I’m an admitted book hoarder—I’ve kept every book I’ve ever owned. There are books piled high on shelves, end tables, and night stands all around my house. I love the smell of books and the texture of the pages as I turn them. And for years, I ranted against the crazy idea of e-books. Who in their right mind would want to hold a device instead of a real ...]]>  

I’m an admitted book hoarder—I’ve kept every book I’ve ever owned. There are books piled high on shelves, end tables, and night stands all around my house. I love the smell of books and the texture of the pages as I turn them. And for years, I ranted against the crazy idea of e-books. Who in their right mind would want to hold a device instead of a real book?!

Then something unbelievable happened. I got a Kindle for Christmas, and in a matter of days, I was hooked. But how could a simple device change reading habits that had been firmly established for 34 years?

Smart marketing: Tapping into consumer habits

The e-book industry has much in common with companies like Target and Procter and Gamble—they’ve made their products successful by identifying, and then changing, consumer habits.

Take Target. By using sophisticated algorithms to analyze the purchasing habits of parents-to-be, Target can tell if you’re pregnant and reel you back into the store to buy more for your little bundle of joy. By watching videos of people cleaning their homes, Procter and Gamble was able to identify and then change cleaning habits, making Febreze® an essential part of many Americans’ cleaning routine.

The e-book industry has seen triple-digit growth every year since 2008 and is expected to grow at a rate of 30-50% in 2013. Much of that success can be directly attributed to one of the top book publishing industry trends—tapping into consumers’ reading habits.

Targeting social readers

For me, reading has always been a solitary pursuit, but there are many people who are social readers. They join their neighborhood book clubs, leave ratings and comments on websites, and look for recommendations on Goodreads. The e-book industry has made it easy for social readers to connect with others. And the best part—they don’t need to wait until the next book club meeting to let their voice be heard. E-reader devices allow social readers to rate and comment on their books as soon as they finish reading.

To continue its success with social readers, the industry will need to look at emerging technology. We may soon see some interesting results once e-reader devices incorporate the use of Facebook’s Graph Search and SEO tools, such as Inkling, into their marketing repertoire.

Targeting bargain hunters

Another successful move by the e-book industry has been to team up with—and sometimes create—free book recommendation sites like Pixel of Ink, which publishes daily lists of “deals and steals,” luring bargain hunters like yours truly.

This smart marketing strategy takes the old BOGO technique and turns it on its head. Consumers get their free book first and therefore are more willing to buy subsequent books when they’re done reading. Speaking from experience, it’s very difficult not to buy the second book in the series when the first one ends with a cliff hanger.

Targeting young readers

You may have already seen the Kindle and Nook commercials targeting young children, and it’s no surprise why.

A study by Nielsen revealed that 77.0% of children use tablets to download games, 57.0% for educational purposes, 55.0% use it as an entertainment device while traveling and 43.0% of children use tablets to watch shows or movies.  Thus, this segment of the market offers sufficient opportunity for tablet makers that Amazon obviously wants to tap.

As a parent, I’ve found myself downloading e-book versions of all the classics for my son to read. Where else will I find a fully-illustrated version of Jules Verne’s The Time Machine for free?!

Have reading habits changed for the better?

No doubt, my reading habits—along with those of millions of readers—have changed due to smart marketing by the e-book industry. Instead of trolling my local bookstores, I take a nightly virtual walk through my lists of bargain books. And I’m proud to say that I’ve become quite the e-book hoarder.

I’m reading more, and I’m exposed to a world of books by little-known authors that would have been difficult to find otherwise. So yes, my reading habits have changed for the better. “…And in change there is power” (Alan Cohen).

According to statistics revealed in Internet Retailer’s recently released ...]]>

© Fox111184 | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Gone are the days when retailers debated whether or not they should have a social media presence. In 2013, it’s almost a given that retailers both big and small will be active on at least one social media site, whether they choose to focus on just one or engage with consumers on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.

Committing to social media

According to statistics revealed in Internet Retailer’s recently released 2013 Top 500 Guide, which ranks the 500 leading North American e-tailers based on 2012 web sales, the vast majority of retailers have already embraced social media.

All but four of the Top 500 retailers (99.2%) have a Facebook page, nearly all (97.2%) are on Twitter, and most are also on YouTube (87.6%) and Pinterest (78.0%). That’s a sharp rise from 2009, when Internet Retailer began measuring merchants’ social media presences. Back then, 56.8% of Top 500 retailers were on Facebook, 20.4% were on Twitter and 41.4% were on YouTube.
— Zak Stambor, Internet Retailer, “Social media marketing matters for e-tailers”

Planning social media content strategy

But it’s not enough to simply have a Facebook or Twitter page. The next step retailers need to take is making the most of these platforms by creating effective social media content.

One strong example Stambor points to in his article is 1-800-Flowers.com, which has added a variety of social functionality to its site. Customers can share a product with friends on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google+ just a clicking, and they can also sign into the site with their Facebook credentials as an easy way to track friends’ birthdays (and send gifts, of course). The retailer also interacts with customers through more traditional social media posts, such as posts offering special offers to fans and followers.

There is no one-size-fits all social media strategy. Retailers need to get creative and figure out what will work best for them – and their customers. In today’s constantly evolving social media landscape, simply creating a Facebook page isn’t enough.

It’s called “social care.” According to ...]]> Did you know that 47% of social media users expect customer service via social media networks? For dealers, that means it’s not enough for your marketing associates to post promotions and pictures of the latest cars on Facebook and Twitter—your social media content strategy needs to include getting customer service and managers involved in responding to questions, complaints and issues from customers.

Automotive content online makes a difference for customers.

It’s called “social care.” According to a Nielsen report released in December 2012, one in three social media users prefer social care (especially on Facebook) to contacting a company by phone.

With so many opportunities for direct customer engagement with dealers via social media—sharing their experiences with buying a car, going for test drives or getting service—for all to see, dealers need to be prepared to take this engagement seriously and respond publicly, positive or negative. In other words, follow up.

Customers aren’t on popular social networks because they’re looking to be entertained by their favorite brands. They’re online to seek and share experiences. —Brian Solis, “The Broken Link of Customer Service”

According to the Nielsen study, half of social media users complain about a brand online at least once a month—and just over half (53%) pay compliments to a brand. Either way, customers want to see your dealership engaged: personally thanking them when they post a recommendation, and seeking resolutions when they have a complaint.

Then can you can move on to posting automotive content—service and sales promotions, pictures of cars, reviews about the dealership and car care tips—which are the top five things Facebook users say they want to see on a dealer’s Facebook page.