"One of my favorite peer experts is Google’s Avinash Kaushik. He uses the metaphor I have come to adapt which is that the likes or +1’s are like one-night-stands. “My metrics show how things went on a second or third date. How many got engaged or married to your brand? In this case, polygamy is OK. One-night-stands might feel good, but when you wake up the next day, you have nothing.”
The Online Landscape: Digital Marketing and the next generation... with Vinh Vuong
Vinh Vuong is a top specialist in the digital arena. He is Torrenzano’s Global Practice Leader, Digital, Innovation & Online Risk.
He has developed global digital and social media policies, programs and infrastructures for FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 corporations that have a cumulative market cap of over $200 billion.
Vinh is also a trusted digital communications consultant to high-profile individuals and political organizations.
He has developed global digital and social media policies, programs and infrastructures for FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 corporations that have a cumulative market cap of over $200 billion.
Vinh is also a trusted digital communications consultant to high-profile individuals and political organizations.
In a recent conversation with Richard Torrenzano, Vinh Vuong discusses the digital world.
Richard Torrenzano: In non-tech terms, what is digital marketing?
Vinh Vuong: It is such a buzzword these days and it sounds complicated to many. It’s just any marketing done via the Internet. Of course, that is much more complex than it sounds.
Importantly, digital marketing engages with customers. Whether it is through web content, video, on social, or email, it allows you to reach a broad range of audiences instantaneously.
RT: What opportunities are there in social media?
VV: Social media presents an opportunity for brands to connect with their customers and potential customers, but the opportunity can be intimidating. This new form of “conversational marketing” is engaging consumers on a deeper, emotional level and introducing a new set of success metrics that helps brands measure the value in these conversations.
RT: What are the biggest challenges brands have in developing a unique social presence?
VV: The most common challenge businesses face when developing their social presence is maintaining a sense of individuality. Social is a see-and-be-seen culture, so the impulse to emulate rather than originate is very real. Companies often turn to social media and look at other organizations that have found success and try to emulate rather than staying in their lane and being true to whom they are as a brand. In addition, many companies struggle from within. From policies and procedures that handcuff their teams, to an internal culture of fear about social media. It all reflects in their social presence and bottom line success.
RT: What’s the biggest misconception about social media marketing? Should it be owned by PR, content, or community?
VV: You answered the question with the last part to your question, but the biggest misconception is that social media marketing should be “owned” by any one particular department or team.
This applies to digital marketing overall too. If you think about social media as a communication channel and the versatility that it offers, it’s easy to see that there is room for almost any individual or team at a company to take advantage of it. Yes, perhaps one team may manage certain aspects or logistical implementation, but to proceed with the mindset that social media is singularly owned can be detrimental to long-term success.
Vinh Vuong: It is such a buzzword these days and it sounds complicated to many. It’s just any marketing done via the Internet. Of course, that is much more complex than it sounds.
Importantly, digital marketing engages with customers. Whether it is through web content, video, on social, or email, it allows you to reach a broad range of audiences instantaneously.
RT: What opportunities are there in social media?
VV: Social media presents an opportunity for brands to connect with their customers and potential customers, but the opportunity can be intimidating. This new form of “conversational marketing” is engaging consumers on a deeper, emotional level and introducing a new set of success metrics that helps brands measure the value in these conversations.
RT: What are the biggest challenges brands have in developing a unique social presence?
VV: The most common challenge businesses face when developing their social presence is maintaining a sense of individuality. Social is a see-and-be-seen culture, so the impulse to emulate rather than originate is very real. Companies often turn to social media and look at other organizations that have found success and try to emulate rather than staying in their lane and being true to whom they are as a brand. In addition, many companies struggle from within. From policies and procedures that handcuff their teams, to an internal culture of fear about social media. It all reflects in their social presence and bottom line success.
RT: What’s the biggest misconception about social media marketing? Should it be owned by PR, content, or community?
VV: You answered the question with the last part to your question, but the biggest misconception is that social media marketing should be “owned” by any one particular department or team.
This applies to digital marketing overall too. If you think about social media as a communication channel and the versatility that it offers, it’s easy to see that there is room for almost any individual or team at a company to take advantage of it. Yes, perhaps one team may manage certain aspects or logistical implementation, but to proceed with the mindset that social media is singularly owned can be detrimental to long-term success.
Of course, most marketing and communications teams have originated social presences, but the key components of a well-rounded social community extend well beyond that.
For example, public relations use social media to disseminate company information and stay on message. Customer support uses social media to address customer issues or resolve complaints. Business development teams monitor social sites to find potential customers or clients.
The list keeps going, but it’s extremely important that all stakeholders have a seat at the table and that organizations properly plan out their social and digital marketing strategies – especially, so it can be used as a collaborative channel that benefits the entire company.
RT: How important is mobile to every brand’s digital strategy?
VV: It’s vital. It is the oxygen to the life of digital strategy. Brands must fully understand that individual social behavior is directly tied to mobility. Customers and community members can -- and will -- reach out to brands from any place, any device, and at any time with a variety of requests.
Organizations need to adequately plan, prepare, and determine necessary resources -- human, technological and financial -- to support social engagement and constant communications, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
RT: With the constant tech evolution and the on-demand market rising, what’s going to be the next big thing in digital?
VV: It is mobile streaming. Mobile streaming technologies – led by newcomers Periscope and Meerket and established services like uSteam. These are hi-tech, low access tools that allow brands to become broadcasters. This is hinting a major disruption in technology to traditional video messaging outlets.
RT: So, why is digital marketing so important for businesses?
VV: It will be the lifeblood to every businesses’ marketing success.
Digital marketing allows companies to reach and capture responses from broad audiences in the fastest way possible.
Everyone is plugged in right now; companies would be squandering a huge opportunity by not engaging in digital marketing. The first thing most people do when they hear about a new business or product is pull out their phone/tablet/laptop and look it up.
From there, brands create a thirst for information where customers actually want to have a relationship with that brand, where they trust that brand. With that groundwork, they’re tolerant of the occasional marketing because there’s value in what that brand provides digitally.
For example, public relations use social media to disseminate company information and stay on message. Customer support uses social media to address customer issues or resolve complaints. Business development teams monitor social sites to find potential customers or clients.
The list keeps going, but it’s extremely important that all stakeholders have a seat at the table and that organizations properly plan out their social and digital marketing strategies – especially, so it can be used as a collaborative channel that benefits the entire company.
RT: How important is mobile to every brand’s digital strategy?
VV: It’s vital. It is the oxygen to the life of digital strategy. Brands must fully understand that individual social behavior is directly tied to mobility. Customers and community members can -- and will -- reach out to brands from any place, any device, and at any time with a variety of requests.
Organizations need to adequately plan, prepare, and determine necessary resources -- human, technological and financial -- to support social engagement and constant communications, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
RT: With the constant tech evolution and the on-demand market rising, what’s going to be the next big thing in digital?
VV: It is mobile streaming. Mobile streaming technologies – led by newcomers Periscope and Meerket and established services like uSteam. These are hi-tech, low access tools that allow brands to become broadcasters. This is hinting a major disruption in technology to traditional video messaging outlets.
RT: So, why is digital marketing so important for businesses?
VV: It will be the lifeblood to every businesses’ marketing success.
Digital marketing allows companies to reach and capture responses from broad audiences in the fastest way possible.
Everyone is plugged in right now; companies would be squandering a huge opportunity by not engaging in digital marketing. The first thing most people do when they hear about a new business or product is pull out their phone/tablet/laptop and look it up.
From there, brands create a thirst for information where customers actually want to have a relationship with that brand, where they trust that brand. With that groundwork, they’re tolerant of the occasional marketing because there’s value in what that brand provides digitally.
RT: Do you think marketers understand the key metrics on social media?
VV: For the most part, no. Most look at the size of their audiences, the number of posts they put out, and if someone “liked” their post.
That is flat-out wrong. Marketers now must focus on metrics such as sentiment and conversations about their brand(s).
For example, one brand can have over a million followers while the other has about half that, but when you look at the TAT (Talking About This) or the BM (brand mention) metrics, the brand with significantly less followers can have a significantly larger amount of users talking about them than the other brand.
It’s all about the conversations, hence the social of social media.
RT: What mistakes do companies commonly make when establishing their social media presence and their overall digital strategies?
VV: Companies need to know how to measure on social channels.
Many don’t today. My measurement framework examines metrics that serve as a check on suboptimal behavior. You must incentivize optimal behavior, so you don’t focus on meaningless metrics such as “likes.”
Make sure your social activity has profitable results. It’s all about making money, but in a very smart way, and about moving people beyond a silly obsession with the number of followers or likes they have, which don’t show results.
One of my favorite peer experts is Google’s Avinash Kaushik. He uses the metaphor I have come to adapt which is that the likes or +1’s are like one-night-stands. “My metrics show how things went on a second or third date. How many got engaged or married to your brand? In this case, polygamy is OK. One-night-stands might feel good, but when you wake up the next day, you have nothing.”
RT: It seems social media is constantly changing. How can companies keep up, or stay ahead, of the digital landscape?
VV: The growth of personal technology over the last five years has empowered consumers, not the brands that call the shots. We call today’s consumer the 'smart consumer': like smart phones and smart homes, they are more connected and have access to more information and choice than ever.
So, it’s more important than ever to stay up to speed and ahead of consumer behavior.
Unlike the past, changes in consumer trends were nice to know: they could help you fine tune new products or marketing choices. Today, they’re required information and can be life or death for a brand.
If consumers adopt one technology over another, it can entirely disrupt an industry, or even -- as companies like Kodak and IBM have found to their cost -- wipe one out.
VV: For the most part, no. Most look at the size of their audiences, the number of posts they put out, and if someone “liked” their post.
That is flat-out wrong. Marketers now must focus on metrics such as sentiment and conversations about their brand(s).
For example, one brand can have over a million followers while the other has about half that, but when you look at the TAT (Talking About This) or the BM (brand mention) metrics, the brand with significantly less followers can have a significantly larger amount of users talking about them than the other brand.
It’s all about the conversations, hence the social of social media.
RT: What mistakes do companies commonly make when establishing their social media presence and their overall digital strategies?
VV: Companies need to know how to measure on social channels.
Many don’t today. My measurement framework examines metrics that serve as a check on suboptimal behavior. You must incentivize optimal behavior, so you don’t focus on meaningless metrics such as “likes.”
Make sure your social activity has profitable results. It’s all about making money, but in a very smart way, and about moving people beyond a silly obsession with the number of followers or likes they have, which don’t show results.
One of my favorite peer experts is Google’s Avinash Kaushik. He uses the metaphor I have come to adapt which is that the likes or +1’s are like one-night-stands. “My metrics show how things went on a second or third date. How many got engaged or married to your brand? In this case, polygamy is OK. One-night-stands might feel good, but when you wake up the next day, you have nothing.”
RT: It seems social media is constantly changing. How can companies keep up, or stay ahead, of the digital landscape?
VV: The growth of personal technology over the last five years has empowered consumers, not the brands that call the shots. We call today’s consumer the 'smart consumer': like smart phones and smart homes, they are more connected and have access to more information and choice than ever.
So, it’s more important than ever to stay up to speed and ahead of consumer behavior.
Unlike the past, changes in consumer trends were nice to know: they could help you fine tune new products or marketing choices. Today, they’re required information and can be life or death for a brand.
If consumers adopt one technology over another, it can entirely disrupt an industry, or even -- as companies like Kodak and IBM have found to their cost -- wipe one out.
RT: What do you think the consumer of the next generation will be like? How can brands and marketers connect with this consumer?
VV: Connected, smart, empowered, tech savvy, but in need of humanity, community and comfort.
Consumers expect products and services to be always on, friction-free and multichannel, but to truly distinguish products and gain loyalty, you'll need to offer the latter: create human products and build a brand family.
RT: Brands and marketers talk about demographics like millennials and baby boomers. Are these terms still relevant?
VV: They’re being misused.
The environments that we grew up in and the things that happen to us as we grow, typically have a huge impact on our attitudes, not just then but over time.
Consumers who grew up in the same circumstances, with many of the same external influences -- technology to media, products to politics -- frequently have relatively similar attitudes to many things: from purchasing to privacy, loyalty to lifestyles.
RT: Finally, what’s your take on the future of the digital landscape? What excites you?
VV: The future of digital marketing will continue to evolve with more focus on audience and a seamless user experience. Consumers expect a frictionless experience across devices, and digital marketing needs to adapt to have a consistent marketing message.
Organizations will continue to get more thoughtful about how they structure their own data and will learn how to best leverage that data to find the right audience, regardless of the device they are using. We all should be focusing less on digital marketing and more on how do we market in a digital world.
For example, the merge of programmatic and dynamic creatives with location-based mobile marketing is very exciting. The ability to do programmatic and dynamic creatives means you are increasing the relevance of your messaging.
Then you take it a step further and add in the aspect of location, you are all of a sudden having all these dimensions of information where you really are able to offer someone opportunities of value as opposed to messages of interruption.
©The Torrenzano Group 2015
VV: Connected, smart, empowered, tech savvy, but in need of humanity, community and comfort.
Consumers expect products and services to be always on, friction-free and multichannel, but to truly distinguish products and gain loyalty, you'll need to offer the latter: create human products and build a brand family.
RT: Brands and marketers talk about demographics like millennials and baby boomers. Are these terms still relevant?
VV: They’re being misused.
The environments that we grew up in and the things that happen to us as we grow, typically have a huge impact on our attitudes, not just then but over time.
Consumers who grew up in the same circumstances, with many of the same external influences -- technology to media, products to politics -- frequently have relatively similar attitudes to many things: from purchasing to privacy, loyalty to lifestyles.
RT: Finally, what’s your take on the future of the digital landscape? What excites you?
VV: The future of digital marketing will continue to evolve with more focus on audience and a seamless user experience. Consumers expect a frictionless experience across devices, and digital marketing needs to adapt to have a consistent marketing message.
Organizations will continue to get more thoughtful about how they structure their own data and will learn how to best leverage that data to find the right audience, regardless of the device they are using. We all should be focusing less on digital marketing and more on how do we market in a digital world.
For example, the merge of programmatic and dynamic creatives with location-based mobile marketing is very exciting. The ability to do programmatic and dynamic creatives means you are increasing the relevance of your messaging.
Then you take it a step further and add in the aspect of location, you are all of a sudden having all these dimensions of information where you really are able to offer someone opportunities of value as opposed to messages of interruption.
©The Torrenzano Group 2015