Marketing
Vinyl album sales are up 25% in 2011
vinyl albums are seeing a big comeback and CDs fall out of favor, and digital sales continue to dominate. The nostalgic and tactile benefit of vinyl seems to be winning over national acts, local bands, and fans alike.
And for the first time in a while, music sales as a whole are up in the US. Other trends see back catalog sales increasing with the Beatles added to iTunes and shows like American Idol and Glee continuing to bring attention to older genres and artists.
Where do you buy your music?
Sometimes brilliant creative tells the whole story
Groupon’s $6 Billion Blunder
GUEST POST
The way we shop is changing and it’s most likely that you’ve heard of the group buying site called Groupon. It’s a new and exciting model, but over the last little while, I’ve come to learn that it’s not exactly perfect. And in case you haven’t heard, Groupon recently turned down a $6B acquisition offer from Google, which I believe was a big mistake.
My Groupon Experience
When I first signed up with Groupon, I remember being excited about all of the deals that were flooding my inbox. The novelty of the site and huge discounts encouraged me to try a deal or two. But then something happened – Groupon started becoming popular and suddenly I was bombarded by my friends about participating in deals. Truth be told, it was becoming difficult managing all of these offers. And then another thing happened - if I tried to book an appointment with one of the deal providers I was put on a list. That meant I had to wait three or four months just to get a massage or to try a new sushi restaurant, and that wasn’t exactly appealing.
A Small Business Experience
The overwhelming popularity of Groupon kept small businesses (SMBs) busy. But, were these businesses flourishing as a result of their Groupon experience or barely breaking even? It turned out that some of the businesses underestimated the amount of demand that Groupon would generate. They didn’t calculate unperceived expenses like paying staff longer hours or having enough inventory to fulfill orders. In fact, a recent study by the Merchant Circle Report claims that 55% of SMBs are saying that they do not plan on using the Groupon service again. So perhaps the group buying model is failing to generate repeat customers? Or maybe it’s just too costly for a small business?
Facebook Places Emerges
Geo-targeting applications like Facebook pages and Foursquare are becoming popular and SMBs are taking notice. The same Merchant Circle Report states that 32% of these companies are currently using it and 12% are planning on using it. Essentially, Facebook Places allows businesses to track people who are stopping by their store. It’s an evolving application and there could be some promising business opportunities.
Using Twitter
Twitter is another great tool for SMBs to leverage their fans. A burrito company out of Boston called Boloco spread the message of a free gift to all of their customers on Twitter. And it turns out that their fans showed up in throngs to discover that they would receive a free burrito. The main difference here is that Boloco controlled their own expenses and revenues from this campaign and it resulted in excellent word of mouth and repeat customers.
Seriously? $6 Billion?
I’m actually not here to castigate Groupon. I only wish the best for the company and I’m surely aware that there are a lot of fans of the site. But I wonder if the novelty of the site has worn off? Are the amount of deals too much for us to manage? And from learning about the disdain of the SMBs, I wonder which businesses will be left for Groupon to target? Will they blast through all of the SMBs and put them out of business or will they help them generate repeat business and long term customers?
As for the Google deal, a lot of people were claiming that Google was making a huge mistake by offering the deal to Groupon? Maybe these people were right? Or maybe Google inadvertently avoided a $6 Billion mistake? At the same time, if I was Groupon, I would have signed that deal right away.
Key Lessons
- If you’re a small business and you want to leverage the power of social media and group buying sites like Groupon, prepare for the unexpected demand and try your best to predict any unforeseen costs that could arise from excess customers
- Make sure your business is listed using Facebook Places and connect it with your company Facebook Page. Learn how here.
- Develop a following on Twitter and nurture your fans. Treat them like gold and they will praise you relentlessly. Come up with creative campaigns that generate buzz and word of mouth.
- If someone offers you a $6 billion dollar deal, say yes and take it:)
About the author: Zaid Rasid is the founder of the internet marketing blog Better Social* Skills. He provides expert social media, lead generation & brand awareness advice to small and medium sized businesses. For a practical look at how online marketing can work for you, visit www.zaidrasid.com or follow him on twitter: www.twitter.com/zaidrasid
Good Video Whispers Stories In Your Ear
Not only do I love this band, Hoots and Hellmouth (@HootsHellmouth), I love these videos produces by the Athens Soundies. They are really elegantly done, they build a story, and they package the content of great music and make it even better. Presentation is not everything, but sometimes it is the only thing.
Are you just putting music out there or are you packaging it within an elegant story?
The Insanity Of Tracking Music Sales In A Shazam World
Ok, get ready for a quick but windy road. No pot of gold at the end, but I promise to make you think.
Last night I watched an old episode of Californication through Showtime On Demand on my Time Warner Cable. I heard a song track at the end of the episode and wanted to find out the artist. I used the Shazam app on my iPhone 4 to find out it was 3 Rounds & A Sound by Blind Pilot. I used the Shazam app to email myself and my girlfriend the info, as she liked the song too.
This morning, I checked the email, followed the iTunes link to buy the song and voila. Blind Pilot got a sale by being featured on a 3 year old tv show. They likely have no idea they are still getting sales from that show. Or maybe they do, but it would only be a hunch.
I imagine iTunes knows that the song came from a Shazam link. And hopefully that data is being passed on to the artist. But beyond that, they have no idea if I was at a bar, a friend’s house, or watching a raunchy yet incredibly well written premium channel TV drama.
In a world of digital cable and mobile phone apps and video game commercials (which could cause a 550% overnight jump in sales) the game of marketing music is very much a wild west.
Social media monitoring and iTunes metrics and Google Analytics and Nielsen tracking data can all give you glimpses of the consumer path I have outlined above. But they would not get you the whole story line.
As it was with marketing before the rise of the internet, we are often playing a game of educated guesses and hunches in proving the success of marketing.
Word of mouth and eyeballs on your product (or in this case ears) are as important as ever.
