We are all becoming more and more aware every day of how social media, viral marketing and user generated media/content are revolutionizing the advertising world. Unfortunately for some brands like United Airlines and Pizza Hut, they are finding out the hard way. The Dave Carroll/Taylor guitar fiasco has spread like wildfire, thanks to the opportunity given to anyone anywhere to share their voice. This incident should teach brands a valuable lesson with regard to how they handle customer service inquiries. Brands need to be very attentive and sensitive to the fact that everyone is now considered a “marketer,” given this newfound freedom to communicate their experiences and opinions, whether it be good or bad.

According to Ad Week, over three million people in one week viewed the video that Dave Carroll uploaded to YouTube regarding the mishandling of his Taylor guitar. For United Airlines, this translates into a dreadful number of people worldwide that now identify United Airlines as the airline that doesn’t care about the management or handling of your luggage. Considering the latest attitude toward airline companies and the new and increased baggage fees, this is a serious hit to United’s reputation and will demand serious recovery efforts. Terribly news for the airline that the video is now the third search result for the query “United Airlines” on Google.

United has already made a genuine attempt to reconcile with Carroll, and announced via Twitter that they had made a $3,000 donation to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Good start, but this will need to be followed by further earnest efforts to mend this damaging reputation they’ve acquired.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/strategy/e3icf26a0dad6f1001638196a9b842c61d2?pn=1

There have been several very public failures of online degree programs in the past 12 months, and several others that were not so public as well.  As an observer of online higher education, I think it is safe to say that programs are closing almost as quickly as they are being launched.  The fact is traditional institutions seem to have a lot of trouble figuring out how to make a new online division successful.  In the process of trying to determine the equation for success, these colleges often spend large sums of money only to eventually close the online programs entirely.  This pattern begs the question, ‘why does this happen?’.  I think that there are several answers to this question, all of which center around a common theme: traditional institutions simply do not approach online education correctly.  The following are some flaws in approach that lead to online program failures.

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Have you met with a successful money manager that didn’t tell you that diversification was a must? The first recommendation a financial advisor typically recommends is diversification. It seems obvious and makes perfect sense, right? Why would any reasonable investor put all their eggs in one basket? They wouldn’t!

So, why do marketers feel they can spend their available advertising budget in one (or maybe two) initiatives?

The number of messages the average consumer is bombarded with is unheard of. The average consumer: reads the paper in the morning, listens to the radio on the way to work, passes a few billboards on the way in to work, fires up their office computer to read their latest RSS feed, checks their email, bookmarks their favorite site, reads the rest of their newspaper online, sends a few Tweets, comments on their favor blog, opens up their mail and the list goes on, and on, and on. And, in many cases, consumers are “consuming” two or more of these initiatives at the same time.

Not only do advertisers need to break through the clutter, they need to make an imprint on consumers in many, many different ways.

The whole idea of “social engagement” or “conversational marketing” is on my mind. (It’s hard not to be when just about everything I read related to advertising or marketing lately is centered on this concept.) It’s fascinating to watch the world of marketing change.

For years we have helped clients implement “socially engaging” campaigns to reach their customers, but the whole notion of social marketing has created a new buzz in marketing.

To quote a quintessential marketing cliché, it’s “top-of-mind” for most marketers. We often get questions about how to implement effective social marketing campaigns. Advertisers say they need to be on Twitter and need help implementing a campaign on Facebook that will result in a “good following,” but they don’t understand WHY it’s important to communicate to their customers through these vehicles. Really — how can you blame them when you see companies from the local gas station to dry cleaners asking customers to follow them on Twitter?

We explain to clients and prospects that it’s not just about adding a social marketing line item to their budget. It should be viewed as a new way of marketing and communicating to customers. Customers have opinions and they want to be heard. Brands that are not willing to listen, engage and respond will end up with unsatisfied customers.

From a personal perspective, when was the last time you made any major buying decision and did not consult a friend, family member or glanced at a network or review site to get information about the product/service you are about to purchase/use? Customers want to be heard and advertisers who are not listening are going to be left questioning why their customers are turned off and their bottom lines are in the red.

It’s amazing how many people remember this line from the 1996 movie “Jerry Maguire.’” That famous line was delivered by the actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. playing the part of Rod Tidwell – the point being that no matter what anybody said about his skill as an athlete, the most important thing as far as he was concerned, was the MONEY!

So what does this have to do with Online Education? Certainly there are those that continue their education because they love what they’re doing. But probably the vast majority are saying “Show Me The Money!” They know that getting a degree means more income! A better life! Greater satisfaction!

We know that taking classes online can help individuals freshen their skills and stay competitive in their industry, which helps them move up the ladder and negotiate a higher salary or a bigger raise. Online education provides them with a way of keeping their professional goals in sight without disrupting their lives.

Here’s a little exercise I did for this article. The website www.payscale.com allows one free “Salary Report” – so I took advantage of it. My input stated that I was looking for the pay scale for an Advertising and Promotion Manager in San Diego, CA. I inputed that I had 20 years’ experience, had managed up to 10 people, BUT, I did not have a degree of any kind. I clicked submit, and just as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, I saw the line right next to the pay scale chart, “Increase your salary. Search Degrees.” The implication was clear. Get a degree and we’ll SHOW YOU THE MONEY!

Average Annual Earnings for College Graduates and Non-Graduates
Average Annual Earnings

Professional Degree $109,600
Doctoral Degree $89,400
Master’s Degree $62,300
Bachelor’s Degree $52,200
Associates Degree $38,200
Some College $36,800
High School Graduate $30,400
Some High School $23,400

Average Annual Earnings—Different Levels of Education.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys

Let EDU, “Show You The Money!”
EDU Interactive believes it is so important that as your lead generation partner, we assume responsibility for all aspects of your campaign, from strategy through execution, while our partners maintain ownership of leads delivered on a pay-for-performance basis. EDU Interactive believes that successful online lead generation demands certain critical attributes and adherence to these will determine the success of a campaign and allow us to “Show You The Money!”

ONE: It’s impossible to put too much importance on budgeting. This is where fantasy and reality butt heads. This is the first inning – the first batter – the first pitch! Get this right and the chance for success and realizing expectations come together.
TWO: A campaign strategy tailored to achieve enrollment goals. A strategy that communicates a message of substance. This is where our experience really shines!
THREE: A media plan that leverages a mix of online channels to reach a multitude of highly targeted
candidates and direct this traffic to education programs – a media plan that is negotiated with the client’s
best interest in mind and not the media’s.
FOUR: Apply advanced optimization strategy across these online channels determined by our extensive personal, behavioral, and contextual targeting criteria, to make sure we are delivering an on-target message to the right candidates, ensuring a consistent stream of qualified student leads and return on investment.
FIVE: We feel that it is also very important that we verify the quality of all student leads using a highly developed data cleansing process.
SIX: Finally, it is vital to analyze a campaign’s results and provide recommendations for all future campaigns.

The people of EDU Interactive have devoted countless hours and experienced innumerable success and, yes, failure, too, in an effort to learn what it takes to create and administer a service based on the six principles stated in this article.

Ultimately, it boils down to execution … EDU Interactive’s greatest strength. That’s why we can, “Show You The Money!”