MrBoilermaker

Why you are wrong about marketing automation

2013-12-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Content Marketing - Marketing Automation - Drip Marketing - Lead Nurturing - Inbound Marketing...

Great buzzwords for those of us in marketing, but is there really anything behind all of it?

Yes, but also no.

What I mean by this is there is great power behind the marketing machine, but only if you are making your content and automation decisions based on data. Too many marketers are doing things like listening to the CEO or other non-experts that tell them they need to send out more emails, or worse, they need to do a newsletter? Seriously, if you are still doing a corporate newsletter stop right now.

Ok, so that is a pretty simple example but the reality is a lot of marketers still operate this way - they are creating content based on what internal forces are telling them they need to do to push a message, yet Inbound Marketing only works if you take the time to listen to what your audience wants. Your ears in this case are data points that are collected via the socialsphere, your website analytics, your email metrics, your automation tool and also your CRM system. That is a lot of places to gather information, but your audience is that diverse. You may think you are only targeting a very niche audience - but is that person with buying authority doing the front end research to get your brand top of mind? Is that person with buying authority that lives in Silicon Valley responding to marketing the same way someone on wall street does? In most cases the answer is no.

But here is the thing most of us don't like to hear (especially our CEOs) this all takes time. I know we go to conferences and hear stories about how company X created a really cool infographic and all of a sudden the floodgates opened and leads started pouring in and it led to to the company increasing revenue 500% in 6 months and all sorts of other crap. The truth is it does not work this way - you need to look at what your existing data tells you and start creating multiple content pieces targeting what you think the audience wants to hear (most important thing to note, they sure is hell don't want to hear a sales pitch). Create the data and put it out there and collect more data to see what is working and then create more content and constantly refine that way - then use that content and refine and repackage - wash, rinse, repeat.

Don't worry about how it fits in your nurture flow - because if you have a 20 step campaign that takes someone down a path of highly refined timed emails that you created no one is ever going to get to step 20 and if they do the content you provide them at that point is already going to be a bit dated. You need to always be creating new, fresh content - you need to stop thinking like a marketer and start thinking like a publisher. You need to develop editorial calendars that are there, but not set in stone and leave flexibility for market changes. You need a writing and editorial staff (you don't necessarily need to hire new, but you need a commitment from internal thought leaders that they will hit assigned deadlines. You need design creatives. You need to create a listening and responding machine (you can't let a blog go dormant for years like I did here).

I know none of this is earth shattering, but I see way too much marketing garbage that I had to speak out and bring this blog back to life.

Be a CRM Smart Marketer

2010-07-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

Your CRM system, often the bane of a sales reps existence is a vital tool for the progressive marketing department. While sales teams utilize the tool to forecast and track opportunities through the sales funnel smart marketers are leveraging the data held within the vault to influence and drive their marketing decisions.

As marketing continues its quick shift to metrics and ROI based activities it is important to know what impact you can drive throughout the sales process.

It is easy to set a few lead source options and build out a few basic campaigns to dump names into – but what is this doing for you? What does the data mean other than marketing was able to throw a few accepted leads over the wall? How often does that initial lead that attended a webinar turn out to be the catalyst tied to the opportunity? Was that webinar even worth the money spent? If yes, why?

Marketers, specifically those in Marketing Ops roles need to work in tight symmetry with their sales counterparts. They need to understand the data going into the CRM system and follow closely as the leads convert and opportunities materialize to understand the true impact their team is having. Following is a simple list of things you can get in place now to better understand what is going on with your leads and what influence you may have over all deals in the pipe.

1)   Go beyond lead source – if you have an internal sales development team work with them on the lead triage process. From there build out a field within your CRM system that measures the “Reason for Engagement” that propelled the team member to make the call that landed the meeting. You could have a lead living in your system for months that suddenly became warm based on a drip campaign – while you may not have been responsible for the lead source you are responsible for the lead moving to the next stage.

2)   Track both engagement and source – as stated above marketing is not always responsible for bringing in the lead that matters the most – but by creating reports that track both engagement and source you will get a bigger picture of the percentage of deals closing that were touched by marketing.

3)   Utilize a marketing automation tool – my recommendation would be to use one that integrates cleanly into your CRM of choice. Aside from creating the drip campaigns and landing pages, when utilized to its fullest a marketing automation tool can provide a wealth of touch point data that can be rolled up to give you a clearer understanding of how many times and ways marketing touched the deal before it crossed the finish line.

4)   Use Campaigns – if you are going to do something – make sure you can track it. Campaigns are a good resource in understanding how your marketing activities are truly performing. Was that event that only had 30 attendees a bust? Not if 1/3 of the attendees resulted in generating opportunities. Same goes with that awesome webinar that had 1,000 attendees – unfortunately sales rejected 90%+ of them because they were bad titles or in the wrong industries. In addition by setting multiple statuses within your campaigns you can get a better understanding of where the leads are and what they are biting on – linking your marketing automation tool to the campaign can seamlessly integrate this process.

5)   Create a dashboard – if you are going to track everything, your data will need a home. Some CRM systems offer the ability to create dashboards which is very beneficial in getting all your reports in one clean snapshot – but I recommend taking this further and entering your data into a spreadsheet (so archaic I know) – this way you will have everything you need lined up weekly so you can monitor trends and react and plan accordingly. Track your responses, your lead acceptance, pipeline contribution, reason for engagement and their impact on meetings scheduled and occurring, look at each general area and its effect (email, web, webinar, event, etc). But don’t look at marketing in a vacuum – look at what sales is doing without marketing’s influence and see if you can draw out data. Do marketing leads convert to meetings faster? Do marketing generated ops close quicker? If you have the data you have the answers.

6)   Play nice – everyone has a difficult job – everyone is strapped for time. If you step down from the Ivory tower you will see that sales is on your side, but you need to understand what drives a seller. You are more likely to get more people on board and filling out the fields accurately if you are providing results.

11 things to consider when evaluating Marketing Automation

2010-05-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

With all the hype swirling around about Marketing Automation it is easy to get caught in the buzz, or think you are missing out. The fact is… you are.

I am a big advocate of using marketing automation as a tool to support marketing programs like management of demand generation campaigns, improving quality of leads to sales, email blasts, lead nurturing, lead scoring and analytics. Now, Marketing Automation won’t do this alone, it is a larger part of the overall marketing program – but it is one that needs great emphasis and attention.

No longer are B2B marketers just judged on awareness and throwing any lead over the fence and then passing the buck to sales. Today’s marketer needs to demonstrate a greater impact on the pipeline and produce quantifiable ROI. While we still need to make the flashy brochure, be at the right shows, launch targeted webcasts, produce high quality websites, launch social media campaigns, give attention to SEO and SEM, etc… we are being asked to do even more every day.

Marketing Automation tools make this a much easier task. As someone who has used many and recently went through the process of selecting a new vendor after working with a different platform many years I thought I might share a list of some of the important questions to be thinking about while evaluating vendors and their unique technologies. Some of these will be obvious to some, but I am hoping this might spur a few “a-ha” moments to those of you looking at the multitude of tools available to you today.

11 Things to Consider:

1)    Will you be able to dedicate a full time person to managing this tool? (some tools require a more technical person to administer, while they can be quite powerful be aware of the additional investment)

2)    Do you have the in-house talent to design templates, or will you need to outsource? (some tools make it easier to quickly design landing pages and emails, but note they can only do so much without the proper touch of an experienced design professional)

3)    How accessible do you want this data for your sales team? (some technologies allow almost full visibility with their enhanced CRM integration, but often times at an additional financial cost)

4)    How many licenses will you need? (consider the point above, also, what level will sales need, what about product management and other teams that send large volumes of emails)

5)    What CRM system are you using? Are you using a CRM system? (many of these tools are best used with a specific CRM system, make sure you make clear up front what tool you are using)

6)    Will you want to host the forms/landing pages on your site, through the automation tool or your CRM? (this is important when considering flow to sales/CRM and ease of form creation)

7)    What other technologies beyond CRM are you using, will they integrate? (pretty straight-forward)

8)    Will they give relevant references? (what customers switched to them from another vendor you are looking at, what other companies are in your industry, your size, your place in the cycle when launching)

9)    How robust a tool do you really need? (will you be using this just as an email blast tool, how many emails will you be sending, will you be scoring leads, will you be creating multi-threaded nurturing campaigns, will you use landing pages, will you integrate your PPC program, do you need advanced integration into CRM, etc)

10)    Is the vendor innovating? (is this a tool with buzz for all the right reasons, do the references look forward to what is coming next or is this a company resting on name recognition)

11)    Have you evaluated enough vendors? (sure, you might fall in love at first site, this happened a couple times in the evaluation process for me – but I wanted to throw you a list of names I evaluated to consider – these cover all ends of the spectrum in terms of price and robustness of the tool: Aprimo, Eloqua, Exact Target, Genius, Marketo, MarketBright and Silverpop)

This is just a launching pad for the questions that came up in the process, please feel free to add your own in the comment section below.

Why I'll Never Be A Social Media Expert

2009-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

By now you have probably seen them… the people claiming they can help you earn unlimited profits by setting you up on social media. These people claim to be Social Media Experts. What these people are doing is actually turning a valuable marketing channel into a wasteland of spam and incoherent babble. The truth is, there are some great people out there that do know what they are talking about when it comes to utilizing social media, but too often they get lost in the noise.

I did a quick search via tweetdeck on the phrase “social media expert” and well, there is a lot of chatter. I then went over to wefollow.com and did a search on “socialmedia”, the result 24,231 users have tagged themselves with this. Now, not all of these people are claiming to be experts so I thought I would look a bit deeper and went over to twellow.com, did a search for “social media expert” and wouldn’t you know it, 656 results. Justtweetit.com, 414 listings for “social networking” and the old standby – I did a Google search on the exact phrase “social media expert”… 1,450,000 results (at least the top results were others lamenting the other “experts”.)

The issue comes down to what are the services these people truly provide? How many of these experts actually have helped a company earn true ROI utilizing this channel? (You know actual dollars and not just some stupid babble about engagement.) How many of these experts can actually help you track if your efforts are producing sales or influencing buying behavior? How many of these experts helped companies integrate social media into their current marketing mix? How many of these experts know social media is more than twitter, Facebook and Youtube? How many of these experts actually have marketing experience beyond setting up their own pages on twitter and facebook and pimping out their own services?

The problem and actually the excitement behind social media is there is so much unknown and it is a constantly evolving space. I think it is great that so many people are on board and I think it is awesome that companies and marketers are finding ways to utilize SM. I just get infuriated when I think what damage these “experts” are actually causing.

This is why, I never want to be considered a social media expert.

Purdue, a Timeout and a Loss of Hope

2009-09-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

I have had a few hours to digest the Purdue loss - but it is still one of the worst I have experienced as a Boiler fan. I don't think anything will surpass the Orton fumble game (at least I hope I never.) The thing is, I came into the game expecting a loss, when you lose to Northern Illinois you kind of figure that your season is garbage. But that changed in the second half of the ND game, that is until the final drive... and one of the worst coached series I have witnessed since Jim Colletto roamed the Ross-Ade sideline.

I have been a critic of Joey Elliiott all season, but in the second half he had me believing he was at least Billy Dicken... the problem was Coach Hope wasn't Joe Tiller. I know we all need to give Coach Hope time, but when you basically give away a game there is only so much of that the fans will be willing to take (you know, the fans that finally came to life last night and had the stadium roaring.)

Why, why, why do you go into a prevent...ever? Especially when your defense finally had a swagger they had not had all season. They shut ND's scoring down the entire half, until that ridiculous coaching decision - ND marched down the field, and as a result scored... meaning we will have to hear about the miraculous Jimmy Clausen for years (is he is courageous as Brady Quinn now ESPN announcers?)

But even bigger than the prevent defense... how, oh how do you call a timeout when you stop the other team inside their 5 with about 30 seconds, the clock running, on third down, when they have no timeouts? They would either have to rush a play or spike the ball making it fourth down. Guess what, your D stopped them on third down (on what might have been fourth if not for the timeout.) How do you call that? Because you have no faith in your defensive players to stop them and you want to preserve time. What kind of message is that - what kind of message is that when you include that with forcing the D into a prevent? What that does is deflate the players and you have to hope it does not carry over into future games... or you have lost them, and for how long.

Every loss to Notre Dame stings - but this one stung more. It stings because Purdue should have won, should have had momentum, but bad coaching lost the game. I can't take another lost decade of Purdue football.

Official Google Blog: Now S-U-P-E-R-sized!

2009-09-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Have You Googled Lately? Blog.SAVO

My Apologies to Moby

2009-09-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

OK, in a blog I recently posted about baby products for dads I made some pretty unflattering comments about the Moby Wrap. I believe my exact words were: "It is a baby carrier that once you get it all on you look like a ninja or a star wars fanboy." I also said I could never see myself wearing it. Well...

I guess this is where I apologies for that.

Why am I doing this? Well, earlier tonight I wanted to make a sandwich, Torry was finally getting some time for herself after I got home and Logan was really getting upset. I knew that if I held him I could get him to calm down, but I also needed my hands to make the sandwich. Then I thought about the Moby. If I just threw it on quickly to make the sandwich (and eat it) it would be over quick. So, I put it on and got Logan into it.

Surprisingly it was really comfortable, and I had almost complete mobility. So after my sandwich I kept Logan in the wrap for some time after - it was kind of cool how calm he was and how natural it felt. So, for opening my mouth before even trying something I apologize. And, in truth, I didn't look half bad (however I would have looked much better in black to cover my love handles.)

On a somewhat more serious note I will add that I am someone that radiates heat and after an hour with Logan that close to me I was getting very warm, so if any other dad does try a Moby keep that in mind.

So in closing after further review the Moby would get a 4 out of 5 in my newly created (like just now) Dad Star Rating Scale.

Marketing to Dad

2009-09-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months I have spent a lot of my time focused on all things baby and making sure we had everything set when Logan came home from the hospital. What amazed me was how much things had changed from when Bailey was born eight years ago. Especially when it comes to products specifically designed for dads or with dads in mind. It was actually nice that businesses finally realized that there are a lot of dads out there that actually do try to be a big part of the raising of their children, and carrying a pink diaper bag that looks like a purse is not high on our product wants list.

One huge difference now is baby strollers - back when Bailey was born we had what basically amounted to a one-size fits all stroller, it was big and it was ugly. But now there are about as many options in the stroller market as there are in the auto industry. What is amazing is you can see there was some thinking in mind about the fact that dads will be pushing these around. In fact Uppa Baby strollers were actually designed by a dad. In the end we chose the Bugaboo Frog. First, the thing just looks cool, but beyond that it is increadably practical from the suspension system to its easy manuverability, this thing glides through the city. Bugaboo makes other models that include really smart features like an extendable handle for the taller dads out there - while these aren't necessarily a dad product, they are a product a dad will love to have.

More specifically targeted to dads are all of the new diaper bag options. In fact, there is an entie line out now called "Dad Gear" - Gone are the pastel flowers and Winnie the Pooh, they have been replaced by messenger bags with skulls and flames. Personally, that doesn't really fit my style, but the bags with collegiate logos are very cool (but where is the Boilermaker Bag?). Another very cool option are what look like fleece vests or jackets that actually have hidden components that function as a complete bag. In the end my wife and I decided to go with a bag that worked for both of us, and settled on Columbia Treckster bag - which is a lightweight backpack that is easy for any of us (including Bailey) to carry, or, with its handle straps it easily can be attached to the handle bar of the stroller. I still may consider the fleece vest, and if the Boilermaker bag ever comes to the inventory list of course I am going to get that. But for ease of use, looks and price you can't go wrong with the Columbia.

One of the things my wife did buy that I just can't see myself using is a Moby Wrap. It is a baby carrier that once you get it all on you look like a ninja or a star wars fanboy. It actually looks cute when Torry wears it, but I would have preferred the Baby Carrier by Ergo. Once Logan starts getting heavy I am pretty certain that we will be getting one so I can help carry him in public.

These are just a few examples, let me know if you have any products that you think a dad shouldn't be without. I will continue to post my favorite products for dads.

All the Pieces are in Place

2009-09-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

I don't often talk specifically about my day job on here, but I felt the need to do so since I am excited about some of the work I have been lucky enough to be a part of.

For the past year I have been working on launching and building the Social Media presence of SAVO. Yes, the past year. The process was long, but well thought out and well worth the effort. The final piece of the puzzle was put in place last week, Blog.SAVO.

Blog.SAVO offers the company the opportunity to extend the conversation and share expertise and experience with the public. One thing that is noticeably different compared to many other corporate blogs is that multiple voices, from all levels in the company are represented. This is core to some of the central thinking at SAVO that Tribal Knowledge can come from anyone within the company. I am lucky to work with a lot of very talented people every day - and in time, as the content on the site grows, this wealth of information will be shared well beyond the walls of the company.

For me this marks a very exciting time - my vision is coming together. While we have implemented multiple pieces of the strategy already, the blog is my personal crown jewel (if it weren't for the birth of my son Logan three weeks ago I would have called it my baby.)

I see you... Who are you?

2009-09-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

A factoid that might interest only me… I use Google Analytics behind the scenes on the blog here (side note, if you have a blog and you aren’t using some sort of analytics you need to be doing so) – anyway. Since I wrote the piece title Little Green Truth I have had a bizarre trend in my analytics. Each day I get at least one direct traffic hit to this article, even more interesting to me is that it comes from either Haverford or Havertown, PA. Whoever you are, first, I love you. Keep coming back to my blog every day.

It makes me wonder why, or what the reasoning is. Could it be a bot? I thought maybe it was some weird AOL thing, but if I am remembering correctly it would be a hit from WV not PA (I could be way wrong on this but it is what I remember.) Or, is it someone who is trying in someone strange way to help me drive traffic to this article? I know that isn't how it works, but a Google search for little green truth does find the article in the #1 spot. ;)

I use analytics all the time in my day job, monitoring traffic sources, patterns, etc – and maybe I just overlooked a similar anomaly occurring elsewhere on other sites, but this one is just a strange one to me. If anyone else has experienced something like this, or knows something I don’t – please fill me in.

#twitterbirth - the birth of a social media baby

2009-08-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

contractions have already started (5:15 CST). #twitterbirth

With that post I began the process of updating the twitterverse on the pending arrival of Torry and my new son, Logan. In addition to keeping a running journal on twitter of short updates I continually updated my Facebook status for our friends and family.

Why did I do this? I am not really sure.

It helped calm my nervous tension - it helped connect so many people to one of the biggest moments of our lives - it gave us something else to focus on - it gave me a personal log of how I was feeling at any given time during the 23 hour process - and there is a lot of downtime in that 23 hour process.

But in truth, to me the biggest point was the connectivity. I was able to push out messages and emotional status and I had many people (mostly on Facebook) thanking me for the updates - I am sure there were just as many wanting me to shut up, but the great thing about social media is that you don't have to act on a conversation unless you want to.

I first became aware of the #twitterbirth hashtag on August 7 in a post from @icelander as he and his wife were preparing for the birth of their child. I thought it was a cool idea so I decided to give it a try - if it seemed odd or intrusive I would have stopped - but it didn't, it was actually pretty fun.

In the process I also read about other people in the twitter world having babies at the same time, some examples were @kellytirman and the birth in the first family of twitter @ev and @sara.

There are so many uses for social media, but in the end it is about connecting people and sharing what is important or valuable to you - to me, the birth or #twitterbirth of Logan is as important as it gets.

Welcome to the world Logan, you have a great big brother in Bailey and the worlds greatest mother. I am already in love.

I said I was done, but I guess I am back for more

2009-08-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

OK, you know it, I have slight twinges of hippie – shocker. And I am going back to a topic I thought I would never touch again on this blog… diapers.

Why am I doing it again, because I think when studies are done and presented surrounded by ads of one of the key beneficiaries, I just don’t like it. Even as a marketer.

What am I talking about? A WebMD piece that claims to be solving the diaper dilemma, but did they?

The biggest issue I have with the piece is that it does what other industry sponsored pieces have done – hype up disposable advantages (in this case diaper rash and day care usage) and basically poo poo’s (heh) any advantage gained in using cloth.

The article, or center, is funded by Huggies. According to WebMD center funding means:

Content under this heading is funded by a third-party and independently created or chosen by WebMD. This content is subject to the WebMD editorial review process for accuracy, balance and objectivity. The content is not edited or otherwise influenced by the supporting company except with the possible suggestion of the broad topic area. For more information, read the WebMD sponsor policy.

OK, I can be cool with that – you say it is balanced and objective by your editorial review – but it is funded by a third party – in this case one of the big winners in the piece. :/

Now since it is WebMD of course they don’t want to touch on the financial differences in choosing cloth vs. disposable – I can look past that. But the fact still remains that this cannot be seen as objective analysis the way it is presented.

On the topic of diaper rash, the winner for disposables, only one pediatrician is quoted? Where is the actual data to back this? That is what people want, not just opinion. In the end it may be true, but at least be fair in the assessment. I know from the experience when our first born was in diapers – he came home from day care with diaper rash often. He wore disposables. Does this make it fact that kids who use disposables and go to daycare will get diaper rash? No, obviously. So I won’t try to make people believe that, if I had scientific fact to back it then I would.

But this is not even my main point – my point is this information is pushed out as fact because there are big bucks supporting it. If WebMD had published this piece without tying Huggies name to it I might have given it more credit – but they didn’t, so I can’t.

Like I said in an early post on this topic, and to its credit the article does too… this choice is really up to the parent. People have different lifestyles, different values and different views. This is a good thing – but if we do want to make a choice and want to research it first it would be nice to have noncommercial examples to help inform us.

Really, I think this will be my last diaper post ever (until I get another bug up my butt that is.)

The Danger of rushing in to Social Media

2009-08-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

As an advocate of how social media can be effective when incorporated into a corporation’s larger marketing program, it is painful for me to see when companies do it wrong.

A recent example of this was Marsh supermarkets and its Facebook Coupon. Marsh sent a $10 coupon to their Facebook Fans thinking that they would forward it to a few people – the result, mass produced coupons and some being sold for individual profit… Question here, what is the going rate for a $10 coupon?

As a result Marsh has decided not to honor the coupons resulting in an expected backlash. A Marsh statement reveals that this is one of the company’s initial initiatives to use social media as marketing.

This should serve as a lesson to any corporation jumping into social media (be it Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc) – make sure you have a solid plan in place, and like all marketing initiatives think through the campaign completely before launching it to the public. Something KFC hopefully learned from the Oprah debacle.

Social Media is hot, and it is smart for corporations to get in on it now… but only after you have decided what your desired outcomes will be. I think the Marsh coupon idea was a smart idea, but in my opinion they should have limited it to the actual Fans.

I don’t think Marsh should suspend future Social Media plans, but I think they need to realize the power of viral before launching the next campaign. I also think this should serve as a lesson for any other company wanting to jump the gun without having a plan in place.

Brand Bombing on Twitter

2009-08-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

This past Friday I came across an interesting question on LinkedIn posted by Emily Luiz - The question was: Calling attention to negative review of competitor product via Twitter: Cool or not cool?

The post in question was tweeted by Red Mango and said the following: "OMG - The New Worst Drink in America Cold Stone Creamery PB&C Shake, with 2,010 calories + 131 grams of fat!!!!" The tweet linked to this article in Men's Health.

I will admit that I have never heard of Red Mango prior to this, so in a way it did a good job by raising awareness, heck, they are getting a blog post by me out of it - but, the question Emily posted is a very good one, is this a cool strategy or not?

A look at the answers to the questions shows that people view this as a bad move and in poor taste. But is it any worse than when Subway calls out Burger King and McDonalds in their ads, and on their napkins - spelling out that Subway is the much healthier choice and if you chose the other options you are basically a cow?

For the most part we accept this tactic when it is used in traditional advertising, of course Subway never starts and ad with OMG or calls a Big Mac the Worst Sandwich in America (that would be a straight out lie, at least to this dough boy.)

But is social media different? Is a move like this a poor attempt at a brand bomb? And in a case like this are you actually doing more harm to your brand than that of your rival?

Social media, twitter in this specific example, has become a place for brands to interact directly with consumers and prospects - it has changed advertising from interruption based to an actual dialogue where the end user has a voice - The brand takes on a living breathing role, there is a person running these accounts and it is no longer just a pushed message from the faceless corporation - that is why this specific brand bomb resonates.

I am sure the folks at Red Mango had to love the fact that a rival got called out, a few high fives at corporate were probably had - but to post the link to twitter, from your account, directly tied to your brand? That does hit a little low - because it is no longer the cold faceless corporation and an ad agency - it is your social persona, and your persona just came off as kind of a dick.

In reality, is a move like this any worse than what Horizon Group did when they sued a tenant over a tweet? To me they both are poor examples of how to participate in the message community, one example happened to get picked up by the MSM, the other just kind of passed through the Twitter silo.

I think this does give an opportunity to open the dialogue on what should be expected out of brands as they migrate to social media. Let me know what you think - was this brand bomb laid out by Red Mango a smart move? Or is it in poor taste and an example not to be followed?

Going Green - Where to start

2009-07-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Being a friend to the environment is something I truly believe most people strive for, but how to get there can be a challenge for some. That is why I wanted to introduce you to a very cool website, Green571.com. (5 Oceans - 7 Continents - 1 Planet)

The purpose of Green571 is to create an online community for people committed to creating a greener lifestyle. The site lists tips and information on everything from greener living around your home, to health care and nutrition (and all points in between.) Are you a big time investor, but you are in touch with our inner flower child? Green571 even has advice for you. And of course, of interest to those of us with little ones on the way, the site offers tips on green for your baby. In short, it is a one stop shop for almost anything you can do to make an impact to help keep our planet green.

Another cool project from the people behind 571 is just that, Project571. Officially licensed collegiate apparel made from organic cotton, bamboo or recycled polyester. The only problem to date is the lack of Boiler clothing, the site does say it is coming soon so I will be checking back.

I am always interested in finding out more about similar resources, please let me know if you have a site that offers resources for the eco-friendly.

2009-07-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

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The Fears of the Father

2009-07-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

Any time in the next month, Torry (wife), Bailey (son) and I will be welcoming a new baby into our lives. This moment, of course, has brought a lot of excitement into our house. Bailey cannot wait to be a big brother, which is a role I know will suit him perfectly. Torry, although the pregnancy has been tough, is already in nesting mode and is so ready for this. Me, I am excited, but I am scared beyond description.

When Bailey was born just about anything that could be different was different. He is eight years old now, and Torry and I were 24 and 25 years old respectively when he was born. We lived the typical suburban life, even at that age. Both of us were employed and pretty fresh in our careers. For us everything was new, it was all exciting in a way most young parents can relate to.

Over the years Torry and I progressed in our careers, Bailey spent a lot of time in daycare and eventually moved on to Kindergarten and now is preparing for third grade. We have made a couple of significant moves, to Fishers, IN and then to our current location in downtown Chicago. Basically, the last eight years have been a whirlwind. But now, everything is different, but not in a bad sense.

We are living in a city environment and are out of the ‘burbs. Torry has put her career on hold and is doing a great job as a stay at home mother and care giver. Bailey now has a full time parent at his disposal, as will baby number two. And I am eight years older, and I feel every one of those years in my now out-of-shape body.

In those eight years we have experienced the horrible events of 9/11, we have seen our once strong economy decay, we are also more aware of the impact that each one of us has on the environment – it is just a different world to bring a child into. Add to the fact that we are living in Chicago and not the vinyl suburbs and the anxiety level rises. It is just an entirely different ballgame this time around.

In the end, I wouldn’t change our decision to add to our family for anything in the world. I know I am going to lose control of situations, but that is just part of the journey. It is going to be a crazy ride, and fear is a part of that, but I am glad to be taking it with Torry and Bailey.

Social Media and the #IranElection

2009-06-16T16:38:00.001-07:00

In a world where our nightly news gives us stories about the love affairs of Jon and Kate and the trivial goings on of Heidi and Spencer it was hardly shocking that when news of protests came out of Iran main stream media was not leading the story. The protests, based on the controversial election results, came through the blogosphere via social media, and only now, days later, main stream media is trying to catch up on news that has become common knowledge to those who actively utilize social media.

Twitter has become the main source of information where a handful of trusted people are tweeting out of Iran, and at a high risk to their personal safety. The tweets are carrying messages about what is happening on the streets, warning people of dangers and countering the messages being put out by the state run media. Even more impactful are the images and videos being captured on cell phones and uploaded to photo sharing sites and youtube. The images are sometimes graphic and show a firsthand look at an uprising in the making. These images are not the ones that are typically screened and edited before making their way to the nightly news here in the US.

Another site, not really a social media site, is news aggregator Fark. This site has been an incredible source of information and conversation about what is happening real time, specifically from a regular poster that posts under the name Tatsuma.

What we are witnessing is not only a potential revolution in Iran, it is a revolution on how we consume news and information. Personally, as someone who is a consumer of social media I appreciate being one of the first in the know - however, as someone who frequents social media I know how fast misinformation can spread. This is a time where the world is starving for information from trusted sources, has this "revolution" shown us the irrelevance of traditional media? I hope not.

“Do you want to have access to baby food anymore?” - The Strange Battle Over BPA

2009-06-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

With the recent news that members of the California Senate narrowly approved a proposal that would prohibit the use of a controversial toxic plastic additive from baby bottles, the issue over bisphenol A (BPA) has been getting a lot of attention. So much attention that according to scienceblogs.com a BPA Joint Trade Association Meeting on Communications Strategy was held on May 28 with the goal of developing a potential communications/media strategy around BPA.

Now, as someone who knows a little about marketing, I understand crisis communications planning and about developing PR strategy. But there is something to be said about not leaking your minutes from your meeting (or else you might need a crisis committee meeting on how to handle crisis committee meetings.)

Why do I say this?

Well, what is really interesting about this report is some of the specific tactics mentioned including this line that appears on it, "Attendees suggested using fear tactics (e.g. “Do you want to have access to baby food anymore?”) Which, to be honest, I am not completely sure how this tactic and this comment go together, unless they are talking about the BPA that is in formula containers.

Or there is this line in the report "The committee doubts social media outlets, such as Facebook or Twitter, will work for positive BPA outreach. The committee wants to focus on quality instead of quantity in disseminating messages (e.g. a young kid or pregnant mother providing a positive quote about BPA, a testimonial from an outside expert, providing positive video, advice from third party experts, and relevant messaging on the GMA website). "

Is this what it all comes down to now? Fear tactics and a young kid or pregnant spokesperson giving positive quotes about potential toxins? .... Seriously? Even though the FDA says BPA is safe at currently set levels there are scientists that accuse the FDA of using incomplete and unreliable data.

While I really would like the FDA to do as complete an analysis as possible, I am more concerned that there are group meetings being held where ideas like these are being developed, as opposed to facing the fact that companies may be selling a product that is harmful. It kind of reminds me of the current anti-smoking ads where they read old internal big tobacco documents. This will be an interesting story to keep an eye on to see what actually does come of these meetings and what tactics do make it to the public.

Toxic Baby? How safe are the products you use on your child?

2009-06-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

As a parent with a baby on the way I constantly ask myself if I am doing everything to ensure the safety of my family. I don't believe in putting my family in a bubble, my son needs to get bumps and scrapes - he needs to be a boy. But there are issues that should concern any parent, things you take for granted that are safe because you have never been led to believe otherwise.

Something that recently caught my interest was a report put out by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics - now, to be honest I don't often read up on cosmetics but this report definitely struck a cord. The March 2009 Report, No More Toxic Tub, found that dozens of children's bath products are contaminated with formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane (chemicals found to cause cancer.) It wasn't just one or two small lesser known products, the CSC tested 48 products and had some pretty startling results.

61% of the products tested contained both of these chemicals, 82% contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 54 to 610 parts per million (ppm) and 67 percent contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm. I will be honest, I am by no means a chemist, but I have to ask, any exposure that is repeatedly administered over a long period via multiple products can't be a good thing, can it? Especially if it can be avoided. And when China pulls your product off the shelves out of concern, well that is saying something (note, they did lift the suspension of the products.)

In looking at the CSC website I found a very cool link to Skin Deep, a database that ranks the safety of products including multiple baby products. The database bills itself as "filling in where companies and the government leave off: companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, and our government doesn't require companies to test products for safety before they're sold. EWG's scientists built Skin Deep to be a one-of-a-kind resource, integrating our in-house collection of personal care product ingredient listings with more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases." It is an interesting site that I recommend at least taking a look at.

Like I said earlier, I know as a parent I can't completely take risk out of the equation, but I can take the formaldehyde out of my child's bath.

It's Not About Marketing

2009-06-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog, my goal was to share marketing insights I had gained over the years – it was something I know well and can speak clearly about, but a post a few months back really got me thinking about the value I can provide in the wide world of noise (the internet for short.) As marketing has been a big part of me for the last 15 years, it is only a part.

Who I am as a person is obviously much more than that, and this is why when I broke from talking about marketing to issues of more personal significance I began rethinking. Ever sense I can remember I have always had a passion about improving the world in my own little way. Taking care of the environment has always been a big part of that, as I have aged I have not changed my view, but rather lessened my intensity on how I can make an impact.

As a parent with a new child on the way I think it is time to rekindle the flame. The world we live in has always been hectic, the fight for survival has always been there – but in a time when we are all more enlightened isn’t it time to stop making excuses and start working to make a difference?

From carbon emissions, the melting of polar icecaps, the increasing level of trash in landfills our years of excess have come at a cost that we are placing on future generations. In the instant gratification world we worry about what is in front of our nose when the real danger is sitting around the corner. It would be hypocritical of me to sit here and think I have not been part of the problem. For years I made choices based on convenience as opposed to what might be best for the world (Seriously, I love Fiji water, but in the end it is just water and I put a lot of plastic in landfills when I could have easily gone to the tap.)

So now my focus is on where in my soul I know it should be – sure I might sneak a little marketing babble in here or there, but in the end my blog is going to focus more on the social issues that matter to me. You will still get the snark, but there might be a little more vinegar too.

My challenge to you who read this is to do everything you can to educate yourself on the impact you have on the world and see if there aren't a few changes you can make. Also, if you have a reason to refute what I post, please do - in the end it is all about education and none of us is ever done learning.

2009-05-28T13:29:00.001-07:00

Please follow my coworker @leahtn on her bicycle trek across California raising awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS - Aids Life Cycle alc8

How Big is Your Social Media Ripple?

2009-05-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

Social media is quickly becoming the “it” phrase for marketers. We have flocked to twitter and are pumping out tweets to add to the collective conversation. We are using tools like tweetdeck to manage feeds and conversations of interest. We have put up a fan page on facebook to supplement our existing websites as a way to connect immediately with people who are our fans. We also are creating and joining groups on LinkedIn to leverage our position as thought leaders…but, this is not where it ends.

To truly understand social media and your place in this online world is to understand that almost every day there is a new channel rising up. Certainly a lot of these tools will come and go, but what about the ones that stick? Are you there, are you speaking to these audiences? If not, are your competitors? Have you looked to see if your brand is still available as a user name?

This last point is a big one. As social media grows, we marketers lose an element of control over our brands and place it squarely in the hands of the community at large. This can be a great thing, if you are using social media to its fullest as that is actually one of the goals. You want others to speak about your company to their followers, but what if someone takes your existing brand and starts a presence on an up and coming site? Celebrities deal with this all the time and it isn’t something that businesses should think they are immune to.

It is important to be aware of not only what is hot now, but what might be hot in the future. Even if you don’t have the time to manage every possible social community there are tools that can assist you in easily distributing your message over multiple platforms without much additional effort or time commitment. Even if you decide a certain channel is not appropriate for you, which is highly likely, it still might be in your interests to create a profile to secure no one else does first. In addition, a lot of these communities offer the ability to include your URL in the profile so at a minimum you are placing that link across a broader spectrum of the internet.

Following is a list of some of the larger social media sites, including a little basic information on each.

My.mashable.com: Mashable is a site you should be familiar with. Mashable is the leading blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Networking. It is frequently linked on other social media networks. Basically my.mashable is your profile on this site where you can also add links to your other social networks along with other basic information. The site allows you to list your current activity, join and create groups and friend other members of the community.

Plaxo.com: Plaxo bills itself as “not a place to see how many online friends you can collect” It is basically an address book that allows you to post updates to the people in your book. It is a place to share blogs, photos, etc. Pulse works as a dashboard to view others social media platforms in one place. It is kind of the more grown up version of the better known aggregator friendfeed.

Friendfeed: it is just what its name is – a feed of all of you friends other social media activities – you can link twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc here and see everyone’s update in real time. What if your friends aren’t on friendfeed? No problem, it allows you to create a virtual profile for them until they eventually do jump on the wagon like they did for twitter and facebook. Also, you can segment your feeds into categories like personal, business, etc. You can also create and join groups relevant to you or your business interests.

LinkedIn: At the most basic level LI allows you to connect with all of your business contacts made over the years and serves as a living resume for you. LinkedIn also allows you to become a member or create groups with business professionals with like interests where you can share your insights and content with others who have opted in. Also, another big portion on the LI site is Answers – if you haven’t made yourself familiar with answers yet I recommend you do so soon.

Streetmavens: This operates similar to twitter with its microblog quality, but at a very local level. If you are a small business working in a specific geographic area it is something to consider as it is a place where people go to find out what is happening in their area. Plus, it offers a search feature that allows people to find what they are looking for happening in their city.

Twitter: The biggest microblog in the game

Ping.fm: this in itself is not a social tool you go to find information, rather it is a tool to use to create a message in one place and then it does the work of submitting it to your feeds on all of your other social sites. It is a blessing for those of us trying to easily get a message out to more than one channel fast.

Identi.ca: when of the up and comers in the world of microblogging. Its interface is not as clean as twitter, but navigating based on the tab based system is pretty easy. It does not have close to the community size as twitter, and is filled primarily with early adopters. A feature that identi.ca has that twitter does not on its mane site is the ability to create and join groups.

Koornk: Basically a twitter clone with clucks as opposed to tweets, which offers localization and opened support.

Kwippy: again, another microblog which offers the ability to share Gtalk, Yahoo and Facebook status messages with friends and have conversations around them. You can add kwippy as a contact in your IM and your statuses get stored and you get IM notifications whenever someone comments. Kwippy is still in early adopter phase and you need to submit your email to be invited to the community.

Multiply: Multiply is a community that allows you to update status, add photos, your blog, music, reviews and contacts all to one main dash. You can also create and join groups add videos and links to your profile. You can use the site for free, but Multiply also features a paid subscription that allows you to sort high res originals of photos and video, gives access to others hi-res content, higher video upload limits, ad-free browsing and one click album downloads.

Plurk: another in the growing number of microblogs, with a twist. Plurk shoes your 140 character updates in a timeline format instead of the traditional linear format used by other microblogs.

Tumblr: This site allows you to post photos, text, links, music, videos etc. You can post from your desktop, browser phone or even email. Tumblr also allows you to create an audio post from your phone. An added cool feature is the ability to add tags.

Vox: A blogging tool that allows easy integration with Flickr and YouTube.

jaiku: Yet another microblog, this time with the power of the name Google behind it. Jaiku operates a lot like twitter and allows the creation of channels (basically hash tagging) the biggest problem with jaiku right now is the lack of a good search feature, but with Google behind the scenes it may only be a matter of time.

Brightkite: Again a microblog, but the difference with Brightkite is that it is based on geography where you can check in to let people know where you are and add a photo of your current location – it is also a good tool to find out what is going on in the area you are. But in the end, functions like a microblog with pictures.

Youare: Basically, again, a microblog that was started in Spanish and moved to French and English speaking communities. Like twitter you can post updates in 140 characters, but you can also share video and pictures. However, here is where it is really different – full bios, including work life and education and the ability to add favorites and import from Flickr, YouTube and Delicious.

claimed / OpenID: A one stop place to create a log-in that can be used on sites like Livejournal, Magnolia, Technorati and Twurl (to name a few.) On your page you create a profile of all the sites that comprise your identity allowing you to easily prove ownership.

Slideshare: Have a cool presentation, this is the place to share it with the world – SS allows you to also embed shows onto blog or website, share publicly or privately, synch audio to slides, market events and join groups.

Delicious.com, Digg, diigo, Reddit, MisterWong: social bookmarking tools - start these accounts today and get to bookmarking your content today to help others discover what you offer.

Facebook: the standard line for facebook is it is an a living directory of everyone you care to keep connected with from birth to today and share what is going on in your world. On the business side there are fan pages where you can connect with the entire facebook universe if they become a fan. You can add events, pictures, updates and send messages to all of your fans quickly.

Bit.ly: URL shrinker with advanced analytics

Twurl.cc: URL shrinker that allows you to track number of clicks

Vimeo: A place for you to share videos

Seesmic: another place to add personal videos – the cool twist is the ability to create conversations with other people submitting their video updates.

YouTube: Beyond just uploading video you need to look at the benefits of creating a YouTube channel where you can add a detailed bio and links to your site – post recent activity updates and comment back and forth with viewers of the channel. Plus as you get subscribers to your channel they can be notified of new updates.

So, that is my list. Like I said earlier the world of social media is ever growing and in short time this list will be obsolete supplemented by the next 30 sites of interest. In the big ocean of Social Media, do you know if you have even begun to create a ripple?

2009-05-14T11:12:00.001-07:00

Do Not Click Facebook Links Ending In .im http://twurl.cc/ycr (via @mashable RT @JesseNewhart)

My Little Experiment

2009-05-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

One of the cool things that have occurred based on some of my recent posts is the awareness level I have gained about some companies and products I didn’t know existed. From direct feedback to my own research I have learned a lot about these companies and the things they produce.

I have also had the chance to see that many of these cool little companies and products don’t have the bandwidth to market with some of the larger, better known brands. They don’t have the teams to help with SEO and PR to help pull their websites to page one in search ranks. They may not know about how a search marketing campaign can help drive traffic, or how inexpensive it can be. Also, some have not jumped on the social media bandwagon based on either not knowing how it works or not having enough hours in the day. These cool little companies and products are the small businesses that we hear so much about being the lifeblood of our country, and especially in times like this everyone could use a little extra publicity.

So, I have decided to do a little experiment. What I want to do is find out what cool products you feel need a little extra shout out (I hate that phrase, but whatever.) I am asking those of you that read this to send me a link to the company/product website (G rated of course) along with just a few words about why I should link them from the blog. Please note that I may use your comments along with the link to let others know why they should check this product out. In an upcoming post I will put together the links that pass my little sniff test and put them out to my readers (OK, I am not like CNN, but some people do actually read this stuff.) And in SEO every link counts (OK not every link, but that is not the point I am trying to achieve.)

Could this be a colossal failure and no one gives me anything to work with sure, but you get used to things not going as planned at times in marketing. So, with that said, if you think someone needs one more link on the web and a few words of love please let me know. Don’t be shy if the product is yours feel free to pass on the link. It doesn’t matter the industry or product, if I need to turn it into a couple posts so be it. As a consumer of knowledge (sometimes trivial) I really just want see what’s out there. You can message me on twitter or email me directly, I look forward to learning more about what is cool to you.