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…
More Marketing News →As small business owners, sometimes we get so focused on the “tasks at hand” we forget the “bigger picture.” Unfortunately, that happened to me last week. CreateWOW had a couple of projects “Pop Up” that HAD TO get done before the week was out. So, being the eternal “people-pleaser” I am, I did my very best to deliver. (Sound familiar?) In a caffeine induced, gel-crackling, bearded blur, I dug in and wrote scripts, created and produced radio and webinar spots, coded, designed and delivered as quickly as I possibly could. Logos. Creative outlines. Proposals. You name it, I was a
More Marketing News →On Wednesday of last week, I gave Mediacom a call on the Social Media Phone. HOW? By doing this, I posted on Twitter: “Hey Mediacom, my web connection is on the fritz, can you guys please give me a call?” Why did I post it to Twitter instead of just picking up my “real” phone? Well, a couple reasons: I HATE being on hold. And anyone that’s EVER called Mediacom knows that’s their favorite game. And I know from past engagements that Mediacom is listening and answers the “Social Media Phone” Is Social Media becoming a new channel for customer
More Marketing News →Interactive marketing has shifted, it’s no longer restricted to two domains… Duh, right? I say that with a slight smirk… Simply because I still find the need to say it… GAH! Many marketers are still under the impression that interactive market-share battles are only fought within Google search results and on the corporate website. In reality, marketing spread its reach to other areas (where brand conversations actually occur) years ago: social networks, bookmarking and rating sites and blogs, just to name the obvious. And all of this happened right under the noses of Maxie Marketer and Polly PR while they
More Marketing News →Have you ever seen a great NFL quarterback run to the sidelines and look into the playbook? Neither have I… So why is it that so many marketers out there are generating rote, boring plans for their clients based on “plays” they learned back in the bush leagues? The traditional approach to marketing is too linear for today’s world. Today’s target audience is constantly moving, growing and learning new technologies. But much of the marketing we see today is still formulaic and trite, as if someone in 1976 created “The Playbook For Successful Marketing” and it’s been dogmatically followed ever
More Marketing News →In a conversation with one of my Des Moines social media buddies this morning, I was reminded that with the onset of CreateWOWmarketing, I’ve (As CreateWOW AND TheBrandChef) fell off a bit on my posting regularity. Sure, it’s one of those “The cobbler’s kids have no shoes” situations. How can I create content and meaningful posts when I’m spending 12 hours or more a day doing it for my clients? Then I remembered a post I’d written over at The Brand Chef. It kinda shook me from my “production-boy” slumber… the contents of THAT post are below. Let me know
More Marketing News →Create page depth. Use “these” keywords and SEO-friendly content. Blog… Blog… Blog… Post… Post… Post… I sat in a client’s office earlier this week chanting the same words that I’ve been chanting for the last three years. And then, as if I was on autopilot, I detached myself and heard myself say… “Strategic social media marketing isn’t so much having the social media tools, but knowing where and when to use them to support your brand and your targeted market.” Oh my God, did I really say that out loud? I sound like I just read it out of a
More Marketing News →Differentiation. It’s one of the keys to good branding. Branding and marketing professionals have been beating that drum since the dawn of communication. But being “Different” in simple separation from the competition isn’t enough. Differentiation needs to add value. Otherwise what good does it do for the consumer? Take for instance the recent “change” MillerCoors Brewing has made to their packaging. We’ve all seen the “Vortex Bottles” and the new big-mouth aluminum bottles. Sure that’s different, but the product is the same, watered down, tasteless swill. There hasn’t been any value proposition or improvement in the actual product. So unless
More Marketing News →Companies are diving into social media with a vengeance. It’s like they saw the boat in the port for months (years?) and just bought tickets and boarded when they saw the mooring lines being cast off. WHY? Tracking! Everyone is out there selling the tools and the “engagement,” but no one is talking about how to measure success. We constantly hear “…what about the ROI of social media?” Well, listen up. Determining the ROI of social media marketing and your efforts through your blog/website is imperative. Too many sites have the tools installed for great engagement, but how do you
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