Incentive - December 2009 - (Page 44)

Ta rge ti n g Yo u r Au d i e n ce ’s S o c i a l N e tw o r k s i n I n ce n ti ve M a r ke ti n g By Paul Hebert PRIMER Po i nt s to R em em b e r * Ramp up the frequency and specificity of your messages * Find and use the influencers in your organization to spread your messages L ike consumers, your employees and cations, more contact points, and more your channel partners are bombardinformation (in smaller, digestible chunks). ed by marketing messages. With Employees get tons of stuff in their social media, we have inboxes, their instant mesmore messages hitting us saging feeds, their every day from more intranet groups, etc. They places than ever. will ignore you until the When people face an frequency of your mesoverload of information, sages alerts them to the they first ignore it and fact that your program is assume that if it is imporsomething to which they tant they will see it again. should pay attention. That’s why you don’t Monthly mailers and a always get a response to “one-size-fits-all” update your initial marketing. to the company intranet People rely on you to won’t cut it. A schedule of remind them, and they specific daily, weekly, and Paul Hebert is managing respond when the corremonthly information is director at i2i, an incentive design spondence shifts from required. You need to consultancy, www.i2i-align.com. important to urgent. take advantage of the Second, they outsource. Over the past 20-plus years, he has multiple contact methods worked with Fortune 100 clients to People go to their netin the communications develop non-cash reward and recogworks of trusted friends ecosystem and use specifnition strategies within overall and business associates in ic messages to target suborder to determine groups. A standard engagement plans. whether they should pay “Check out the award attention to something. People look for the earners this month” e-mail won’t register, “buzz” among their social groups, and but a “Check out what Bob in the next that’s where those who market and run cube did” notification will. Messages to incentive programs for employees and specific areas of the intranet that are frechannel partners need to target. quent stopping points of program participants will get attention. For Employee Programs Find the influencers in your organization When it comes to marketing employee and give them special access to communiprograms, more is better: more communicate information about your program. People will pay attention to them, and don’t assume influencers are just employees with titles. They are everywhere. For Channel Programs Many times, there are hidden pockets of potential influencers on your channel. Can you find and enlist them in promoting your program? Look for the places where your channel members get their information and connect with them there. Is there a popular Web site that services your channel partners? Buy an ad promoting your program on that site. Offer to do an informational interview with the site’s owner. For those in your channel who are already deep into social media, what do you offer them to promote your program on their networks? Can you give them a reward for every tweet? Do you source or post ideas on how to earn the awards in your program within LinkedIn groups? Many industries have association sites. Can you buy ads there promoting the success of your participants, who will propagate your message to others? Time to Branch Out The social network is the modern marketing medium. Getting employees and channel partners to pay attention to and feel excited about your program is a full-time job that can’t be supported by just old media ideas. Jump into the social network communications world now! 44 | Incentive | December 2009 | incentivemag.com http://www.i2i-align.com http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - December 2009

Incentive - December 2009
Contents
Editor’s Note: The Age of Friending
Headlines
Cover Story: Social Media Can Engage Employees
Original Research: 2009 Corporate Gift IQ
Potentials: Here and Now
Travel News: Where to Go and How to Get There
Strategies: Morale-Boosting Leadership
Primer: Social Networking and Incentive Programs

Incentive - December 2009