The Simple Strategies & Tactics Are Often Best

Driving into the office on Thursday, I heard an interesting radio commercial. Actually, only the last line of the commercial was interesting. It was seven words that accomplished three things digital and social media marketers keep banging their heads against the wall over.

The chatter at conferences, on blogs and in webinars of late has included many themes, but these three keep emerging as what digital marketers can’t quite figure out:

1. Defining a strategic purpose for social media
2. Integrating social media with traditional marketing
3. Driving more engagement

So when those seven words rolled out of my car speakers, I almost had to pull off the side of the road so I could stand and clap. A business finally accomplished all three in a single sentence in a radio ad.

The words: Have a question? Ask us on Facebook!

Meguiar’s car care products has obviously chosen to use social media as a customer service function. Sure, it might (and does) post product information, polls about how people care for their cars, etc., on its Facebook page. But the company had six questions from customers in a 24-hour period from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning when I checked this week. Their responses seemed to be a day or so behind, but the company appeared to answer most, if not all, of the previous questions posted.

In adding those seven little words to its traditional advertisements, Meguiar’s is clearly illustrating a smart way to leverage the reach of one medium to direct those interested to the intimacy of another. Radio ads will reach more people than wall posts or Tweets every day, provided they are played on a station with some degree of an audience. (This particular ad was on The Bob and Tom Show, a nationally-syndicated comedy morning show with millions of listeners.) Meguiar’s is casting a wide net with advertising hoping that a handful of big fish are interested enough to come closer to the boat on Facebook.

And of course, telling people they can reach out and get something in return on your Facebook page, even if it’s just an answer to their questions, drives engagement.

Have a question? Ask us on Facebook!

Drives a strategic purpose, integrates with traditional media and drives engagement.

Meguiar’s wins.

There’s nothing complex about this. Nothing you’d need to pay a high-priced consultant for. Nothing that would take your agency or staff hours and hours to facilitate. Add a line of copy to the ads, put someone on Facebook to monitor and answer questions and win.

Sometimes its the simple that is most divine.