Posted in Marketing, productivity, relationship

8 comments

2/07 2009

The One Place You Should Focus ALL Marketing

Many times we (marketing professionals) talk about the concepts of an integrated marketing approach. “You should be doing email marketing, billboards, radio ads, blah blah blah blah. ” Sometimes it gets a little heavy… Sometimes it gets a little burdensome.

Business owners want to know one thing: How do you drive brand awareness or revenue. As a small business owner there is one form of marketing/communication strategy that should be the MAIN focus of all of your endeavours: word-of-mouth marketing or referral marketing. We are a small business economy built off of referrals.

When building out your marketing plan or talking with a marketing company… make very sure they are discussing the leveraging power of referrals. There is no better way to build your business.

BzzAgent.com – Word Of Mouth Marketing Services (killerstartups.com)
Is Getting Clients on Facebook a Myth? (socialmediatoday.com)
The Risks Of Referral Marketing (killerblog.com)
Seven Steps to Better Customer Referrals (myventurepad.com)

Posted in Marketing, My Life, indianapolis

0 comments

1/07 2009

Giving More than You Get and Living the Dream

We have a half-day planning session at Brandswag today. You know how strategic planning goes… you go through values, vision and mission statements, marketing initiatives, and the like… However this is not why I am excited to attend the planning session. I am excited to see the power of six creative minds joined together to brainstorm around the future of a company… a company that we all love.

It has been two years since Brandon Coon (my partner) and I have opened the doors at Brandswag and now we have the most talented team a person could ask for..

I consider myself blessed to be running an organization who has a mission/vision statement that isn’t lengthy and boring it is simply:

To help companies incorporate creative tools that build strong relationships with their clients.

There is one other statement that we try to live by at Brandswag:

By creating ideas that infect business, we move beyond thoughts, ideas & theory.
It is about producing intentional campaigns and dialogue that move customers to buy.

In the words of Mike Lantz, one of my mentors and owner of LQ Strategies: I am living the dream.

Strategy, Tactics and Hope (ericbrown.com)
Are You Clear On Where You Are Going? (myventurepad.com)
Individuals need marketing (scotttesta.com)
10bigideaspresentation (slideshare.net)
The Difference Between Hard and Hard Work (altitudebranding.com)

Posted in Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media Community, blogging, rant, social media, social media marketing

8 comments

30/06 2009

The Failing Marketing and PR World

I am becoming increasingly concerned with the lack of blog writing by public relations, marketing, and advertising firms in the city of Indianapolis and abroad. The simple fact that a communications company is not in-tune with the changing landscape of the consumer driven world is troubling… to say the least.

If there are any industries that should be on the forefront of social media and blogging it is the public relations and marketing worlds. YOU are the communications arm for major brands both large and small. YOU are driving them out of business because of your lack of knowledge pertaining to the changing world.

If you do not believe in social media as a valuable device for communication (two-way communication)… I am concerned for your company health and your clients bottom line. You may be riding the fair wave of strictly using traditional marketing and media buys… Don’t get me wrong… it is still extremely valuable to use and implement but only when integrated with new techniques.

But what happens when 6 to 12 months down the road… when you realize that you did not change in the right direction… What happens when you are surpassed by smaller, more agile firms and your market share is ripped away because of one thing..

THEY realized it was important to talk to single consumers instead of a HUGE demographic mix. They realized it was important to communicate instead of blasting messages over the airwaves.

It is important to understand that social media will be new medium of communication. It may be a new concept but in the next year it is going to revolutionize the way we communicate. Are you searching for the truth? Are you watching the trends?

Most are not.

Has Web 2.0 Made You Happier? [part II] (conversationagent.com)
Why Banks Should Listen to Social Media (kylelacy.com)
Market Recovery Will Only Accelerate Marketing Trends (newcommbiz.com)
Internet Strategy Forum Summit Interview: Katherine Durham (lockergnome.com)

Corporate Strategy, customer evangelist, innovation, small business, social media

2 comments

29/06 2009

Your Customers are Changing. Are You?

This video has be circulating for quite some time and it is absolutely brilliant. If you want to understand how the marketing and communication world is shifting watch the video below.

Are you listening to your customer? Are you changing with the way they are communicating to each other? Where is the personality? Where is the love? Remember that the world changes and it is important for businesses to understand that their clients are people and not a demographic analysis.

What are you do doing to communicate more effectively with your customers?

One Most Important Factor of Social Media Marketing (futurebells.com)
Honesty is the best policy (digital-constructions.com)
MarketingProfs Internet Marketing Conference – Register Today! (blogmarketingjournal.com)
Most Excellent Methods to Improve Communication (raunchyjohnson.com)

Reputation Management, Social Strategy, business, content, small business, social media, social media marketing

6 comments

29/06 2009

Are You Vomiting Ideas Through Social Media?

I know. I know. This is probably not the best title to read early in the morning. For that matter, it is probably not the best post title to read any time of the day.

When writing your blog, participating in social media, or just communicating (period) it is important to remember that your readers and participants are consuming your data. There is plenty of regurgitation happening on the Internet… an idea is started on one end of the world and re-written hundreds of times. Where does the original content come from? Is there really such a thing as original content? Yes, there is and it happens from the personal realm.

Many would argue that there is no such thing as a new idea. We all write and read marketing, accounting, financing, and business content that has been hacked a part and repurposed countless times… so where does original content come from? Your personal experience.

Remember to write about what you learn on a daily basis in your business. How do YOU help your clients and customers? How did “Mary” feel about your product? How did an individual experience your thought leadership? How are you building trust?

We are all trying to produce content that people will read and share. The most original content you can create is through your personal experience. Write about what you learn, know, and experience and we will love you for it.

My Top five Social media Traffic Generators. (futurebells.com)
Social Networking and Technical Communicators | On the Write Road (jonggunlee.tistory.com)
Who Gives a Hoot About Twitter? (thecustomercollective.com)
What Is a Blog? (successful-blog.com)

business, content

1 comment

25/06 2009

B2B Social Media Marketing with Blogging

What is the one thing that comes up time and time again in our educational sessions at Brandswag? B2B use of social media. I have heard plenty of reasons why social media could not… should not.. be used to sell the B2B world.

What do many B2B companies do right now for marketing? Direct Mail? Newspaper Advertising? E-Newsletters? Many of the outbound forms of marketing still work for B2B sales but blogging (in my mind) has taken a mainstream stance when building trust and thought-leadership in a specific industry.

There is some truth to the thought that content can build trust between individuals. Many of us look at B2B marketing as fundamentally different from B2C marketing. Honestly….. there is hardly any difference. We are selling to people. Business to business based companies are still selling to people. The CEO of a distribution company is still a person despite the fact he deals with companies instead of individual.

As a B2B company remember to start a blog that contains content, daily interactions, client thoughts/opinions and industry news. Your purpose is to create an informational powerhouse that keeps people reading…

And involved them in your story… your brand… your legacy.

Advertising & Sales Promotional Strategies In Rural Market (slideshare.net)
Social Media isn’t Replacing Marketing Folks… (socialmediatoday.com)
Direct Marketing In A Social Media World (marketingpilgrim.com)
E-Book: It’s Not About You Anymore (myventurepad.com)

Marketing, business, small business, social media, social media marketing

1 comment

24/06 2009

Marketing is Always Different

I think the beautiful thing about the web, social media, marketing, and the business world is that fact that everyone is different.

We would like to sit here and say that there are TONS of companies that are the same. There are 30,343 graphic design firms in Indianapolis. Not true, but you get the point. I am not talking about face value. The difference in each organization is the people behind the brand.

Each company has individuals that run every facet of the arms, legs, and head of the company. They are each an individual. They are each… different. They each have their own ideas, thoughts, and imagination on where the company is headed into the future.

This is an extremely important concept to understand. You need to utilize each individual under a common brand. We all have different ideas on marketing and that is why companies vary greatly on marketing potential… and (of course) disaster.

Utilize your employees. Utilize your customers (your brand). Create a sustainable future for your (their) company. Create a company that embraces change, ignites excitement, and takes full advantage of a trend.

Marketing is always different. Ideas are always different. It is the implementation… that moves mountains.

Are the fish taking the bait? (socialmediatoday.com)
Dedicated Social-Media Silos? That’s the Last Thing We Need – Advertising Age – Jonah Bloom [del.icio.us] (adage.com)
Who Gives a Hoot About Twitter? (thecustomercollective.com)
Kyle Lacy: Next Time. Punch Fear in the Face. (via Kyle Lacy, Social Media – Indianapolis) (kylelacy.com)

Marketing, Reputation Management, business, content, relationship, small business

4 comments

22/06 2009

Using Social Media to Sell Yourself

Daryl Mather has a great post about frictionless selling over at the Consulting Pulse. It was such a great article and I wanted to take the concept of frictionless selling and apply it to social media marketing and blogging. It is extremely important to understand the concept of frictionless selling. To say the least:

Frictionless Selling surrounds the understand that the least amount of barriers between a person and a purchase… the better.

This means that you should not have massive forms to fill out in order to sign up for a newsletter. This means that it is better to have your phone number than a contact form (this can be debated).

Frition based selling has no place in social media. The speed of conversation and the amount of personality needed to elicit some type of purchasing pattern cannot be screwed up by a massive form or a huge blog posts.

Remember to tell stories when writing your content. Be passionate about what you love and what you do (hopefully, two of the same). Remember to give people an easy way to get in contact with you. The will love you for it.

The 3 Business Blog Strategies (wordsellinc.com)
The Zen of Social Media (myventurepad.com)
Creating and managing an online community (specialdee.wordpress.com)
Social Networking or Social Notworking? (myventurepad.com)

My Life, business, social media

4 comments

19/06 2009

We Do What We Do and Why We Do It

Why do we do what we do? How many times have you asked yourself this question? Do it.

Why do WE do what WE do? There are a multitude of different answers depending on the person. We do it because we love what we do. I do it because of the challenge of running a business. Maybe, it is to be an employer and give people jobs.

When it comes to running a social media education company in Indianapolis I haven’t quite pinpointed the main push that drives me to work everyday. I love what I do, I love the people I work with, and I love the concept of educating people on the wonderful world of social media. However, there is one thing that always pushes me passed the edge and gets the juices flowing: that spark.

The spark of a business owner, employee, sole-proprietor, or salesman understanding the concepts of communicating online. When you are standing in front of a group of people you can almost see the light bulbs explode over their heads… in brilliant light… that is where I enjoy my life. Education can change businesses… shifting paradigms is important to growing companies.

If the only thing you can do is teach your clients something… anything… to make their lives easier, faster, and better… you have done the right thing. We are all striving for something and most of the time it is taking the red to black.

Expletives Deleted: Swearing in Social Media (centernetworks.com)
SMCQ12 How are companies using social media to empower their workforce (socialmediaclub.org)
Jason Falls to Visit Indianapolis to talk Social Media (kylelacy.com)
60% Of Bosses Want To See Your Facebook/Twitter; Only 53% Of The Rest Of Us Realize That Is Creepy And Jive (philebrity.com)

Advertising, Corporate Strategy, Public Relations, Social Media Community, Social Strategy, blogging, business, content, corporate blogging, customer evangelist, small business, social media, social networking

7 comments

17/06 2009

Authenticity is Life. The Rest is Just Details.

How do you creat great content that is alluring to the general public and your potential clients? The simple answer would be keyword rich content and industry news. Oh yes, keyword rich writing. We all love it.

There is something deeper that tends to push one blog past the other in terms of the public attention deficit disorder: Authenticity.

Authenticity should be one of the driving focusing of your blog, your use of social networking tools, and your business. We are now in a customer centric world where people want to deal with… you guessed it… people.

Staying authentic with your content means you do not sound like the back of a brochure. It means you do not sound like the news anchor on the Fox Business Channel droning away about the pitfalls of capitalism.

It means..What does it mean?

Telling stories.

Creating visual memories of how you have helped clients. Telling the story of starting the business and being honest about the mistakes you made “growing up.” It means giving your personal opinion on activities happening in the market.

I think I speak for everyone when I say… we want to hear from YOU not your industry.