There’ IS a price to “FREE” media production; while it may not show on the books, it will show on your brand. Buying radio or television media production is every creative’s worst nightmare. The schedules are hard to plan – especially in the “Political” and “Sporting” blitz months. Any positive calendar can be preempted at the drop of a very well financed hat. Budgeting is often a guessing game and costly without the right media partner or a person at the station “going to bat” for you. And God forbid if the spots are produced at the station… (think
More Marketing News →HEY, social media marketers, are you doing your job? How do you measure the effectiveness of your services to your clients? Hours billed vs. profit gained? Sure, but measuring ROI is often a tricky game. Do you take the client’s sales reports and compare them to the activity you’ve (hopefully) documented for every campaign, or do you have a tracking mechanism that works within their e-commerce workflow? Measurement is Important All of the above questions are those that should be asked when embarking on a serious social media marketing campaign. Unfortunately, many clients have yet to understand how to ask
More Marketing News →I’m often asked by clients and peers, “How do I (we) increase my site traffic? How do I (we) get more people to read the blog?” Well, it’s a matter of targeted marketing, brand consistency and good writing. All of which even the BEST writers, marketers and bloggers struggle with on EVERY post. But once a successful post formula is found, it’s like crack. You want, no, NEED to do it over and over again until your eyeballs rollback in your head and you fall to the ground in crippling ecstasy… Okay, maybe not that far, but it’s close. 🙂
More Marketing News →If I include my college internship, this September {was} my 21st year working in, on and around marketing. I’ve seen some successful campaigns. I’ve seen some pitiful campaigns. Fortunately, I’ve learned something from them all, but the most important thing I’ve learned is how to tell them apart. (Trust me, some can’t…) So what IS the difference between a successful and a pitiful marketing campaign? STRATEGY. All Marketing Strategy Is Not The Same If you walk through any marketing department or advertising agency, without a doubt, you’ll see computers, printers, scanners, cameras and all of the nifty tools that go
More Marketing News →Trying to control social media is like trying to drink the ocean one cup at a time. For successful marketing and communications, companies need to TARGET their social media efforts to their local level to better engage with their audience. Using Twitter Hashtags, Facebook Groups and Events as well as some common sense, the following video explains how to create a more focused social media marketing approach. Focus Your Social Media Marketing Hat tip to our friends at The Des Moines Social Media Club, including Tom Brazelton (@TomBrazelton on twitter_ and the whole @SMCDSM crew as well as a BIG
More Marketing News →Most of us realize by now that a big number of followers doesn’t immediately equal ENGAGED, RELEVANT or INFLUENTIAL followers, but after a recent conversation, I found this bared repeating. “A big number of followers doesn’t immediately equal ENGAGED, RELEVANT or INFLUENTIAL followers…” We had a client mention wanting to have many more Twitter followers and Facebook fans then they do presently. When pressed as to why, there wasn’t a clear answer. Social media can’t be thought of as a way to create “instant sales” but, instead, as a communication tool to truly build your brand. Companies and businesses never
More Marketing News →While doing a little marketing business in South Carolina, I had the opportunity to compare three variations on web video solutions. We shot this video using a Sony AVCHD camera, an iPad as well as a DroidX. You can see the differences in quality, but when it comes to web video, getting the message out is more important. These are just some common sense web video solutions that YOU can try out. Take a look and see how easy it is to create WOW in your own web video!
More Marketing News →CreateWOWmarketing travels through rural Iowa asking the simple question, “Is your brand too big to smile?” Finding that small town courtesy and respect seems to reflect in a size of company brand as well, Andrew B. Clark (The Brand Chef) questions why and how your brand could benefit from just a simple smile. 🙂
More Marketing News →The marketing communications business is often misunderstood in terms of value, benefit, and, unfortunately, getting paid. As a creative services firm, prospects often ask communications professionals (us) to do work for free – also known as “speculative creative” or “pitching” in order for the client to determine whether or not they will hire us. It’s the old “try the milk before you buy the cow” scenario and it happens in the marketing communications profession on a daily basis. While some marketing professionals succumb to this dog and pony show in the hopes of getting paid if their results are satisfactory
More Marketing News →People want to do their own marketing, advertising and PR to save money. Unfortunately (or fortunately – however you want to look at it), What they quickly realize is that time IS money and lots of time is going to be spent trying to…
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