...get a playbook to help you create content that matters
The idea of creating content to establish your expertise, influence the search engines and create a community has been an evolution of one of the oldest marketing tactics out there — sampling.
If I share with you what I know and you learn from it, value it, want more — then in theory, you’ll eventually move from the sample table to the real deal and hire me to give you the full benefit of my expertise.
In the good old days, we might have done that through demonstrations, speaking at conferences or printed newsletters. (All still viable methods, by the way).
But today — we have lots of new avenues, thanks to digital media and our ability to produce and publish content in a much wider variety of ways.
Every year or so, the Content Marketing Institute (brainchild of Joe Pulizzi) puts out a very informative ebook that outlines some of the best and most effective ways to create content that will connect you with customers.
The best thing about this ebook is that it’s loaded with examples that you can study, learn from and of course, adapt to work in your marketplace.
QR codes seem to be the media’s most recent marketing darling. You’ll find lots of articles talking about how to use them, including a couple I’ve written (read here and here). And in March, I shared Central Park’s incredible QR campaign to inspire you to give this technology a try.
Along with the various online places where you can find my marketing thoughts, I am a weekly columnist for Iowa’s business journal, the Business Record. A few months ago, we started adding a QR code feature to my columns — to share extra resources and to demonstrate how QR codes can work. (the screen capture is of one of my columns that has migrated from their print product to their website)
When we decided to add this feature, I decided I wanted a QR code creator that was a bit more robust than some of the free sites I’d been using. We weren’t ready for custom shapes (check out these designs) — but I did want to know how many scans each code had and if there was a pattern to when the scans were occurring.
After reviewing many options, I am down to two choices. The “must haves” for me were:
Could create a high resolution QR code (need it for the print publication and for some of our client’s work)
Reporting/tracking capabilities
Good customer support if we had questions
The first contender is QReate & Track by InterlinkONE. They do offer a free membership/option but I opted for the $19/month version so I could get the reporting. That reporting includes:
Number of scans
Scans by day, time and month, year etc.
Really, for most local businesses, that’s plenty unless you’re going to do some serious number crunching. In terms of easy access for support, they have a forum, a blog and you can e-mail them your question. They’re also here in the states so for me, that’s a time zone advantage.
The second contender is PushQR.com from the UK. They too offer a free option but I went for the 6.99 GBP($11 something/month) because I needed to create more than 3 campaigns a month. The big difference between the two is in the reporting. With pushqr.com, I can track:
Realtime # of scans
Bounce rate
Pageviews
Unique scans
Time on page
What barcode reader was used
What type of mobile device was used
The geography of the scanner (down to the city)
Clearly a more robust reporting menu. One of the other cool features to this site is the ability to set a goal. For example, my QR code could lead you to a landing page where I offered something for sale. The goal URL could be the thank you page that you’d go to after making a purchase. Now the reporting shows me not only how many hit the landing site and where else they went — but how many did what I wanted them to do — buy something.
As for support — they have a very simple online manual to answer the most basic of questions and I can open a ticket and submit a question/request to their team.
I haven’t quite landed on the best option for us at McLellan Marketing Group yet — but both of these providers have served our purposes for now but it’s hard to argue with PushQR’s in depth reporting and lower price.
How about you? Are you creating QR codes? How are you using them? Do you have a favorite tool?
Thought this will amuse you on this Friday the 13th. And for some of you, it might be a great solution to paying down that mortgage.
Want someone to pay your mortgage? No problem. Just let Adzookie give your home a paint job. Adzookie says it will pay the house owner’s mortgage every month for as long as the home stays painted.
Adzookie publicly launched the offer on its website Tuesday — and by late afternoon, the company had already received more than 1,000 applications, according to Adzookie CEO Romeo Mendoza.
Adzookie intends to paint its logo and social media icons onto participating homes. Houses must remain painted for at least three months, and the agreement may be extended up to one year.
Painting is expected to begin in a few weeks. The above photo, which is included on the program’s site, is a digital mockup. (No actual homes have yet been painted.)
The home billboard scheme could raise the company’s profile — but don’t expect too many homes to score the subsidized deal. Mendoza’s budget for the entire program is $100,000, and he expects to spend about $8,000 per house on the painting alone.
At the end of the agreement, Adzookie will paint the house back to its original colors. Leases and rentals aren’t allowed, nor are homes in cities with bylaws that would prohibit the bright painting.
This is an extension of the barn painting we midwesterners see as we traverse the countryside.
It's the holidays and everyone is not only crazy busy but bombarded by ads. So we tune them out.
But as of 12/23 — 1.5 million people booted up their browser and went looking for this video. (email subscribers, click here) They didn't get tricked into watching it — they sought it out. And they not only watched it for almost 5 minutes — they shared it with their friends. Who also watched it.
After you've had a chance to check out the latest installment, come back over and tell me what I've missed or what else you'd like to know about how to successfully handle interviews.
So…you're going to be interviewed on your local TV noon news segment. Or you have reporters calling because your company is in the middle of a controversial issue. Or it might be that a blogger wants to do a digital interview using web cams.
No matter how friendly, how laid back or how intense a media interview might be — there are some basic rules you should remember to take full advantage of the opportunity (or to mitigate the damage if that's the scenario.)
I'm going to share a series of tips that will help you make the most of your 15 minutes of fame! Today, let's talk superficial — how do you look?
Only if you're doing a phone interview or going to appear on radio should this be a non-issue. If that's your opportunity, go in footie PJ's if you want.
But assuming someone is going to see you, (still photograph, web cam or full on television crew) you're going to want to make sure that your appearance matches your message.
First: Know yourself. If you uncomfortable in a tie or fitted suit — don't wear it. Even if that's how you should be dressed. You want to come off as though you are confident and comfortable. If you're not, that discomfort will translate to the audience and taint your message.
Know your body shape too. Choose the clothes and the pose that put you in the best light. For example, if you're short and self conscious about it — you might want to be photographed or interviewed sitting down.
Second: No small patterns or horizontal stripes. Both wreak havoc with TV cameras. And unless you're a size 2, horizontal stripes don't help anyone's appearance.
Be mindful of cute patterns too. No golf tee ties or busy scarves of apples and school buses. That doesn't mean you need to be boring. Unless that's your brand, of course!
Third: No distractions. Big jewelry, event or cause buttons, name tags, ascots — anything that draws the audience's attention from your face and your message — lose it.
They'll also make lighting a nightmare and you're likely to have reflections shooting off your body. Never a good choice.
Finally: Color matters. Navy and black mean you're serious stuff. Red is bold and powerful. Greens tend to feel cool and mellow. Yellow is a tricky color. If you're fair skinned it can wash you out. If you have a darker pigmentation — a pale yellow can look great on camera. A bright blue feels edgy, teal feels cool but hip.
If you feel like a neutral is most appropriate, add a dash of color for accent and energy.
There you have it…when you feel good about how you're looking — you'll come off much more relaxed and confident.
We need to take a stand on the idea of anonymous comments. And the stand is — they need to go away.
I think this problem has its roots in the newspaper industry. When they starting creating digital versions — they wanted to take advantage of the interactivity of the web. And in the newspaper industry — it's all about the numbers (subscribers, pass along rate, etc) so it's no surprise that they wanted a huge volume of comments as well.
No doubt, someone told them that people will comment with more frequency if you don't ask for their name or contact information so voila — the anonymous or the "use a nickname, not a real name" comment was born.
Sadly, this has seeped into blogs as well. And as more companies wade into the social media waters — many marketing types, looking to justify the time and efforts spent on the tools — point to the comment count with pride.
But what really are we counting?
I don't care if you're talking about a traditional newspaper's website or a blog — when you allow anonymous commenting, you disrespect the topic, the conversation and the readers.
These are not conversations — they are verbal vomit.
It's perfectly logical that the anonymity invites people to behave in ways they wouldn't if they had to identify themselves. And it swings to both ends of the spectrum. On the one hand — they're vicious in their personal attacks, cruel comments and judgments. On the flip side, they can completely bypass the topic all together in an attempt to get some link love/attention for their product or service.
So what do we do about it? We say no.
We write to our newspapers and ask them to actually be responsible for creating real conversations on their sites. By demanding, just like they do in their traditional letters to the editor section, that commenters be identified (and verified) by name and city.
In terms of social media — if you own a blog, fight back. Here are some of the things I've done to combat the problem:
Have a stated comment policy (see the visual above) that says you will delete anonymous comments
Actually delete them — even if they are relevant (you can e-mail the person and ask them to re-submit, using their name)
Close comments after 30 days (many of the back link seekers go into your archives to tuck key word rich comments where they think you'll ignore them)
Actually respond to the comments — you'll get lots more of them if people think they're not talking into a black hole
Whether it's someone calling themselves "MoonDog127" and ripping into someone based on a story in a digital newspaper or it's "Korean Wedding Dress" leaving 27 random comments on your blog — we need to recognize the conversation deserves better.
What do you think? Is there ever a place for anonymous commenting?
So…you're going to be interviewed on your local TV noon news segment. Or you have reporters calling because your company is in the middle of a controversial issue. Or it might be that a blogger wants to do a digital interview using web cams.
No matter how friendly, how laid back or how intense a media interview might be — there are some basic rules you should remember to take full advantage of the opportunity (or to mitigate the damage if that's the scenario.)
I'm going to share a series of tips that will help you make the most of your 15 minutes of fame! Today, let's talk preparation.
Prep: Your interview is actually won or sunk in the prep or lack thereof. You want to be very mindful of the message you want to convey. Yes…THE message. A single message.
Ask yourself this question: What's the one thing I want people to know and remember at the conclusion of this interview. Whatever it is…. you insert that answer into the first real question you get asked. (after the niceties about having you on the show etc.)
Let me give you an example. Our Adopt a Charity, Amanda the Panda really wants people to understand the work that they do and who they serve. So…if they were doing a noon show interview about their upcoming ThrowBack Golf event (dress like an old time golfer, etc.) here's how that first question might play out.
Reporter: Thanks for coming on the show. Tell us a little about your upcoming golf tournament.
Executive Director: Thanks for having us on, Brian. As you know, Amanda the Panda works with kids from six to seventeen who are hurting because someone they love has died. We offer all of those services for free. Which is why we're holding this fantastic golfing event where everyone is going to dress like turn of the century golfers and help us raise money.
Did she answer the reporter's question? You bet. But first…she delivered her main point. Rarely is a reporter going to say: anything else you want our viewers to know? So don't wait for the perfect opportunity. Make the perfect opportunity — with the first question.
In getting ready for your interview….use these questions to get clear on the key points you want to drive home:
What is the one thing you want the audience to remember? (This is the point I was talking about above)
What are the three key facts you’d like to mention?
What is the phrase you want to repeat at least twice?
When people hear the name of your organization, we want them to think (phrase) in their head:
I know it sounds incredibly simplistic, but trust me, even this much prep will put you far ahead of most people who step in front of a reporter's microphone. Stay tuned for tip #2.
Remember when the Superbowl was about the game? Now it's the halftime show wardrobe malfunctions and of course, the commercials.
Here's one of my favorites from last year, to get you in the mood! (e-mail subscribers, click here to view)
Want to get a jump on Sunday's new spots? Don't want to have to wade through 60 minutes of football just to see what Budweiser, GoDaddy and Doritos have in store for us?
Update: One of my colleagues at Flynn-Wright let me know that Harvest Research Center has teamed up with CBS affiliates in Iowa to provide the annual “Big Game Survey” which determines which Super Bowl ads are the best and, of course, which are the worst.
If anyone is up for winning one of five $100 Visa cards, then click on this link and sign up to receive a survey at halftime on Sunday and then again at the end of the game.
Check out this latest TV spot from Verizon and see if it resembles anyone you know. (e-mail subscribers, click on this post's headline to view the spot.)
Anyone who thinks that social media, Twitter, Facebook and all the rest are just a fad better think again. They are now regular features on every major news channel, newspaper and are popping up in TV shows (I saw a Twitter reference on Psych the other night.) and TV spots.
The question is — what does that mean for you? Is this going to change your entire life? Will you never market your products or services through traditional media again? Is your audience waited with bated breath (I always preferred the visual of baited breath, but…) for you on Facebook?
No, no and again….no.
As marketers, I think it is very important that we keep all of this in perspective. Social Media offers us new opportunities. But we can be authentic and transparent (the top 2 buzz words of the SM movement) on a radio spot or with a flier too.
Social media is now pretty main stream. That doesn't mean it is the only fish in the stream. Keep your options open. Even if your parents are your Facebook friends! (like mine are!)
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=386f48e7-d64a-4810-a4e5-5cfbbcac9339)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=dd352667-da94-43b2-8fc2-d85bf4cbc104)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=cc0eabd2-8b3a-408b-a4f2-178132a13ea1)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d004a9d3-0540-46c0-9379-fdc98198c055)