Author Archive for MattPage 2 of 22

Nice Move Wachovia

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 27, 2008
in Communication and Customer Service
. Comments

My girlfriend (@ashlebo) went to get some cash out of the Wachovia ATM the other day, and the following card popped out with her receipt.

If you can’t read the quote, it’s an Irish proverb that says “When we count our blessings, we count you twice.” Pretty nice stuff. And the thing is, how hard was that?

It’s a little refreshing to see, in the middle of these tough times, a bank that cares about its customers. It’s easy to say “Hey guess what? It’s customer appreciation month! We appreciate you!” and then leave it at that. In fact, at my last job during “Employee Appreciation Month” they laid off 1/5 of the company.

But that little card was like a fortune cookie style complement. And you know what? It felt good.

Well played Wachovia.

10/29 Update: I’d like to learn a little more about this idea. So if someone from Wachovia is reading this, let’s talk!

The Google Machine Has Spoken

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 24, 2008
in Web Sites
. Comments

You’ve probably heard someone (probably a new media pundit trying to sound cool) say “If I can’t find you on Google, then you don’t exist.”

This is totally ridiculous.

While showing up in Google is certainly important, it’s far from the be-all end-all, oh. my. god. you should probably quit the internet right now, kind of deal. Seriously.

Don’t believe me? Pinch yourself, wave to your dog, call your mother, scream “PC’s Rule!” in a room full of Mac fanboys. And the verdict is, you most certainly do exist.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, on to the next problem. Showing up on Google.

First things first, I might as well state the obvious: you can’t show up in Google if you don’t have a website. No excuses here. Making yourself a home on the web is easy, free, fun, and beneficial, so there’s really no reason not to do it. Check out Blogger or Wordpress to fire up a blog for free or Squidoo and Twitter for a more varied approach. It doesn’t take long to hang out your shingle on the web, and if you’re at the point where you’re reading this blog, I’d be surprised if you don’t have something going already.

Which brings me to the next important point: how to get that something in the right place in the Google search results. This, my friends, is the entire goal of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). And for this I point you to people who do this for a living. I’d start by checking out the posts below on how to get rolling with SEO.

- The Bloggers Guide to SEO - SEO Book
- SEO for Blogs - Problogger
- Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimization - SEOmoz

So the moral of the story is, if you’re not dominating the search results on Google right now, don’t worry. Put in some good effort and give it a little bit of time and you’ll start showing up in the right places

The Moment of Float

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 23, 2008
in New Marketing and social media
. Comments

From a fortune cookie I got recently:

It’s easy to make the decision to do some “new marketing”. Just take a small budget for “blogs, social media, and stuff like that” and stand back and wait for it all to go viral. What’s tough is the follow through, getting beyond that initial commitment to the point where you can make some progress. You have to get beyond The Moment of Float.

(No, I did not really get this in a fortune cookie, but thanks for believing.)

A Firecracker For Your Friday!

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 17, 2008
in Kickstarts
. Comments

Awesome. But while you spent the last 3 minutes watching that, someone out there is out-hustling you. Get to it!

(thanks to Blue Ion)

Clever > Shocking (and some links!)

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 13, 2008
in Links and New Marketing
. Comments


I’m going to give you a little insight into the immortal cage-match death struggle that is Clever vs. Shocking.

Clever wins.

Sure Shocking might get you that first time and you say “Gasp! I have been taken by this shocking marketing message!,” but after that it starts to lose its punch. When you know something shocking is coming, well, it’s not that shocking anymore. Remember those VW commercials? Blew my mind first time I saw it, but after a while you were already braced for impact.

But Clever doesn’t lose it’s appeal the same way. After the “Oh my!” and “Wow!” is gone from the Shocking, people are still thinking about Clever. Clever makes you smile 20 minutes later when you think “Damn, I wish I thought of that!”

So remember, if you want to get people’s attention, be shocking. If you want them to remember your message, be clever.

In honor of the Clever. Here’s a few great things you should read.
- Influencers can be MADE. Passion can’t. - Brains on Fire Blog
- The Brand is in Your Head - Conversation Agent
- My IMS08 session: r u ready? (new video) - Greg Verdino
- Unconventional Marketing - David Armano
- Facebook Group And Brand Page Best Practices - Social Media Explorer
- Please, Sir, May I Have Some More (Budget)? - Scott Monty
- Recession Brass Tacks - The Buzz Bin

Your Brand’s Checklist for Twitter

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 6, 2008
in Branding and Web 2.0
. Comments

If you’re brand isn’t on Twitter, then check out these posts to get you up to speed. If you’re already on Twitter, then congratulations. You’re already well on your way to developing a solid new media presence and most importantly, connecting with your market.

However, there are a few things that every brand can do to enhance their Twitter account and make sure that they reach their goals with the program. Let’s take a look at 8 good ones.

1. Picture


First things first, logos do not tweet. People do. Your brand’s Twitter account handle will already be @BrandX, so no one has to worry about getting confused. Wait, is your name actually Nick Nike? or Samsung Jones? Check out Frank Eliason, who runs the wildly successful (and incredibly awesome) @comcastcares (Comcast) account. Right away you know you’re dealing with a person and not a PR department.

The only exception here is when the people who use the account actually are the entire PR department. In this case, the logo is okay, but try and work in some specific pictures and names in some ways mentioned below.

2. Name


See the above statement. Corporations may be a “person” in the eyes of the law, but not in the eyes of Twitter. We understand that this account may be representative of your brand as a whole, but there’s still a person running it. Social Media and Twitter specifically is all about honest HUMAN interaction. Do everything you can to keep that there. Let us know your name.

3. Sidebar


This is a pretty brilliant tactic that seems to be catching on much faster with individual users than with brands. The idea here is that you create a specific graphic to use as your background and on that graphic is other useful information. It might be the pictures and names of everyone who uses the account, or just other places you can find the brand on the web. This is a cool opportunity to say a few more things about yourself right away. Check out @flyingdog (Flying Dog Brewery) and @wldaily (Wine Library Daily Deals) to see it done right.

4. Bio


The Bio section is the Swiss Army Knife of the Twitter profile. You can use this space to say a little more about yourself like @jetblue (JetBlue Airways), give us your Twitter mission statement like @Wachovia (Wachovia Bank), give us some more contact info (see below) or just say hi. Either way, make sure you have something useful and relevant here.

5. Contact Info


So you’re on Twitter and you’re a real person (per number 1 and 2). Now give us a way to get in contact. It doesn’t have to be with the person running the account, it can be someone on your team. But you need to give us a way to get in touch when 140 characters just doesn’t cut it.

6. Link Out

Putting a link to your brands homepage is okay, but really you need to link to a “Contact Us” or a special page for Twitter users. Make this useful and make sure it’s easy to find.

7. Communicate

A lot of media/news outlets simply use Twitter as a broadcast medium. This is wrong! It’s another example of old media trying to do new media by old rules. Doesn’t work that way. Look at Frank Eliason’s @comcastcares account. Almost every single tweet is an @ reply. I’m sure he sneaks some Comcast-related news in there now and again, but the majority of his time is spent interacting. That’s how to do it right.

8. FOLLOW PEOPLE


Per number 7, Twitter is not your megaphone. You need to follow people back or you’ll look like a clown.

Additional Resources
-Follow Me On Twitter
-Twitter Brand Index
Twittermaven’s Best Practices
-Beth Harte - Who are you? And why should I follow you?

No One Cares About Your Brand More Than You

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 29, 2008
in Branding and social media
. Comments

The above statement might not seem like breaking news, but when you look at the way a lot of brands act, it might be less understood than you think.

In a post that should be required reading for any digital marketer, Alan Wolk tells everyone, “Your Brand Is Not My Friend“. He maintains that unless your brand is a “Prom King” (coolest kid in school, market leader, etc.) that most people don’t want a relationship with you. So please Folgers, stop trying to friend him up on Facebook! I agree with most of Alan’s post, and even came to a slightly similar conclusion myself in an earlier post. But it goes a little deeper than that.

Regardless of how cool your brand is, and how fanatical your fans are, the bottom line is that no one cares about your brand more than you do.

Now, I hear you out there going “Hey, wait a minute! What about the notoriously rabid Apple fanboys? Or the Zune guy? How about the Makers Mark Ambassadors, or Fiskateers, etc. etc.”

I know those are only a handful of examples, but think about it. Who do you think cares more about Makers Mark? One of their loyal fans in the Ambassador program or someone who’s last name is Beam? Same deal with the Fiskateers. I know they love those scissors and all the other products they make for scrap booking, but I’m sure that the Fiskar brand is more important to their CEO or Founder. The Zune Guy? We all know how that ended. And then Apple, with its fans that hold the brand in some sort of (almost creepy) holy regard. Who do you think Apple matters more to? The guy who never leaves his house without his iPod and MacBook or Steve Jobs?

My money’s on Jobs.

And this all means that you cannot hire an agency/consultant to do your social media for you. They can teach you, they can guide you, they can help you get started, they can participate, but that’s where it ends. The ownership has to be on your end. Because no matter how smart, your account manager doesn’t have those years of experience in the kayak industry that you do. They don’t understand the competitive landscape for protein powder or sneakers like you. Social media is all about connection, and if it’s not actually you out there connecting, then what good is it? If I’m a lifelong backpacker, I want to hear from your product manager who is out there testing your new packs on trails, not your consultant who tells you the best way to get outdoorsy links.

There is no quick way to be really successful in social media. Hiring someone else to do all your other dirty work or the thing “you don’t have time for” isn’t the answer. You have to care, because if you don’t no one else will.

Something To Think About

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 23, 2008
in Blogging and Communication
. Comments

Recently, Technorati has started releasing parts of their State of the Blogosphere 2008. They make a point to show that a big chunk of bloggers are “the kids” as in “Oh, it’s just what the kids are doing nowadays!”. But as Geoff Livingston points out, more than 50% of US bloggers are 35+. That’s a pretty substantial population, by my account.

So while there’s a lot of talk about the “net-generation” and “digital natives”, at the end of the day, the “older” crowd is still just as important. The beauty of the internet is that it’s the great equalizer. Any random person with a blog can become as important/relevant as anyone on CNN. It also means that any 47 year-old soccer mom could be the most important person in your blogger outreach.

The moral of the story is: We can’t afford to leave anyone out.