Ok, good question. And the answer is, maybe. We still believe that the core of any successful marketing campaign is Marketing Relevance, that meaningful connection between your product and your prospect or customer. So even in the age of blogs and tweets there is no silver bullet as we all have the same marketing channels, but our products have different benefits to different audiences.

We start first with do you know your product and do you know your prospect?  Have you narrowed your messaging down to one single battle cry? If so, lets talk about if there is an opportunity to leverage social media. If not, then the cart is way before the horse and lets talk about your market position and how we create a compelling reason to buy.

Let’s assume that you have the positioning thing covered.  Now, are we clear on the meaning of Social Media and Web 2.0 initiatives?  Here is our brief take on it. The Web 2.0 phenom was predicted years ago and was based on the guiding principal that giving is more powerful than taking. That getting like-minded people together from an offline community and providing an online platform would create an opportunity for an exchange of thoughts and ideas. In the beginning, this was via online forums and community groups and many marketers strayed from the idea of giving up control of their brand on a platform that they can’t always patrol. As communities grew, more people joined. As more people joined, more people contributed.  As more people contributed these community portals took shape.  Before too long, something else happened. Instead of people talking in specific communities, they started speaking on their own, own their own sites or blogs. Now the topics were personally relevant and happened independently of established communities. Now the power was in the hands of the individuals.

Over time, blogs took over content, and communities became social networks. These networks started connecting relationships: past, present and future. The relationships began to blossom and people started connecting again. Sharing community, experiences and thoughts. But not just surface level thoughts like cocktail party chatter but thoughts with unique flavor and personality. Thoughts with personal relevance and intrigue that really connected people through transparency and life stories. And these thoughts have become real time and broadcasted to the world instantly. So now through Twitter and facebook we all know all things about all of our relationships all of the time. It’s like we are our own interactive news channel and the world is our audience. But instead the monologue of traditional media, we now have a dialog.

So, do you need to be using Social Media? The answer is still maybe. Maybe if you have an existing offline community that may want to congregate online. A customer base? A prospect database? A group of like-minded individuals that share a similar interest or affinity? If so, are they online already?  Do they use social networks already? And how? Do they post photos, watch videos and contribute to blogs? Passively participate from the sidelines?  Or still think Twitter is a bird from a Bugs Bunny cartoon?

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, I remember the days of cold calling companies to offer Web site design.  The question was “do you have a Web site?” Many small businesses did not. Even if they did, many had no clue how to get to their site. If they could actually give me their Web address, I would often find their “site” was a directory listing page they shared with all their local competitors. True story. The call often ended with them telling me they didn’t need a Web site. And maybe they didn’t. Then, anyway.

These days, everybody knows they need a Web site and most companies have one. But they don’t always know how to get the most out of it. In other words they may have a Web site, but it may not work very well. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems that marketing budgets fall into two camps these days: I cut my budget because why throw good money after bad. Or, I am spending a lot less but I still getting no immediate results. It has been said that we create the worst of habits in the best of times and I think the “good ole’ days” of the early 2000’s have given us a microscope instead of a telescope. What I mean by this is marketing, like wise investing, should be done with the long-term in mind, not the short-term. Placing every marketing decision under a microscope when we know times are tough is like watching your 401k bounce around everyday. In the end, you create a lot of anxiety and are so short-term focused that we often begin to make emotional decisions because we need some instant gratification.  And if the dollar did not move the needle in 30 days, then it was a dollar wasted.
Read the rest of this entry »

I am not sure where the sources are for this but it is a great social media video I found posted on Facebook by Amy Wood (http://www.carolinascw.com/theribbit) that really begins to quantify the power of social media. We still talk to too many clients, friends, and even peers that question the longevity of the social media platform but I think this should make everyone realize it is here to stay.  If you have any other great stats please share those as well, and their sources.

Okay, by now you’ve read countless opinions and infinite blogs as to why marketers should continue to spend in a downturn. Historically, brands that spend in a downturn capture marketshare. Yada yada yada. Blah blah blah.

So here we are, closer to the end of this mess than the beginning. In the midst of all this darkness, something fascinating has been taking place in the world of media and marketing. Read the rest of this entry »

I am writing this blog with a fountain pen…. but transcribing for the web using speech recognition. So does that make me a laggard or an early adopter??

Highest and Best Use – Lessons from Grade 11 Math. Read the rest of this entry »

Web Hosting. Data Transfer. Disk Space. DNS. IP Address. PHP. ASP. Database. Open-Source. cPanel. Bandwidth. SSL. HTTP. Javascript. C+/++. Email…

Help! Most of us could care less about all the tech jargon. Just give me a Web site that works…right? Well, you have to understand that Web site design and Web hosting are two totally different services. But in order to have a Web site you must first choose a hosting plan. It seems like it should be a simple process. There should be a standard…an easy choice…a perfect fit. Right? Nope. Not really. Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting question. Our standard answer is “it depends.” Simply because there’s no such thing as a standard Web site. For example, building a Web site is a lot like building a house (of course we had to use a real estate metaphor).  Are you talking basic necessities, four walls and roof?  Or a McMansion to be showcased on the next episode of cribs?  Two-bedroom, one-bath starter?  Or mud rooms and master suites?

Web sites are a complex blend of strategy, content, aesthetic and technology.  And everyone’s needs and desires differ. So to assist in the process we have developed a few basic scenarios, or floorplans, as we like to call them. All of which come with an open source Content Management System, or CMS, that is yours rather than ours.  Nothing proprietary here.
Read the rest of this entry »

After 13 years of involvement with all aspects of marketing and web development, it seems the three-legged stool of Web development is getting a lot less wobbly and consumer habits, client needs and agency services seem to be far more in sync.  Until the last 12-18 months, it always seemed that getting all three of these constituents aligned was difficult because everyone had competing agendas. Agencies wanted portfolio work, consumer habits were still segmented by demographics, and clients were confused.  Enter social media.

Not that social media has fundamentally changed everything but it is a pink elephant in the room that got all three parties staring at the same thing. And if you look at what it has done, it has created two expectations from consumers that have forced the hands of clients and their agencies: transparency and real-time content.

So with the tighter budgets that most marketing managers are facing today, it seems that every call we get leads to a discussion on improving the user functionality, management capability, and ROI of their online efforts.

Here are 5 things that we are doing that clients seem to be responding great to these days. Read the rest of this entry »

I have seen a trend in our discussions in the past few months with many people in many industries, especially resort real estate.  It usually starts with a conversation about marketing on a shoestring budget or how to market to be ahead of the curve as things begin to turn.  I think regardless of industry, you need to pay close attention to the relationships that you have at hand and stay in front of them as much as possible.  It is far more economical to turn prospects into customers than it is to create new prospects, so your existing database should be a primary focus during these slower times.  And while you’re at it, why not take the time to review your processes and make sure that your data has the utmost integrity and can be fully leveraged as things begin to turn.  After all, we create the worst habits during the best of times so now may be time to hunker down and really get your processes refined and your data cleaned up.

Regardless of the strength of your CRM system, it is critical to understand that the people involved in the process will be the key factor in the integrity and accuracy of the data the system provides.  We ask our clients to make sure that all parties involved hold the integrity of the data to the highest priority.  Without accurate data, the accuracy of our system is flawed.

So here are six easy buckets of information that you need to be collecting. Read the rest of this entry »