Marketing Tips, Langstaff Style

I Want My SnapTag!

2012-01-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

Definition of a SnapTag

[+]A Kindergartner's Definition
A picture with a circle around it is a SnapTag. You take a photo of it with
a mobile phone. Send the photo. Get back cool stuff. I like it when we get
back videos. My mom likes recipes.

[+]Brand Marketer's Definition
A SnapTag is your logo but interactive. Consumers engaging a SnapTag can
activate a full scale interactive brand engagement transforming any brand
impression anywhere into the opportunity for a brand experience. SnapTags can
be used across media platforms to deliver different marketing campaigns
customized for different consumer segments. SnapTags can also be used across
media platforms to engage consumers in an integrated multi-channel marketing
campaign. What brand marketer wouldn't want an interactive logo that is embedded
with sophisticated marketing campaigns?

[+]Direct Marketer's Definition
SnapTags provide marketers an opportunity to engage consumers and activate
a sustainable mobile relationship with them. Consumers participating in a SnapTag
campaign can opt in to receive more information, get brand updates or participate
in the brand’s loyalty campaign. Whatever the strategy, the result is a database
of consumers that want to hear from a brand. With a SnapTag, those brand messages
can be customized based on prior consumer behavior and information provided
by the consumer so direct marketing campaigns are more effective and engaging.

[+]Shopper Marketer's Definition
SnapTags enable marketers to engage consumers in a dialog customized for
different stages of the consumer purchase decision. Campaigns engaging,
influencing, informing or incenting can be crafted based on the consumer
opportunity. SnapTags campaigns can also engage consumers in mass marketing
campaigns and then drive them towards purchase consideration.

[+]Technologist's Definition
Snap and send on a standard phone. Scan on a smart phone. Either engagement
activates a response determined by a campaign-specific algorithm tied to a
specific SnapTag with a specific Code Ring™. The algorithm can serve responses
based on time, prior consumer snap behavior, API influences, consumer inputs and
other things we are just waiting to be asked to create. All the data is reported
via an analytics dashboard and recorded as attributes in a consumer database.

Social Media Do's & Don'ts

2012-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

You’ve set up your social accounts and you seem to be gathering your fans online fast, but thinking about what to post online can sometimes seem as tricky as coming up with a wedding toast. We all want to be “Liked”, so what’s the secret to an irresistible to retweet update? Here are 5 Do and Don’ts for making the most out of your social media presence:

DO Be informative. According to research conducted by emarketer, consumers expect more than entertainment when connecting with a brand online; they expect incentives, like offers and coupons. A great number of consumers though (46%), replied that they look for something more substantial than offers just targeted to online fans, such as tips and information about product and services. Posting simple to follow how-tos and useful tips can prove much more effective than posting a link to a specific product or service. Ask your customers to share their tips and personal experience with your products or services in the comments or through tweets marked with a specific hashtag.

DON’T Be a parrot. Information overload and repetitive content are of the main reasons to turn off followers or even cause them to “un-follow” you.

DON’T neglect replies. Social media is not about broadcasting, but about conversation. Connect with your fans and engage in conversations, if you feel it is not an issue you can resolve though tweets or Facebook comments, don’t hesitate to transfer the conversation to a private space by providing the customer with the right telephone number or by requesting his/her contact details.

DO call for action. Ask your fans to Like your pics, prompt them to share your content and thank them when they do. Always remember to thank or acknowledge your followers though, showing appreciation never hurt anything!

DO have a crisis plan. Online backlashes seem to be difficult to avoid, so it’s best to have a policy implemented to handle these situations and always be prepared.

From MarketingProfs: thenextweb.com

Langstaff Marketing’s New Year’s Resolutions

2011-12-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

2011 is winding down fast and the New Year is quickly approaching. We have had a great year, but in order to make sure we have an even better 2012, we have put together a list of resolutions.

1. Not to take on last minute projects when we’re already so busy. We know this will never happen because we’re so addicted to the challenge and to pleasing our clients!

2. Continue to put our clients and their needs first.

3. Read even more than we already do! Considering the amount of magazine, newspapers, and books that get swapped and passed around our office, we may need more hours in a day to accomplish this, but hey anything is possible, right?!

4. Step out of our comfort zone; wait…what is a comfort zone?

5. Avoid letting boxes get stacked higher than our desk, this only leads to a feeling of claustrophobia and prevents us from seeing outside.

6. Deliver even more creative ideas and the best of marketing strategies in 2012. After all, that is what our clients deserve!

7. Attempt to keep communication between our office in the range of business hours. Business related calls, texts, emails, and even house visits will only be allowed from 6am-6am.

8. Limit ourselves to only 2 cups of coffee each day......and maybe some more caffeine in the afternoon.

9. Show up each day ready to take on new challenges, brainstorm for creative ideas, expand our marketing knowledge, and push ourselves beyond what we think we are capable of, all with a smile on our face.

10. Be thankful each day when we come to work for our job. This is what we love, and we love delivering good stuff.

Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year from Langstaff Marketing

Your Elevator Pitch

2011-12-08T11:40:00.000-08:00

If you suddenly found yourself next to someone who could benefit your career or business connections, would you be ready to take advantage of that opportunity?

It can be as simple as having the right elevator pitch. Think of it as your calling card, you have to remember that anywhere and anytime there could be an opportunity for conversation that could serve your career. Preparing an elevator pitch allows you to showcase your skills, experience, capabilities and goals in just a couple of minutes.

Where to start? First write a script, write down what exactly you do in several different versions. Then practice. Practice in front of a mirror to observe and perfect your facial expressions. Your script should include not only your professional accomplishments, but what is important to you, what you find meaningful in your life. Talking about personal subject matters will be more likely to connect you with someone as oppose to rambling off a list of awards you won at your last company.

Stay away from cramming your entire resume into your elevator pitch. Try and think of an elevator pitch as a first date, this is not the actual job interview. This is the first step in getting acquainted that will hopefully and maybe lead to a job interview. That is the point when you sell yourself. So next time you are unexpectedly in the same proximity as an influential person, networking, or just speaking with someone in the grocery line, remember that marketing is everything and everything is marketing. This includes marketing yourself!

Helpful Tips for Mobile SEO

2011-11-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already done so, it's time to develop a unique SEO strategy for customers out there who search for content with iPhones and Androids—and all things mobile. As mobile online searches continue to increase, it is important to make sure your website can also be found on cell phones.

"Despite some predictions that mobile SEO will be of negligible importance, mobile search has grown 5x in the past 5 years—far outpacing PC searches—and the growth is only set to continue with the rapid uptick in smartphone sales," writes Lior Levin in a guest post at HubSpot.

See below three helpful tips to increase your mobile SEO success.

Create mobile-formatted content. This may be obvious but is still very important. If you choose not to format for mobile users, your content will hold less on-the-go appeal, and Google might take unfavorable notice.

Research keywords for mobile searches. When people search with a smartphone, they often use different keywords than they would use at a desktop. For help choosing better keywords for mobile searchers, HubSpot suggests you use the "Advanced Options and Filters" link at the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. Choose "All mobile devices" under the "Show Ideas and Statistics for" option.

Optimize for predictive text. Mobile visitors are far more dependent on predictive text than their desk-bound counterparts—so structure your keywords in a way that anticipates common predictive phrases.

From The HubSpot

The Ever So Popular “To-Do” List

2011-10-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

Do you go through multiple note pads weekly and have found that sticky notes have become a part of your wallpaper and house décor? Maybe even covering up pictures on your refrigerator? If so, let us offer a bit of organizational tips that just may slim down that to-do list. Becoming a master at making a to-do list can help you save time, be more productive, and also become better organized.

Keep it simple- Keep your list to the point and simple. Creating an overly detailed to-do list can lead to even more things to do that aren’t necessarily as important and also can be slightly overwhelming. It can be a hectic vicious cycle!

Plan ahead- Map out your day in your head the night before or the morning of making your to-do list. Try and schedule things or tasks near each other at the same time to avoid wasting time running all over the place.

Create time- Need to get something tedious off your list but can’t find time? Wake up 20 minutes earlier than usual to get that task done. Mornings can be a great time to accomplish detailed tasks because the craziness of the day hasn’t started yet and it is easier to remain focused.

Keep it uniform- Try and keep your to-do list on a certain type of paper or stationary in the same location each day. This will avoid all those sticky notes piling up and will also help you stay organized.

Keep priorities, priorities- If you have something you need to do, avoid putting it off until tomorrow and get it off of your list today. As Nike would say,” Just do it!” Putting tasks off will only result in a longer to-do list in the future, and get you behind.

What You Can Learn From Steve Jobs

2011-10-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

"Few of us have the chance to achieve 1/100th of what Steve Jobs has achieved," writes Bill Taylor at Harvard Business Online. "But all of us can look at his body of work, and the reaction to that body of work, and use it as an opportunity to ask more of ourselves as leaders and innovators with a chance to make a small positive difference for our industry, our customers, and our colleagues." To get there, Taylor suggests asking questions like these:

Why would exceptional people want to work with me? You can provide money or status, but Jobs gave his top-flight employees something that mattered even more: exciting projects. People want to feel that they're part of something great.

Do I know how to identify and hire outstanding talent? "Steve Jobs was as picky about the people he let into Apple as he was about the features that went into Apple's products," notes Taylor. When you evaluate candidates, he argues, character is as important as credentials. And that means you'll doggedly pursue the right person—even when she's not looking for a new job.

Do I teach my employees how the company works and wins? Everyone who works for Apple has a clear sense of the overall mission—and how the roles they play contributes to success. Be sure to give your team a similar level of insight.

From www.marketingprofs.com, Harvard Business Online

Telephone Manners

2011-10-20T05:29:00.000-07:00

When the hustle and bustle and stress of work becomes overwhelming throughout your day, remember to remain poised and calm when speaking to clients on the telephone. It is important not to let your voice show your stress levels or frustration over phone conversations. Your apprehensive nature can actually show through the tone of your voice, and your clients will pick up on this. If they sense uncertainty, frustration, or believe you to be in a frantic state, they will be less likely to trust you with their business and less likely to feel comfortable calling you. Nothing is worse than to call someone and feel frazzled after you hang up the phone, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth as well as you may even subconsciously make some sort of negative mental note.

Clients who communicate regularly with their partners have a better and more productive relationship; it is essential that clients feel comfortable picking up the phone to chat, and vice versa. Touching base with your clients is a key factor in maintaining a healthy working relationship. Remember common courtesy and be polite. Also, smile when you are talking and try to keep good posture, just as if you were speaking to someone in person. Try it and you will be surprised with how pleasant you sound!

So next time you are in the middle of spreadsheets, strategies, planning dinner, and arranging to pick up the family dog from the vet and the phone rings, remember to be calm, cool and collected and give 100% attention to the person on the other end. You can never be too professional over the phone. This will not only assure your clients that you are put together and organized, but it will also reflect the professionalism of your business.

Saving Time

2011-10-17T06:28:00.001-07:00

Here at Langstaff Marketing, we pride ourselves on our diligent work ethic on and off the clock. No job is too big or small, or too difficult; we are up for the challenge! As you all know, we firmly believe that marketing is everything and everything is marketing. So here is a question we ask, where does all of our time go?

We can’t answer that question technically, but we can propose some options you may want to try to keep from losing your time. If you asked yourself, “Off clock, what’s that?” after you read the first sentence of this blog, please continue reading.

Cell Phones-How much time do you waste a day checking your cell phone? Try leaving your cell phone on silent after work and check it infrequently (unless of course you are expecting a very important call). Remember, children and adults at some point in time did survive without them! Going to the gym? Save time by leaving your cell phone in the car to get in and out faster. Eating dinner with the family? Make a rule to turn cell phones off (or keep them on silent). Keep cell phones away from the table or other places that are discussion areas. You will be amazed with how much extra time you have to visit with your family and friends.

TV-How much time do you waste watching TV? Now we are all guilty of indulging in our early evening TV shows and late night episodes after a long day at work. Do you really need the TV on at all times while you are in your house? A lot of people like to have the TV on so it isn’t so quiet, but is something wrong with quiet time? If you leave your TV on while dressing for work, getting ready for a night out, or doing house chores, you may find yourself wasting time with distractions from the tube. If you really want to accomplish cleaning your house in a certain amount of time, leave the TV off and get to work! If you need motivation, put on some upbeat music.

Internet-Now this one is a biggie. Surfing the internet waste your time whether it is online shopping, browsing for sports stats, or engaging in social media communities like Facebook and Twitter. The main point, stay off these online distractions while working or trying to accomplish anything in certain time period! So many people take breaks throughout their work day online, imagine how much more efficient you could be if you focused on your job duties. The vast range and diversity of internet’s capabilities is not just wasting time at the office however, these same things can eat up your time at home. Valuable time with loved ones, time you spend on daily chores or fulfilling habits like exercising, and running errands is lost every day to the internet.

Now we aren’t saying to become a hermit and close yourself off from all technologiy by any means, but the main point here is that sometimes in order to save time, you need to disconnect. Multi-tasking is not for everyone, and at times to truly save time throughout your day, you need to cut out the distractions and stay focused. Focus in the present leads to time saved in the future. Now we hope this blog has not been a waste of time for you today!

Optimize for Bing

2011-10-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

Although Google remains the search engine of choice for most customers, you can't ignore the importance of optimizing for Bing—which currently powers nearly a third of all stateside searches. At the Bing Community's Webmaster Center blog, Duane Forrester provides insight into Bing's SEO preferences.

"[There] are a few items we love to see websites doing," he says. "While none on their own will vault you to the top of the rankings, they remain best practices you should look to engage in."

Here are four key ways to optimize for Bing:

Get your RSS feeds up and running. With clean RSS feeds, Bing can see your content more quickly—meaning it will be indexed, ranked and displayed in SERPs more quickly. "Want to really impress Bing? Get into your Bing Webmaster account and insert your RSS feed URL into the sitemap submission flow," Forrester advises.

Mark up your content. Help Bing to understand your content by marking it up according to the http://schema.org protocol. "[T]he better we understand it," he notes, "the more likely we are to be able to return you for matches to queries."

Recognize the importance of user experience. Using the example of page load time, Forrester explains that most human visitors won't notice if your page loads in .5 or .25 seconds—and Bing won't be impressed if you sacrifice content or functionality for the fractional improvement of something appreciated only by machines.

Manage social media with care. "Build your presence so that followers see you as an authority and a resource," he suggests. This requires a consistent stream of valuable content that your customers will want to share.

From the Webmaster Center, www.marketingprofs.com

The Simplicity of a Business Card

2011-10-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

Business cards are one of the most cost effective ways to market your business and yourself when it comes to printed material. You may be wondering how these miniature cards with such limited information can produce such effective results. And yes, we know that a standard black and white paper flyer may be cheaper per page, but they are also more quickly and likely to be thrown away. Business cards are kept, looked at, then looked at again, and instead of becoming a person’s trash can filler they become a business resource as well as a tool to help remember or identify you.

It is ok to think of your card as a flyer and create different business cards with different artwork and different sales messages. Remember however, the importance of consistency when branding a business; be careful not to overwhelm you target audience with too much various information and artwork.

Once you design and print your business cards, most importantly, start using them! Keep your cards with you at all times; don’t just keep a neat stack at the office. Even if you hand out a card to someone who may not necessarily need your business, you never know who they know that might in fact be in need of your services or products at that moment. If you are running low, get them re-printed before you run out. A business card not only is an effective way to market your business, but it also reflects your professionalism.

In sum, in today’s world with social media, digital marketing, and online advertising, don’t forget the simplicity of a business card and how beneficial this 2 in. x 3.5 in. piece of paper can be for your business. Need help getting a business card designed? We just may know someone who can help you.

3 Tips for Tradeshow Success

2011-09-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

Tradeshows are an old school method of marketing, infact "many have pronounced tradeshow marketing dead," writes Bob Hebeisen at MarketingProfs. "But with the right strategy, hard work, and flawless execution, tradeshows can still be a productive and part of your marketing plan." It can take ample planning and diligent work for the most effective results, but to make the most of your lead-generating budget for tradeshows, consider these 3 helpful tips.

1. Make sure the audience will want your product or service. Most tradeshows have a "who should attend" page at their website, and that's a good place to start. Go one better, though, and ask to see a complete list of the previous year's attendees—you can check for relevant job titles and company names—and confirm actual attendance numbers. "Don't expect every registrant to be from your target audience," advises Hebeisen, "but determine whether the ratio is acceptable."

2. Get on the presentation agenda. This may sound obvious, but it is actually very important and sometimes overlooked. When you're on the presentation agenda, it validates your relevance to the audience, and gives you an opportunity to mention your booth for follow-up discussions.

3. Demand professional and aggressive performance from booth staff. Remember to remind your booth staff to have a strong elevator pitch, uniform attire, a ban on distracting smartphone usage and most importantly engagement with everyone who walks past the booth. It's not for nothing—an active approach can make the difference between 50 and 500 leads.

www.marketingprofs.com

Email Marketing

2011-09-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

If you are engaging in email marketing then at some point in time, if it hasn’t already happened, you may need a way to rev up your email list’s numbers. If your email list needs a growth spurt, it is important to remember key relevance of the subject of your emails. You want your readers to want to talk about the subject of your email. Just as in any other marketing, word of mouth promotion for your email program can be very effective and beneficial. This is a great argument for the value of social media sharing. Having prospects and customers receive, open and pay attention to your email message is good, but having them share the message even further is great. When customers share the message through social media or email it helps position your subscribers as “insiders.” Others will then want to become “insiders,” too. This customer instigated sharing acts a force multiplier that can significantly increase the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign.

www.marketingprofs.com

Tweet Tweet

2011-09-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

With 200 million members, Twitter is one of the most popular social networks out there. But are you taking advantage of everything it has to offer with marketing? Used effectively, Twitter can help you promote your content, provide helpful customer service, generate leads and customers, and much more. In fact, companies that use Twitter generate 2x more leads than those that don’t, and 42% of companies that use Twitter for marketing have acquired a customer through it.

Use some of these helpful tips to take advantage of Twitter’s marketing benefits and become a Twitter marketing expert yourself.

1. Choose a simple username. Whether you're creating a company account or a personal account, make sure your username is professional, and do your best to avoid numbers and underscores in your username. Also, try to keep it brief. Users only have 140 characters to use per Twitter update, and long usernames will only use up extra characters in their tweet if they're including you in an @reply. For personal accounts, try a variation of your real name, and for company accounts, stick with your company name.

2. Optimize your Twitter profile. Besides what you say in your tweets, you don't have much space to tell potential followers who you are and why they should follow you. Make sure your Twitter profile is optimized with an enticing description (use keywords to help people find you), a professional-looking photo (for company accounts, use your logo!, and a URL (use your company website, blog, or link to a unique landing page you create specifically for people who find you through Twitter).

3. Create a custom Twitter background. Make yourself stand out by creating a custom Twitter background, which also gives you the opportunity to expand upon the information you can provide in your profile. Profile backgrounds are the largest piece of visual real estate you have to share with other users on Twitter. Consider creating custom templates for your company that your employees can use for their personal Twitter accounts as well. Themeleon offers custom themes, or you can have a designer create your own from scratch.

4. Promote your Twitter presence on your website/blog. Once you have a Twitter presence, promote it! Install the official Twitter Follow Button on your website and/or blog to enable site visitors to follow you on Twitter with just one click.

5. Avoid creating multiple company Twitter accounts. Don't make more work for yourself by creating more than one company Twitter account to manage. Instead, consolidate your presence into one account, and allow multiple contributors to manage the account if you want representatives from multiple departments involved. Doing this will eliminate the social media time of maintaining multiple accounts, help you attract more followers, and centralize your web presence.

6. Use third-party services to monitor, manage, and collaborate. If you do have multiple contributors for one account, it'll be helpful to use a third-party application like CoTweet or HootSuite to help you manage everything. The last thing you want is multiple people tweeting the same content or duplicating efforts. These tools are also great for monitoring Twitter and responding to tweets.

7. Add Twitter sharing buttons to your content. Encourage others to easily share your content on Twitter by adding Tweet Buttons to your blog, individual blog articles, landing pages, and any other content you create. This is such a simple piece of low-hanging fruit, and it will incrementally affect the reach of your content. (Research shows that companies that added a Twitter sharing button increased Twitter mentions sevenfold.)

8. Connect your blog to Twitter. If you maintain a business blog, save yourself a step in promoting your content by using HubSpot's integration or Twitterfeed to link your blog to your Twitter account. Whenever you publish a post, it will automatically get tweeted to your followers.

9. Schedule tweets in advance. Have an ongoing promotion in progress? Those same third-party Twitter applications you're using for collaboration and Twitter management (e.g. CoTweet and HootSuite) can also be used to schedule tweets ahead of time. If you have a month-long promotion, save yourself from remembering to tweet about it daily by scheduling tweets in advance. Just be sure you're monitoring and engaging with responses you get from the tweets you've scheduled. (Warning: Don't go overboard with automation in social media. Some automation is okay, but it's important to interact and provide a human voice as well. Don't be a Twitter robot.)

10. Optimize your tweets with keywords. Because tweets are publicly available, anyone can search for them. Use the opportunity to optimize your tweets with relevant keywords for your business to increase your chances of getting found via your tweets!

From The Hubspot, “The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Twitter Marketing”

Google Places-Advanced Tips

2011-09-21T05:19:00.000-07:00

Reviews
Customer reviews will usually appear with your Google business listing. It's smart to have customers and colleagues create Google Maps reviews for your business.

Positive reviews are a powerful motivating factor for Google users deciding which business to buy from. First your reviewer must locate your business in Google Maps, click "More info", and then click "Write a review", then write the review, choose a rating, and click "Save".

Important note: They must be logged into their Google Account to write a review. If they're not logged in they'll be prompted to either sign in or create a Google Account. Their Google Account nickname will appear next to the review.

Google also pulls reviews in from 3rd party resources – this means those reviews can create incredible exposure for your brand. This can be a double edged sword though and many businesses have experienced problems with inaccurate or unjustified negative reviews.

Google advises that "If you're concerned about a review that was submitted through Google Maps, click the 'Flag as inappropriate' link found under the review and submit a report. If we find that the review is in violation of our Google Maps policies, we'll remove it. Some reviews found on Maps listings are created on third-party websites such as Yelp, CitySearch, Yahoo, and Trip Advisor. If you feel that a review from a third-party site is inaccurate, you would have to express your concerns to the webmaster of the site where the review was posted. If the review is removed from the third-party website, the change will also be reflected on Google."

“Word-of-mouth” marketing is found in online communities, so encourage your customers to start reviewing your business online and get consumers talking about your product or service.

From The Hubspot, “How to Generate Leads with Local SEO”

Google Places 101

2011-09-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick rundown of what an effective Google Places listing entails:

Business Name
Represent your business in the exact same way that it appears offline.
Save taglines, phone numbers or URL’s for their appropriate place.

Business Location
Location appears to plays a key role in the places algorithm. Follow these guidelines carefully:

Use the exact same street level address that you should have listed in the footer section of your website. Consistency is key.

Keep in mind that this needs to be a physical address, not a P.O. Box.
One listing per physical business location – even if you operate in a larger service area. Don’t worry - you can designate your service areas separately.

Do you have multiple specialties in the same office? Create a listing for your offices and a separate listing for each practitioner. According to Google’s standards this should not appear manipulative.

Remember, this is about trust and consistency across many different information sources, if your address is somewhat rural or miles away from a city’s “epicenter” zip code, you might be tempted to list just the city name.

Multiple business locations? Create listings for each!

Website and Phone
Provide a phone number that connects to your individual business location as directly as possible, and provide one website that represents your individual business location.

Your phone number SHOULD be a local number for maximum impact.

Also know that you should not select the “verify listing by phone” option if you use an automated phone system. Google’s system can only provide your verification PIN to a live person or voice mail.

Categories
Here is where your keywords will come into play. Keep in mind that Google Places categories should say what your business IS, not what it does. For example: If you are a law firm that is your category. Not “personal injury attorney.”

Google will provide category suggestions – you can override these and create your own but inclusion of location keywords will appear as an attempt to manipulate the listings.

Get as specific as you can within categories. Say you have a book store, try to choose specific category like "college books store, "comic books", "used book store", "new books", or "rare and antique books".

Also, check and correct listings for your business on citation sites such as YellowPages.com and SuperPages.com because Google aggregates information about your business from other website to determine under what categories and for what keywords your Google Places business listing appears.

Remember, maximizing the full use of your Google Place page not only increases awareness, but also generates leads with local SEO. Stay tuned later this week for advanced tips on managing your Google Place page.

From The Hubspot, “How to Generate Leads with Local SEO.”

5 SEO Don'ts

2011-09-16T06:07:00.000-07:00

1. No Value Prop
• Why would searchers want to visit your site?
• Do you have a compelling product?
• Does your company offer a compelling service?
• Relevance is key factor in page rank

2. Segmented Approach
• Approach your strategy holistically
• Consider the entire user experience

3. Ignoring Search
• Don’t use trick plays before standard blocking and tackling
• Flashy page = less “crawlable” URL structure

4. Caught in SEO Trends
• Don’t let your website chase search engines
• Your website should chase the user
• Stay focused on understanding what is best for the user

5. Slow Iteration
• Iterate quickly
• Take new features and incorporate them into your business process
• Don’t put of getting a website or making sure your website is SEO friendly
(www.marketingprofs.com)

The Four P's of a Fully Alive Business

2011-09-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

If you have ever taken a marketing class then you are familiar with the Four P's. First year marketing students have been learning about product, price, place and promotion since back in the early 1960's when the phrase was first coined.

"The 4P's," became a way to describe the essential elements of the marketing mix. Since then, much has changed in the marketing industry. Even the definition of marketing has changed. Today, one of the key elements of business and marketing is building trust. Engaging an audience, connecting, and telling a story, are all new forms of promotional techniques. Price is a function of value and place is no longer the 3rd shelf but in the form of bytes.

However, there is still a home for the Four P's, but it is now more about how a business is experienced than what the business is actually selling. The following elements make up a redefinition of the 1960's version of the 4P's: passion, purpose, positioning, and personality. These elements combine together to create the fully alive business. This further makes the case that marketing is everything and every business is really a marketing business, or everything is marketing.

Passion
The first element in a fully alive business is the passion for living that is brought by the business owner. A person's individual passion will grow a business. Leading with passion is how good things evolve and how something ordinary becomes something extraordinary.

Purpose
Passion must be connected with a purpose. This is how a business defines why it does what it does. This is the reason you go to work every morning and what draws one to a certain business. Purpose builds trust because it allows people to see their own values in action as well as to see results. Purpose builds connections because it is common ground for what employees strongly believe in and what ties them together. It is a cause that people will do remarkable things inside, outside, and around of, for the support of their cause.

Positioning
People that understand their purpose also understand the reason for being and position in the market. Lead with why and let those attracted to that why create their own definition of what. Brands that start with why, or purpose over product, can effectively enter most any market and be competitive. Take for example Apple, this computer company routinely competes and dominates in any market they enter.

Personality
The final P is how a business uses desirable human traits or personality characteristics to allow all that encounter the business to actually experience your purpose. It is one thing to put your purpose on a banner or brochure, it is another to think and live by a set of daily habits, language and process that offer proof of purpose. We are drawn to inspirational people. There are certain qualities and traits of personalities that contribute to a fully alive business like being innovative, playful and creative. These traits make up how the business is run internally and how the brand is experienced externally.

Imagine what would occur if every college students today were taught these Four P’s. What would it be like if every business was started with this framework and everyone could go to work for a company built with this way of thinking at its core? This may never happen, but it is interesting to think about how the dynamics of business could change.(www.ducttapemarketing.com)

3 Essential Twitter Tools you’ve Never Heard Of

2011-06-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

So you’ve jumped head-first into Twitter? Once you become addicted, you start to realize that simply sharing what you ate for lunch isn’t enough anymore. After a certain point, you begin caring more and more about engaging with the community you’ve built up around yourself. One of the biggest problems that Twitter hasn’t been able to solve is spam. If your tweets are public, you can’t even mention Apple without being bombarded with “free offers” to win one. Enter Twitblock, the best resource for blocking spammers before they start to annoy you.

Once you’ve removed spam from your Twitter experience, you’ll find it much easier to engage in valuable interactions with your followers. But how can you make sure your thoughts are reaching the maximum possible audience? Tweriod is really handy for these situations. After a one-time analysis of the tweeting habits of your followers, this tool will recommend the times of day when the majority of your followers are actively using Twitter.

There also comes a time when every Twitter power user has to ask, “Why do I follow so many people?” Once in a while, it’s a good idea to re-evaluate the people you’ve chosen to follow. ManageFlitter makes this dead simple. Sort the people you follow to see who hasn’t tweeted recently, who tweets too much, or who tweets about topics that don’t interest you. Eliminate the ones who don’t make the cut, and enjoy a clutter-free Twitter stream!(wwww.likeable.com)

Empowering Healthy Behavior via Facebook

2011-06-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

We are constantly preaching the benefits of social media to our clients and are thrilled when they finally have that “aha” moment; the moment they realize social media’s power in helping them build a relationship with their clients.
There are many ways to connect with your audience via social media but one trend I have noticed on some of my favorite pages is that they have created a sense of belonging to a community on Facebook.

Nike Women’s Facebook page makes me feel like someone is there to motivate and inspire me to get out there and run. I thought I would find a wall with posts about great shoes but, instead, I found a community of women sharing their workout secrets.

Weight Watchers is the same. They get it. You feel like you are entering a community of people who are there to cheer you on. You feel like you are talking to a group of friends or a coach, not a brand that is trying to sell me something.

It’s always easier to make a change when we know we are not along and we have someone who motivates us. With the help of social media we can build relationships and find lifelong brand ambassadors.

Why Most Small Businesses Are Failing at Social Media & 5 Tips For Better Success

2011-06-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Over 600 million people in the world are on Facebook, including 150 million Americans, or 1 in 2 adults. Small business owners in droves are trying to capitalize on the trends, but few are reaping the benefits. For most local business owners, the temptation is to use social networks to promote their businesses to broadcast their messages. But if you take off your marketing cap, and put on your consumer cap, you’ll realize that consumers are already pummeled by marketing and advertising messages all day long. The secret, then, to social media for small business owners- is being human-being the sort of person at a cocktail party who listens attentively, tells great stories, shows interest in others, and is authentic and honest. The secret is to be likeable. Here are 5 specific tips for small business owners to enjoy more success at social media.
1. Listen before you talk.
2. Don’t tell your customers to like you and follow you, tell them why and how.
3. Ask questions.
4. Share pictures and videos.
5. Spend at least 30 minutes a day on social media.
Above all else, keep your customer cap on, and follow the golden rule: Would you yourself click the “Like” button, the Follow button, or Retweet button if you saw your business on Facebook & Twitter? (www.likeable.com)

Deliciously Social Savvy Food Trucks

2011-06-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

Anyone who lives in the city has visited a food truck whether you are picking up your morning bagel or maybe getting some ice cream. When I think of food trucks I think of cheap, delicious, and convenient. What I don’t normally think of right away is social. Recently, I have noticed more and more how social media savvy food trucks are becoming! Just goes to show you that no matter what your business of choice, social media can be used to enhance your brand. Here are some food trucks that get social media.
Cupcake Crew
This truck travels around NYC selling deliciously made cupcakes that vary in flavor from chocolate to bacon. Every day is a different location but that does not stop this truck from offering deals on Foursquare. Check in the first time and receive a free coffee with your cupcake. In addition, followers can get a sneak peak at the day’s flavors by following them on Twitter.
Kogi BBQ
This LA food truck travels to a different location everyday with delicious Korean BBQ tacos. How do you know where the truck will be today? Only via Twitter will you be able to find them! Kogi tweets while in transit to give their fans up to the minute updates on their whereabouts. Kogi put up a Flickr account to show others what they are missing. They post pictures from events that they go to and dishes that they make to show everyone who is not in LA just what they are missing!
Ben & Jerry’s Truck
This is an example of a more well-known brand taking their brand to the streets! This truck has traveled through LA, Boston, and is now making stops in NY and Miami. If you want the Ben and Jerry’s truck to come to you, all you have to do is tweet at them and ask!
I say we give it a try! Let the Langstaffers know if it shows up. We will be right over! (www.likeable.com)

The Resume is Dead, The Bio is King

2011-05-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

If you're a designer, entrepeneur, or creative- you probably haven't been asked for your resume in a long time. Instead, people Google you- and quickly access your talents based on your website, portfolio, and social media profiles. That's why the resume is on the out, and the bio is on the rise. People work with people they can relate to and identify with. Trust comes from personal disclosure. And that kind of sharing is too hard to convey in a resume. Your bio needs to tell the bigger story. Especially, when you're in business for yourself, or in the business of relationships. It's your bio that reads first. To help you with this, your bio should address the following five questions:

1. Who am I?
2. How can I help you?
3. How did I get here?
4. Why can you trust me?
5. What do we share in common?

Share what you really care about. And then write your bio in service to your reader, not just ego validation. To paraphrase the artist, De La Vega, "we spend too much time trying to convince others, instead of believing in ourselves." Start with these simple storytelling principles and questions above. In the process, you'll discover a greater potential to shift how you see yourself and how the world sees you. (www.the99percent.com)

Work Like A Dog!

2011-05-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love Hubspot's blog this week about working hard. This is the mantra that Langstaff Marketing lives by. Yes, I believe we have to be efficient and smart with our time and resources, but nothing compares to good hard work! Last week the Langstaff team logged in over 400 hours in 3 days - Why??? Becuase this is what our clients want. They want to get things done quickly as well as right. They don't want an agency that spends several days debating a strategy, or several weeks searching for the perfect creative team. Our clients want results. That is what we deliver. I expect that is what your clients want as well. Are you delivering results and are you working hard to do it right and fast?

Privacy in the Digital Age: A Lesson in "Safe Sharing"

2011-05-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

“Privacy is dead. Get over it.” Scott McNealy, Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems, is said to have muttered these words, more than ten years ago. Similarly, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg recently echoed this sentiment in several controversial interviews. Privacy is clearly a hot-button issue these days as more and more people turn to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, etc. to share their every move with the world. For social media nerds, this sharing of information is a dream comes true-but when it comes to sharing personal information; just how much is too much?
When a colleague had accepted a few friends on Foursquare that she didn’t know in real life, or even online, she didn’t stop to think about how sharing her check-ins with strangers (possibly stalkers, criminals, or crazies) could be harmful. And maybe it isn’t. This situation raised the tough question: how can we remain transparent while still maintaining some level of privacy, and more importantly, of safety?
Here are five guidelines I personally follow as I toe the line between transparency and privacy:
1. If you are going to create a venue for your home on a geo-location based social network, DON’T include your specific address or apartment number.
2. Don’t accept TOTAL strangers on sites like Foursquare.
3. If you share a lot of personal pictures on mobile applications like Instagram, consider disabling the GPS feature that lets users know exactly where you are posting a photo from.
4. Don’t click that link! Literally 99% of links I receive nowadays from a Facebook message, post on my wall, direct message on Twitter or otherwise, are spam. It’s true.
5. Don’t share naked pictures of yourself unless you are fully prepared for them to go public! Don’t be stupid enough to believe that anything sent in a private message can’t be posted publicly on Facebook in the blink of an eye. (www.likeable.com)

The Ten Commandments for Managing a Successful Facebook Page

2011-05-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

The Ten Commandments for Managing a Successful Facebook Page
Quite a few centuries ago, Moses was given the Ten Commandments. We were taught not to lie, or steal, but nowhere in there does it outline how we are supposed to manage our Facebook pages. Maybe if Moses received the Ten Commandments in the 21st Century, we would have been given some guidance in the social media department.
Here are Ten Commandments for managing a successful Facebook page:
1. Thou shalt not delete: As a page owner, sometimes you may be tempted to delete a comment. Deleting a post is like telling your fan that you not only don’t care about what they have to say, but they are also not important. Acknowledge every post and don’t delete anything.
2. Thou shall respond to every post: Every fan that writes on your page has taken time out of their day to engage with you. As a page owner, you owe them the same courtesy.
3. Thou shall say “Thank you” & “I’m Sorry”: The four most important words in social media are “Thank you” and I’m sorry.” All negative comments must be addressed and can normally be fixed with a simple “I’m sorry.” Some page owners may think that the “I’m sorrys” are more important, however, that is not the case. Fans that have positive things to say deserve the same amount of attention and are owed a “Thank you.”
4. Thou shall not promote: Your FB page is not a place to sell or promote yourself. People will not like or engage on your page if that is your ultimate goal. Your goal should be to create a community of people with similar interests to your product or service.
5. Thou shall provide valuable content: Users will like your page, and continue to visit it if you provide them with valuable content. Post interesting links and articles, create fun and creative videos, post relevant photos, ask engaging questions and lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for things.
6. Thou shall include their fans: Your fan page should not just be about you. It is a fan page after all!
7. Thou shall update once a day: This rule is quite simple. Don’t update once a week. Don’t update five times a day. Posting once a day will open up the forum to your fans.
8. Thou shall integrate: It is likely that FB isn’t the only social network that your business is using. Your company may be using Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn, etc. It is important to integrate all of these sites.
9. Thou shall utilize apps: There are a bunch of simple apps such as Polls and Quizzes that can add flare to your FB page.
10. Thou shall optimize the news feed: The more often your information is displayed on the news feed, the more likely you will have interactive fans. (www.likeable.com)

The Long Lost Art of the Handwritten Note

2011-05-10T07:49:00.001-07:00

The office layout at Langstaff is conducive for sharing. It makes the perfect work environment to bounce ideas and questions off of one another. So, when something out of the norm occurs, we all relish in the excitement. Well, it happened one day last week.

In the middle of a rather boring stack of mail was a thank-you note from, of all places, Land’s End! What? Say again. Yes, a handwritten thank-you note from Brenda, Customer Care Specialist, with Land’s End. She thanked me for my skirt purchase and commented on how I was going to “love the pattern and color.” Wow! This is a first. I have never received a thank-you note from J. Crew, Nordstrom, Belk, or any retailer for that matter.

Thank goodness. Someone out there is listening. For years, Langstaff Marketing has stressed to clients the importance of writing thank-you notes. It’s a long-lost art and, when received, is much appreciated. It makes me think about the graduation gift I sent to my nephew. I am still waiting on a thank-you note. Now that I think of it, I never received a thank-you note for that same nephews’ wedding gift.

Everybody is busy nowadays. I get that. As a result, we have come to accept an email invitation as the norm. Therefore, naturally, receiving a “thanks” via email is perfectly acceptable. But, when someone takes the time to handwrite you a note personally thanking you for your time, purchase, consideration, etc., you take notice. You make a mental note. It makes the difference.

With that being said, set your business apart. Take the time to thank your clients. It’s positive word of mouth marketing, not to mention, it would make your Grandmother proud! And, you know, Brenda is right. I am going to love that skirt from Land’s End. I already feel better about my new purchase. In fact, I may need to order that coordinating tunic as well!

To Give or Not to Give, that is the Question

2010-12-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

Each year we at Langstaff struggle with our clients on whether they should give Christmas gifts or perhaps just do cards, or neither. I want to set the record straight. Langstaff Marketing believes in giving to your clients. However clients are just like family. You need to find that special gift.
Tip #1
Choose a gift that highlights your company and is unique. Something that will stand out in the mind of your customer. This can be a funny gift (we did make your own cupcakes by Saint Cupcake www.saintcupcake.com) or something more serious such as making a donation to a local charity in honor of your client. Last year Langstaff Marketing made donations to The Anchorage, a Christian based alcohol and drug treatment center for men www.anchorageofalbany.org.

Next you must understand that the Holidays are not only crazy at your homes, but also at your client's office. Giving a gift during this time of year may not be the best thing. I still recommend gift giving, but choose a time of the year that will work best for you and the client while at the same time allowing you to focus on celebrating the relationship you share.
Tip #2
There are plenty of great holidays that many people don't think about. Valentine's Day is a great day to let your client know you are thinking of them. Langstaff used this holiday several years ago and received more calls and emails than any other time we have sent gifts. Fourth of July or Memorial Day are also great. You may have to send the gift earlier in the week, perhaps 4 or 5 days ahead of the specific holiday, but it is a great way to catch a clients attention. Find a holiday that is perfect for you, or better yet, make your business have its on special day and promote that day to your clients. I worked for Joey Reiman and on March 4th the office and clients would be reminded to "March Forth". Great Idea.

It is perfectly acceptable to do a holiday gift at one time of year, and then turn around and send out cards for Christmas or New Years. No matter what you do.........use every opportunity to promote the personality of your company. This can't be done through stock cards.
Tip #3
There are lots of creative people dying to design a card just for you. Think of the card as an ad. Sure it may say "Merry Christmas" like all other cards, but it needs to be unique to you. It will be the one card they save. This year an old friend and colleague, Chris Steele of Steele + www.steeleplus.com sent the best card. It was a spoof on Mad Men. It will remain on the magnetic board in my office forever! Kudos.

So, remember that giving is important but not as important as how you go about doing it!

Merry Christmas from Langstaff Marketing.

How to Get the Most Out of Social Networks and Not Annoy Users

2010-12-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

The constant barrage of invites to sign up for this group or download that app are starting to wear on social-network users, presenting big challenges for the brands and marketers who are looking to use these sites to aggregate fans and cultivate relationships with customers.

Nearly a third of social networkers say they are fed up with the constant requests to join groups and try new applications, according to research by the Internet Advertising Bureau in the U.K. That means marketers will need to work harder to keep innovating if they want to harness the consumer power of social networks and persuade people to join their sponsored sites or pages.

To be popular, brands needs to have a personality and be someone that people want to be friends with. The guiding principle is to offer things that are not available elsewhere, things that give social kudos or bragging rights. Brands are part of the fabric of people’s lives and ultimately most are happy to be identified as friends of a brand.

The IAB study of nearly 2,000 internet users also showed that social networks are taking on extra relevance in the current economic climate. Forty-one percent of members say they now place even more value on ratings and reviews from family and friends on a social network.

4 Social Media Methods for Generating Word Of Mouth

2010-10-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Want to get people talking? Want to use social media to generate word of mouth? There are really only 4 ways to do it:

1. Social Media Tool #1 is Value. I could really go for a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s right now. The truth is, I stay away from Denny’s until they offered me a free meal. How about two pieces of Kentucky Grilled Chicken? Or a free Chicken Biscuit at Chic-Fil-A? The reality is free has become the new craze. It’s the fastest, shortest route to creating demand. Marketers have realized that if you provide incredible value, consumers will line up around the block for you. Of course, you will probably run out of chicken, which is exactly the fantastic PR you were hoping for.
2. Social Media Tool #2 is Status. In the early days of the internet it was hip to be anonymous. Today, no one wants to be anonymous. Our social media has forced us to prove who we are and who we know. Our value is derived from status-and the more public that is, the better. The key to status is everyone wants to share it. And the more you have, the more you will do just that. Make it simple for people to share their connectivity and there won’t be a tight lip in the house.
3. Social Media Tool #3 is Scarcity. Generating scarcity is simple. Create less of what you have, not more and tell people about it. Make a waiting list for people who want to use your service.
4. Social Media Tool #4 is exclusivity. Exclusivity is what makes you jealous when someone whips out their Black Platinum Centurion Diamond credit card or why you feel special eating tasteless tiny no-crust hummus sandwiches in the British Airways Club Lounge. But exclusivity is not just limited to stuff. Information and knowledge can be the basis for incredible chatter. The fact is, we all want to know what we don’t, and if you have a secret, it’s probably worth sharing with someone else.

Article Source: www.blog.hubspot.com

What do water skiing and social networking have in common?

2010-08-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I watched two of my children learn to water ski. It took two full days, at least a full tank of gas, lots of bottled water and some mental endurance for both me and my children. But in the long run we celebrated the entire weekend and into the week because of their success.

So, how does this relate to social networking? In order to have a successful social networking strategy, you need the following:

Time - Time is needed in order to build and sustain a presence on social media sites. Time also allows you to make mistakes and learn from them.

Fuel - Quality information is needed so that you can be in engaged in the process.

Fresh Information - You cannot be successful in social networking if you do not dip your toe into new and different conversations. Don't just stick to topics that are prevelant to your business.

Endurance - Obviously if you need time, then you need to pace yourself to run the race. Building your presence requires you to be consistent and to not get "tired" during the process.

Cheerleaders - Cheerleaders (followers, friends or fans) help continue the conversation, and also are your ambassadors and can share your successes. Word of mouth on steroids!

So.............try something new this week with your social networking strategy. Come on in, the water feels great.

Must Do Twitter SEO Tips

2010-08-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

How come people forget to fill out their bio section or list their URL in the domain section? How can you forget to put your website domain in your profile? Here are some ways to really keep your SEO elements moving in the right direction with your Twitter account.

URL is the most important thing. Don’t forget to have your URL visible in your profile.
USER NAME: Your user name is going to be listed in your domain so choose one wisely. Choosing something cute will decrease your ranking in search results for your targeted keywords.

DESCRIPTION: Your description is used as the meta tag information for your profile so you can see where this would come in very handy to have optimized for your targeted keywords.

BACKGROUND: You are allowed to upload your own background image so use it to either further your business brand or you can use the right hand side of the background to list some information about your services or your business.

PERSONALITY: Try adding some personality to your profile. Ask your followers questions, have a contest; show your audience that there is a person behind that Twitter profile.

HASH TAGS: This is often overlooked. If you drop“#” before a word like SEO or any other keyword you might be targeting this will allow your tweet to show up in search results for when others search for that keyword.

3 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

2010-08-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

1. Build your business using social media while considering the principles of social commerce. 78% of people care what their friends think and only 14% care what advertisers think. Soon we will make most of our purchase decisions based on what our friends say online.
2. Since time is an obstacle, begin using social media tools in baby steps. When arguing the value of reallocating time to social media, emphasize the valuable real-time feedback you’ll be receiving from consumers and potential customers.
3. The three steps to using social media effectively are: listen, interact and react. Many people forget the last step and don’t respond when someone says something negative about their products or services. Use both negative and positive comments as feedback to improve your business.

Is Your Marketing an Empty Envelope?

2010-07-10T11:39:00.001-07:00

Imagine you are walking along one day in the park. You look down and see an envelope, which you pick up. It’s fine quality paper with a logo on the back and full postage on the front. Impressive!

To your surprise, the envelope has nothing written on the front- no recipient’s name, no address. And you can tell, on closer inspection, that it’s empty.

This envelope, I am sorry to say, is like most small business marketing. All the investment is spent on the vehicle or marketing strategy, represented here by a nice, stamped envelope. This is like purchasing advertising, web sites, brochures, Chamber memberships and trade show booths.

But, what’s missing is a target market (address) and a message (letter inside the envelope). Who should get this envelope? What do you want them to know?

In marketing terms, this missing piece is a differentiated brand message stating who your services are for, and why they need to purchase from you. Without a brand message, you may as well toss your money out the window, because your marketing strategy is doing nothing for you.

Not having a brand is like sending out sealed, stamped envelopes without addresses or anything inside.

This is why so many small business owners find marketing expensive, difficult and a waste of time.

Take Your Website to the Max

2010-06-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Many small-business owners wrongly believe that just having a presence on the Web is enough to promote their businesses- an “if you build it, they will come” mentality. But a static site that amounts to no more than an ad doesn’t add value to the business.
This is especially true because only 8% of people look beyond the third page of search results, according to a 2008 Jupiter research survey. Search Engine Optimization is a science but there’s some art to it, too. The science is understanding how the search engines determine relevancy. “They determine relevancy based on things like key word density, how many times certain words are on your Website, keyword location on the home page, how many links to your Website there are from other sites that are credible and how many links you have outbound to those kinds of sites, how often you are mentioned in blogs, and what kind of information that provides your relevancy. “A website that is just sitting there is not going to magically attract attention,” said Obie Fernandez, CEO of Hashrocket. “There are literally tens of millions of Websites coming on the Internet every other month,” said David Brown, CEO of Web.com. “As a result, if you just build a site and don’t use the science of optimization, you’ll probably be found deep in the pages, eighth or 80th. With so much information and so many sites out there, small businesses must do whatever they can to stand out, attract traffic to their sites and make sales.

Atlanta Business Chronicle, March 12-18, 2010 (www.atlantabusinesschroncle.com)

Lawyers and Social Media: Can they get along?

2010-05-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

Can a lawyer breach ethical duties with a single click of a mouse, without even touching a keyboard? Thanks to social media, the answer may be yes. However, there are many advantages to embracing social media. Before doing so, a lawyer should follow some commonsense rules:
• Think before you post. Social media is easy to misuse because you can make an online post quickly, on impulse.
• You may want to brush up on those ethics rules. Think of these rules when you post.
• Remember that an online post can potentially be seen by millions, so be circumspect about what you put on there.
• Avoid absolutes; qualify what you say.
• Be careful with conclusions and opinions.
• Most importantly, remember that laws and ethics rules governing your behavior don’t make exceptions for online content.

Atlanta Business Chronicle(www.atlantabusinesschronicle.com)

Facebook Will Rule the Web during the Next Decade

2010-05-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

If the 2000s was the Google decade, then the 2010s will be the Facebook decade. This era will unleash an avalanche of change for media companies and advertisers. You can see the writing on the wall, no pun intended.

Nielson reported that in January, U.S. consumers spent a staggering seven hours a month on Facebook-more than three and a half times the time spent of Yahoo, which ranked second in attention.

Social networking is still largely thought of as a new genre of sites that help us forge stronger relationships with the people we care about.

In the months and years ahead, Facebook will continue to beef up core features such as e-mail and search. Some of this it will do on its own.

So, yes, Facebook is slowly devouring the web. And while the social network has plenty of critics and it runs into the occasional privacy concerns, it will dominate. In fact, I see it becoming the No.1 website in the world in less than three years.

What does this mean? Websites will become less important over time. They will be primarily transactional and /or utilitarian. Brands will shift more of their dollars and resources to creating a robust presence where people already are and figure out how to use them to build relationships. (Advertising Age March 2010)

Hospitals must embrace social media and let ROI take care of itself

2010-04-20T06:52:00.000-07:00

Worry not about the cost of engagement, but the cost of non-engagement
Too often, we find ourselves counting the number of Facebook fans or Twitter followers or the number of people who viewed YouTube videos, trying to justify engagement in social media. However, the bigger question is whether hospitals can afford not to engage. Here’s why:

• Share of voice: No hospital can allow a competitor to be the only health-care voice in the market. Why should you allow your competitor to dominate a market-even if it’s a virtual one? Important rule of thumb: If your competitors are using social media, you need to be there, too. About 60% of adults and 75% of youth go to the Internet to find health information, so it’s important for hospitals to be able to reach people wherever they are on the Internet.

• Search Engine Optimization: Last year, both Google and Bing signed deals with social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, to include them in their real-time search results.

• Improve Customer Service: The fact that people can easily update social media sites from their BlackBerrys and iPhones presents new challenges for hospitals. We’ve heard a number of stories about how hospital communicators have seen an angry tweet from a patient who thinks he or she has been waiting too long to get into the emergency room and have spoken to the patient and helped address the problem.

• Reach younger health care consumers: Hospitals tend to focus their marketing dollars trying to reach the Baby Boomers. Not only are they the largest generation, they are also reaching the age when they are using more health-care dollars, whether it’s to replace achy joints, have cardiac procedures or do a little cosmetic surgery. However, Gen Xers and Millenials also need health services (and will be health care consumers in the future), and social media is proving a good way to reach them.

• Develop closer relations with patients: KevinMD.com writes that half of Facebook and Twitter users are under age 34 and rely on the Web for most of their information. It’s possible that as this group ages, they will go to social media first to answer their health questions, rather than schedule an appointment with their doctor. It’s important for doctors to think about how they use social media and e-mail to answer questions and put news into perspective.

• Promote your service lines: Once a hospital agrees to engage in social media, the next challenge is to decide how the process should work.

(Source: www.ragan.com)

Thou Shalt Blog: What Marketers can learn from the Church’s Foray into Social Media

2010-03-15T15:20:00.001-07:00

If you’ve been waiting for a sign from above telling you to start using social media, then your time has come.

Over the past few months, Pope Benedict XVI has been calling on the Catholic Church to get more involved in Web 2.0. Pope Benedict states that the Church should continue to be present in the “ever evolving communications system that surrounds our planet.”

To date, the Vatican has created a YouTube account, a personal Facebook page for Pope Benedict, an iPhone app and a Facebook app. Outside of the Vatican, many of those in the Church have heard the call and started blogging and creating other online resources like Open Source Catholic.

Okay, I admit that it’s not exactly a burning bush, but it’s certainly a clear sign that times have changed.

Why have these devotees gone to such great lengths to spread the “good word?” Because people have been searching for it.

According to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, about 92% of Americans believe in a higher power, 28% have left the religion of their childhood and 16% consider themselves unaffiliated. This means that there is liquidity in the religious market, and many Americans are actively searching for spirituality. It also explains why religious groups have spent so much time, energy and money to get attention.

If the 83-year-old leader of one of the oldest organizations in the history of Western civilization has embraced Web 2.0 and recognized the benefits of inbound marketing techniques, you’re officially out of excuses for why social media won’t work for your company. (www.blog.hubspot.com)

Do You Tweet?

2010-01-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

An in-depth study was recently released on how social media is being used by the US’s fast-growing private companies.

The most important takeaway from the study is profound proof that knowledge about social media is on the rise. The study found that 75% of companies who participated in the survey were very familiar with social media in 2009, a dramatic increase over the 57% of respondents familiar with some type of social networking in 2008. Companies in denial about the impact of social media will be astonished to learn that 43% of the Inc. 500 companies who responded believe that social media is a “very important” piece of their business and marketing strategy.

The study also identified blogging as an area that has experienced growth. Message boards, online video, wikis, and pod-casting are all examples of social networks which either leveled off between 2008 and 2009 or have experienced a slight decline in interest.

One of the most promising things unearthed in the study was that respondents who experimented with the newest social networking addition, Twitter, reported an 82% success rate; other social networks also drove incredible success rates which hovered around 87% overall.

Business adoption of social media is growing very swiftly. Almost every company in the survey admitted to using at least one social media tool in 2009, and out of those, 87% have experienced success using it to drive engagement, hits, leads and sales.

Get to twittering people!!

2010 Marketing Predictions

2010-01-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from all the chicks at Langstaff Marketing!!
I hate resolutions, but I do have one I swear I will try to keep, and that is to be better at my blogging. To get myself started off on the right foot, I found some great predictions from the good people at KBuzz. I love these guys. They are so smart, yet simple and easy to work with. I am constantly sending people their way. So......I have copied these predictions from their December e-newsletter. I don't think they will mind, but just in case, go visit their website for yourself. www.thekbuzz.com

Social Media Predictions for 2010

1. Facebook will continue to grow and will dominate the social media space by reaching 500 million users.
2. More people will be using mobile phones to access their social networks.
3. MySpace and Friendster will continue to fall off the planet.
4. There will be an 80% increase in the number of people who call themselves social media experts.

All I Want for Christmas is a Hamster!

2009-12-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

The must-have toy this holiday season is the electronic hamster. I should have purchased mine when a friend prompted me to do so over a month ago. Little did I know that the item would fly off the shelf and prices would soar?

Zhu Zhu Pets, a line of five furry interactive hamsters have been selling so briskly they have gone missing from retailers’ shelves for weeks. The little hamsters are so popular, Toys ‘R’ Us used them as its Black Friday marketing centerpiece. Every Toys ‘R’ Us had 100 of them for sale at midnight when the stores opened for Black Friday shopping, with a limit of one person customer.

How did it happen? It all started with a Cepia-created TV spot featuring the fur balls and their Habitrail-like accessories that ran in late summer and early fall on children’s cable channels. I remember seeing the commercials myself. If only I had known then what I know now!

Now Zhu Zhu’s PR and promotions agency, Martz Agency, is pushing back other marketing programs until first quarter 2010. No sense to continue to build demand right now. “They’ve gotten to where they want to be, the top toy of the toy lists,” said Carrie Martz, CEO of the Martz Agency.

Still, it was marketing that helped Zhu Zhus get there. Maria Bailey, CEO of BSM Media, joined in the effort by putting on 40 “Mom Maven” influencer parties. The agency, which specializes in marketing to moms, created Zhu Zhu parties in a box with 12 hamsters and habitrails, featuring recipes (for Hamster Crunch) and games. Many of the moms were bloggers who did their own giveaways online. To date, more than 300 in-home parties have been conducted for Zhu-Zhu pets.

The Martz Agency then took the campaign nationwide, partnering with sports teams and hospitals in 25 markets, while BSM Media threw more than 300 hamster parties across the country and hooked up with 10 city zoos for “Boo in the Zoo” parties. According to Ms. Bailey, 25% of all moms who attended the parties said they have told 21 or more moms about the Zhu Zhu Pets. And 80% of the moms who attended said they have told at lease six other mothers about the hamsters…word of mouth marketing at its’ best!

Maybe Santa thinks I've been good this year, and he can find me a Zhu Zhu Hamster in that pack of his!

Beating the Recession: Strategies to Grow Your Company in an Economic Downturn

2009-11-22T08:55:00.000-08:00

Most companies envision recession as a time to tighten belts and safeguard reserves. Any plans for acquisitions and mergers are often placed on hold until the economic turmoil blows over. However, a recession yields tremendous opportunities. While other companies are holding onto their cash tightly and shrinking their workforce, many opportunities are overlooked that can provide a huge competitive edge.

When using creating strategies in times of recession, conventional wisdom should be thrown out the window. Now is the time to create new and innovative strategies that foster growth. Finding the right opportunities during the economic downturn can propel your company ahead of the market leader.

Everyone needs to understand that while a growth strategy during a recession isn’t traditional, there are huge gains to be made during this time. While most companies clam up during hard times – tabling plans for acquisitions and mergers successful companies have done the complete opposite. They seek opportunities to grow. And because other companies aren’t participating in these types of activities, there are special opportunities available.

Slow Marketing

2009-10-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

This Is Not a Call to Unplug From Our Wired Ways, but a Pledge to Old Principles

Speed is good, and change is gospel, but we may be moving too darn fast and making too many dumb or shortsighted moves along the way.

We might all benefit from slowing down, deepening our conversations-rather than skimming at superficial levels a mile a minute and re-embracing (please forgive me) some of the “boring basics”: putting consumers first, listening, providing service, working sustainably, teaching, relationship building and operating ethically.

We’ve become conversationalists on steroids! We blog, we Twitter, we litter e-mail boxes. We friend, we friend friends of friends, and we “network” among a growing cast of unfamiliars we mistake for familiars based on light-sometimes dubious-criteria. We celebrate every online “conversation” as though it actually matters. We’re breaking new ground, but we’re acquiring a few bad habits along the way.

According to Pete Blackshaw, Advertising Age (www.adage.com), we need to reassert our allegiance to a new (actually old) set of principles.

1. Always put the consumer first. In our speed, we are getting ahead of the consumer.
2. Slow marketing is about giving direct contact as much credence as external conversation.
3. The rules of slow marketing suggest that the biggest word-of-mouth dividends accrue from longer-term, often more operational investments: great products, superb experiences, world-class customer service, committed employees who fortify the brand. One could argue that Apple is a slow-marketing winner.
4. Pick your battles. You don’t need to respond to everything. Take a step back before diving in. In some cases, not engaging in the social-media feeding frenzy is the best form of engagement.

3 Mistakes Most People Make When They Meet a Stranger

2009-08-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

1. Don’t assume that that someone is interested in learning all about your business. Unfortunately, the person you are talking to wants to do the same so this can pose a problem. It’s a known fact that if you tease someone with just enough information that piques their interest, you’ll more than likely get another chance to go into full detail. Take some time to figure out how to offer a sample or appetizer while networking instead of providing the main course.
2. Never bring up someone that you had a negative experience with or engage in gossip. After you start networking, you’ll discover how connected people are and you just might be talking about someone they know. Simply talk in general terms without involving names.
3. Try not to be overbearing with someone you just met. Every person has a different way of communicating and responds differently to meeting total strangers. If you happen to be a Type A individual that talks in a rush and wants to just get to the point, the person you meet might need more information. Be aware of the different personality types and do your best to “mirror” them to communicate in the best way they receive information. If they talk slow, you should too. If they are a bottom line person, cut to the chase.

If you’re aware of these three mistakes, hopefully you will have better success networking with total strangers and start growing your business!

What Your Favorite Social Network Says About You

2009-08-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

Which social network you favor says a lot about you and you might be surprised by what it says. A new study by Anderson Analytics is helping identify for marketers your likely interests, buying habits, media consumption and more.

Today 110 million Americans, or 60% of the online population, use social networks, and that number is fairly conservative.

The average social networker visits social sites five days a week and checks in about four times a day for a total of an hour each day.

With the help of Mr. Anderson and his team, Ad Age dug into the reams of stats to create the mini profiles of four different social-networking groups below.

1. Facebook users were almost completely average in their level of interest in most areas compared with users of Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn. Facebook is average because it has the most users. They are more likely to be married (40%), white (80%), and retired (6%) than users of other social networks. They have
the second-highest average income, at $61k.

2. Twitter users especially like pop culture, music, movies, TV and reading. They also prefer to buy their coffee on-line.
Twitterers are also entrepreneurial. They are more likely than others to use the service to promote their blogs or businesses and they are more likely to be employed part-time (16% vs.11% average), and have an average income of $58k.

3. MySpace users are the young, fun and the fleeing. They are more likely to have joined MySpace for fun and more likely to be interested in entertaining friends, humor and comedy, and video games. Their average income is the lowest, at $44k, and they are more likely to be black (9%) or Hispanic (7%) than users of the other social sites.

4. LinkedIn has the only user group with more males than females (57% to 43%). They have the highest average income, at $89k, and are more likely to have joined the site for business or work.

What to do when your brand is caught in a social-media firestorm

2009-07-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, all sorts of new critics and activists are finding their voices amplified online. So what’s a marketer to do when an online firestorm erupts?

Steve Cody, managing partner and co-founder of Peppercom, offers six tips for if-or when-it happens to your brand.
1. Listen to the “what” and to the “who”. Know exactly who is doing the talking and gauging where that might lead and know who is angry? Is it your customers or not?
2. It’s ok to say “we don’t know.” However, do it promptly.
3. Address the crowd where it’s gathered. If the crowd is gathered on Twitter then go to Twitter. Don’t allow your customers to hear it from others. They will lose faith and trust in you.
4. Tone Matters. Engage in conversation with your customers, listen hard, and show genuine commitment to fixing the problem.
5. Explain how you will address the future. Marketers must communicate how they will prevent future pitfalls.
6. Invest now to prepare for accidents later. Strong, emotional brands that have built up years of consumer goodwill seem to be more insulated from long-term hurt.

Small Business Think Tank

2009-06-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

No business is too small to benefit from having its own sounding board. Think about the last time you met with other business people and had an open discussion, sharing your ideas and concerns about business challenges. Why not form some type of informal advisory board that meets on a regular basis and serves as a sounding board and a source of ideas and honest advice focused on just your business?
Your first question might be: Where would I find such people? Look around. There are many retired executives and managers who might have interest. Other business owners and managers or vendors may be an additional resource. Aim high. Choose people you admire, not those who are likely to only tell you what you want to hear.
What harm is there in asking? You just might be pleasantly surprised when they accept. If you do not ask, no one is going to tell.
Three people will do nicely for most small businesses. Set up a QUARTERLY meeting to discuss and advise.
According to Robert Schumacher, of the Manta Editorial Team, here’s how to make it work:
1. Be prepared to be open and frank.
2. Learn to listen
3. Open your mind and let some fresh perspectives flow in.
4. Be very careful of casual advice.

The beauty of a peer advisory group is that your advisors will generally raise the bar by challenging you to create and implement worthwhile goals, brainstorm ideas and do all of this with total honesty, respect and compassion.
This concept can enhance not only your business but also your life.

Is Facebook Helpful or Useless for Business?

2009-06-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Word of mouth has helped Facebook cross a threshold of cultural relevance: 240 million users in five years. Comparatively, the iPod reached 150 million users in 7 years, the cell phone in 14 and television in 38. Plus, Facebook growth is staggering: 2 million new users per day. Facebook is one of the best word-of-mouth success stories of this decade, if not the best, based on its massive number of users (www.theswom.org).

But here is the big question: Is Facebook valuable to business? For Brandy Hickox, manager of the Mint Julep Day Spa (www.theveranda.org), it certainly proved advantageous.
It was shaping up to be a slow week. Appointments weren't booked, so manager Brandy Hickox took a new approach to bringing in clients, she reached out on Facebook.
She offered a 25% discount to anyone who is a member of Mint Julep's Facebook group and called to book an appointment for the week. "We introduced it on Monday, sent it out to our group members and our appointments increased 100%!”
A social site like Facebook certainly can help a business. Word-of-mouth is incredibly powerful and it’s a great way to market your business without a huge marketing budget!

The Critical Elements Your Small Business Website Must Have to Survive

2009-04-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

According to Stephen Hall, founder of www.webdesigntipsonline.com , there are several critical elements your website must have to survive. I found, in reading this article, the term ‘credibility’ kept recurring. So, out of curiosity, I looked up the definition on www.wikipedia.org . It read “Credibility refers to the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message. Traditionally, credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise.” Knowing this, it is easy to see how all of Hall’s suggestion are relevant.

First of all, you need great content. With great access to lots of content about your business, nobody knows your business better than you. In other words, you are the expert. Share your knowledge. Besides great content that is constantly being updated, a blog is another way to share your expertise, boost your site and create a community around your website.

Establish trust. People tend to be a little wary of dealing with a business they do not know over the internet and it can take a number of interactions for them to trust you. Keeping in touch with them is vital. Therefore, email capture is essential. Give away a free report or a free subscription to your newsletter in order to get them to leave their email address with you.

Provide business details such as your physical location, a phone number and details of the real human beings involved in your business. The internet is often a faceless medium coming out of a computer screen. Put a face with a name by providing video messaging to let them know that there are real people involved in your business.

Last, but not least, is layout. It should be easy to navigate and engaging. Many sites are too busy so people leave because they do not know what to look at next.

It may take a while to establish credibility with your visitors; however, the implementation of these suggestions will work in gaining their trust and convincing them of your expertise. And that, my friends, is the key to website survival!

Word of Mouth Economics

2009-04-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

You probably know which customers spend the most with you (also known as share of wallet). But do you know how much revenue is generated from customers who refer you, and how much revenue is lost from those who recommend against you?

The Latest from the Church of the Customer blog (March 12, 2009) tells us that a promoter is worth about $1,700 in total value vs. the average customer who is worth about $1,144. A promoter accounts for roughly half of a new customer acquired through good word of mouth.

A detractor is responsible for the loss of 1.3 new customers through bad word of mouth. The lost business negates the value of a customer's business and then some, creating a net cost of $300. Can you afford to lose $300 from every very unhappy customer?

So, not only is positive word of mouth important but so too is neutralizing bad word of mouth. The best way to tackle that is to talk less and listen more. Your customers have the answers.

A Purpose Driven Facebook?

2009-03-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

You’ve read The Book, now buy the magazine!
According to Advertising Age, January ’09, Reader’s Digest Association recently joined forces with Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and best-selling author of “The Purpose Driven Life” and created a Christian Membership Organization, The Purpose Driven Connection. Paying members will receive a quarterly magazine edited by Mr. Warren, four spiritual DVDs, four workbooks and access to a social-networking website that aims to be a Christian Facebook.

A study published last year by WPP Group’s MindShare North America found that Evangelicals are some of the most influential and engaging customers. In addition, Reader’s Digest has the highest circulation of any consumer magazine in the U.S., more than 8 million. A traditional emphasis on faith, families, volunteerism and sober self improvement are qualities that make RDA seem old-fashioned but also what appeal to Mr. Warren. “We’re completely un-cool and we embrace that” said Ms. Berner, chief executive of RDA. She and some of her team had worked at Conde Nast, the epitome of the upscale magazine business. But she says she always avoided the world’s fashionable nightlife to be home for dinner with her four children. With that being said, I can very well see The Purpose Driven Connection being a good fit for Snuggie ads (as mentioned in March 12 blog) which claim their product offers “warmth and salvation in a cold world.”

Considering the state of the economy, it is safe to assume that there is an appeal to curling up on the couch in a nice warm blanket reading inspirational and reassuring articles such as “25 Bible Promises for Hard Times” and “What God Knows about You.”

The Snuggie is a Hit!

2009-03-12T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have a very clever friend who is constantly changing his Facebook photo to resemble the likes of the Crocodile Hunter, Mona Lisa and even the Pope; however, his most recent photo forced a second glance. He was wearing something that resembled a character out of “Star Wars.” He was wearing a Snuggie!

The quirky little blanket launched nationally on direct-response TV in October of 2008 has now sold over 4 million units. Fox News honed in on a woman wearing a Snuggie as she braved the cold attending Barack Obama’s inauguration, five days after Ellen DeGeneres donned one on her daytime talk show.
Scott Boilen, president of Allstar Marketing Group is laughing all the way to the bank. When he brought the concept of the Snuggie to Fred Vanore, president of Blue Moon Studios, he thought of his wife, struggling to keep a throw on as she watched TV in the house and the dog jumped on her lap!. Ads tout the Snuggie as a way to cut heating bills and, in this type of economy people are staying home more and it makes them feel good. It turns out that the problem-solution DRTV ad made the difference. People could relate so much so that retail sales have reached close to $40 million.

Imagine a product like that sitting on a retail shelf with no ad. No one would buy it!

Top 10 Marketing Mistakes

2009-01-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

I must give Kudos to Manta's most recent e-newsletter that gives the 10 most common marketing mistakes and how you can fix them. At least someone speaks my language!
1. Not preparing a marketing plan.
2. Not creating a marketing budget.
3. Not targeting a specific audience.
4. Not developing a clear and consistent message.
5. Beleiving your product or service will sell itself.
6. Not clearly stating your product or services' benefits.
7. Underestimating the value of your current customers.
8. Thinking that advertising is marketing.
9. Underestimating the power of public relations.
10. Expecting too much too soon.

The Best Way to Use Social Media/Networking Sites

2008-12-31T04:29:00.000-08:00

There are so many Social Media/Networking sites out there —Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are just a few. So how do you decide which to use and which truly promote business?

• LinkedIn: The most used site for business professional networking. LinkedIn can be used to promote your business to a wide audience. The best use of LinkedIn is to participate in the Q&A section and its many "Groups," where you can quickly establish yourself as an expert in your field...by answering questions, participating in discussions, and submitting articles you've written to group members.

• Facebook: Used primarily for personal networking, where friends and family stay connected. While many do use Facebook to network for business it is hard to track it as a business tool. You can advertise on Facebook through the click through advertising program.

• Twitter: A concept of sending short messages out to those who follow you. Twitter started as a personal way of telling your personal network "what you are doing" at any given moment. It has also been used by bloggers and content site owners in the same way RSS is used--to quickly blast out the most current news and articles available.

• Blogs: Only a part of the social networking/media conversation because of their ability to allow readers to "comment" and "share" on the content they read.

The other marketing benefit with blogs is the act of commenting on other blogs. This gives you a voice, promotes a top-of-mind position with your audience, and adds more online mentions (good for brand awareness and SEO) of your company with each entry.

Take Advantage of the Recession

2008-12-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

As the economy lags and drags, many businesses are panicking by cutting training, marketing and other discretionary expense line items. Cut purchasing? Ouch! When you feel that there’s nothing you can do nothing to better the economy, know that “nothing” is futile thinking.

The spending you should be most concerned with is how you spend your time. Take note of these five ways to fill your work day when business is (or isn’t) slow:

Prioritize wisely. Do what’s “closest to cash” first thing every single day. Whether that’s following up with a prospect, writing a proposal, or closing a deal, make it your number one priority.

Ask your clients for referrals. The chances of a qualified prospect becoming a client are as high 90 percent! Just think of it: Selling time decreases, your credibility increases and you ace out the competition.

Dazzle your current customers. Don’t ignore them at the expense of new business, because they are your best source for new business.

Become an expert. Companies tend to favor hiring experts in times like these because they don’t feel they can afford to make mistakes. So, show ‘em what you’ve got!

Network like crazy. Attend a minimum of one event a week. Talk to people and find out how you can help them. Don’t follow up by email. Pick up the phone. You make connections giving people the time to have a robust conversation.

Tweet, Tweet, Twitter

2008-11-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

After Barack Obama took the American public by storm, the brilliant marketing tactics his campaign implemented have become a huge topic of conversation.

One of the many ways he reached voters was through Twitter. “Tw-what?” you ask. Twitter is a Web-based service for your personal and/or professional network to help you stay connected through the exchange of short, frequent answers to one simple question: “What are you doing?”

Twingo (Twitter Lingo)

… Elipses at the end of a message on Twitter mean the message sent is longer than 140 characters. In order to view it, just click on the …

RT Retweet. Like recycling, this abbreviation is used to show that you’re forwarding or resending someone else’s message to all of your followers. It’s often used to help spread a good idea while giving credit to the original sender.

@ The @ symbol is used to send replies to a specific Twitter user. It’s also typical to use the @ symbol any time you are talking about another Twitter user.

Direct Messages These work much like 140 character emails because they can only seen by the user you send the message to.

Ready to check out Twitter? Then sign up and follow Langstaff Marketing or Langstaffers Miloy Summerell and Deidra Langstaff.

Parts of this entry are from the genius mind of Kyle Wegner (http://60secondmarketer.com/60SecondArticles/Social%20Media/the8mostimportan.html

The Number One Reason People Buy ...

2008-10-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

... is [drum roll, please] TRUST. According to Charles Green’s book Trust–based Selling, in order to build loyal customers for life, you must value the relationship with each customer more than you value any one transaction. This is especially true when you are selling complex products or intangible services. It's much too easy for sales and marketing people to ignore this trust factor, or believe that the act of building trust is telling the prospect about their expertise. While experience does build credibility, it does not build trust. The buyer will always choose trust.

The four values Green says that a trust-based seller must hold and consistently act from are:
1.True Customer Focus: Treat customers as ends rather than means, and cultivate a habit of paying close attention to their real needs.
2.Collaborative Selling Style: Be willing to involve the buyer in the sales process, going way beyond customer satisfaction surveys or client dinners.
3.Medium-to-Long Term Perspective: Focus on multiple transactions and interactions over time, as opposed to only the sale at hand.
4.Transparency: Secrets break down trust, while genuine honesty often causes the client to open up and offer information that sellers might normally consider proprietary.

The most important take-away from Green's book is simply to value your own self awareness. Always ask yourself this question: “Do I really have my customers' best interests at heart?” Most importantly, be honest with yourself when you answer!

Online Creates Priceless Word of Mouth

2008-09-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Your online website may be giving you more face to face word of mouth marketing than you think. According to the Church of the Customer, customers who spend more time researching products online are significant sources of advice when compared to adults who aren’t as active online researchers. A new study of 15,727 adults from BIGresearch claims that 47% of active online researchers state that they regularly give advice compared to the 29.4% of all adults. The study also concluded that of those who search online, 72.7% communicate face to face.
According to a another recent survey, 80% of people claim that online word of mouth influence their purchases. 61% of those surveyed responded that they review sites and blogs before making a purchase or trying a new product or service.
These surveys prove that making your presence is as important as your business itself. This makes web-site monitoring even more important for your business, so you can catch negative comments and respond to them before those important potential customers are influenced by the negative comments.

Market Your Business for a Cause

2008-09-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

In today’s society, its takes more than just an everyday marketing campaign to make your company stand out. So what should you do? The answer is simple: Give back! Companies are starting to use cause marketing, which emphasizes the creation of relationships with causes to benefit both the company and the non-profit organization.
According to the 2007 Cone Cause Evolution Survey, 87% of customers are likely to switch from one brand to another if the other is associated with a good cause. 92% of those customers acknowledge that they have a more positive image of companies related to a good cause. Pairing up with a non-profit organization will in the end boost the sales and image of your company and allows consumers to feel like they are “giving back.”

To truly make this cause marketing effective, follow these guidelines:

Think about your audience
Make sure that you choose a cause that matters to your audience. What cause would have the most impact on your target customers and what cause would they most likely desire to support?
Think about your business
Identify a cause that would fit well with your business goals and values. This pairing of business and cause should not seem thrown together, but should be easily viewed as a mutual relationship.
Let people know about your cause
Integrate this cause into all of your marketing materials and product packaging. The more a customer is aware of your relationship with the cause, the more willing they will be to choose your product over others. People want to know about companies giving back, because in the end a deserving organization will highly benefit from this relationship.

Let Google Work for You for FREE

2008-09-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

Being the savvy marketer that you are, you already know how important having a great website is to increasing sales and creating awareness for your company or clients. But did you know that Google has tools that you can use to optimize your website and make it easier for online users to find your site? The following free tools were designed by Google to increase traffic to your website from Google searches and bring potential online customers directly to your home page, while allowing you to monitor posts made online about your company.

Webmaster Tools Improve your site's visibility by working with Google’s free webmaster tools. These tools can allow a user to understand how Google indexes sites and how you can optimize your website with just a few simple changes. You can also use these tools to research what queries bring the most online users to your site.
Google Alerts Using Google alerts you can sign up to receive emails based on any topic you wish to monitor. Google will send you an email either instantly, daily or weekly alerting you of each time something is posted online concerning your chosen topic. By using this feature, you could monitor your company, clients, and competitors and be aware of new trends or issues relating to your business.

National Association of Professional Women

2008-08-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

There is power in being a woman business owner. The power to help others!

SWOM

2008-08-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Visit www.theswom.org to become a Swomie and to share info on word of mouth marketing.

View my page on Society for Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth and Women

2008-08-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

It’s an age-old story that women love to gossip and chat more than men. The secret is that there are easy ways to get women to talk about you, making you and your product the highlight of the conversation, producing priceless word of mouth advertising.

It’s all in the science Women are natural word of mouth spreaders. They are wired that way – with four times as many connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, women tap deeply into that area that is responsible for the desire to connect with others.

Give her something to talk about For women, they need to feel like they have been given something unique and personal. It does not always have to be an expensive or extravagant gift or offer to get women talking. An old-fashioned hand written thank you note is a great way to impress a woman and get her talking… about you.

Let her do the referring
Instead of asking a woman if she has friends that may need your services, let her decide who to refer to you. Simply give her a few of your business cards and say, “if you know of anyone who might benefit from my service, feel free to give them my card.”

Gossip girls
The downside to chatty women is that gossip and bad experiences often show up in a conversation. Steer clear of this by keeping your name reputable and reliable. The only way to do this is to meet or exceed expectations. If something goes wrong, go out of your way to clear the air.

Going Green: Effective Ways to Target Eco-Friendly Consumers

2008-07-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

You would have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard the term “going green.” Eco-friendly and environmentally chic have become the new “it” choice when it comes to clothes, cars, products and even…you guessed it- marketing. Here are some tips on communicating in a green world.

Green consumer = smart consumer. According to an article in the New York Times, the green consumer has been found to be more inquisitive, less trusting, better informed and more intelligent than their non-green peers. Your message must not only strike a cord in their hearts, but must appeal to their heads as well.
The many shades of green. Before you target your green audience, you should research their “level” of green.. The green demographic ranges from deep greens (19% who are totally committed) to medium greens (33% who are open and willing) to light greens (16% who will buy green only when it makes economic as well as ecologic sense).
Never make false green claims. Never assure the consumer that your product is eco-friendly if it isn’t entirely true. For example, when an organic dairy company falsely advertised their free roaming happy cows, consumers quickly found out the truth. A protest was formed against the company and it endured a green nightmare. Be sure what you say (and don’t say) is the absolute truth, because with the click of a mouse, they will find out anyway.

Avoid Email Marketing Mistakes

2008-07-07T07:55:00.001-07:00

Email marketing has quickly become a powerful tool, simply because it is effective, cheap, and not to mention environmentally friendly. With such power at our fingertips, it is easy to make huge mistakes that can result in unattractive and let’s face it- ineffective emails. Before you hit that send button, look at these three areas that can help you avoid making those errors.

Look at the content. The focus of your attention should not be on the design of the email, but rather on the content. The flashy design should support the content of the email, not distract from it. Keep your focus on the content and you will not fill other’s inboxes with poorly written emails.

It’s all in the details. In order for your audience to open your email, you must make sure that the details are all in place. Make sure that the subject line is appealing and relevant to your email. Forget your subject line, and the email may be sent to the trash bin before it is ever opened.

Keep your lists deliverable. Large email marketing campaigns will unavoidably have emails that bounce back, with “sender unknown” messages. Keep track of these and correct or delete them frequently to maintain accurate lists.

It's Still the Customer Experience

2008-06-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

One of the world's best word-of-mouth and customer evangelism success stories, Starbucks is launching its first national advertising campaign.

Why advertise? Because store visits are down 1% from same time last year. The stock price is falling. You could say that Starbucks is officially middle-aged. It's no longer the exciting whippersnapper.

Is that because Starbucks has finally reached a saturation point? Or is it more complicated, the result of a series of decisions that has compromised its roots of authenticity?

To save money, Starbucks has:

§ Switched from hand-pulled espresso shots to automatic espresso machines.

§ Eliminated the aroma of ground fresh coffee in stores in lieu of "flavor locked packaging."

§ Streamlined store designs; today, they lack the customized funky cool look.

Why it's best not to predict

2008-05-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Will the ankle of the best player on our team affect the outcome of our biggest game? The answer is: It's impossible to know. Too many other variables are at play. It may be fun to talk about, but it's not very productive. That's essentially the upshot in this talked-about Fast Company piece, which aims to slay "The Tipping Point" as a mythological dragon of marketing; Viral marketing, especially. Creating a societal trend is the Holy Grail of viral marketing, from which golden riches are promised to freely flow.

The reality, of course, is that devising a program to go "viral" is like an amateur day-trading in the stock market. There are too many variables, many of them unknowable or immeasurable, so you take your chances. The odds in Vegas are probably better.
What causes reverberations across the cultural landscape could be tipped by a few influential people, but probably not. Predicting culture is impossible. There are just too many variables. The outcome, according to the more convincing Black Swan theory, is usually unexpected; May even random.

What's not said in the FC piece is that only about 1 percent of the world's marketers need worry about the ramifications of widespread cultural influence. Therefore, the work that matters most requires the patience and tenacity of an old-fashioned farmer: building and maintaining a strong reputation for service, making products that matter, continually investing in people, technology and operations and creating a community for your customer evangelists.

Those are the seeds of word of mouth, which is not at all like viral marketing.

Five must-haves for thank-you notes

2008-05-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

It's simple, of course, but a handwritten note from a business always gets our attention because it's so rare, according to Church of the Customer. Inevitably, marketers either tell people about a note or blog about it. There are five must-haves for an effective, buzzworthy thank-you note:

1. Spell the recipient's name correctly.
2. Thank the person for choosing your business. If they shared a specific reason why they chose your business or why they like it, reaffirm it. For heaven's sake, don't turn it into a sales pitch.
3. Include a personal detail about the recipient that you picked up on. Prove that you were listening. Humanity is a good thing in the antiseptic world of business.
4. Open the door to feedback. Whether the recipient provides it isn't the point; it's the idea that you're passionate about creating a recommendable experience.
5. Be authentic: Include your full name and contact info -- email and/or phone. Or a business card.

Word of Mouth Guidelines

2007-09-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

The Church of the Customer Blog gave kudos to the book Eat Pray Love and the great word of mouth marketing it produced. Here is what they say are the 6 guiding principles of word of mouth marketing.

1. Build your base.
Make it easy to find you, your product or service online, or citizen-created content about your product or service. Certainly your product or service website should be search-engine friendly.
2. Focus on employee buzz.
Kathryn Court, publisher of Penguin Books which released "Eat, Pray, Love," gave her marketing and sales team homework: read the book! It ensured her sales people could authentically talk about the book. For those who loved it, their enthusiasm would be naturally contagious in the sales channel, not part of some scripted marketing patter.
3. If your product or service makes no gender distinctions, tilt it toward women.If we consider that women make or influence 80% of all consumer-level purchases, then it follows that women should have major roles in product design and marketing.
4. Create something that's transformational.How can your product help change or improve someone's life? How can it be the catalyst for change? That's a tough question for utilitarian products or companies but then again, that never stopped the late Anita Roddick from using her soap business to become a force for empowering women, stopping product testing on animals or working toward social justice.
5. Create something worth talking about.
What's worth talking about? The answer lies somewhere in the stew of the marketplace of ideas, the social sciences and popular culture. It's between what's new, what's old and what's ready for a comeback. It's also the gulf between what's expected, and what's not.
6. Meet your customers and fans.
For many products and services, people will often be more loyal to the people behind the brands than the brands themselves. That's often due to the emotional connection customers make to the people of your company. Product features, doo-dads, and an endless array of gimmicks are one thing; how you and your employees connect with customers, prospects or vendors is entirely another. That's where the substantial, growth-oriented word of mouth multiplies.

Customer Created Reviews

2007-08-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

Do customer created reviews improve your sales? Well..... new information shows onsite retailers agree that they indeed do improve business sales.
42% reported higher average order values
56% reported improved conversion rates
77% reported site increased traffic
Ask yourself if you visit a new merchant today without first locating a number of customer-generated reviews. Make it easy for your customers to get this type of information. It could mean more money in your company's pocket.

Men, Women and the Art of Communication

2007-07-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

We have all been through it at least once. The dance between women and men that some people call communication or just plain talking. Do men and women communicate differently? Absolutely! The real question is - do women talk more than men? A new study published July 6, 2007 in the Journal Science reports that contrary to popular belief, women do not talk more than men. Researchers attached electronically activated recorders to various male and female college-student volunteers over a six-year period. The findings indicate that women are not biologically programmed to talk more than men. Many word of mouth programs assume that women talk three times more than men. These new findings disagree!!
Now if the genders can only learn to speak the same language the world may be a better place.

The Details

2007-06-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

After months of actually having this blog (but not using it), I have decided that I have something to say and it is important! In fact it is the foundation for all great marketing and advertising campaigns. The details are what really matters! Sure the big picture idea is flashy and gets all the credit, but it is the details that keep customers coming back for more. It isn't just that a business sells great stuff - No! It is that the business knows your name (and uses it), remembers to keep the ketchup dispenser clean and filled, and that the bathrooms are always spotless. Yes, take your own survey, and you will find it is all in the details.