Making a trip to the soda fountain fun

Terrior is is a French term used in wine making that loosely translates to “a sense of place.” It refers to the fact that the same chardonnay grapes grown in different vineyards (or even separate parts of the same vineyard) can produce noticeably different wines . . . → Read More: Think Local for Unique Content Marketing Opportunities]]>

Making a trip to the soda fountain fun

Terrior is is a French term used in wine making that loosely translates to “a sense of place.” It refers to the fact that the same chardonnay grapes grown in different vineyards (or even separate parts of the same vineyard) can produce noticeably different wines because each set of grapes will absorb different amounts of sunlight, minerals from the soil, and be subjected to unique weather in each region.

The concept of terrior offers tons of ideas for social media marketing. What makes where you live or work unique and fun?

• Is your corporate office a 100-year-old converted sugar plant/movie theater/train station?
• Do you offer a product/service/meal/experience that’s truly one of a kind (be honest)?
• Is Wrigley Field/Empire State Building/Eiffel Tower up the street from your office?
• Can you get awesome green chili/cheese steak sandwiches/clam chowder/barbecue ribs from the hole-in-the-wall restaurant in your neighborhood?

What unique places do people go out of their way to track down when they visit your hometown? Share those insider tips with us. That’s interesting stuff we’re not going to find in the guide book from the airport bookstore.

I spent U.S. Independence Day weekend in the Colorado mountain town of Frisco. My agenda included fireworks, grilling and Odell’s 90 Shilling. A fun time was had by all.

Before we left, we decided to drive around and explore the town. The yellow banner on the Ramada Inn caught my attention because . . . → Read More: The Key to Marketing Success: Testing (Maybe the Free Waffles Work)]]>

Free Waffles In Frisco, CO

I spent U.S. Independence Day weekend in the Colorado mountain town of Frisco. My agenda included fireworks, grilling and Odell’s 90 Shilling. A fun time was had by all.

Before we left, we decided to drive around and explore the town. The yellow banner on the Ramada Inn caught my attention because of the inclusion of waffles as a part of the advertised free continental breakfast for hotel guests.

I initially posted the photo you see to the right with a slightly snarky comment to my Twitter account and then began the drive home. However, something about the banner stuck in my brain. As I thought about it, I like it more and more.

1. The waffles set Ramada’s continental breakfast message apart - It’s something specific. Free waffles means their breakfast is not just a stale box of cereal and some milk. Someone needs to cook those waffles. While it may not be foie gras and truffles, it’s a step up.
2. Maybe waffles tested well - If I was the marketing manager for the hotel and thought my breakfast menu could be a draw, I would get a few different banners made and see if waffles performed better than “Free espresso drinks” or “Free omelettes” for attracting highway drivers to my establishment.

What part of your marketing mix can you strategically change to see if your current tactics are still top performers?

The Best: After I screwed up as a kid and everything cooled down, my dad would always try to look for a lesson to be learned. It was a . . . → Read More: The Best of Times and Worst of Times: Nike Golf’s “Earl and Tiger” Ad]]> I have two takes on Tiger’s first new ad with Nike Golf after all that’s happened over the past six months. It’s a pretty even split for me.

The Best: After I screwed up as a kid and everything cooled down, my dad would always try to look for a lesson to be learned. It was a way to allow me close the book on messing up, dust myself off and move on. It’s powerful to listen to Tiger’s dad doing that same thing for him after he’s gone.

I also think it’s good that Tiger Woods finally looks human. Kind of tired and a little sad. He is no longer the tenacious winning machine of a few years ago in these 30 seconds.

The Worst: Earl is dead. Tiger messed up. Really, really badly. I know…let’s mash those two things together to pull on the ol’ heartstrings so we can keep selling Nike stuff!! I wouldn’t fault anyone who gets that “lawyer chasing after an ambulance” feeling from this ad.

If the users of Facebook were citizens of a country, all 400 million of them would make up the third largest nation on the planet. And with over 50% of them logging into the site every day, . . . → Read More: How to Market Your Business on Facebook]]>

Vintage Storefront from Vintage Collective

If the users of Facebook were citizens of a country, all 400 million of them would make up the third largest nation on the planet. And with over 50% of them logging into the site every day, developing a Facebook presence or maximizing your existing page is becoming an important part of the overall marketing mix for businesses of all sizes.

Not sure where to start? Here’s my two cents:

Create your personal profile: If’ you’ve not signed up for a personal account, visit www.facebook.com and create your personal profile right now. I can wait for a minute. If you’ve avoided joining for any number of reasons (privacy concerns, “I’m too old,” etc.) sorry…you need to see firsthand how the site works for the people you’re trying to reach. You don’t have to add tons of photos of your vacation or update your status every hour, but you do need to find your way around and the only way to do that is to jump in.

Now create your Fan page: While people have profiles, businesses and non-profits have fan pages. Because fan pages are public sites, make sure to fill out the requested information with as much detail as you can to get the attention of Google and other search engines. There are a number of smaller businesses using Facebook as a main web presence instead of building a stand-alone website.

Spread the word: Once 25 people become fans of your business, you can choose a custom URL for your page (www.facebook.com/YOURBRAND). Spend a minute thinking about your URL because you cannot change it once you pick one. When your custom URL is active, add that address to all of your customer facing contact information (business cards, email signatures, contact information on brochures, etc.).

Get to know the rules around contests: Facebook has set the bar fairly high for using their platform to promote contests and giveaways. Here are the rules straight from Facebook and here is a good take on translating the rules into plain English from 360 PR Blog.

Don’t SELL anything: Facebook marketing is a bit of a paradox. While people opt-in to receiving your content updates by clicking a button to become a fan of your page, aggressive marketing frequently does not work and can even damage your online reputation. Unsubscribing from your page is just as easy as was to become a fan, so make sure to keep things low pressure, fun and informative.

Share useful content: If you need to ease off the sales pitch to be successful, what should you do? Focus on delivering useful content for your fans. The content you share does not have to be original for Facebook (but some exclusive content now and then adds perceived value to being a fan of your page). Here are some possible content sources you can add to Facebook:

• Blog — If your business has a blog, you can easily repurpose that content by giving it a quick edit and manually reposting it or you can set up an RSS feed that automatically publishes new posts to Facebook.
• Twitter — Are you using Twitter as well? Again, there are a number of choices to republish your Twitter feed on your fan page. Make sure the option you choose to publish your tweets looks good in Facebook. Some Twitter RSS widgets include a lot of extra stuff that will clutter up your page.
• White papers — If you offer white papers on your main website or blog, those are great content offers to pass on to your Facebook audience.
• PowerPoint decks — If you have some presentations that can be understood without you having to talk me through things, consider signing up for www.slideshare.net and post your best talks as another perk for your fans.

Add photos and video: Always have a digital camera ready to capture stuff to share with your fans. Heading to a tradeshow? Post pictures of your booth once you’ve set up. Working a community event? Share some video highlights of the day. Photos and video will often be the content that receives the most views or comments from your fans.

Share other stuff you find online: If all this talk of creating content has you second guessing getting involved on Facebook, an easy shortcut is to share other content while you are taking time to create some of your own. If you’re an accountant, post a link to an interesting tax story from CNN/Money.com. If you run a landscaping business, share a YouTube video about how to keep your trees healthy between trimmings.

Get fans involved in content creation: Encourage fans to post pictures on your wall. Ask your community for feedback on existing products or invite them to give you their reactions to newer ideas that are still in development. And if a fan says or posts anything, make sure to reply as soon as you can. Especially if it’s negative. Other fans will be watching how you handle the occasional complaint.

What’s the return on investment? Great content is your ticket to the top of your fans’ consideration set.

If you were going to order a pizza for dinner tonight, which pizza places jump into your mind? Those pizzerias make up your pizza consideration set. And as the average Facebook user spends over up to 55 minutes a day on the site, the more you can become a welcome part of your fans’ Facebook network, the bigger piece of those fans’ consideration set you can capture.

I am sure Mr. Ogilvy would have loved all of the data that comes with online and social media marketing and the ability to get feedback straight from the customer.

Here is a piece of his . . . → Read More: David Ogilvy Talk on Direct Response Marketing]]> Interesting keynote from David Ogilvy for a direct response conference (I assume that is the context). I love the line about “…tasting blood.”

I am sure Mr. Ogilvy would have loved all of the data that comes with online and social media marketing and the ability to get feedback straight from the customer.

Here is a piece of his obituary from DIRECT Magazine:

According to Phillips, Ogilvy’s interest in DM stemmed from his background, which included working for George Gallup’s Audience Research Institute in Princeton, NJ.

“He was interested in measuring the results of advertising,” Phillips explains, adding that it is easier to measure results in DM than in general advertising.

Ogilvy also insisted on using research to create effective campaigns.

“He believed things that worked were the best kind of creative,” says Andi Emerson, founder of the John Caples International Awards.

A lot of marketers, PR people and corporate executives spend a ton of time and energy writing a shiny mission or positioning statement every few years.

According to author and blogger Jeff Jarvis, figuring out which questions you or your business answer is probably a more important . . . → Read More: What Questions Do You or Your Business Answer? Google and Jeff Jarvis Want to Know]]>

Some Questions Can't Be Answered By Google by Mykl Roventine

A lot of marketers, PR people and corporate executives spend a ton of time and energy writing a shiny mission or positioning statement every few years.

According to author and blogger Jeff Jarvis, figuring out which questions you or your business answer is probably a more important exercise. Why? Easy. Because of Google.

In his outstanding new book, What Would Google Do? Jarvis outlines all of the ways Google is causing a radical shift in the way people interact with their world.

One of the main points I took away from reading the book was how people are starting to think in questions. While pondering questions large and small is not new to humankind, what is new is expecting to get immediate answers to questions because they can ask Google on their iPhones.

Next time someone at your office suggests updating the mission statement, make it your job during the discussions to figure out which questions everyone thinks your business answers and then compare what you come up with against your website analytics to see if your customers agree with you.

Why should you start a blog and/or start using Twitter today? Because if you have something to say and want to be heard, you’ll be surprised how fast people will find you.

On February 12, I published this post about how to not be boring on Twitter or Facebook as a reaction . . . → Read More: Why You Should Start Using Social Media Today]]>

VLA Antenna by junmon603

Why should you start a blog and/or start using Twitter today? Because if you have something to say and want to be heard, you’ll be surprised how fast people will find you.

On February 12, I published this post about how to not be boring on Twitter or Facebook as a reaction to my brother’s complaint about social media websites.  He said he doesn’t care when his friends are going to a movie unless he is meeting them at the theater. To him, the thought of also getting a text message with this information just doesn’t make a ton of sense.

On February 25, I received a direct message on Twitter from @jonasaurus letting me know he had entered the phrase “how not to be boring on twitter” into Google and found my post on the first page of the organic search results.

After checking things out to confirm that a post I wrote made it to the first page of Google THIRTEEN DAYS after I tossed it out into the void, I then proceeded to brag to my coworkers about my new rockstar status.

I had expected the blog to be something I did for myself as practice to become a better writer and for the fun of it. I hoped I might get the stray reader here or there, but had no real expectations. Little did I know.

Start blogging, tweeting, and interacting today. While you may never build up the over 283,000 followers that British actor, writer and Twitter grandmaster Stephen Fry has amassed, you will find like-minded people to interact with and learn from faster than you realize.

I originally posted this photo on Twitter because it struck me as funny.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I like it as an attempt to reach out to a niche audience.

For people who are not Catholic (like me), it’s just a marketing sign on . . . → Read More: Taco Bell Must Have Data That Says Catholics LOVE Their Stuff]]>

I know I don't want to go without flavor!

I originally posted this photo on Twitter because it struck me as funny.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I like it as an attempt to reach out to a niche audience.

For people who are not Catholic (like me), it’s just a marketing sign on the drive-up menu I may not even notice.

For Catholics who are giving meat up in their observance of Lent, the sign says a few cool things:

1. We know what time of year it is.
2. We understand what you are going through.
3. We would like to help.

I bet this makes a great impression on the right audience.