually trying to convince someone (or some part of ourselves) who doesn’t “get it” yet. And people who don’t “get” Social Media tend to focus on things like numbers of Facebook fans.

Tuesday Tweaks: Un-Sync Your Social Media Platforms

Don't Tangle Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

(There’s so much social media advice out there that it can be overwhelming! Tuesday Tweaks are the antidote… simple, step-by-step actions for improving your social media performance. On Tuesdays, but not every Tuesday.)

Many people in business are tempted to synchronize their Twitter, Facebook and even LinkedIn posts. This means that when you post to one, you post to all. I think this is a grave mistake.

Social Media “Happy Surprises” – Share Your Story!

Social Media is full of happy surprises. Unexpected opportunities are a fringe benefit of participation. Sometimes these “Happy Surprises” and unexpected opportunities are truly remarkable.

I’m collecting a limited number of (short) stories from leading natural health and wellness businesses for a special upcoming feature in these pages.

The theme is… “Social Media Happy Surprises.”

I would love for you to share a short story (aprox 100-200 words) about a remarkable “Happy Surprise” you experienced on Twitter, Facebook or your Blog.

(see below for full details… and to see what’s in it for you)

Tuesday Tweaks: Put Keywords in Your Facebook, Blog, Twitter Titles

(There’s so much social media advice out there that it can be overwhelming! Tuesday Tweaks are the antidote… simple, one-step actions for improving your social media performance week by week.)

Do you know about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? How would you like to get the benefits for free, just by tweaking what you’re (hopefully) already doing?

Your customers, prospects, partners, and the media all search the internet every day for the information they need. They use Google, Bing, Yahoo and other popular search engines. These search engines now include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media content in their results.

Bottom line – When people search for information that relates to your business, you want them to find YOU.

Search Engine Optimization simply means that you optimize your online presence (your website and various social media sites) so that when people search the internet, your brand comes up on top. SEO is a crucial part of any successful website or online presence.

Until recently SEO was still a very complex (and expensive) proposition. You hired an SEO specialist to add keywords to your website meta-tags and do a bunch of coding and back-end stuff that most people don’t really understand. Many companies still pay big bucks for SEO consulting to improve their search rankings and get more website traffic.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Many SEO specialists provide very good value.

But I’m going to show you one single tool to drastically improve your SEO – to connect you to your target market – without spending a single extra cent or taking any more time out of your day…

Social Media for Sales: Feed the Soil (The Organic Approach)

Social Media supports the matrix of your sales cycle

Experienced sales people tend to agree that “sales” is a cycle, not a one-shot deal. The exchange of money for goods or services is usually the result of many factors. And it doesn’t end when money changes hands. If you want repeat sales, the cycle must continue.

In agriculture, the argument for Organic has always been “feed the soil.” By feeding the soil, you build a sustainable foundation that provides many healthy returns, with fewer required inputs. In a successful Organic system, bumper crops are the natural outcome of wise soil management.

You can use Social Media to help build a Brand Environment that produces healthy sales as the natural outcome. Or you can focus on quick chemical fixes… at the cost of sustainability.

Customer Retention Part 2: Social Media For Building Brand Loyalty (aka Likeability)

Do You Let Customers Get To Know You?

Brand Loyalty is a huge issue for many natural health businesses.

Recently I reported that 68% of customer loss is due to indifference. (ie – They don’t hate you. They’re not dissatisfied. They just don’t care about you enough to choose you over the competition. Painful but true.)

I also suggested that you could retain the majority of these disappearing customers simply by being likeable.

So how does a business demonstrate their like-ability?
Consider this: To KNOW you… is to LIKE you.

How well do you let your customers really get to KNOW you? Is the owner or CEO of your company blogging (or do you just have a generic company website)? Are your sales people encouraged to develop real, caring relationships with customers (or is it “strictly business”)? Are you interacting on your Facebook page (or just posting your latest sales offer)?

Twitter Your Way to Success: CHFA ExpoWest 2010 Seminar with Justice Marshall

(NOTE: Only CHFA members can attend CHFA Expo West events.)

From the seminar description…

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogging… Social media is rapidly changing the way customer and B2B relationships are developed and managed. How can YOU use these tools to build brand loyalty, synergize strategic partnerships and ultimately improve your bottom line?

Whichever online medium or strategic approach you choose, there are four crucial principles to observe. This seminar is for social media “newbies” who want to get started right, and for intermediate users who want better results. You’ll come away with a roadmap and concrete examples of how to use these four key principles to participate successfully in the social media arena.

See you there!

Tuesday Tweaks: Hotlink Your Company Website on Your Facebook Fan Page Profile

(There’s so much social media advice out there that it can be overwhelming! Tuesday Tweaks are the antidote… simple, one-step actions for improving your social media performance week by week.)

Today’s Tweak: Hotlink Your Website in Your Facebook Fan Page Profile Box

Part of the reason you have a Facebook Fan page for your business is to direct visitors to your company website right?

So make it easy for them! Many fan pages include a company website address (beginning with www. etc…) in the profile box that appears on their “wall” sidebar (beneath your profile picture).

But you can do better.

How Information Technology (IT) Is Different From Social Media

Do You Have a Social Media Map?

Imagine you’re trying to get to… Disneyland. You’re in a car. You ask a guy for directions. He says, “Disneyland? Oh, that’s easy. Here’s how you get to Disneyland: Press down lightly on the accelerator while you slowly release the clutch. This introduces fuel to the carburetor and engages the transmission…”

Half an hour later you’re getting a pretty thorough understanding of combustion engine mechanics. But you’re not any closer to Disneyland.

Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, YouTube… are all tools with mechanical aspects. Certainly you need to know how to use them, just like if you’re going to drive to Disneyland you need to know how to use a car. BUT – an understanding of mechanics is NOT the same as having clear directions to your destination.