Older Folks and Social Media

According to a new study the fastest growing demographic for Twitter is...ready?...folks 55 - 64.  In fact that demographic has jumped by 79% since 2012.  So?

So, if your company is attempting to connect with an older demographic it may be a good idea to connect with social media.  A couple of additional items:

• People aged 45 - 54 are fastest growing group on Facebook and Google+

• Older American's have fewer "friends" on Facebook. The seem to be content with "quality" not "quantity"

So, social media is NOT "just for teens" clearly there is opportunity to connect with older folks for those of you who have embraced this form of marketing. In addition, our age makes a difference in our taste and interests so the key here is knowing HOW to use social media to attract a demographic above age 45.

You there...yet?

You can find us on Facebook and on Twitter @InsightADV

 

 

Brilliant Marketing

When a business recruits "Brand Warriors" and those people say positive things about the product/service it's not only rewarding but also a brilliant way to extend the brands' reach.

The Iowa Wild Hockey Team has done just that and it is...(I'll use it again...) brilliant.  

Former hockey clubs had "Dance Teams" made up of very attractive young women who would entertain between periods.  When the Iowa Wild came to Des Moines they made a big deal out of being "Family Friendly" and shelved the dance teams then replaced them with high school dancers, high school bands and singing groups from all over the state.

What does that do?  More people from outside the Des Moines Metro are introduced to AHL Hockey.  More people start to talk about it, share images on social media channels and more butts in the seats because you know Mom and Dad want to see their kid perform in front of thousands.

Brilliant...Brilliant...Brilliant 

 

Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications is also the fuel that powers Insight on Business the News Hour the only local, live, hour-long business broadcast in the region. Monday - Friday from 5PM to 6PM on 1350-KRNT, Des Moines

LinkedIn Has a Problem...

Like many professionals we use LinkedIn to connect with various local business people as we power Insight on Business the News Hour with a robust guest list.  But, LinkedIn has a problem that, for some reason, they are unable to fix.

Every time an individual updates their professional profile LinkedIn "thinks" the person has a new job and starts sending out reminders that we need to "Congratulate John/Jane Doe on a new job!". So, often we (and you) go to those profiles, say "Congrats!" only to learn it's not a new job, simply an update.

Makes us (and you) look a little silly because we did not already know that about our LinkedIn friend.

So, how do you make sure?  The only way we found was to actually go and visit that "New Job" personal profile and read.  Making sure that it's actually a new job and then sending the congrats.

Don't you love automation?

Thanks for reading.  If you've got a comment feel free to post here, follow us on Twitter @InsightADV and/or here is our Facebook Page.

 

Why Is Business Fascinated With Facebook?

Last week I was in a meeting with a well known company.  They had  called our firm for a "brain picking session".  What that means is we go in and ask questions, give them some solid marketing ideas (just to show them we know what we're talking about), shake hands and leave.  Then the people we visit with will do nothing.  It's not like we're jaded it's simply the truth.  Most business people would rather "stay the course" than adjust and grow.  New is often difficult.

At the center of their discussion was social media and at the center of that was Facebook.  Business is fascinated with Facebook.  They hear stories of how well known businesses have thousands of followers and think, "We would be successful if only we had thousands and thousands of followers!"  But...that is bunk.

Thousands of followers is nice but do they impact your ROI?  If so...great.  If not let's adjust.

I asked, "So, tell us, what percentage of your marketing budget is spent on out-bound advertising?"  After some thought we were told 16%.  "And, what constitutes your largest percentage and how much is that?"  We were told 50% goes to special events and internal promotion.

In other words...they are talking to themselves rather than attracting new customers.  When we suggested they reverse that number...and why...they were shocked.

Bottom line:  If you keep doing things the same way you can expect the same results even when you incorporate new tools (Social Media). If you are pushing the wrong message to the wrong people the ROI won't be there even if the tools are "free".

Your take?

 

 

Connect with our advertising agency on Twitter @InsightADV and our Facebook Page is right here.  Also, Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications is the fuel that powers Insight on Business the News Hour the only local, live, hour-long business broadcast in the region.  Here is a link to that podcast and more about the broadcast.

This Week on The News Hour

Insight on Business the News Hour with Michael Libbie and a new week.  Each day Monday - Friday starting at 5PM on 1350-KRNT, Des Moines (click here for the Podcast Page) we not only bring you the business news but also interesting interviews with business leaders, start-ups, entrepreneurs, non-profit executives and news-makers.  Here is the line up for this week:

Monday - We welcome Becky McCray to the studio to talk about rural economic development and later in the hour Brianne Sanchez-Young about a new professional non-profit program.

Tuesday - From Indianola we make welcome Jason White from the Warren County Economic Development Corporation to talk...economic development and more. Then we'll visit with Katie Roth of Portico Staffing what is it and what do they do for business?

Wednesday - Ernest Phillips of TUG Consulting will be our guest.  We're intrigued by what it is he does. Then in the second half hour Adam Obrecht will visit with us about building wealth.

Thursday - We're going to do some in depth work with Amy Fredrichs from The Principal.  What's going on in the US with small business owners and more. Then from the Grimes Chamber we welcome Brian Buethe to talk up Grimes Development.

Friday - Our friend Darcy Maulsby will visit us and we'll have a conversation about rural economic development and more.  We end the week with our friend Lindsey Smith of Exhibit Smith and talk...museums.

Insight on Business the News Hour is made possible through the support of Mr. B Clothing of Clive, The Fireplace SuperStore of Urbandale, The Warren County Economic Development Corporation of Indianola, The Kreamer Law firm of West Des Moines, ReMax Real Estate Concepts of Des Moines, Westside Auto Pros of Clive,  West Bank of Des Moines, Merit Resources of Des Moines, the Iowa Computer Club of Des Moines and The Rick Davis Team of Des Moines.

The News Hour is a production of our advertising agency, Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications and you can join us on Twitter @IoB_NewsHour and here is our Facebook Page for photos, videos and more.  Thanks for reading.

WOW...Stunning and Thank You!

Insight on Business the News Hour with Michael Libbie celebrates nine weeks of broadcasting on 1350-KRNT. Nine weeks ago we began doing what nobody else in the Des Moines Metro thought was important...giving voice to business with an hour-long, local and live broadcast that features the business stories of the day, economic development items and interviews with news-makers, business people, start-ups and more.  The response has been wonderful and we are grateful.

And, because we know you can't always listen on "our time" (5PM to 6PM) we've created a podcast page where you can download the broadcast interviews from your desktop to your mobile device.

And, here is the link to the Mobile site.  During these nine weeks over 13,000 of you have come by to download a broadcast.  Thank you!

Yes, we stripped out the news portions so you can enjoy the insight of our wide and varied guests.  For example, just this week we've hosted:

Greg Edwards - Greater Des Moines Convention & Visitors Bureau;

Tom Swartwood - From Drake University on start-ups and entrepreneurs;

John Hale - From the Hale Group on direct care givers in Iowa;

Steve Wilkie-Shapiro - About the economic impact of rehabbing buildings;

Gordon Fischer - From the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation;

Chuck Kuba - From Iowa Diamond with an entertaining interview;

Ralph Rosenberg - From the Iowa Environmental Council about water;

Brent Isenberger - Small business owner and business photographer.

And today (Friday, November 1) we'll be visiting with Steve Mathews from the Radio Garage adn Chaden Halfhill from Silent Rivers.

As you can see, we burn through plenty of people each week.  If you've got a story for us or know of a unique business let us know.  Our news email is [email protected] And, thank you for listening!

Insight on Business the News Hour is made possible through the support of Mr. B Clothing of Clive, The Fireplace SuperStore of Urbandale, The Warren County Economic Development Corporation of Indianola, The Kreamer Law firm of West Des Moines, ReMax Real Estate Concepts of Des Moines, Westside Auto Pros of Clive,  West Bank of Des Moines, Merit Resources of Des Moines, the Iowa Computer Club of Des Moines and The Rick Davis Team of Des Moines.

If you want to follow us on Twitter it's @IoB_NewsHour before, during and after the broadcast and here is our Facebook Page for the photos, videos and back-story of the News Hour.