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)

1. See what people are saying about you already.
This one’s easy. Odds are, people are probably talking about you already and it’s just up to you to see what they’re saying. Fortunately, there are a lot of great (and free) tools out there to monitor the chatter on the internet. Start with Google Blog Search, Twitter Search (formerly Summize), and Technorati.

2. Comment on blog posts.
Now that you’ve found all these wonderful conversations already in play, it’s time to make like Joe Jaffe and join those conversations. Take a look at what people are saying, and if you feel like you can add something to the discussion, go for it. Just make sure to identify yourself as a representative of your brand or company, and don’t come off sounding like a press release.

3. Set up a profile on a social network.
Go to Facebook. Create a profile for your company or brand. Put the relevant facts and contact info on there. Respond to people who reach out to you. Simple.

4. Subscribe to some feeds with a RSS Reader.
First things first, set up and account with Google Reader or Bloglines (or many other tools out there). Then, using the tools listed above, find some blogs that you think you’d like to read on a regular basis. Look for the big orange “subscribe” button (like my circular one) and follow the instructions to add them into your reader. This way all the content comes to you, making it easy to stay on top of the conversations that matter.

5. Set up a Twitter account.
Neal Stewart once said “I try to post at least one…update per day because I believe that there should be at least one thing we want to tell our consumers per day.”

If you don’t know what twitter is, you can check out it’s wikipedia entry here. Once you’ve got a decent handle on it, check out these awesome posts from a lot of smart people on how to use Twitter effectively. It’s quick, easy, and a lot of fun.

So there’s my five. What did I miss?

1. What product can you absolutely not live without?
2. What one word describes that product?
3. If you were in charge of your brand/company/product, what’s the first thing you’d do?
4. Paper or Plastic?
5. Will Twitter ever catch on with the mainstream?

Go!

Here’s a good Friday question: Why are you still doing things the way you are?

Most of us fall into the trap of “thats just how it’s done” and never think about why it’s done that way. Are the reasons even relevant anymore? Is there a better way thats not happening because people are too entrenched? I’m far from the first to say this, but shake things up a little bit. Unless you’re far and away dominating your category (iPod = mp3 player), then you can’t afford to just ride the status quo.

Best case scenario you succeed and do something great. Worst case scenario you fail and learn something from it. Progress either way.

Today’s task: Start a conversation with your market.

It’s really not as hard as it seems, I promise. Find a way to reach out to your customers. Make a phone call, start a blog, visit a message board, or write a letter. There are a ton of options here. If you’re still stuck, there have been a lot of good books written on the topic.

Once you’ve begun to communicate with people, you’ll be amazed at how much of a better grasp you have on their likes, dislikes, wants, and needs.

Thought: Every marketing team should have one member that’s part of their target market.

This may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised. If you’re selling to techies or internet junkies, then at least one person on your team should be one. Same thing goes with mothers, doctors, big & tall men, ballet dancers, punk rockers, etc. No one knows your target better than someone in it.

They don’t make war movies without military consultants. So why don’t you have a hockey player on your team as a consultant (at the very least) if you’re selling ice skates?

To be continued Thursday November 29th

What marketing or advertising vehicles/venues are out there that you haven’t explored?

Print, TV, movies, digital media, mobile, video games, outdoor, promo items. There’s a long list of ways to get your message out, but most people pick one or two that they’re comfortable with and run with it. Go outside your comfort zone a little today and find out about something new. Who knows, it might be the next big thing.

Monday’s Kickstart
If you could only say one thing to your market, what would it be?

Think about that one for a minute. We spend so much time crafting messages to this segment or that segment, to one group or another. But what if you could only say one thing? What would that message be? What’s so important to you/your organization that you’d make it your sole statement? And why?

Ready. Go.