Using the right tone of voice to suit your audience 10th March 2011 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Using the right tone of voice to suit your audience 10th March 2011 Gifford Morley-Fletcher Director of Strategy, Inbound Marketing

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level I’m going to talk about - Setting the scene: how things were and how they are today - Your audience: the different ways to define it - there are several! - The importance of knowing your landscape - Understanding your resources - The different tones of voice - Summary

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level In the past - a captive audience

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Tone of voice was often one sided

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Today you’re a voice in the crowd Hey! Listen to me not them...

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level And we’re not so important

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level So what do we mean by ‘your audience’? Industry Channel Influencers Job title Discipline Clients Sales Funnel Press

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Start by plotting your landscape Who’s talking? What are they saying? How are they saying it? Where are they saying it? Now you know who you are talking to and where

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Understand your resources - how much can you do? Twitter - needs daily attention Blogging - at least once a week LinkedIn - up to once a day Monitoring and responding - an hour a day? White papers - 2 per month PR - once a month Now you know how much you are going to do

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level The 6 tones of voice Informative Authoritative Helpful Controversial Fun Personal

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Informative When to use it: Informative Authoritative Helpful safe, toe in the water, all the time Controversial Fun Personal Type of content: news, official announcements Channels: Twitter, blogs, PR, LinkedIn Resource required: Minimal - enough to distribute news

Platforms offer Title goes here Body text goes here

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Authoritative When to use it: Informative Authoritative Helpful When establishing your position in a subject area Controversial Fun Personal Type of content: Thought-leadership Channels: Twitter, blogs, white papers, LinkedIn, video, Slideshare Resource required: Part to full-time

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Helpful When to use it: Informative Authoritative Helpful When establishing your expertise - passive selling Controversial Fun Personal Type of content: How- to’s, responding to questions, direct customer service contact Channels: Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, forums, video, Slideshare Resource required: Full-time

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Controversial When to use it: Informative Authoritative Helpful Tactically - attached to a specific campaign, or when building awareness Controversial Fun Personal Type of content: Comments on current news, criticism of content or products Channels: Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, forums Resource required: On a campaign basis - full-time for a period

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Fun When to use it: Informative Authoritative Helpful Tactically - attached to a specific campaign, or when building awareness. Ongoing depending on your Controversial Fun Personal audience Type of content: Competitions, quirky comments, videos Channels: Twitter, Facebook, video Resource required: On a campaign basis - full-time for a period

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Personal When to use it: Informative Authoritative Helpful On an ad hoc basis, but social media is social and therefore personal Controversial Fun Personal Type of content: When interacting specifically with your audience. Often part of monitoring and responding Channels: Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, forums Resource required: Ad hoc but a full-time resource to be available

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level Summary Different tones of voice for different strategies Different tones of voice for different audiences Different tones of voice for different channels Start with your landscape and strategy, and then work out the appropriate tone of voice Don’t sell!

B2B Marketing Seminar - Taking it to the next level A message from a social media expert Greetings Tigers! Remember to think before you communicate and you will be winners like me.....