Growing & Learning Archives - Page 8 of 23

Around the horn: 04/10/08

April 10, 2008

"Around the horn" is a baseball warm up drill that has the infield players simulating the path a ball would take during a double play. In my case, I’m using the term to share some of the best posts I’ve seen recently.

"You’re not all that." A great line from Andrew Clark’s post on 15.5 ways to be more creative over at Brand Chef. Check out his very helpful list of creativity triggers. I especially recommend #10 and #15.

Lewis Green offers up some insights on how to increase sales and marketing’s effectiveness in your organization. As you would expect if you are a regular reader of Lewis’ work — the post is very thought provoking and insightful.

Can seeing the Apple logo actually make you behave more creatively? Robyn McMaster explores this question, in relation to an article from the Journal of Consumer Research. Together, they conclude that even the briefest exposure to well-known brand logos can cause people to behave in ways that mirror those brands’ traits.

Want to squeeze even more out of your Google searches? John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing offers up 10 of his favorite web site and SEO shortcuts. By adding what Google calls an operator followed by a colon you can get some pretty interesting research done very quickly, according to John.

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Perfection Paralysis

February 25, 2008

I would guess we’ve all witnessed it. A business owner or marketing decision maker who can’t pull the trigger when it comes to marketing tactics.

Something about the piece (be it a website, brochure or direct mail piece, etc.) is off for them. Often, they can’t even tell you what’s off, just that something is. "it’s just not quite right," they’ll say with a rueful smile. And so the team tries again — revision after revision.

What was that sound? It was the window of opportunity slamming shut. In many cases, the piece never gets completed and marketing dollars slowly swirl down the drain.

And your prospects and customers wonder why you’re ignoring them.

Pretty darn good trumps perfect every time, if it means you get to market faster (or at all) with your message.

Next time you feel your team (or yourself) begin to stall a project because perfection paralysis is taking hold, ask yourself these questions:

Does it clearly communicate our key message? (no more than 2-3)
Does it offer some response opportunity? (website, e-mail, phone number, etc.)
Does it protect and respect our brand promise and look/feel?
Is it error-free? (typos, grammar etc.)

If you can answer yes to all 4 — give yourself 24 hours to futz with it if you want and then get it out the door.

Perfect or not.

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A day inspiration and creativity

February 21, 2008

Here’s the sign of a good conference or meeting for me. If I walk out buzzing….feeling like I can’t wait to try one of the new things or tell someone one of the stories, or check out one of the mentioned references — that’s a well spent day.

I suspect there will be a whole lot of people feeling that way on March 27th, as they leave PSFK conference in New York City.

Check out the incredible list of speakers, including Greg Verdino, Steve Rubel and Graham Hill, among others.

If you think the speakers are impressive, scroll down a little further on the site and check out the attendees. Imagine spending a day learning from and meeting from the likes of them!

I’m sure there’s room for you, if you can get into the city. It looks like it would be well worth the effort.

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What’s your Facebook strategy?

February 15, 2008

I’ve had Jason Alba and Jesse Stay’s new e-book I’m on Facebook – Now What?? for a few weeks. I’d planned on reviewing it sooner, but I found it to be incredibly slow reading.

Why?

Because every few pages, something they wrote had me going back to my Facebook account and adding, subtracting or adjusting something.

Jason and Jesse have created a very clear, concise guide to the many ways you can enhance your professional life with Facebook. There are plenty of screen shots and examples to illustrate their points. One of my favorite features is that each chapter ends with a little "To Do" list that helps readers apply what they just learned.

As you would imagine, the book is structured to take a novice from start to finish. So if you’re already a seasoned Facebook user, you can skip the first chapter or two. The meatiest part of the book are the center chapters but they are nicely bookended with the intro to Facebook on the front and the etiquette and glossary on the back.

Here’s how the book is laid out:

Introduction
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Chapter 2: Getting Involved
Chapter 3: Commonly Asked Questions
Chapter 4: Facebook Applications
Chapter 5: Privacy
Chapter 6: Your Facebook Strategy
Chapter 7: Facebook for Business(es)
Chapter 8: Facebook No-No’s
Chapter 9: Additional Resources
Conclusion
Appendix A: Non-storable Data

If you’re looking for a lot of background on Facebook or big picture statistics — this isn’t the book for you. But if you want to dig into this social media tool and really make it work for you and your business — it’s well worth the read.

You can buy it straight from their publishers. They also (of course) have a blog on the topic.

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What is creativity?

January 30, 2008

Finger painting, anyone? What does that cloud look like to you? How do you make a can opener look cool?

Creativity is one of those words that conjures up something different in each of our heads.

Which is exactly why I know that Chris Wilson’s contest is something that everyone can play!

It’s easy to enter and would be cool to win. Here’s the short version.

Take a photo showing what creativity means to you.That’s it!
Upload it to your Flickr account. (Open an account if you don’t already have one. It’s free!)
Join the Flickr the Fresh Peel: Creativity Contest group.
Send your creativity photo to the Fresh Peel: Creativity group.
Tell your friends to vote for you when the time comes!
You only have until February 6th to enter. So hurry up!

What’s in it for you, besides the camaraderie of playing and the thrill of victory? Well, two lucky players will win MetaMeme’s ThinkCubes.

Check out Chris’ site Fresh Peel, the contest announcement and all the details.

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If content is king — meet the royal court!

January 26, 2008

Whether we are talking "old" marketing or "new" one thing hasn’t changed. If you aren’t relevant, you won’t survive the scrutiny of an audience that is time starved and attention span short.

To make this point, Junta42 has released their Top 42 Marketing Content blogs. They define content marketing as:

"Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action."

As you can imagine, I’m honored that my blog was included, as well as Daily Fix where I also get to show my pretty face.

Truth be told…there are lots of lists out there. And it’s always nice to be included. But, I figure the value in them is that they introduce us to thinkers and writers we might not have met before. So, with that caveat — if you want to learn more about content marketing, take a lesson from these masters.

Many of these are on my must read list, but I discovered some new blogs as well. Even if you just add a couple to your feed reader, you’re going to be glad you did!

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Viral video — are you trying to educate?

January 21, 2008

In our on-going discussion about the value of (or lack thereof) using viral video, we’ve talked about how the statistics clearly indicate that video viewing is on the rise (with double and triple digit growth) and some of the reasons why viral video might make sense for your organization.

In my last post, we explored (there were some superb comments — be sure you dig deep enough to read them!) using viral video if what you’re looking for is widespread exposure. Those are the videos we’re all the most familiar with. The Mentos and Diet Coke, the RayBans, or the Small Office HP videos that I shared in that post.

Characteristically, they have a higher production value, tend to be funny and short. Really, they’re the Super Bowl ads of viral video. Their goal is to be talk worthy and sharing worthy.

But what if that’s not what you need. Let’s say you’re the Marketing Director for a regional B-to-B company. Viral video shouldn’t be on your radar screen — right?

Not so fast, my friend.

If "I want lots of eyes" viral video is the Super Bowl of the medium, then the "I want to educate you" may be the high school social studies class film equivalent. You remember those grainy black and white films that were short on entertainment value but long on content. These are characteristically lower budget/quality production, a bit longer in length and usually not going for the funny bone. Their purpose is very utilitarian — to teach.

Long time reader/commenter to this blog, Scott Townsend is the Marketing Director for United Linen and Uniforms in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. They service the tri-state area of Kansas, Arkansas and of course, Oklahoma. So why would they use video?

Watch.

Again, this is not going to win an Oscar. I think lots of people shy away from some of this new fangled media (podcasts, video etc.) because they compare their budget and abilities to the high end variations and dismiss an opportunity that they could seize.

Assuming you have a certain level of production quality — using video this way is an effective way to do a couple things.

Educate your consumer. Some things are easier to understand if you can see them.
Convey a product truth. In this case, that it’s easy to re-load the dispenser and odds are if she can do it — so can your employees.

What do you think? Can you see how using video like this might serve your customers? Or are you in the "high end, big budget or no go" camp?

Other posts in this series:
Do you viral video?
Viral video – are you looking for a lot of eyes?
Viral video — are you trying to educate?
Viral video – are you trying to be heard over the noise?
Viral video — are you establishing yourself as an expert?

Photo courtesy of www.viewimages.com

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The Advertising Show talks dialogue

January 19, 2008

I had the good fortune of chatting with radio hosts Ray Schilens and Brad Forsythe on their weekly radio show sponsored by Advertising Age.

As you might guess, we talked about how the marketing monologue is dead, how companies need to start listening to what’s being said about them and the Age of Conversation.

Take a listen. If you are so inclined, give the show a good rating so we can spread the word about Age of Conversation even further.

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Viral video — are you looking for lots of eyes?

January 17, 2008

A couple days ago, I opened the topic of vlogging, viral videos, YouTube, etc. My question was….do you viral video? The statistics in the Pew study that I referenced in that post suggest that the number of people who are viewing viral videos (on sites like YouTube) is growing at a frantic pace.

But does that mean you should be doing it? And if so….how? Why?

I wrote a post about the presidential candidates marketing tactics and a couple people suggested that I should make a video because it would get some great exposure. My question back to them was — "I will gladly do it but I don’t want to just be a talking head. Other ideas?"

So far, we haven’t come up with anything, hence no Drew on YouTube. (And no, I am not donning an Uncle Sam beard and hat.)

One of the reasons why I think more people aren’t doing video is linked to my question.

It’s not that I don’t want to do it. But I want to do it well. And for a purpose. I thought it might be interesting to look at some different videos and talk about their purpose. Naturally, I am hoping that will trigger you thinking about how video might serve your business (or not) and jump into the conversation. (If you subscribe via e-mail, please check on the headline above to be taken to the blog – so you can view these videos.)

Let’s look at some videos that clearly are intended to get a lot of eyes. This trio of videos from HP were done to introduce the small business community to their Total care program. Much like the 5 top viral videos of ’07, these are high end, funny and short. Tailor made for being shared among a wide audience.

Life without HP: Car Wash

Life without HP: Experts

Life without HP: Bubble Wrap

Funny? I thought so. Did they clearly demonstrate some of the values of HP’s Total Care? I would say yes. Are they well done enough to get passed around? I’d guess so. They’ve been on YouTube for a little over a month and Car Wash (apparently the most popular) has had over 8,000 views.

Do I think these videos accomplished HP’s goals? It’s probably too early to know. But, I am guessing if they get a few hundred thousand views, the answer will be yes.

Would doing videos like these serve your business? If so…how? If not, what is missing?

Other posts in this series:
Do you viral video?
Viral video – are you looking for a lot of eyes?
Viral video — are you trying to educate?
Viral video – are you trying to be heard over the noise?
Viral video — are you establishing yourself as an expert?

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2008 wish?

December 31, 2007

First and foremost — Happy New Year! I hope this next year is filled with all that you wish for and a few surprises along the way.

Here’s my question for you. If you could wish (and grant that wish) for one thing…for one person (not a worldwide wish like world peace) this year…what would you wish, who would it be for and why would you wish it so?

Image courtesy of: www.new-year.in

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