New iPad iBook interface looks suspiciously like the Shelfari site (http://bit.ly/coa70l). Wonder if Steve played nice with them.
Here’s a first post. Trying things out.
Ryan Sanders | 214.624.5225 | ryan@reach-agency.com | www.reach-agency.com | www.ryansanders.magntize.com
1. I will get a handle on my database. I recently mined all of the business contacts from my own address book and came up with more names than either the Chamber of Commerce list I’ve been using or a similar search on Reference USA. That Outlook program you use every day? It’s a gold mine.
2. I will stay on top of my database. Once you’ve finished #1, stay on top of it with weekly or even daily maintenance. You get business cards every day. Don’t let them pile up on your desk or never get past your Outlook contacts. Put them in your database and contact them with your message. Even if they don’t seem like a prospective customer, they probably know someone who is.
3. I will track everything. Refuse to let any marketing message go out the door without a built-in tracking feature – landing page, unique phone number, special offer – anything to gauge effectiveness of the message and media.
4. I will have a plan. It’s a new year. Time for planning! Take advantage of that new year feeling and write out a simple marketing plan for at least for the first quarter of 2010. Even if it’s one ad in one magazine. Just do it. Then you’ll at least have some benchmark to review and expand in the future.
5. I will manage social media. The keyword here is manage. The danger is that it will manage you or it will go unused. Don’t let either happen. Resolve to use it as a tool, but set boundaries lest you become a Twitter tool yourself.
6. I will integrate with sales. The best marketing in the world doesn’t close any deals. Be sure your marketing supports your sales team by giving them what they need. It’s a fine line between guarding the brand and suffocating it. Try to do the former without the latter.
7. I will shoot stuff. On the web, pictures and videos are absolutely essential. Video is the new copy. We spend more and more time online but read less and less. And your web video doesn’t have to be Oscar caliber. Invest in a little camera. Shoot stuff. Load it up. Done.
8. I will work the numbers. How many sales do you need to make this month? What percentage of marketing contacts turn into sales? Do the math and hit your mark. It may mean more work to build that database, but not doing it means betting on long shots. Play the averages. Give yourself a chance.
9. I will not stress. Notwithstanding #8, marketing is an art, not a science. Let yourself fail. Learn from your mistakes. Yes, times are lean right now but fretting won’t improve your CTR or your revenue.
10. I will create beauty. You MUST be passionate about your message. If you don’t believe in what your selling, no one is going to buy from you. If your marketing has gotten stale or burdensome, stop what your doing and retool. Create a message and identity that you want to wear on a t-shirt and shout from the rooftops. Refused to be ashamed of your marketing any more.
Happy New Year!
To open 2010, I can’t help but taking a quick look back at 2009, especially related to what has happened with Water Is Basic. But WIB Coordinator Trey Hill says it better than I can. Please read his end-of-year letter below. And please consider joining the cause and see more lives changed this year!
Water is Basic Year End Update
Fri, December 18, 2009 3:05:08 PM
What an incredible year!On behalf of everyone involved with Water is Basic and the people we serve in Sudan, I want to tell you how thankful we are for your support – 2009 has been a very special year and you were a huge part of it.
This spring we saw drilling begin in earnest. Our two Sudanese drilling crews worked through stifling heat and heavy rain, traversed difficult roads and thick stretches of bush so that their countrymen could have clean water. It may not sound like much, but Sudan is a place where tribal ties run deep and for these men to do what they do across tribal lines is momentous.
On November 6th, the 100th Water is Basic well struck water in the village of Katanga in Morobo County – a well the crew nicknamed the Hallelujah Well. One hundred communities – villages, schools, orphanages, even a prison – now have clean water because of their sweat and your gifts.
Hallelujah indeed.
To put the accomplishments of this year into perspective, 100 wells means that 200,000 Sudanese women & children no longer have to walk miles across dangerous terrain to get clean water. It means that thousands upon thousands of children now have hope of making it past their 5th birthday because they no longer have to worry about waterborne illness. One hundred wells means that 200,000 people in Southern Sudan have met the God of peace & know that He & His people are about quenching thirst.
There is only one word for that – Hallelujah!
As exciting as 2009 has been, 2010 looks to be even more amazing. Our partners in Sudan want to purchase a third drilling rig so they can serve the people in Darfur and they want to drill 200 new wells next year. In order to do this, they need your help.
Please continue to tell your friends, family, co-workers and classmates about Water is Basic – your energy and enthusiasm has always been the fuel that drives us. Don’t stop doing what you are doing.
Also, if you or anyone you know is looking for a worthy cause to support with a year end donation, please give to Water is Basic. You can do so online, here, or by mailing a check to Water is Basic c\o Irving Bible Church, 2435 Kinwest Parkway, Irving TX, 75063.
I hope the year behind us propels us into the year ahead.
Trey Hill
waterisbasic.org
Here’s a short video that points to the most fundamental problem for the usefulness of social media to corporate marketing. That is, it wasn’t built for marketing. Companies are all very interested in “gaining followers” right now, but they’re applying the traditional marketing model to those relationships – using social media the same way the use broadcast media – to push out messages. That’s now what social media was intended for. It will take a lot of man hours and a lot of creativity to find the right model for best practices in using social networks in corporate messaging. Right now, no one is close. As I said in a previous post, there are no best practices for social media right now. It’s the Wild West out there. But smart minds are working on the problem. We’ll get there…
A big announcement from Water Is Basic this week. REACH is proud to be involved with bringing clean drinking water to 200,000 Sudanese over the past three years. REACH and Water Is Basic were formed at roughly the same time and have enjoyed a close relationship. The 100th well in Sudan is an important and joyous milestone. We at REACH would like to celebrate by contributing more to the efforts to bring life-giving water to the “least of these.” Please watch this video for information about how you can help.
Please pass this along to friends and co-workers. And please follow or friend us to support the cause!
Thanks,
REACH Staff
So Ford posts a profit and the Wall Street Journal subhead says “Market Share Grab”. I hate to say, “I told you so” but isn’t this exactly what I’ve been saying?! Recession Is Opportunity! Maybe Ford CEO Alan Mulally has been reading the REACH blog.
Google is adding to the voice of promise. Today’s paper says marketers have begun spending again with Google AdWords. Now if we could only get the interface to make sense!
“While there’s obviously a lot of uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery, we believe the worst of the recession is behind us and we’re seeing lots of signs of that in all of the industries that we pay attention to,” said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, speaking on a conference call Thursday.
Here’s a replay of a conversation I have at least twice a week, except not with a hot British chick…
Two weeks ago, when I spoke to a lunch crowd from the Irving Chamber of Commerce, I mentioned that there are no rules yet in Social Media. No best practices or industry standards. Last week, this article in the Wall Street Journal proved my point. There’s no standard approach to these things yet. Every respectable business in America knows how to approach a web site. You hire an agency or at least a freelancer. You don’t try to do it yourself. But you do guide the process, provide content, explain your requirements and expectations. When the Internet was new, these steps were not taken for granted like they are now. No one knew how web development was going to evolve. Was this something only for “the big guys”? Was there more we could do online? More community-driven interaction? And did every web site have to have those little, spinning, animated GIFs?
Likewise, there are still questions about Social Media and its evolution. Will it become the domain of communications experts or will it insist on being so personal that it can’t be outsourced? Will it learn to funnel and track conversions and revenue or will it stay in the realm of its intended uses with no better corporate goals than “raising awareness” and “creating a following”? And where will the price point land? The article below cites firms paying $400 per month and $20,000 per month. The disparity in quality of service is not that wide. The chaos in the marketplace is.
At this stage, there are a few key points to keep in mind:
- We’re not there yet. We don’t know how this is going to shake out, but we do know that it will continue to evolve. Savvy agencies will stay ahead of the curve – testing, reading, pushing the edges of the Social Media model. Agencies that take the “wake us when this makes money” approach will soon find themselves behind.
- The trajectory of Social Media for business depends in large part on agencies. If we stumble into this realm without thinking any farther than, “Hey, I can tweet for you,” we’ll do ourselves a disservice in the long run. We have to think critically and strategically about Social Media and its effects – good and bad – on our clients’ images and marketing budgets. We will be the ones who decide if Social Media become a standard component of corporate marketing plans or a fringe medium sharing time with Fax Blasts and the Yellow Pages.
- This doesn’t fit our current models. Agencies and corporate users of Social Media have to stop trying to pigeonhole these services in current categories. This is not advertising in the sense that we broadcast our message for others to hear. This is participatory and our customers have a voice. This isn’t PR earned with 3 martini lunches, charitable donations and clever press releases. It’s more powerful than that. Imagine a media placement with a “click here to respond” feature. It’s huge! And it’s not direct marketing in the sense that it’s only there to sell something. Social Media doesn’t fit our molds. We have to be careful not to force it.
So enough opining. One more thing before you read Sarah E. Needleman’s work: I found it interesting that Back of the House USA LLC is paying between $5,000 and $15,000 per month on Social Media but I can’t find them in a Google search. As enticing as Twitter is, maybe there should be some standard practices about getting our SEO down pat before we start tweeting about this week’s coupons.
Firms Get a Hand With Twitter, Facebook
Entrepreneurs Hire Consultants to Promote Business on Social-Media Sites, but the Extra Cost Is Big Question
Sylvester Chisom began paying a consultant last summer to blog on Twitter, post status updates on Facebook and run marketing campaigns on both sites for his auto-detailing business.
He thinks the service, which costs $450 a month, is worth it. “It’s just better having somebody else dedicated to thinking of stuff to put up,” says Mr. Chisom, co-owner of Showroom Shine Express Detailing LLC in St. Louis.Some small-business owners, overwhelmed by the time commitment required of marketing their products and services via social media, are hiring consultants to lend a hand. But the price of such support can vary widely based on the extent of work involved, and many entrepreneurs with already meager resources for marketing and advertising may need to think carefully before taking on the extra cost.
SocialVibe