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07 January 2009
Today’s TabbloidPERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]
1
IMEDIA CONNECTION: MOST READ
Technology that will turn headsin 2009JAN 7, 2009 6:01PM
What cool new technology trends will emerge in the upcoming year? See
what the innovative agencies are adding to their arsenals.
NEXT: INNOVATION TOOLS & TRENDS
Teens Don’t Think Scientists areNerdsJAN 7, 2009 5:03PM
Today’s teens don’t see scientists as “nerdy,” according to a new study
from the Lemelson-MIT Program, a non-profit based at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology devoted to recognizing
exceptional inventors. In the phone survey of 501 American teens,
conducted in mid-November 2008, only 5 per cent described scientists
as “nerdy.” Okay, so this post might seem like a satirical news story in
The Onion, but the data in the 2009 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, just
released today, suggest that U.S. teens are eager to study science,
perhaps against popular belief. (This year’s survey, the twelfth, is the
first to focus only on Americans 12-17 years old and how they perceive of
invention as a discipline. In the past, the sample was broad ages).
Twenty-five percent of the teens surveyed said scientists are “successful.”
The majority (55 percent) chose “intelligent” as a way to describe men
and women in the sciences.
The study also points out that among those polled, a whopping 85
percent expressed interest in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics. And 80 percent surveyed said they feel “their schools have
prepared [them] to pursue a career in these fields, should [they] choose.”
But while this all seems like a rosy picture of America’s future in global
innovation, two-thirds of the kids polled suggested that they need
mentors in these fields and don’t have them. They don’t know anyone
personally in these fields.
So what’s to be done? They survey suggests that teens feel their schools
are good places to learn science and math. But there aren’t enough role
models — Steve Jobs, the Google guys aside—
in the real world, in their real lives, to help teens truly understand how to
shape careers as engineers and inventors. Does the media need to be
better about covering who is innovating, beyond the usual suspects?
Should scientists and technologists be more vocal, active, and in the
public sphere—and in their communities?
MANAGESMARTER.COM - PRESENTATIONS TOP STORIES
Principles of PersuasionJAN 7, 2009 5:00PM
Whether you’re conducting a one-on-one interview, motivating your
sales team or delivering a keynote address, your success as a leader is
defined by your ability to persuade with clarity and passion.
MANAGESMARTER.COM - SALES TOP STORIES
Link to Customer LoyaltyJAN 7, 2009 5:00PM
Maritz and Welcome Real-time introduce new program in U.S. and
Canada.
MANAGESMARTER.COM - SALES TOP STORIES
Principles of PersuasionJAN 7, 2009 5:00PM
Whether you’re conducting a one-on-one interview, motivating your
sales team or delivering a keynote address, your success as a leader is
defined by your ability to persuade with clarity and passion.
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MANAGESMARTER.COM - INCENTIVES TOP STORIES
On the Edge: IncentiveArchitects vs. Incentive BuildersJAN 7, 2009 5:00PM
As you begin 2009, you have two choices to make regarding your
incentive and reward strategy: You can start from a blank sheet of paper
and design exactly what you need, or you can revise an existing program
design to get something close.
MANAGESMARTER.COM - INCENTIVES TOP STORIES
Link to Customer LoyaltyJAN 7, 2009 5:00PM
Maritz and Welcome Real-time introduce new program in U.S. and
Canada.
TECH DIGEST
CES 2009: World’s firstprojector phoneJAN 7, 2009 4:58PM
I’ll be honest here - I’ve never sat there with my phone and wished I
could project its contents onto a handy flat surface, but I recognise that
there’s a few situations it might come in handy - a camping trip, or
impromptu business meeting, perhaps. Well, even if there’s not much
demand, Logitech Wireless has a solution regardless. It’s the “Logic
Bolt”. It’s got an inbult projector, which can throw a 64” image onto any
white, flat, surface that you desire. It’s also got GPS, a 3-megapixel
camera and a touchscreen. Not exactly pretty though, is it? (via
ShinyShiny) More CES gubbins here.
IMEDIA CONNECTION: MOST READ
Website design tips for trackingROIJAN 7, 2009 4:40PM
Marketers frequently overlook opportunities to measure and boost their
digital ROI using website data. Here’s how you can close the gap between
strategy and design.
SHINY SHINY
CES 2009: Bog-standard P70and E70 digicams from PentaxJAN 7, 2009 4:24PM
Somewhere amidst all the gadgety madness, Pentax are at their stand
showing tech lovers their latest compact digital cameras - the Optio P70
and Optio E70. Now, Pentax doesn’t exactly trigger feelings of
enthusiasm from within, despite releasing a few cameras worth shouting
about during the past year, and its latest line of mid-range digi cams are
no different. In fact, the E70 (gold) looks a little dated, which explains its
entry-level status, which then serves to further explain those large
control buttons. Basic design aside, it’s a 10 megapixel camera with 3x
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zoom.
TECH DIGEST
New developments in the Tetrisworld - now it helps reducemental traumaJAN 7, 2009 4:22PM
Tetris. Always with the bloody Tetris. We’ve had Tetris ice cubes, Tetris
chocolate, another kind of Tetris ice cubes, Tetris watches, Tetris
furniture and even Tetris MADE REAL - now it’s time for life-affirming
Tetris making people better news. Basically, some doctors have been
using the timeless obsessive/compulsive block-tidying puzzle game to
relieve the symptoms of stress sufferers. They found that playing Tetris
30 minutes after being exposed to harrowing imagery...
TECH DIGEST
CES 2009: WowWee CineminPico Projectors - candybar,swivel and dockJAN 7, 2009 3:47PM
Last time we heard from WowWee, they showed Ashley a robot at last
year’s CES. I guess they decided that there’s not much money in robots,
because this year they’ve got a bunch of cheap, tiny, but remarkably
attractive projectors instead. From left to right, there’s the “Stick”, which
takes SD cards, but also has some internal memory, the “Station”, which
lets you both dock your iPod and display its contents, and the “Swivel”
which has a 90° hinge, letting you project your videos skyward. It also
packs a three-hour battery life, for those long sessions of lying on your
back. No pricing or availability yet, beyond “2009”. Find more CES
coverage here. Tempted? I sure am. Related posts: Optoma Pico
portable projector - pack 60 inches in your pocket | Toshiba pico
projector - nice tech but is it totally useless?
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SHINY SHINY
Tetris a cure for post-traumaticstress disorder?JAN 7, 2009 3:33PM
Exposure to terrifying or highly stressful events can be really traumatic.
If you’re feeling the strains of post-traumatic stress, perhaps a bit of
Tetris will make it all better. Yep, you read correctly - Tetris could be
your cure. Apparently... well according to that ambiguous bunch of
people, otherwise known as scientists (from Oxford University), Tetris
could be the healing treatment you need to get over a traumatising
ordeal. How? That’s exactly what I want to know.
TECH DIGEST
Wear your Walkman: Sonycould offer wearable W-SeriesWalkmanJAN 7, 2009 3:31PM
Sony could be about to unveil a wearable Walkman - the W-Series, where
presumably “W” stands for “wearable” — in a very compact and
attractive design. Sony Insider claims some real-world pictures of the
device. The two earphones are magnetic and attach themselves to the
player forming a distinctive heart shape when not in use...
TECH DIGEST
Nokia 5800 ‘Tube’ finallytouches down in the UKJAN 7, 2009 3:31PM
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We were wondering when the Nokia 5800 was going to show up, but it
wasn’t ‘in time for Christmas’, after all. Nokia has just dropped us an
email to confirm that you’ll be able to get your sweaty hands on the
‘Tube’ in the UK on Friday 23rd January. Initially, it’ll only be available
in Nokia’s Regent Street and Heathrow Terminal 5 flagship stores, as
well as online, but come Friday 30th, it’ll be available from anywhere.
Interestingly, Nokia will be selling it unlocked and SIM-free to start with,
for £250. I would get excited, but with the N97 just round the corner, the
Tube can get stuffed. Nokia Shop Related posts: Nokia 5800
XpressMusic coming very soon, in time for Christmas perhaps? | Shiny
Preview: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic aka The Tube
BLOGGING TIPS
ATTN Writers & Bloggers: 3More Reasons to StartFreelancing – Now!JAN 7, 2009 3:15PM
Written by Yuwanda Black from Inkwell Editorial
In yesterday’s post here entitled Freelance Writers: How to Make Money
from the Competition, I talked about why freelance writers (bloggers
too), should embrace competition.
Well, last night as I was getting ready for bed, my head was spinning
with more reasons you shouldn’t worry about the market being too
competitive if you’re a freelance writer or blogger. So, following are three
more reasons to dive on in.
1. 100,000 New Prospects a Day Who Need Your Freelance
Writing Expertise: Experts estimate that as many as 100,000 new
websites go live every day. The following backs this assertion up.
According to Netcraft.com: The November 2008 survey [of Web Server
stats] shows worldwide monthly growth of nearly three million websites,
with responses now being received from a total of 185,167,897 sites.
[Source: http://news.netcraft.com].
What do all of these newcomers to the web need? Content, content,
content.
2. Most People Are Lazy: I’m often asked how I do all that I do (write
and market my own ebooks, run an internet marketing firm, promote
affiliate products, blog, update two websites, etc.).
It’s because I put in 10, 12 and 14 hour days. Most people are just too lazy
to work like this over the long haul. So, they quit and look for a regular 9-
5 job; that is, if they ever even get around to freelancing full time.
Freelancing is not hard, but it requires a hell of a lot of elbow grease in
the marketing department, especially for the first few years. So yeah,
while there may be a lot of freelance writers out there, most of them
aren’t in it for the long haul. This means they’re no competition for you if
you are.
3. Freelance Writer Burn Out: On the flip side of this, some
freelance writers move on to other things because of burnout.
I received an email just this week of a successful freelance copywriter.
She’s been doing it for 15 years, and decided this year that she was going
to stop taking on client projects and start writing and promoting her own
e-products.
In her words, “I see 2009 as my year to create and market products, as
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the individual writing gigs for clients are losing their charm for me.
Too much work, not enough money.”
So there you go – three more reasons to get your freelance writing
website up, get your writing samples in order and start marketing for
freelance writing jobs (and blogging jobs). There’s plenty of work out
there – you just have to go get it!
Copyright © 2009 Blogging Tips. This Feed is for personal non-
commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news
aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.
Please contact us so we can take legal action immediately.
Written by Yuwanda Black from
TECH DIGEST
Rock adds Intel’s Q9000 quad-core chip to its Xtreme 780gaming laptopJAN 7, 2009 3:14PM
There are very few true PC gamers that’ll willingly buy a laptop over a
desktop, primarily because the performance-price difference is so great.
Rock’s just added an Intel Q9000 chip to its flagship gaming laptop - the
Xtreme 780, but I suspect the majority of gamers out there simply won’t
care. It’s not even that great a machine. Quad-core aside, the 512MB
Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTS is merely adequate, the 2GB of memory will
look very meagre before the end of 2009, and a 250GB hard drive is
considerably less than most gamers will need. For £1700, which is what
the Xtreme 780 costs, you could make two desktop PCs that outspec this
laptop.
NEXT: INNOVATION TOOLS & TRENDS
The Collective Power ofIndividualsJAN 7, 2009 3:02PM
Last night, two things happened on Twitter that seem to me to point to
the reality of our present day connected world, with trends that are
budding now that will revolutionize many an industry and many a life.
Happening # 1
David Armano (@armano), VP of Experience Design at the Chicago
marketing consultancy Critical Mass, posted an enigmatic tweet on his
Twitter feed. “Hey everyone. I am going to need a very BIG favor from
you. It’s going to be asking a lot. I’ll let you know more very soon.” A few
minutes later he posted a request for help for Daniela, a family friend in
a bad situation.
Sadly, we’ve all heard similar stories before. But what happened next was
nothing short of phenomenal. Armano’s network of 8,150 followers
swung into action, spreading the word about Daniela. Within a few
hours, donations had reached $5,000. This morning, donations have
topped $11,700, and there’s probably more to come.
Happening # 2
Tireless tech world figure, blogger, Tweeter (etc), Robert Scoble
(@scobleizer) found himself in a jam.
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TECH DIGEST
CES 2009: Pentax announcesOptio P70 and Optio E70,possibly the most forgettablecameras in historyJAN 7, 2009 2:04PM
The rather non-glamorous Pentax has revealed a couple of thoroughly
mid-range new digital cameras - the Optio P70 and Optio E70. The P70,
on the left there in the fetching white finish, is the most impressive
model, managing 12megapixels with a 4x optical zoom, a 2.7” LCD
monitor round the back and what Pentax calls its “Pixel Track Shake
Reduction technology” image stabilisation tool. It’ll also come in red and
silver, if you’re mainstream enough that one of the first things you look
for when buying a camera is what colour it comes in. Meanwhile, the
E70 (right) is a bit more “entry level” - offering “large control buttons,” a
10megapixel sensor and 3X zoom. Both will be out in the US this
February...
POSTS BY DANIEL FLAMBERG - IMEDIA CONNECTION BLOG
10 Things NOT to Do in 2009JAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
Don’t Panic. The earth will keep spinning on its axis and marketers of
all stripes will need to communicate and persuade customers and
prospects. Focus on the meat-and-potatoes issues in your business.
Invest extra time and energy to find new ways to conceive, craft and
transmit messages that better differentiate and more clearly
communicate the value and the urgency of your brand.
Don’t Get Distracted. The economy is in a free fall. Most of us hope
Obama knows more than we do. We pray that he and all those new
appointees have a really good plan. He might. But whatever he’s got
won’t make things better on January 22nd. So focus on the stuff you can
affect. Ignore things you have no control over. We all have to assume an
AA mentality by grasping the notion that most things are out of our
control so we have to use our time and energy wisely to impact the
handful of things we actually can exert control over; mostly ourselves.
Take a short term focus. Cover each month’s bills. Take one step forward
after the next. Try to ignore the daily doomsday screeching and then
endless warnings that the sky is falling down.
Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow. Great relationships are
forged in adversity. Now is the time to stick close to your clients and your
people. Mine and harness the energy, the goodwill, the advocacy, the
insights and the and ideas that often go uncollected or unexploited
during the normal course of business. Invest in each other. Hold up your
value proposition to a 360 SWOT analysis. Find new and better ways to
reach out your customers.
Don’t Ignore Your Network. Social networking demonstrates that we
are linked together. We are navigating this life together. So leverage your
connections. Reach out to others. Ask questions, share ideas and share
resources. The whole is stronger than the sum of the parts, so leverage
the whole. Remember that the value of a network expands exponentially
with use. An unused network degrades rapidly.
Don’t Bring Coupons to a Party. Social media is evolving, emerging
and morphing everyday. You wouldn’t come to a party at my house and
pass out coupons. We’d think you were rude and gross. Facebook,
MySpace and others are the digital online equivalents of that party.
Understand the milieu and enter cautiously recognizing that the brand is
NOT in control, consumers are. Take your cues from them and respect
their sensibilities.
Don’t Stop Experimenting. We are in the “wild west” phase of social,
mobile and online video media. There are no ideas that are too crazy
especially since our technologists are inventing, extending and mashing
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up new things daily. The recession makes these platforms and the
creative content to fuel them affordable and measurable. So get below
your competitor’s radar and play around with images, messages and
media. Who knows maybe your nutty idea will become the new “best
practices”?
Don’t Ignore Mobile Media. The new generation of Blackberries and
the iPhone are important steps on the evolutionary path toward a single
multi-purpose device that combines, integrates, synchronizes and
aggregates computers, the Internet, telephony, credit and debit cards,
digital photography, Swiss Army knives and who knows what else. And
while it might take a few years for the number of daily users to reach
hundreds of millions, this phenomenon will be upon us before you can
say “Tim Berners Lee.” That means now is the time to get familiar with
mobile media. Begin thinking about the idea of constant access to the
Net and constant consumer motion and communication. This
development will forever change they way we stimulate brand
awareness, preference and purchase and change shopping expectations
and behavior in ways we can’t yet predict..
Don’t Write Off Direct Marketing. When marketing money gets
tight, bean counters rule. Direct marketing continues to enjoy great
public acceptance, strong ROI, measurability and an under-exposed
degree of creativity and inventiveness. Direct mail, DRTV, telemarketing
and other DM tactics are proven result-getters which can be pulsed or
turned off and on at will. Expect smart marketers to default to direct
marketing and look for smart DM players to do well in hard times.
Don’t Forget to Measure What Matters. Most marketing is
assessed two ways. We measure effectiveness in returning profitable
business results and we count efficiency in terms of the value received
compared to the cost, usually expressed in some form of ROI calculation.
There are millions of other distracting and partially relevant things to
count, sort and calculate. But in a recession focus on two simple
questions; “How much profitable new business did this drive?” and “Was
it worth it?”
Don’t Abandon Customer Satisfaction. Acquiring new customers
costs a multiple of delighting and retaining existing ones. In tough times
you need the efficiency of happy customers referring their friends. Focus
on customer service. Talk to customers. Listen to them too. Solicit their
ideas and feedback. Institute loyalty and reward programs. Do whatever
you can to encourage them to buy more. Emphasize customer service
and include the voice of your customer in your product and marketing
plans.
Filed under: Opinions
Add a comment | Permalink
POSTS BY DANIEL FLAMBERG - IMEDIA CONNECTION BLOG
Why CMOs Snub SocialNetworksJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
Millions of people have started using social media in the last year. 49
million visited MySpace or Facebook in October 2008. But more than
half (55%) of 180 Chief Marketing Officers from medium to giant brands
aren’t interested.
What’s up with that?
Could it really be that the marketing leaders of top consumer and B2B
brands really don’t care that Facebook and MySpace have aggregated
huge audiences which are can be targeted using a range of psycho-
demographic criteria or are these the guys who are so out of touch they
can’t hold the job for more than a year and a half?
My hunch is neither.
I suspect that the survey, done by GfK Roper Public Affairs on behalf of
Epsilon, a leading direct marketing services company, reflects more
caution and uncertainty than outright stupidity. It’s not a stretch to
guess that CMOs are skeptical about these large looming communities.
Here’s why:
They’re Too New. There’s no track record, only anecdotal results. There
are no proven strategies, no best practices, no brands claiming victory,
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no clear buying tools or metrics and the weenies who typically become
CMOs won’t do anything that somebody hadn’t already pre-chewed and
pre-digested for them. There isn’t any agreement on what marketers
should use social networks for. Are the awareness, preference or sales
building vehicles? Remember these are the same guys who are just
beginning to recognize and cautiously test the Internet as a viable media
channel. And their doubts are probably nurtured by the sites themselves
who are immature at packaging, selling and merchandizing the
audiences they’ve attracted.
Nobody Wants Ads. The primal attraction of these sites is the absence of
advertising and the joy of connection, sharing and communication
between friends. Marketers don’t know how to join the party and have
few organic connections with which to “friend” customers and
prospects. Gaining entrée, framing the message, devising creative
executions and knowing how and when to communicate are all open
questions. And while a brand like the New York Times can collect
183,000 Facebook fans and send 400,000 virtual gifts, most CMOs don’t
know what to make of it. Is this a good, so-so or bad result? The social
networks haven’t sufficiently answered the “so what” challenge.
Not Sure Whose There. CMOs are asking the question Butch repeatedly
asked Sundance, “Who are those guys?” The preliminary answers aren’t
encouraging despite the fact that 57% of users log in daily and spend
more than 30 minutes per session, according to IDC. Steve Cone,
Epsilon’s CMO says “the sites narrowly appeal to high school and college
students.” But he’s a year behind the power curve and has a vested
interest in selling CMOs other digital assets.
A P&G executive was quoted as asking “who wants to put our message on
a site where somebody is breaking up with their girlfriend?” And
Murdoch biographer Michael Woolf really pooped on MySpace users
saying they are “poor cretins” none of whom “has beyond an 8th grade
education.” CMOs used to relying on and hiding behind refined
demographic and psychographic data won’t buy a pig in a poke.
No Control. Social networks are party lines. Anyone can edit, review or
comment on almost anything. It’s the antithesis of advertising which has
for decades carefully placed well-crafted and well-researched messages
in precise pages and in precise time slots to meet well defined audiences.
You can’t interrupt programming with an ad or push a message to people
on social networks. This is the exact opposite of 60 years of advertising
practice and experience. Few CMOs have a risk appetite to take a flyer or
to potentially associate their brand (by design or default) with an
uncontrolled range of ideas, associations, images or messages. Don’t
expect mainstream marketers to break with tradition or inertia easily.
Limited Metrics. Cookies don’t work on social networks. Measuring
anything is a leap of faith. Whole Foods distributes coupons. BlendTec
circulates wacky product demonstration videos, and Reebok encourages
runners. But we can’t calculate the ROI, measure media efficiency or
gauge relative effectiveness using the media metrics we’ve come to know
and love. Absent numbers, few media buys get made.
The real message in the survey results is that we are clearly in the early
adopter phase where mainstream marketers watch the early
experimenters and try to gauge value and effectiveness. Advocates of
social media need to develop a different marketing paradigm to either
translate or replace the lens used by marketers to assess and buy media
channels. Assuming that Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and others will
last and become a regular or preferred part of consumers’ media
landscape; we need to find new ways to help established and insurgent
brands make new friends.
Filed under: Social Media
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POSTS BY DANIEL FLAMBERG - IMEDIA CONNECTION BLOG
Marketing Yourself in theRecessionJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
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Layoffs are a daily occurrence in this recession. Too many of my friends
and colleagues have found themselves involuntarily benched. If
thousands in each industry are on the street finding a new job requires a
personal Zen that’s comprised of patience, routine, sustained confidence,
steady action and considered risk-taking.
To effectively seek work – you have to think like a marketer and market
yourself as a brand. Identify your unique selling proposition, carefully
target your potential new employers, craft persuasive messages and
determine ways to get the attention and consideration you deserve. But
be realistic. The toughest part of job hunting is managing your nerves
and marshaling your resources.
The good news is that thousands of others are in the same boat. There’s
no embarrassment to being out of work. But that’s also the bad news;
thousands are competing for hundreds of jobs. It’s a buyers market
where some employers are trading up.
Here are ten must-do steps to keep you sane and on track toward your
next job:
Create a Routine. Job hunting isn’t a full-time job, especially when the
jobs you want are few and far between. Set up a daily routine. Check
email, surf job boards, then walk the dog, exercise, meet friends for
lunch and watch Oprah. Structure your day so that you do what you need
to and reduce the likelihood that you’ll obsess about your circumstances.
Prepare Your Pitch. You’ll need a killer resume with several
variations, cover letters summarizing your greatest hits, references and
selling points to acquaint headhunters with your strengths. These are
messages you can control and shape. Writing and rewriting them gives
you a sense of control and comfort and is something you can actually
work on while you are waiting for the right opportunity. Anticipate the
questions an interviewer might ask and prepare the answers. Make a list
of people you worked with and your role in each assignment so you can
quickly cite an example of how you fit the job specification. Spend time
wordsmithing, be introspective and write like a journalist — don’t bury
the headline. You’ll have 5-10 seconds to grab somebody’s attention so
pick your words carefully and be sure you are accenting you strongest
selling point.
Don’t Pitch Every Job. You are anxious with one eye on bills and the
other on your savings account. But restrain yourself. Many of the jobs
posted aren’t real. Many aren’t right for you no matter how much you’re
worried about cash flow. Pick your shots. Take the time to craft a short,
punchy cover letter that translates and matches your experience to the
job requirements. Doping this math for an HR person will dramatically
improve your chances of making a short list.
Stutter Step Your Submission. The vast majority of online
applications come in during the first 24 hours after a job is posted. Huge
numbers of people are applying automatically to all kinds of jobs that
they aren’t remotely qualified for. Many employers can’t handle the
numbers so they dump the first response wave because nobody is willing
to wade through 500 resumes. So pick your shot, wait a day and then
apply. There is a reasonable chance that your patience will earn you
more consideration.
Set Alerts. Let jobs find you. Do a search using the keywords that fit
your ideal position. Save the search as an alert. You can do this in 45
seconds on Craig’s List or at www.indeed.com, www.simplyhired.com,
www.tovix.com, www.jobster.com. Each day the jobs most interesting to
you will end up in your Inbox. If you like, you can set more than one
using keywords for different titles or different industry sectors. All you
have to do is sort out the duplicates and decide where to click to apply.
Surf Social Networks. Let you r Facebook and MySpace friend know
you are looking and sign up for professional groups or forums on Ning,
Naymz and LinkedIn where many jobs are posted and many recruiters
are lurking. Also check trade association and trade publication sites and
industry newsletters many of which either have job listings or report on
openings, new positions and employer’s plans.
Don’t Be Bashful. You can’t win if you don’t play. Tell people you are
looking and what you are looking for. Most people assume that friends
and family know their situation and will do the math for them. This is
usually NOT true. And, while it might make you blush, you never know
who knows whom. Tell your maiden aunt, your cousin Boise and your
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neighbor, cousin, high school BFF or sister-in-law just might be hiring.
Publish. In an interactive world, employers will search the web or
prospective employees either to identify people in companies or
industries of interest or to check out candidates they’ve heard about or
talked to. So while you’ve got the time share your expertise by publishing
a blog or positing thoughts, comments, opinions or advice on blogs,
portals, professional communities, media sites or job boards. You never
know if your clever response to a news story our your nuts-and-bolts
advice to an industry peer will send an employer in your
direction. Remember many more people read this stuff than write posts,
so consider it a form of self-marketing.
Engage Recruiters Gingerly. Most recruiters are actively trying to
find the needle in the haystack; the perfect candidate that meets all the
requirements and nice-to-haves that employers fantasize about. If you fit
the profile, these guys are your new best friend. If you connect on a real
job prospect immediately find out if they have an exclusive retainer or if
they are pitching you on contingency. Their status with the hiring
organization will drive their behavior towards you.
If you don’t, they don’t hate you, but don’t expect a return call. Every
recruiter keeps some kind of database and almost everyone remembers
individuals with interesting stories, unique expertise or even odd-
sounding names. Many allow you to upload your resume to their sites,
others are happy to collect resumes by e-mail and many post openings
on their own sites and larger job boards trolling for candidates.
Try to find the recruiters who specialize in your industry or your
functional specialty. Expect that recruiters will be a mixed bag ranging
from skilled, understanding conversant professionals to half-wit jerks
looking to score a quick commission. And you never know, tomorrow
they can get assignment where you fit the bill.
Seek Out Context. Every job you get considered for is at a different
stage in the search. In some cases you are the first person they’re seeing.
In other cases they already love somebody else or the one they truly
loved turned them down. Get as much information as you can about
where the hiring managers are in the process, their style, their formal
and informal process and the culture of the organization. This will
require you to dig and to push the recruiters; who often don’t know this
stuff themselves. But be persistent. These critical elements vary widely
within industries and even under corporate or holding company
umbrellas. Understanding how you intersect with the on-going search is
the most important piece of intelligence you can get because it will shape
the way you position yourself and cue you about how to persuade them
to hire you.
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Surviving the New Year Biz DevStampedeJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
The layoffs of 2008 will soon give way to a manic new year’s scramble for
new business in 2009. Marketers, agencies and consultants of all sizes,
shapes and specialties will madly chase a shrinking pool of new
assignments and do their darnedest to seduce customers away from their
current providers.
What’s new is that business is “out there for the taking” because half of
all buyers will be open to switching according to “How Clients Buy”::the
2009 Benchmark Report on Professional Services Marketing produced
by RainToday.com with survey help from the Wellesley Hills Group. The
full detailed report is for sale on their site.
Evidently professional relationships aren’t what they used to be. High
and changing expectations, a financial crunch and the ready availability
of alternatives makes the business development landscape much more
fluid that’s it has been before. Add the continuing need for service and
reduced ranks of internal marketers and there are more potential
openings than most of us might realize. The real question is are new
business seekers willing or able to do what it takes to snag the newly
available switchers?
So what’s a sales guy to do?
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Make it Personal. The top tier methods for getting access to potential
switchers are referrals from colleagues or other professionals and
providers and/or personal recognition by your prospective client of you
or your brand. You have to be out there, visible and know how to get
your foot in the door. The second tier of access is through presentations
or in-person seminars. Again the direction is clear. You have to have
something new or different to say and you have to get physically in front
of potential customers to say it. The benchmarking data validates the old
adage – “people buy people first; then goods and services are
transacted.”
You are Your Website. If you are real you have a website explaining
who you are and what you uniquely do. Your website is the embodiment
of your brand in the customer’s eye. Eighty percent of potential clients
look at your website before they decide to contact you. Customers search
for you or look at your site to verify your claims, assess your bona fides
and/or do the background research on you and your competitors. If your
site sucks, so does the perception of you and your offering.
Proactively Reach Out. Too many marketers are afraid of the phone.
The digital world is antiseptic and unintrusive. But the response rates
and the engagement rates reflect this. The bench mark data suggests that
potential switchers are much more open (almost 2 times as open as they
were when surveyed in 2005) to phone and webinar contact than ever
before. This means you need a good list and have to have something of
genuine value to say or offer to entice further conversation.
Blogs and social media are just coming online as sales tools. They are
worthy of experimentation but aren’t yet proven vehicles to engage
potential new clients. You might get a few ideas by looking at the 14
agency blogs cited by Michael Gass on his Fuel Lines blog.
Focus on Buying Criteria. Way too many marketers get caught up in
the features and never sell the benefits. And even more get way too
caught up in chest beating and never listen closely enough to prospects
to properly tailor the pitch. The reality is – clients want you to service
them, solve their problems and make them look good. Your entire
mission is to convince them that you and your guys can do this faster and
better than anyone else.
For eight out of ten buyers, the critical information for sustaining this
claim is your brand and personal reputation, your category or vertical
industry experience, your task or functional experience and the price you
quote. Every other piece of data, every other claim, all those awards, all
that other blab is extraneous.
Focus on and clearly demonstrate what you know about their business,
which tasks they need that you’ve done successfully a hundred times and
be sure to logically show what they will win, in terms of business results
– cash, profits, new customers, market share, market penetration – by
picking you.
Listen Closely. If you can check your ego at the4 door and discipline
yourself to let the prospects speak four words for each one you utter,
most clients will sooner or later really tell you what they want. In the
bench mark survey almost 4 in 10 complained that potential service
partners didn’t listen to them, didn’t understand them or didn’t respond
in a timely manner. If you can’t do these basic things, don’t bother to suit
up for the sales game because you’ll never win.
Good Luck and Happy New Year.
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Creative Cues From theHospitalJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
Every profession has a dedicated language; those words, terms, phrases
and concepts that serve as both a short-hand for practitioners and as a
filter to keep outsiders at bay. In most cases these vocabularies are
created or policed by professional bodies much like the medieval guilds
protected the trade secrets and prerogatives of their members.
The best example of this can be found in any hospital where the medical
argot is a mix of Latin, tech terms and centuries of practice, study and
innovation. Doctor’s language is a great wall of China for patients and
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their families; a barrier that instills fear and confusion as it fosters
dependency which is further complicated by the methodology of medical
practice driven by hospital’s need and third-party insurers needs for
efficiency, economies of scale, brad building and repeat business.
A visit to anyone in the hospital offers several clear directives to
creatives, copywriters and marketers:
1. Expose the Process. Everyone needs to understand the basic rules
of the game. In the hospital you are on your own. Doctors, specialists,
nurses, students, aides and schelpers of many stripes traipse into the
room and do stuff. The plan, the sequence and the goals are rarely
understandable or clear and nobody is incented to tell you. Finding out
what is wrong with the patient, who is managing it, what are the issues
and considerations and what is going to happen next is much harder
than the most complicated video game and more frustrating than the
best mystery novel.
2. Loose the Lingo. In real life most people get it and most things can
be explained simply or by analogy. Consumers and patients aren’t as
dumb as we look. The professional nomenclature which marks guild
membership is a turn-off and a barrier to effective care, especially in
cases where the patient’s family or friends need to give the medical team
data, context or information. Without understanding what’s going on
and what the doctors are thinking about, patients and their loved ones
edit the data they share which in turn can complicate or frustrate
effective treatment. This holds true across many service businesses
where professional ego and distance creates an unnecessary and
counterproductive adversarial situation..
3. Consider Context. Every message to a human brain is processed
through the state-of-mind filter. The hospital, by its nature, is a scary
and disease filled place. Anxiety is ubiquitous. Add the scary visual of a
loved one confined to a bed, near naked and uncomfortably hooked up to
honking and beeping machines and your target customer is lost in a sci-fi
world. You must factor in the emotional context of your target audience
since all medical and stressful communication has to start with the
understanding that the audience is disoriented, fearful, ignorant and
anxious. Too often the medical professionals’ cool, professional and
familiar context rather than the patient/family context drives the
message and the communications style.
4. Get Real. Humans are physically and emotionally sturdy. Evolution
has wired us to nimbly handle threats and to instinctively process
information. There is little or no point in withholding information or
attempting to guild the lily, especially to people supporting patients with
chronic or persistent ailments. Nobody thinks medicine is a precise
science. Everyone understands that there are multiple variables at play.
But few of us have the patience to slog through dis-information or the
knowledge to piece together the real story from fragments and snippets
of data and opinion parsed through a large and unknown cast of
characters.
5. Tackle the Topline. Take charge of the communications burden
and tell customers or patients the topline. You have the affirmative,
proactive communications burden. It’s not okay to hide, duck or wait till
the customer or patient is red-faced, screaming or homicidal before
sharing information. Everyone needs to understand where they are, what
is happening next and what are the possible outcomes of the game. This
is true if you are selling socs online, undertaking an eLearning exercise
or supporting a chronically ill relative.
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Capturing Online Video ViewersJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
If you post it, they will not necessarily watch it is the emerging lesson
from YouTube, LiveVideo and the entire class of evolving video
community sites.
The emergence of limitless user and brand generated online video
content has attracted widespread comment and a land rush by content
owners abd creators to meet potential friends and customers on these
sites. But the use of this channel to ache8ive marketing objectives is as
beguiling as it is intriguing.
I’m astounded at the sheer quantity of material that ranges from stupid
cat tricks to TV bootlegs to endless confessions to well produced material
created specifically for web viewing and downloads. Overnite we’ve
become a nation of film directors and videographers committed to the
notion that a picture is worth a thousand words and a moving picture is
exponentially better.
David Parmet, an online PR expert, argues that “social media are not
sales channels, they are conversation channels” so that marketers
should “think of yourselves as conversationalists” and emphasize the
connection by listening and reacting rather than trumpet the product
message. And while we think that we can intersect with and begin a
conversation with prospective customers using this “infotainment” or
“edutainment” venue, getting eyeballs and turning those eyeballs into
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sales is still a matter of trial and error.
Consider my going-in assumptions
1. My clients’ psycho-demographic are on these sites
2. My video material is searchable, tagged and can be aligned or grouped
with like material
3. By linking video with my website, blog, Myspace page, iTunes or other
content sources, I can faciliate broad and easy access to my message
and stimulate traffic
4. If the content is compelling or resonates with my target audience, they
will help drive traffic and share the links to virally extend the campaign
So we put up a sequence of 3 videos aimed at 25-35 year-old mostly male
IT guys in small and medium, businesses. Our creative was a mix of live
action video showing “real” working situations and animation using
World of Warcraft characters as a projection of emotional reactions to
routine office situations.
Here’s what we’ve learned:
A. Shorter clips get more views
B. Animation ghets more play than live action
C. Search engines drive a decent amount of traffic to video sites
D. We doubled our traffic by actively commenting on blogs and posting
opinions in communities and including a link to our video
E. We think more links and more connections will yield more traffic.
F. The burden of creating interest is entirely on us. Unlike TV or cable
channels where no matter what you do somebody will watch your stuff,
we have no baseline audience online.
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The 8 Second ImperativeJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
Half of all the people clicking on your landing page bail out by the time 8
seconds elapse according to SilverPop. Optimizing landing pages is the
fastest, easiest most cost effective thing you can do to improve sales, lead
generation and customer engagement.
Each minor step you make will increase process flow and drive
incremental conversion. The objective is to instantly orient visitors and
make it as easy and as intuitive as possible for them to do what you want
them to do. Everything starts with the understanding that a click onto
your landing page is a gift from God with a half-life of a nuclear isotope.
It begins degrading as soon as it granted (8 seconds) and it represents
the BEGINNING of the conversation not the end.
As a site operator or marketer you must do everything possible to extend
the 8 seconds into a registration, a download or a sale. Most of the moves
are logical and require no extra technology. According to
MarketingSherpa, the average e-mail landing page converts between 5.6
and 11.3 percent of those who click, depending on the offer. E-commerce
landing pages produce conversions in the 5.6-7.6 range.
So here are the “rules” — for LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION —
BEST PRACTICES
1. Use Readable URLs. Don’t get fancy. The URL validates your
credibility and reassures visitors that they are in the right place doing
what they came to do.
2. Mirror the Offer Copy and Design. Where they land absolutely
has to look, feel and read like where they came from. The e-mail, the
mailer, the keyword all must be reflected in the landing page. If not, your
prospect is confused and given an incentive to exit. It helps if all of this
looks like the website too.
3. Repeat the Call- to-Action High on the Page. You hooked them
with this in your communications. Remind them why the came and what
you want them to do as soon as they get there.
4. Create Distinct Landing Pages. Too many marketers dump
clicking visitors onto their home page. You might as well abandon them
in Grand Central Station. For each marketing vehicle you need a separate
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corresponding landing page that mirrors the look, tone, copy and call-to-
action of the ad message. These can be easily templated and cloned. Its
about creating distinct and simple URLs and mapping marketing
vehicles to landing pages. Its also about focusing on one task and one
goal at a time.
5. Focus on Action Sequences. Site visitors expect a logical step-by-
step flow. Give it to them. Anticipate how they think and what they want
and build the landing page to deliver simple, easy-to-follow buying or
registration sequences.
6. Use Short Copy Above the Fold. Never Scroll. It’s a game of
glimpses and nanoseconds. Say it short and in 250 words per page or
less. If the copy is dense signal impact or call out key ideas by using
subheads. The population is aging so 10 point type is the minimum
readable size. Use images to reinforce and illuminate. You are not
writing an epic, you are writing a postcard. If they have to scroll, they
abandon. Fight for simplicity. Most successful pages are dark type on a
white field.
Also relax the need to include every branding element and hero shots on
the page. Clickers know who you are and where they are. They are
anxious to do something other than romance your brand or fight your
intramural battle. You have captured the attention of a prospect now
capture the order. Most successful pages lose the hero shots and have
minimal brand elements. A landing page is not the forum to work out
your entire branding gestalt. It’s about facilitating action.
7. Limit Navigation. The purpose of a landing page is to close.
Eliminate any choices that don’t focus on the goal. Don’t kid yourself
about up sells and cross sells. Get the download, the registration or the
sale first, then make your second move. If they want to see your whole
site, they’ll go there.
Right now they’ve granted you a click. Your job is to eliminate extra
opportunities to go elsewhere and do other things. Reduce clickable
elements. Eliminate as much navigation as possible. Its a magic focused
moment. Keep it that way. Keep your eye and their’s on the prize.
8. Collect Only Absolutely Necessary Data. Don’t be too nosy. If
you can get bye with just an e-mail address take it and follow up later.
Forms scare a healthy number of site visitors who instinctively
understand that if they give you data, you’ll be hocking them till the end
of time.
Obviously orders and payments require collecting more data. But
streamline everything you can. Make it as easy to enter data as possible.
Don’t ask visitors to type the same stuff over and over. But do ask them
to opt-in for future communications either newsletters or by permission
to message them again.
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Brand Strategy Must DriveIntegrated Marketing in Web2.0, 2.5 or 3.0JAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
Web 2.0 was about finding, developing and embracing interactive
technologies to engage customers, prospects and other constituencies.
Web 3.0, says Clark Kokich of Razorfish, is about integrating these cool
new toys to work together to achieve business results.
While Michael Leis jokes about the nomenclature, Clark’s underlying
thought is spot on; the holy grail of integrated digital marketing is to
frame a vision of a fully realized multi-dimensional interactive
relationship between a brand and its customer base and then implement
that vision using the latest and greatest tools we can find to achieve
predictable business results.
It’s a grand but very difficult grail. Why?
Four reasons. 1. Because it forces us to get past the “amazing” features of
each new tool and focus on end-user benefits rather than first user
bragging rights. 2. Because the tools are constantly evolving and we are
unlikely to settle on a few at the risk of missing the next big thing. 3.
Because it requires both agencies and clients to overcome organizational
and attitudinal silos with their attendant politics of self-interest in
service to a greater goal. 4. Because it requires marketers to balance
measurable business effectiveness against probable marketing
efficiencies which demand a combination of proven tactics and carefully
considered experiments; risks that both agencies and clients are
generally afraid of.
But there is a way forward, if marketers would adopt these four tactics:
Follow a Boss. Altitude is the only predictor of successful marketing
integration. Somebody at the top of the organization (possibly a CMO)
has to be the boss, make decisions, broker arguments, set the direction
and establish the party line. It’s a stick-your-neck-out posture that
requires vision, guts and political savvy. Too many post-modern, post-
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industrialist MBA-trained managers publicly shrink from the very notion
of a boss, but without it, the natural politics of bureaucracies will
overwhelm and undermine any effort.
Build Consensus Goals. The most effective marketers have a vision
that sets a goal which then determines a logical series of priorities that
drive creative, channel and spending decisions. This is that big strategy
piece that everyone talks about and aspires to but few actually
accomplish. A broad but quantifiable goal gives context to all the varied
tactics and lays out hypotheses for finding synergy within an
organization and its marketing partners which can be mapped out as
tactics and executed in a coordinated and thoughtful way through a set of
channels. The game is won on the choice of strategy not on the choice of
channels.
Harness the Mule Team. Nothing great ever gets done unless
everyone is in-harness and pulling in the same direction. This requires
the greatest application of energy and force and is most affected by
staffing choices and vendor selection. Nobody sets out to create a
dysfunctional operation, but too many of us end up with one because we
don’t have the discipline or the appetite to harness, direct and motivate
our team in a single direction.
Picture & Measure an EndState. Too many marketing efforts attack
immediate pain points or address immediate problem areas. Not enough
start with an understanding of what the brand needs and wants in terms
of its relationship with clients and their identification with the brand that
drives adoption and purchase of its products or services. Brands need to
set awareness, preference, attitudinal, purchase, loyalty and interactive
goals, and then deploy marketing programs to engage customers to
achieve the stated objectives. Then measurements of business
effectiveness and internal efficiencies can be used to genuinely steer the
ship.
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SEM Data Provides CreativeCuesJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
The key words and phrases customers and prospects use most can be
creative cues for other forms of branded messaging. But too few creatives
mine the insights from SEO analytics.
Maybe its because SEO is considered to be an arcane art like alchemy or
maybe because the data-centric nature of SEO puts off copywriters, but
there is little connection between these players who often work on the
same brand. To my way of thinking, it is missed cue and waste of
resources. It seems to me that effective key words or phrases — defined
as those words and combinations of words that prompt significant clicks
— are proven indicators of rational or emotional brand or behavioral
triggers. And given the wide variety of ways people search, it’s a veritable
shortcut into the consumer psyche.
Something about these words or phrases instantly communicates a
brand value or a proposition that searchers understand, believe and are
willing to click on. What better cue about how to craft messages that will
resonate with target audiences. And while two-to-five words do not an
ad, an e-mail or a sell sheet make, there is an explicit direction to be
discerned.
Writing effective key words is like origami. You have to twist, turn, fold
and re-fold your ideas, expectations and copy points in unusual and
sometimes surprising or convoluted ways to create a short pithy and
motivating message that strikes a chord with searchers. The task
is daunting. The writer is trying to psyche out potentially millions of
searchers coming at a question from an infinite number of perspectives
with an infinite number of expectations, points of view and search
habits. So when you craft a phrase that attracts a significant amount of
traffic, its a fair bet that something in the choice of words and/or the
sequence of words creates a meaning, an understanding or an answer
that speaks to potential customers. Is anybody willing to ignore this kind
of intelligence?
I’m asking everyone I work with to mine keyword successes and draft
contextual language and proof points around them to build compelling
marketing communications assets for use online and offline. I’m also
insisting that we export the test-and-learn sensibility and discipline from
the SEO world into the creative and design process.
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POSTS BY DANIEL FLAMBERG - IMEDIA CONNECTION BLOG
Ten Marketing Lessons FromInventorsJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
Inventors aren’t like you and me. They think about things that don’t
exist; that aren’t there. They operate on a different frequency.
They iterate, incubate, massage, manipulate and relentlessly test ideas.
They seek to fix things and fill voids that you and I aren’t conscious of.
Some ideas are radical, some incremental, some innovative, some
ingenious, some simple, some complex, some inventive, some derivative,
some sequential and some inexplicable. Some turn into real things.
Others are just fantasies. Some become prototypes and some, though far
fewer, become viable products.
Attending the 36th Annual Salons Internationale des Inventions in
Geneva reminded me how small the box, I try to think outside of, really
is. Being in the company of engineers, mechanics, grease monkeys,
practical thinkers, fantasists, futurists, gear heads, wizards and nudniks
has brought on a full marketing gestalt reminding me of fundamentals
that too often are taken for granted and reinforcing he ruthlessness and
competitiveness that characterize the marketplace for products and
ideas.
Inventing is a supreme act of optimism. An inventor rejects the status
quo in favor of what might be. An inventor assumes there’s something
different and better yet to come. Inventors articulate the revolutionary
impulse that drives our civilization.
Here are ten lessons these guys have taught me or put me back in touch
with:
1. Feelings Matter Most. How we feel determines what we want and
what we do. The feelings are the drivers not the rational arguments or
the features and benefits. Marketers have to communicate or stimulate
feelings to move the needle.
2. There are no fresh or free experiences. Everything is filtered by
language, culture, experience, media and context. Every choice – words,
color, image, music, tone, face etc – hits pre-set buttons which condition
the response. We all bring a huge bag of pre-judgments to every
experience and every message and we be conscious of what they are and
how they might impact our audiences.
3. Be Open to the Other. Other people really do think and process
differently. Their brains work differently. Their neural pathways are
different. Be open to inflections, interpretations and new inventions.
Allow yourself to be surprised or to stand in wonder or in awe of
something new or different. Accept alternative points of view.
4. Accept Good Enough. Reject the impulse to perfect things. Nothing
is really ever perfect and yet the demand perfection precludes the
articulation and implementation of things that are truly good and useful.
Don’t wait for utopia. Accept and advocate incremental change for the
incremental value it adds to ideas and to our lives.
5. Anticipate Predictable Reactions People respond to change in
predictable ways. . You can see the mental gears grinding as people sort,
filter, file and compare something new with their stored database of
information and experiences. By understanding the spectrum of
predictable reactions, marketers can better shape initial presentations
and follow-up messages.
6. Vet Every Word and Image. Framing a single idea and
communicating it to a room full of people who come from different
places, think differently, use words differently and hear differently is a
challenge. There are no common definitions for words, no common
understandings about what is funny, cool, sad or ironic. It increases the
challenge of copywriting and creative thinking by a full magnitude.
7. Differentiate or Die. What’s new, what’s different, what’s better
and why should I care are the inventors’ and the marketers’ benchmarks.
If it isn’t different or different enough it dies. Marketers must exert
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maximum effort and creativity into positioning and framing the
differences. Without one; you’re just another “me too” brand.
8. Simple Trumps Complex. The simple idea is the most easily
understood. Often complex mechanics or technology is required to bring
the simplest idea to life. If in doubt, default to the simpler choice.
9. Don’t Fear the Unknown. Open yourself up to new possibilities.
See stuff others don’t. Ask for things that don’t yet exist. Demand new
ways of doing things. Change your altitude, your attitude and your
perspective. Shift your lens and your focal length to illuminate stuff
that’s been there all along that you never noticed before.
10. Fight for Your Ideas. If it’s good enough to propose and put
forward; it’s good enough to fight for. Don’t let others trample your ideas
or modify them out of existence. Marshall your arguments and your data
and leverage your intuition. Marketing is as much an art as a science and
those who seriously practice need to have conviction, backbone and the
willingness to fight for a good idea.
Filed under: Opinions
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POSTS BY DANIEL FLAMBERG - IMEDIA CONNECTION BLOG
Engaging Bloggers to GeneratePRJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
Bloggers are opinion leaders. They can influence brand awareness, set
customer expectations and reward or punish service delivery or lapses. I
buy these arguments. What I’m not sure about is how to address them to
get the best spin for my clients.
In one instance, I searched Technorati, Ice Rocket, Sphere and Google’s
Beta Blog Search tool to identify people blogging in our category,
industry or product category. I built a list of 65 people and personally e-
mailed each of them. I wrote a straightforward e-mail identifying myself
as a representative of the company, soliciting their opinions and offering
a free product trial. Five responded. Three took the trial. Nobody wrote a
syllable about our product.
The next time I sent the same universe a press release announcing a
product innovation. The release resonated with several trade papers and
consumer reporters. My “press” mailing yielded several inquiries, a small
wire service story and three product reviews in desirable specialty
magazines. The bloggers remained on radio silence.
Since then I’ve been mulling the problem – how do you reach out to and
influence bloggers who can in turn influence your customers and
prospects?
Then I read an essay by Andy Sernovitz on iMedia Connection which
opened my eyes to a radically different approach to these citizen
journalists. He essentially argues that you need to join their party rather
than invite them to yours. Like journalists, bloggers set their own
agenda. Those seeking to influence the agenda have to intersect it on its
own terms. Influencing their posts and their audience requires following
their threads, commenting on their posts and presenting your product or
your point of view in their context.
You still have to be forthright, upfront and clear about who you are and
who you represent. You cannot disguise yourself or pretend to be an
uninterested civilian inserting product or brand references. But it’s about
aligning what you are pushing with what they are thinking, talking and
writing about.
Filed under: Social Media
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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected] 07 January 2009
19
POSTS BY DANIEL FLAMBERG - IMEDIA CONNECTION BLOG
Psyching Out SearchersJAN 7, 2009 2:01PM
The fun and the frustration in search marketing is trying to understand
and anticipate how people think. The mental processes by which people
try to find things are often thought to be predictable, but new research in
the journal Cognition, reported in Business Week, suggests that people
file, sort, filter and associate words and ideas much more individually
that previously thought.
On one hand the individualized processing model makes sense. Each
person has their own personal and squirrelly system and syntax for
putting ideas together. Just think about how people come up with
passwords or how they choose to set up file folders and sub-folders. On
the other hand, you’d imagine that public education and standard
teaching approaches and textbooks in reading, basic math and language
skills ought to net out broadly used word associations and tactics for
retrieving and pairing data and information.
The prevalence of individualized associations and perceptions of
similarity and difference have several implications for search marketing
and requires marketers to be creative in linguistics and taxonomy..
1. Cover the Basics. Articulate and embed basic words that describe
your product or service and the benefits end-users can expect from using
your brand. Be as expansive as possible. Think of as many ways as saying
the same thing as possible.
2. Cover the Mistakes. Be sure to plan on searches that misspell or
use plural forms of your brand name and the product names. Embed
and/or buy all the mistakes, variations, regional nuances (e.g hero,
grinder, hoagie, sub, submarine sandwich) Assume that nicknames,
idioms and even derogatory words will be used in the attempt to find you
efficiently.
3. Cover Product Cognates. Plan to embed or buy all the products
that naturally go together (peanut butter & jelly) and as many of the
variations (peanut butter & marshmallow fluff, peanut butter & bananas)
as you can think of. Be as expansive as possible and use both brand and
generic names of product sets to be sure the customers find you.
4. Cover Product Details. Huge numbers of shoppers surgically
search and shop. They want a medium-sized red cotton v-neck sweater
with 3/4 sleeves. Each and every SKU needs to be specified this way to
optimize the likelihood that they’ll find the product on your site and that
you’ll maximize the value of your SEO or PPC effort.
5. Cover Trigger Associations. Think like a sitcom writer and try to
anticipate which ideas, needs or stimuli might trigger product or service
associations. Fall prompts thoughts of Thanksgiving. Football cues beer.
And there are millions more. Remember you are trying to psyche out
millions of individuals who process information in zillions of different
ways.
Filed under: Search
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