Photography As A Communications Tool

Have you become victim of the digital world of photography? On Friday the 5th of May, CreateWOWmarketing presented the following photography in communications deck to the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives.  In our presentation, we discussed the use of photography as a STRATEGIC communication tool as well as showed the audience some tips and tricks for making their photos better – from better photo composition to photography styles and mediums that would enhance their communications needs. Then we broke out into groups and shot some test photos using some of the styles and techniques mentioned in the presentation. Overall, it

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How To Fight The Cost Of “Free” Media

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

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Measuring Social Media Marketing & E-Commerce

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

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Social Reputation Management – SHOULD You?

When it comes to SOCIAL media, I’m often asked by customers and peers alike “What can I do to really manage my brand’s reputation through social media?” (Yes, somewhat a redundant question, but I’ll get to that in another post…) Well, a lot of that answer depends on the circumstances in which your “reputation” finds itself.  In the case below, I had a conversation about a peer’s client wanting “Edit” reviews on FourSquare… Hmmmmm As always, I try to keep my advice “Above The Line” and beneficial to all parties, but the implications of what the client wanted to do

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Can Peer Pressure Harm Your TRUE Brand?

We all want to be liked.  We all want to be the coolest and we all care what others think of us.  This is true in the corporate world, as well as in our personal lives.  But how do you know when to take peers’ “advice” and when to ignore it? In a previous business life, I worked in retail.  Fast-paced, exciting, challenging – and Brand centered.  One day, a “Secret Shopper” came into our store, quietly sizing us up, checking our customer service skills and the overall shopping experience.  His “findings” were then written into a not-so-nice blog post

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VIDEO: Focus Your Social Media Marketing

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

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Social Media = ENGAGEMENT Not Numbers!

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

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Common Sense Web Video Solutions

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!

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VIDEO: “Are You Too Big To SMILE?”

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. 🙂

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