The Freakin' Word!

The Purpose of Marketing (I love this article!)

2011-11-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

Written by Somik Raha
Go To Original Article Here

"You need to understand the purpose of marketing," said a successful CEO mentor of mine, with stern compassion. He'd invited me to meet him, and since I'd just finished my Ph.D., he asked me about my work. I went on for about 15 minutes about my dissertation, which focused on getting clarity on our values in the context of decision-making, before he dropped this gem in my lap (paraphrased): "This world is a noisy place, and people gift you a short amount of time with great difficulty. You have no right to steal their time by rambling and being unclear. To honor their time, you must share your deepest truth as directly and clearly as possible. Now, in a single sentence, I will summarize your work. Your work is about helping people align their decisions with their core values!"

It was the most simple, succinct, accessible, comprehensive and beautiful description of my research. More importantly, I started to wonder, what is marketing really about? I realized that I'd been filtering my understanding of marketing through my own biases and to reexamine this question, I had to ask a more fundamental question, "Do our beliefs create our experiences, or do our experiences create our beliefs?" A professor of mine once shared a three-step exercise he did at a retreat that provides insight into this question.

In the first step, he was asked to look at a sculpture with intense love and note his experiences -- he found grandness, beauty, simplicity and many other "good things." Then he was asked to look at the same sculpture with intense hatred. He noted paint peeling off, problems with symmetry and many other "bad things." In the third step, he was asked to look at that sculpture with neither love nor hatred. At this point, he realized his beliefs were completely swaying his experience in the previous two steps, and was convinced of something powerful: by making the polarities of his perception explicit, he was able to release their subconscious hold. As a result, the quality of his third experience was poignantly clear, and he was able see things more as they were. We can understand marketing more truly by adopting this method.

Belief: Marketing is Good: Take the example of the Buddha, an expert marketer of grand ideas -- he never delivered his message in the same way to everyone, instead tailoring it to the occasion, with mindfulness of his listener's ability to access his message. He focused on asceticism with the monks, on being a good householder with householders, and building a strong republic with kings. Gandhi and Martin Luther King were also legendary marketers in recent times. Gandhi made full use of the pen to take his message of nonviolence and commitment to truth far and wide. His short phrase, "The fragrance remains on the hand that gives the rose," was his philosophy of marketing. His vision was that of providing people a way to constructively channel their frustration with a great injustice. Be it spinning cotton at home or making salt from the sea, he connected a great pain with a simple, yet great action. These examples have one thing in common: the marketers did their marketing without any expectations of personal gain, and had in their hearts the well-being of those they wanted to serve.

Belief: Marketing is Bad: This was a viewpoint I held for a long time. I remember reading Robert Cialdini's Psychology of Influence for an Organizational Behavior class; the book horrified me with its depiction of what goes on in marketing -- its study of human habits for the express purpose of manipulating people into buying things, regardless of actual need. Cialdini described our tendency to fall into repeated patterns with a succinct phrase, "Click, whirr." That is how mechanistic and predictable we humans tend to be. For example, marketers know that we respond to kindness and gifts, so they bombard our mail with gifts goading us into purchases. Over time, we develop a thick skin to avoid being sold on something, although researchers find that we are less successful than we might think.

Marketing As It Is: When I consider the things that I've desired and acquired, I wonder, why am I bored with many of them quickly? It is usually because I discover that these things are severely limited. So then, what I'm really seeking is limitless satisfaction. There are those who are skeptical about this and say, "there's enough for our need, not enough for our greed." What if there were enough for our limitless wants? What if we could really have limitless satisfaction?

The trick is that limitless satisfaction cannot be achieved with anything that is limited. Now, there is nothing mysterious about limitlessness -- anyone who has meditated deeply and felt something separate from their thoughts has tasted it. Those who have not meditated may also have tasted it, by entering "the zone" at work or in sports, where their effort seems effortless. Or by giving or receiving overwhelming unconditional love. Or by giving up on a complex problem only to have an elegant solution float in front of their eyes.

In all these experiences, we don't remember the "I," however briefly that may be, and this is where it gets intriguing. What emerges from this space is a creative impulse grounded in abundance. In every experience that has been marketed to us, this is what we have really been looking for. A connection to our own limitless creativity. We are deeply joyful when the connection is made -- and deeply sorrowful when it eludes us. Ironically, we can only perceive this limitlessness when it is limited through our creations, just as light can only be perceived when bounded by darkness.

It's a game. We enjoy this play of placing limitations on ourselves and then breaking these limitations over and over again to discover that we cannot be limited! Going back to the CEO's message, we can now restate the truest purpose of all marketing: it is a game of inviting others to access their unlimited creative nature by sharing our creations with them, and doing so within the limits they've placed on their time.

Of course, not everyone sees it this way. There are marketers who have exploitative and deceitful intent -- wouldn't blindly accepting their invitation amount to falling into a trap? An ancient Indian tale inspires us to deepen our awareness. Whenever sages would grow powerful in their practice of connecting with their limitlessness, the lord of the senses, Indra, would feel terribly insecure and try to disrupt their practice. When all material pleasures would fail, Indra would send sensuous beauties to distract them. Most would succumb, but not all. As the story goes, one sage was invited by Indra to attend a dance by his most beautiful dancer. As she proceeded to dance, she also started to strip, and to Indra's delight, the sage swayed wildly, saying, "Take it off, take it off." This continued, and soon there was nothing left to take off. Indra was certain that he had knocked the sage's mind off of limitlessness. And then, he noticed strangely that the sage continued to sway and utter, "Take it off. Take it off."

The stunned silence from Indra and his dancer marked their recognition of one who pierced through the limited into the limitless. By being established in his own limitlessness, that unknown sage transcended all judgments and words, and effortlessly marketed a timeless possibility: it is always possible to see the limitless in our own limited experiences. Are we game?

Craving Zen and Inspiration

2011-09-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have this nifty little zen sandbox on my desk. It’s about 3 inches wide and about 9
inches long, has a little rake, 7 stones and about 6 tablespoons of sand, if that. Sounds like an insignificant little desk decoration, doesn’t it? Ah, but in its simplicity lies extraordinary gifts.

A recent study by Basex, a New York research firm, found that office distractions ate up 2.1 hours a day for the average worker. Another study found that employees devoted an average of 11 minutes to a project before being distracted. Researchers Gloria Mark and Victor Gonsalez of the University of California, Irvine, found that once interrupted, it takes workers 25 minutes to return to the original task, if they return at all. “People switch activities, such as making a call, speaking with someone in their cubicle or working on a document, every three minutes on average,” Mark was quoted as saying.

So, how many times a day do you wander away either physically, mentally or both for lack of focus or worse, for lack of creative inspiration?

As many jobs in the United States move further away from the old factory style, process driven work that used to be prevalent, and move into a more skills and ingenuity based model, the most successful companies are increasingly becoming the most creative ones. Out is the old mind numbing, repetition based work, and in is the new and ever changing creative and inventive, idea based work.

So how to spark that creative enthusiasm at the office when you have to tackle some project that you are perhaps not so passionate about? How can you build a creative palace inside the same old work cubicle that you are so familiar with? Here are a few tips.

Want Something New for Yourself

The most important step in the process begins inside of you. You have to want to add something, life or a spark or a new perspective, to your work. Often, if they can get away with either pummelling through a task on automatic pilot or attacking it with zest and excitement, many people will choose the former simply because it’s less work. It’s hard to fire up those creative juices, and all the best tips in the world will not help you one bit unless you really, in your heart, want to find inspiration.

Change it Up a Bit

Sometimes being in the same space with the same layout day after day after year can be a major contributor to brain fry. Try moving around the furniture a bit to get your creative juices flowing. Put the desk over by the other window. Change a few of the pictures around or buy a new painting or print for the wall. Experiment with different flowers in fun, colorful vases. If you keep doing the same thing you can expect much of the same results. Sometimes just switching around a few basic things in your workspace can give your mind an entirely new and fresh perspective on life.

Write it Down!

Your mind is like a continual idea factory always pumping out ideas. Granted, many of these are illogical, unusable, or even unrelated. Ask yourself this: If I have to write down a hundred lame or unrelated ideas to get to one jewel, is it still worth it for me? If your answer is "damn straight! Yes", then grab a Post-It and a pen or your cell phone and get into the habit of writing down practically everything that comes to mind. Develop some kind of a system to mine through those ideas at a later date in order to sort out the bad from the good from the brilliant.

Take Breaks!

An essential step for the most creative minds, stopping and thinking about something else every once in a while can be one of the most crucial parts of your creative work day. It's all about stepping back and looking at the big picture, but sometimes it’s more about stepping away and looking at a different picture for a while. Hence, my little desktop Zen sandbox. Schedule five minute breaks throughout your day and use these to go somewhere else and do something completely unrelated to your tasks. Go outside, stand in a patch of grass, and look at the sky. Find some carpeting and do a couple of stretches. Close your eyes and meditate on all the wonderful things in your life. When you get back to work, you will find your brain to be much more amenable, and your inspiration levels will soar.

The People Mill!

Running your good ideas through other people can often turn them into great ideas. There’s simply nothing like collaboration if you want to do something really great. Find some like-minded people and use them to bounce your ideas off of. They will often open your eyes to new aspects of an idea that you might not have thought of before. Make sure to also give them feedback on their ideas as well. Honesty is important in a process like this and there is no room for negativity. Make it a rule that all ideas will be considered.

Brainstorming is Key!

Besides all the wonderful tips above which can do wonders for indirectly or directly stimulating creativity, it’s also important to set aside a specific time to actually be creative. Dedicate a portion of your day to turning everything else off and focusing on pulling down that new inspiration. Better than a time limit, an idea goal will help get you started on the right foot. Keep with this brainstorming process until you have come up with a lucky number of seven to ten fresh ideas. They don’t all have to be good ideas either, just whatever comes to mind. Later you can sort them out and see if you’ve come up with anything truly genius.

Inspiration can be found in even the most mundane of places. We just need to learn how to spark our own inspirational fire by changing the typical way we view our work and responsibilities. Make interacting with creative others a normal part of your routine, and find time to break up the monotony of your daily schedule. Seek inspiration when you might usually zone-out and go on autopilot, and always look for an opportunity to grow.

If you are interested in owning your own Zen Sandbox, please let me know. I know the manufacturer directly and have them available for purchase for $5 + S+H.

Online or Offline, that is the Question...

2011-09-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

I’m told that many business owners feel like they have two businesses; the one they started in brick in mortar and the one they launched as the power of the internet took hold. I’ve been asked repeatedly by clients lately, how do I integrate my existing brands and company awareness with that of the one the internet seems to be creating for me?

My first response is that the branding of your products and services does not have to differ between marketing or information venues. Moreover, it is the nurturing of the relationship with your customer that is always the key to your success so it is THAT element that must be reflective of the venue. So, if you start from that basic premise supported by your unparalleled customer service and attention to detail, you back into how you provide that continuity of support in an online environment.

Online businesses as extensions to brick and mortar businesses offer unlimited ability to reach your potential customers when it is convenient for them, rather than when the doors of your office suite or retail shop are open to the sunshine. Remembering as you expand your online footprint that your customer base is more global, may not know you or your products and may be coming to you with preconceived notions about what you are offering or what their needs are is imperative.

Your online presence is an extension of your existing business if you so position it, however, you must remember that a global audience has probably never heard of you before and is often comparing you to others. If you consciously begin offering other products and services through your portal to the world, however, you begin to recreate yourself and indeed, will find yourself running two separate and distinct operations unless you then import your new direction into your brick and mortar business.

Running An Offline Business vs. An Online Business

Running a company as an "offline" business is very different than running a business online. While the goal of selling a product or service may be the same, the means used to actually achieve those sales can be very different.

Offline enterprise companies will often have an extended outside sales force that will travel to potential customer locations and demo the products or meet with the potential customer to explain the services. Traditional companies will also run seminars or training sessions from time to time or offer other support mechanisms to maintain a close, supportive relationship. Some of these techniques have been adopted for online companies, with some online companies scheduling online demos or holding webinars (website-based seminars), but it really isn't standard fare for the typical "online" company. It is far more common that an online company will offer promotions including sampling, free trials, and online specific promotions with very little overhead and marketing cost to the company itself.

Running an Offline Business in combination with your Online Business

It is important to provide continuity in branding, philosophy, and policy whether you are marketing on or offline. Consider your online presence simply as an extension of your offline business, and use the same principles online as you would offline. Continuity should exist within the brand. In other words, the image portrayed online should be consistent with any existing offline branding. Use the same color schemes, logos, tag lines, and company philosophy online as the ones that exist offline.

Online Shelf Space Is Free

Unlike retail stores, the "shelf space" online is essentially free and unlimited. That doesn't mean that you should clutter your website with excessive materials; it simply means that you can choose what to promote, as well as the amount of exposure the promoted items receive, and all at a relatively low cost.

Loyalty among your Current and Prospective, both Online and Offline Customers

A traditional retail business, with face-to-face customer interaction, can be very different from a virtual business, where customer contact is limited to phone, email, and interactive forums. It is more difficult to use these online channels to build customer loyalty.

It is important that online companies encourage communication with customers. Online companies can use website forums, blogs, RSS feeds, social networks, email, or even work to build an online "community" around their product or service. Strong communication is important to building customer loyalty. It takes more work to build loyalty online than offline. Online companies should provide communication in a variety of formats, so that customers and potential customers can choose how they want to receive information or updates.

Expanding Your Audience

The Internet is global. It is not uncommon for online companies to routinely sell into foreign markets. Offline companies, on the other hand, are often somewhat limited by geographical borders. Take the opportunity to pursue foreign markets at very low costs with an online presence.

An online business can be a lucrative extension of an offline business. Having an online presence is no longer simply a nice addition to an offline company -- it really is a necessity in this day and age. Consider this: if your company does not have an online presence, chances are good that your competition does, and they are taking business that could be yours.

Have you been Sullied?

2011-07-28T07:50:00.001-07:00

The Scoop to Online Reputation Management

Have you been sullied or besmirched online? They are great words with horrific repercussions. Can you go no further than a Google search on your or your company name before you witness the literal slamming of your reputation, corporate philosophy, product and/or service quality, or worse?

This is a huge issue in this day and age where the internet rules and everyone is an expert by means of just tapping what is out there on the great WWW.

Here’s an anecdote for you to put this issue into perspective.

Six months ago you engaged an employee to work for your small to mid-size company. You knew within the first two weeks that it probably wouldn’t be a marriage made in heaven. Your hire wasn’t communicating with management, wasn’t fulfilling the goals of the position and had already started showing up late for work, but you held back judgment and decided to give them a chance to get their feet on the ground in your business.

Unfortunately, by 8 weeks on the job things had only gotten worse and it necessitated a review meeting and the probation discussion. Not exactly where you wanted to go when, after a year of a hiring freeze, you excitedly brought on a new staffer.

At 12 weeks, it was obvious that this hire was not interested in growing into the position and you were frustrated. In a frenzied moment when you discovered the employee was taking two hour lunches, surfing the net during office hours and harassing other staffers you very professionally called the person into your office and after explaining your position on their choices very privately let them go, effective immediately. In your mind 12 weeks was sufficient enough time to let them prove their value and get on board. You were fair with compensation and even gave them a severance pay of 2 weeks.

Fast forward 3 weeks and while you are vanity surfing your name and your company’s name on the internet to see how your website fares against competitors in your market, you SEE it!

A complaint! In fact, it’s worse than just a complaint. Hell, complaints give you an opportunity to do better and actually make it right by someone. This was a complete trashing of your reputation, your standards, your philosophy and your entire staff! It’s written from the standpoint of a disgruntled customer, but immediately you recognize the rhetoric, the vocabulary, the energy and essence of this virtual attack, and know intuitively that this was written by the employee you fired.

What do you do? This reputation destroyer begins to post complaints in many high profile optimized sites and suddenly your recently updated, highly optimized company website falls in the 5th position below all the bashing being done to your company by this angry, and probably still out-of-work ex-employee.

In 2009, a study commissioned by Microsoft found that of the almost 80% of U.S. hiring managers who had searched for candidates online, 70% of them said they had rejected a candidate based on what they found in his or her search results.

Can you imagine what this means when translated into a prospective customer looking for services or products like those your company has delivered with integrity since its inception?

While there are many companies that manage reputations online they charge a pretty good sum to do so. For immediate damage control, you should start by utilizing some simple SEO techniques on your own. You might not be able to remove the damaging results from the Internet but you can definitely minimize their impact without having to engage a specialty company to do it for you.
Here’s where you should start.
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Step 1: Assess the Damage
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Before you begin to manage your online reputation, you should assess it. Type your names in search engines. Set up search alerts for your name (Google recently made this easier to do from the Google dashboard through a new “Me on the Web” tool).

If you find something negative, ask yourself:

• Did I post it? If, for instance, photos from your Facebook account are showing up in search results for your name, you can simply delete the photos or adjust your privacy settings.

After you’ve removed the content, you can use Google’s URL removal tool to stop it from appearing as a cached copy or snippet in search results.

• Is it personal information that could be used in a crime? If someone posts your social security number, bank account number, credit card number or an image of your handwritten signature, Google will make efforts to remove it from search results. It will also contact the site’s hosting company to request that the page be taken down.

• Is it posted on a high-traffic news site? Competing for search results with a popular news site is difficult. But Patrick Ambron, the cofounder of a personal online reputation management service called Brand-Yourself, says that all hope is not lost. “Google usually only likes to rank one result per domain name per page,” he says. “So if you could get another result on the same domain name like Huffington Post that was better optimized for your name, you could theoretically knock the bad article off.” One way to do this is to create a profile on that news site using your full name. Use as many links as possible, and link to the profile from all of your other web properties.

If you didn’t answer “yes” to any of these questions, your best bet for reducing the visibility of negative content is through the use of positive content.
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Step 2: Post Positive Content
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“If you can’t get the content removed from the original site, you probably won’t be able to completely remove it from Google’s search results, either,” reads Google’s guide to keeping personal information out of Google. “Instead, you can try to reduce its visibility in the search results by proactively publishing useful, positive information about yourself or your business.”

In other words, if you want to make negative webpages appear lower in search, you’ll need to create content of relevance to push the negative links down. Google suggests responding to negative reviews of your business, for instance.
Profiles on social networks are powerful tools for this purpose, as results from large sites like Facebook and Twitter often carry more SEO power than a single post on something like a personal blog.
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Step 3. Create an Identity Hub
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One secret to pushing your positive online presence further up in search results is to make a hub that links to all of your content. Ambron recommends these tips for pushing your hub to the top of search results for your name.

• Claim your domain name. Including the search term (in this case, your name or your company name) in the URL of your web page tells search engines what the page is about.
• Mention yourself and your company. You’re trying to tell search spiders, “This page is about me and my company!” A good way to do that is to use names a lot. Use your name in tabs and headers.
• Link to your content. “[Google] considers each link to your site a vote for the site,” Ambron says. “Google has gotten pretty smart, so where those links come from is very important. The more reputable links are better votes. A vote from CNN is better than some site you made that you just linked to yourself.”
Remember all of those social media profiles that you created in step two? They’re attached to reputable sources like Facebook and Twitter, which makes their “votes” count as much more reputable than a page you just created.
Sign up for as many of them as possible and then link them all to your hub.
• Post often. Search engines love fresh content. One easy way to create it is to post your social media feeds to your blog.

(Thanks to http://mashable.com/2011/06/27/manage-online-reputation-seo/for the specific steps to online management of ones reputation)________________________________________
In the end, the integrity of your business and your reputation are your greatest assets. Protecting them is a matter of priority and enlisting outside help in addition to your proactivity is often the best method. There are many online reputation companies to choose from with varying rates and maintenance programs. Make sure the company you do hire understands your business philosophy and has a keen sense for small to mid size business and you are well on your way to recovering your brand identity and reputation!

Small to Mid Size Business Use of Twitter Doubles

2011-02-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

No surprise to us at Freakin' Genius Marketing, social media has become an important marketing tool for small businesses, particularly younger firms: 32% of small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) in operation for 0-6 years use Twitter, compared with just 7% of those in business for 11+ years, according to a report from BIA/Kelsey. Meanwhile, Twitter use among small to mid-size businesses doubled, from 9% in 2009 to 19% in 2010.

The longer a SMB has been in business, the less likely it is to use Twitter, and those older SMBs (11+ years in business) are more likely to use printed Yellow Pages (37%) than those in business 0-3 years (17%) or 4-6 years (22%).

Additionally, and also not really a surprise, nearly one-half (48%) of surveyed SMBs use Facebook to promote their businesses—even more than the 43% of SMBs that report using e-mail marketin, with over one in five (22%) SMBs use blogging to promote their businesses.

So it seems, digital media is a largely integrated part of most small to mid size businesses' marketing plans. Is it part of yours? Contact Freakin' Genius Marketing today to create a tactical action plan for digital in your marketing.

For more research results and to read more...

Do you know who your SUPER INFLUENCERS are?

2011-02-15T11:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you have a database and, yes- I know how much it cost and how painstaking it was to get them to opt-in to your mailings. I also know how challenging it is to create emailings and social-media based promotions to keep their attention without encouraging them to opt-out because of a deluge of offers you might be sending them.

Have you customized groups within your email databases? By doing this you can define criteria that enables you to market 1:1 to each of your customers based on their individual purchasing habits and overall interests with you and your business.

By customizing groups within your opt-in databases you will be able to identify who your target markets for specific “products” or “services” are rather than blanketing your whole database. Opt-in or otherwise, deluging your customers with offers that they won’t relate to is not a way to keep them lively and responsive.

Additionally, and more to the point of this blog post, have you identified your super influencers? These are your customers who are not only likely to purchase something from you, or take you up on one of your email promotional offers, but more importantly these are the customers who will share your offer with others. These are your “virtual” testimonials who will pass along your emails and your blog entries.

If you haven’t identified who your SUPER INFLUENCERS are yet, you may be spending a lot of time facilitating social media that isn’t working for you. You may be FB’ing and Tweeting but without a great sharing ROI (Return on Investment) on pass-along.

You know I’m big on ROI…in fact, it’s my mantra. So let me explain.

Simply slapping up social media content and hoping it works to build awareness and drive sales is not enough. Many business owners fail to get maximum exposure for their social media campaigns because they don't take the extra step to activate viral sharing of their content. And if marketers don't identify their key influencers and motivate them to share, they're missing out on the real promise of social media: Social content works best when it's shared.

According to industry research, people who visit a campaign link after it's shared with them convert at up to four times the rate of those who just fall upon it by chance. So when you encourage sharing, you aren’t just increasing your reach—you’re dramatically boosting your viewer conversion.

So how can you get your following on Facebook and Twitter, as well as bloggers who love your products and services, to start sharing your content far and wide?

Here are three key ways to activating your key influencers to share more and more often:

1. Identify your Super Influencers

You know the rule, 1% of your social media followers are responsible for the majority of sharing. These "super-influencers" share your social media campaigns with their larger social networks, passing on links to your contests, promotions, deals, and other marketing campaigns.

These influencers are more than just fans, they're ambassadors. The process is fairly straightforward. There are a boatload of social media measurement tools that enable marketers to find the people who are talking most about their brand; see what type of content they're sharing and with whom, and learn how they are sharing it (email, Twitter, Facebook, their own blogs, etc.).

Once you find your influencers, the trick is activating them to share even more.

2. Activate Your Super Influencers

Once you've identified your super-influencers, you need to motivate them to share more. Do this by offering them "sharing incentives" that encourage them to share and reward them for their efforts.

One of the best incentives you can provide is exclusive information. Super-influencers love to be an inside source of information for their friends and followers—sharing contests, information, or deals with their social networks before other people have heard about them. Create exclusive content you share only with your super-influencers, and let them know they're part of a select few to receive this special offer.

Other incentives you can offer include shareable friends-and-family discounts, access to exclusive or after-hour in-store sales, VIP parties, and discounts for sharing a deal with 10 friends.

You will also want to comment directly on your super-influencers' blogs, link to and promote their content whenever possible, and publicly thank them for their loyalty via email or posts.

3. Measure Your influencer's Effectiveness

You won't know whether sharing is working to increase brand influence and drive conversion if you don't measure it. It's important to find out exactly who is sharing your content the most, who they are sharing it with, where they are sharing it (which blogs, sites, and social networks, or via email), and whether that sharing is directly resulting in clicks and conversions. You can use those social media measurement tools I talked about above to find out the exact impact sharing is having on bottom-line results.

Creating and publishing social media content is not enough these days. Business owners that want to benefit from the real power of word-of-mouth need to find their super-influencers, and then motivate them to share. If you do this effectively, such sharers will directly boost traffic to your site and drive a large increase in conversion and hence, sales!

Build a Dynamic Website and Grow your SEO!

2010-12-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

Freakin' Genius Marketing is busily working on content and optimization for about 4 new websites along with the optimization of 2 existing sites this week. In all the hub-bub, what I’ve realized as the main point of contact at our agency is that I’m spending a great deal of time explaining the process to so many clients that I found myself channeling this as a blog post today.

There are three main development specialists each with multiple jobs in the development of a website. All of the web specialists are both integral to the final product and the sum of its parts. These specialists are: The Designer, The Programmer, The Marketing Strategist/Content Writer. Let me explain.

The Designer (Note: sometimes the programmer is also a designer, but mostly a designer is an artist- while a programmer has a more technical background)

The designer is key to the look and feel of the site. We call this the User Interface (UI) which is the pretty part, all the colors, the logo, the layout, the template and the way the whole thing comes together. All this pretty stuff works with the programming and often goes into separate hands. The greatest inventions have been templates of previously designed websites you can purchase so you can visualize what your “website” will look like before it’s built. The templates sell for very little, which is so exciting, but need much programming customization. It’s like buying the empty bear skin at Build-a-Bear. You still have to stuff and dress it for it to be a proper bear.

The Programmer:

So after the designers develop the UI, the programmers then develop the supporting programming that makes it all work like a website instead of just a pretty picture. They are the behind the scenes guys who are the wind in the sails as it pertains to writing the html or developing the Flash (images) that make the site work as an integrated “location” on the web. They program the databases if your website collects information also. They are really all the function while the designer is really all about the form.

The challenge with building a website is that the User Interface (UI), programming, and much of the navigation depends on the content and the goal of the site. Are you looking for a static site to convert a visitor to a certain page to give you their email or call or potentially to get to your shopping cart to purchase something? It takes much collaboration of the offer, the look, the timing, and the ease of getting around the site to accomplish that.

Ok, on to what the site actually says.

The Marketing Strategist/Writer:

Not only does your website’s content have to be descriptive, clearly introduce and cohesively sell what your company’s service and products are all about, but the mapping of it needs to be intuitively navigable, meaning, it has to be natural to move around in it in a logical way. And oh yes, it needs to written with important keywords and key phrases so that prospective clients will find you based on the search engine spiders seeing your relevance to their search. This is called on-page search engine optimization (SEO) and is integral to success as it pertains to your website’s goal of reaching your prospective customers. Writing search optimized content is sometimes counter intuitive. It can be repetitious and lastly doesn’t believe in pronouns. There are many rules to writing for SEO and of course those rules are always changing as the search engines keep us all hopping so we don’t figure them out.

Ok, so now we take one more go round with the programming because, once the UI is working in conjunction with the on-page optimized content, the off-page SEO needs to be developed just prior to launching the site. The writer has coordinated this while writing the on-page content.

The off-page SEO includes the titles, metatags, keywords, and descriptions that go in the body of the programming (off-page) but are in keeping with the final content on the site itself (on-page). In other words, the off-page keywords have to coordinate with the content on the page so that the search engine sees the html language and then confirms the words are indeed present on the site and as such, will send a search prospect the name of your website and the page address and description that is most in keeping with the search term used.

Does this whole thing sound complicated? It's not if you have someone keeping their finger on the pulse. Ask our Smartysite clients, at Freakin’ Genius Marketing, we keep our finger on the pulse of your whole project. We have the 4-star programmers, we have the award winning designers who develop the UI, and we write fantastic optimized content, ready to roll! Turnkey Website Development! Could you even have imagined it to be this easy? SmartySites! It’s Freakin’ Genius!

Freakin' Genius...Loved this!

2010-10-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

I just read about a local printer who wanted to encourage prospects to use them, so they sent 1,500 roundtrip transit bus and subway cards to show them how easy it was to get to their facility for a press check. The card, was sent attached to a full-color, 5-panel mailer that spelled out "Take a swipe at us" as the prospect unfolded it. RESULTS: 5% of all mailed recipients placed an order!

Marketers offer sweat, tears and blood to their potential clients

2010-10-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

Some marketing agencies promise to give blood, sweat and tears to clients. Touch branding, a european-based marketing company has been intent on backing up the claim "We'll give our blood for good branding" with an edgy direct mail campaign built around the message.

With a flair for the dramatic, Touch has mailed real blood bags filled with fake blood to potential clients in their geographic target zone. The mailer includes a letter with a short intro to the company and a link to its website, which resembles a blood bag. They produced the whole thing in-house for around $1 a piece.

The edge that works for this campaign can only be achieved when marketers take risks and aren't afraid to get creative with their direct mail campaigns, even when they are only a part of the total effort.

"Direct mail works when it brings a positive surprise to the recipient", says Creative Director Martin Marusinec. "The postal service can deliver almost anything these days, so there's no reason why your direct mail has to be yet another letter or plain brochure."

Email Alone Will Get you Nowhere- Diversity is Key!

2010-09-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

When the economy went bellyup two years ago, many marketers did what they had to do: Cut their spending and focused the few dollars they did have on the cheapest available options - primarily digital venues.

That's understandable. But now that the economy is showing signs of life, too many are sticking to that strategy, essentially standing on the sidelines as the economic recovery kicks into gear. Worse yet, increasing budgets but not the channels they use to communicate.

If there's one painful lesson that every investor learned when Wall Street crashed, it's that diversification is key to success. So why haven't marketers learned that same lesson when it comes to their communications?

As the result of this mono-venue approach, the digital world has become increasingly crowded- the average consumer receives 14-15 emails a day from companies or brands. That's not good for marketers lookign for engaging ways to get their messages into the hands of consumers.

Consider, for example, that the average household receives about 16 pieces of advertising-related mail per week (Source: 2008 Household Diary Study- USPS) and you can plainly see the potential that direct mail offers. Four times less clutter, an ability to stand out and the ability to put a brand's best case in the hands of your customer.

Beyond the clutter, there's simple math that says the more marketers diversify the communication venues speaking to the customer, the better the impact. A recent study found that 80% of consumers rely on more than one marketing message in multiple marketing venues when making a purchase decision. That makes sense to me. Most of us need to have multiple interactions with a brand before parting with our hard-earned money.

Don't forget the personalized URL, Quick Response code or other links that can be included in the print driven messages that can take your integrated digital marketing to a whole new level in 1:1 relationship building.

Tactical, dimensional marketing messages- cut through the clutter and get you noticed and will earn you a fair share of your customer's wallet-share. Diversify your marketing mix now and you'll benefit in the long run.

How do you REALLY connect with your customer?

2010-09-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

By integrating elements of logic, general thought processes, emotions and their five senses you can discover a unique approach to the task of connecting with your customer.

When marketing in an experiential manner your objective is always to encourage such a deep connection with the customer that they respond to your product offering based on both their emotional and rational response levels. Here are a few of the basics of experiential marketing, and how this process can help you succeed when other marketing strategies fail.

Appealing to a variety of senses, experiential marketing seeks to tap into that special place within consumers that has to do with inspiring thoughts about comfort and pleasure, as well as inspiring a sense of practicality. This means that, a marketer, you need to have a firm grasp on the mindset of the prospective target market you wish to attract. By understanding what the consumer is likely to think and feel, it is possible to get an idea of how to steer the customer in a direction that will relate with the product, and entice individuals to act on that impulse to purchase.

In order to engage in experiential marketing, it is necessary to connect with as many of the senses as possible. Striking displays with powerful visual elements, such as websites, and visual media such as print ads should not only be visually appealing, but also conjure up daydreams of locales and reminders of sensations that are enjoyable to the individual. When used to create customer experiences of this nature, a sense of rapport between the product and the consumer is established that helps to make the good or service more desirable with each encounter.

Because experiential marketing connects with the consumer on multiple levels, the strategy is ideally suited for contemporary sales and marketing campaigns. Shortened attention spans demand that any ad campaign make a quick impression, or the opportunity to engage the consumer will quickly pass. While thirty second ads on radio and television once had a great impact, many people now use modern technology to avoid this sort of marketing approach.

This means that ads you place on the internet, in the print media, and on modern billboards must immediately catch the attention of prospective clients and hold that attention long enough to make a lasting impression. Experiential marketing holds the key to making this happen. By appealing to all five senses, and making the connection quickly and seamlessly, this approach to the marketing task ensures that you can still attract and satisfy the needs and desires of your prospective target market.

Resistance

2010-09-05T18:05:00.001-07:00

My 4 year old skips everywhere. It confounds me how in one moment she can be screaming bloody murder with the water works on full steam and the next moment she can be bounding for the next activity, at the height of a joyful prance. I guess this is the definition of true resilience.

It’s not as if it’s harnessed in any way….it’s so natural that it just sort of falls out of her. So, when I, like the smarty pants that I am, try to mimic it, subscribing to the fact that it will manifest the same resilience in my world, well….I just look like damn foolish.

I guess the whole thing has me looking at resistance a little bit differently. This came to me as I was running this morning, as I’m dedicated to do 3 times a week no matter what! Don’t think that commitment to running wasn’t initially met without resistance either, because it was. It’s not easy finding that time for myself in a busy day, but what I’ve found is that the hour I dedicate to running, thinking without interruption, praying, and writing in my brain makes me about 100X more productive the other 18 hours of my generally non-stop work-filled days.

So, I was running today, which I do with no Ipod, no Iphone, no distraction or friend to chat with, and no expectations and suddenly I found myself attuned to the smell of the late season clover, sound of the secadas, the wind in the leaves as it swept over the miles I could see, the birds chirping, the geese wings flapping above, the bees buzzing to my right, my sneakers as they hit the gravel at an even pace, my breath- all was synergistic. Like a puzzle, it all fit into a nice neat package of a fully realized moment in time.

Then, from out of nowhere a motor revved, a plane flew overhead, and it was an assault to that moment. I couldn’t help to think, because this is what this hour for, about how analogous this was to my business day. All that noise, but such important messages in each succinct piece. Competition of individual messages to be heard in a noisy world, that when listened to, in an attuned moment make complete sense. As a runner, in that moment I could hear it all, including the assault. But in the same moment, I was able to assess the assault, tune it out, and continue my momentum. Of course, just when I thought I had it all under control, I rounded the corner of a steepened hill and I was nearly rendered breathless when met with a wind that would barrel me full force for what would be another mile

It was in this resistance that my mind took me to my work. Ah, I thought, this wind is the negative self speak my clients have when they come to me with viable ideas and no self confidence to implement them. This wind bespeaks of naysayers and competitors trying to knock pricing into a commodity mode. This wind is trying to slow me down until my momentum merely becomes a race in time for a motionless end to my success at mental clarity. But then it came to me, my daughter…prancing along like a pony. Just Skip, the little voice inside my head prodded!

So I did.

And as I skipped, the wind that had been rushing against me fueled my prance and I found I was moving faster instead of slower. As I skipped, I began to giggle and then laugh forgetting entirely that I had been out of breath from the previous 4 miles. What a fool I must have looked like, I mused, at which point I decided to pull out all the stops and put my arms out like an airplane and zoom my way through the last half mile of the trail. When I skipped and zoomed into the parking lot, where I generally show up looking haggard albeit with an unparalleled mental clarity, I arrived joyful…feeling like I could take on another 5 miles. Well, almost. Most importantly I had this revelation about resistance, and how if you take it on like a wrestler in the ring, it can be USED as a piece of the puzzle to get you to your goal. So the next time you feel like you just can’t go that last mile, just approach it differently. What’s there to lose? And man oh man, there’s way too much to gain not to try. So, when you are next faced with resistance either from a colleague or a prospect, just skip!

Note to reader: As a practice, my business is fueled by experience. The anecdotes I often share with clients and seminar attendees have often been the moment of revelation for me or someone I work with. Associative learning is a wonderful strategy to understand new concepts in a rapidly changing world. Learning by anecdote and metaphor enables a level of understanding one might otherwise never get if forced to learn a new language and skill set.

FTC Guidelines for Blogging and Tweeting

2010-09-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Are you left scratching your head how the heck you can comply with the new FTC “Endorsement” Guidelines when sending a “tweet” that is limited to 140 characters?

Do you have any idea how you are supposed to comply with the new FTC Guidelines when doing something as simple as updating your facebook wall, or posting something to your blog?

Well, you aren't alone.

Since the new FTC Guidelines went into effect last December people have had thousands of questions but very few of them were ever answered.

Chicken little might scream the sky is falling, but believe it or not, the FTC has been busy answering those questions on their website.

Go to the FTC Guidelines by clicking this link and scan the hundreds of questions and answers for some of your own.

It really boils down to truth in advertising and practicing integrity and the honor system as the revised Guides – issued after public comment and consumer research – reflect three basic truth-in-advertising principles:

1. Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading;
2. If the advertiser doesn’t have proof that the endorser’s experience represents what consumers will achieve by using the product, the ad must clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected results in the depicted circumstances; and
3. If there’s a connection between the endorser and the marketer of the product that would affect how people evaluate the endorsement, it should be disclosed.

Yep, Yer Kid, Yer Dad AND Yer Grandmother are Using Social Media

2010-08-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

In April of 2009, just 22% of Americans age 50 and over were using social networking tools such as Facebook. (Source: Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project) But by May of this year, 42% of Americans 50 and older were posting status updates or sending tweets. A near-majority — 47% — of people 50 to 64 are now using social networks.

More specifically, the Pew report found that 13% of Americans 65 and older now log in to a social network on a typical day, compared with 4% in 2009.

What does this translate to for marketers? An unprecedented opportunity to reach the 50+ target market in a captive location. While young adults are using the venue more intensely, the level of growth of adoption towards social media in the baby boomer plus age group is truly unparalleled.

While it is true this group still relies heavily on email for contacting family, friends and colleagues, social media is fast becoming part of their daily communication network- probably as a result of it's speed and convenience, not to mention its obviously widespread use.

There is no irony that Facebook was started as a way for college kids to network, but that it may end up being the venue that closes the gap between generations, as the dicey question of whether to "friend" Mom and Dad becomes an increasingly universal dilemma, even for middle-aged people. When you think of it, how many other places are there in the world - either on or offline- where kids, teens, mid-generation members, grandparents, neighbors, teachers, friends and colleagues can regularly intersect and communicate?

NOTE: Pew's findings come from a nationwide survey of 2,252 American adults who were interviewed on land phone lines and cellphones. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

Target Marketing to the Max!

2010-06-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Did you know that you can take a map, draw a circle around an area you want to target and identify only those potential customers with criteria that match your target customer base?

Did you know that, you can then model the profile of that target customer base and recreate test marketing in communities in a larger "geo" circle around the area your business serves? In fact, you can actually profile a region to assess and evaluate a strategic growth plan into neighboring towns and counties.

Most businesses grow by default or competitive intuition. They either pick up a client in an extraneous or obscure location by referral or the internet or they pick an area where there is little or no competition and they build a customer base from scratch.

FGM has a client who has a service business serving a rather large 100 mile geocircle, inclusive of Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. They are experts at what they do and hired FGM to create a highly optimized and educational website to drive potential new customers to their website. The result? Their web leads multiplied exponentially, however, some of them are from halfway across the country. Disappointingly, they are unable to service a need that far out of their service area and to date find themselves apologizing to potential customers in other states. They are even trying to assess ways to stop these calls by limiting the web exposure and minimize the keywords that are reaching these potential markets. I say, WHOA! Use it to your advantage!

When you start evaluating how you want to grow your business consider arranging reciprocal arrangements with companies you trust who perform similar services in other areas of the country. Establish a reciprocal fee for finding and referring a customer (if they indeed win the business) and watch your profits grow without the overhead of time or labor. Additionally, if your website or referrals are bringing in an extraordinary amount of business from an area you once considered outside of your target area, start looking at potential buy-out opportunities in which you acquire a business with a strong local reputation and start funneling all the leads you are receiving towards it.

Growth opportunities are around every corner. It's the ones under the rocks that are often the most profitable though, and often they start with a sign from your target market when they call looking for you! As my grandmother would say, "keep your eyes peeled and your ears pricked" for potential,it's never silent.

Five Brain Facts To Keep In Mind When Creating Marketing Messages

2010-06-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

On a very personal note, I have done a great deal of research on the brain as of late and I'm afraid that in some strange way, I relate everything I learn to marketing. Blame it on my brain!

Brain 101: Every human being has a right brain and a left brain.

This is probably something you already knew, having heard your spouse or your kids refer to your left brained obsession with the cost of leaving all the lights on in the house, or your right brained obsession with velvet pain-by-numbers artwork. To that point, each of those hemispheres perform different tasks, including how they relate to and perhaps remember or immediately forget marketing messages!

1. The right brain works in sensual imagery, not in words.
2. Right brain images are direct reflections of reality as gauged by the senses, not abstract symbols of reality, such as the words in this post
3. The right brain plays the lead role in determining the relevance of incoming information and messages
4. The right brain, which looks for patterns or relationships, forms more complete images than the left brain, which focuses more on the details
5. The right brain is inclusionary and detects relationships; the left brain is exclusionary and detects categories

What this all boils down to, is that while most businesses focus on features in their marketing, all customers focus on feelings. See the problem?

Assess your marketing message for what it says about the relationship with the potential customer. For example, does it reflect images of who they want to be rather than who they are, leaving them pining for your product or service? With all the strength of the right brain's job in processing outside messages (as above, and I suggest you read them over again), you definitely don't want to leave out its most intense desire to be connected emotionally in some way to your message. It's the way to becoming memorable, even viral.

The scary part is that much of it happens in the first-impressions stage of introduction of the message. Based on the demographic of your market, a first impression can either kill the chance you will ever get a customer or win you a lifer! Find the right brain message in your marketing and write your ticket to success.

Five Nuts to Watch in 2010

2010-05-06T19:27:00.001-07:00

You may think I'm nuts for this post, and I am. I am really excited about it! I am excited because I think it strongly demonstrates how important associations are in the advocacy campaigns for their members. Over the years I have had the opportunity to be a member of some benign and some really valuable and strong organizations.

Advocating for the rights and interests of its constituency should be an association's top mission, but often, sadly the top spot often falls to other more self serving purposes for existence. I love this piece because it clearly illustrates how a smart group with strong research was able to lobby for national credibility and awareness without having to spend millions of dollars on another "milk mustache" campaign.

Nuts of all types have had their ups and downs as far as the American diet is concerned. They lost ground in low-fat diets of the past millennium, their carbohydrates were scorned by the Atkins diet and nuts were further scarred by the Peanut Corp. of America salmonella contamination early this year.

But they keep bouncing back. Why? Because nuts are excellent sources of protein, minerals, monounsaturated fats and other nutrients, and they’re good for the heart. And consumers increasingly are getting those messages.

Nuts in 2003 received the FDA’s first qualified health claim for a food: “Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.” The FDA announcement was in response to a petition from the International Tree Nut Council’s (INC) Nutrition Research & Education Foundation.

“More than 30 studies have shown that including nuts in the diet can reduce the risk of heart disease regardless of the individual nut studied,” said Guy Johnson, at the time nutrition consultant to INC and author of the INC health claim petition. In addition to being good sources of unsaturated fats, which have been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels, most nuts contain a variety of other potential cardio-protective components such as vitamin E, selenium, magnesium, copper, potassium, betasitosterol and omega-3 fatty acids.

Five healthy nuts to watch (and include in your formulations) in the new year:

•Almonds: Just a quarter cup of almonds contains nearly 25 percent of the recommended daily value of magnesium, plus significant amounts of potassium, manganese, copper, the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium, and calcium. In fact, a quarter cup of almonds has almost as much calcium as a quarter cup of milk. They also make for a healthy colon. A study found that animals (which were exposed to a colon-cancer-causing agent) given whole almonds had fewer signs of colon cancer than animals given almond oil or no almonds. Researchers suspect the benefit may be due to almonds’ high fiber content. And because 70 percent of the fat they contain is the healthy monounsaturated variety, they are believed to believed to lower cholesterol.

•Walnuts: Full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which have been found to protect the heart, walnuts may promote better cognitive function and provide anti-inflammatory benefits for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema and psoriasis. And their antioxidant compound ellagic acid is known to fight cancer and support the immune system.

•Cashews: Not just bar or party food, cashews are gaining formulation respect because they are lower in fat than most nuts, and 65 percent of this fat is unsaturated fatty acids. Of this, 90 percent is oleic acid, the heart-healthy fat found in olive oil. They’re also good sources of copper, magnesium, zinc, iron and biotin.

•Pecans: Another nut with significant proof that it lowers cholesterol. Clinical research studies evaluating the impact of pecans on serum cholesterol have found pecans can significantly help lower blood cholesterol when consumed as part of a heart-healthy diet, according to the National Pecan Shellers Assn. They also an excellent source of 19 vitamins and minerals including vitamins E and A, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, several B vitamins and zinc.

•Macadamia Nuts: While having some of the highest levels of calories (200 per serving) and total fat (22g), they’re also the highest in monounsaturated fat. Macadamias are high in protein, fiber, potassium and magnesium. And since most come from Hawaii, they have cachet.Source: The Next Wave: Wellness Food Trends for 2010

Freakin' Genius Marketing Speaks to the North American Meat Processors Association

2010-04-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

March 20th, while many of you were still nicely tucked in your beds, I was en route to give a General Session presentation to an estimated 200 attendees at the North American Meat Processors Conference at The Drake in Chicago.

While NAMP had originally engaged me to give a general presentation on Marketing in Mean Times (a presentation I have given to a number of Associations previously) I found that while doing my research to customize the presentation,their needs were much more far reaching and indeed quite specific to one topic many industries face. So, I put my nose to the grindstone and researched and wrote a presentation about Breaking out of the Commodity Box from a strategic perspective.

The presentation was an overwhelming success and just under 50% of the audience also attended our (with the help of Peter Lineal, FGM Partner) afternoon workshop, where specific tactical insights were bantered about for about an hour in a more informal setting.

NAMP is a fantastic association and supports its dedicated member base with strong strategic programs and right-on-point tactical efforts to grow their constituent's business. I am honored to have been a guest speaker at their conference and am even more excited to have been able to provide insightful information on establishing unique selling propositions in an industry known historically to be hinged on price, price and price.

I am thrilled to welcome several new clients to the list of fine businesses we at Freakin' Genius Marketing work with as a result of our presentation at this conference!

Is your Direct Mail Being Read?

2010-04-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

55% open something from a brand or company that they know
51% open it if it's personally addressed to them
50% open it if it's a product or service they already have interest in
39% open it if they can see it contains a free sample or a voucher
27% open it if it's a local business or event
21% open it because it's competition
15% open it if it's fun and interesting packaging
10% open it if it looks funny or silly
6% open it if they like the design or find the envelope attractive
3% open it if they like the color
12% open it for a variety of miscellaneous reasons
Source: CCB for MAP 2008- Research

The best question to ask yourself is, have you tried testing different direct mail strategies and tactics in search of the greatest percentage of opens and responses? If not, you are wasting a lot of money on direct mail that is not working for you. ROI, it's the name of the game!

An example of Why Facebook is good for Business!

2010-03-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

Word of Mouth on Steroids
An excerpt from my Facebook Friends (3/9/10)

Sherrie: (Status Post) Cheers to NBK bakery team - birthday cake was a huge hit!
14 hours ago · Comment ·LikeUnlike

Juan likes this.

Lynn: What is NBK? I need a cake for Sally's birthday - would love to try someplace new...
5 hours ago

Sherrie: Hey Lynn, NBK is Whole Foods Market, Northbrook. They made me a cake that was super reasonable and had the guests (big & small) raving! I got Chocolate with chocolate buttercream, iced with ganache on top (smooth dark coating over cake). They drew the cutest football, soccer ball, basketball & base ball on it! It rocked.
2 hours ago

Lynn: Ummm, I'll just say YUM!
17 minutes ago

Write a comment...

So whaddya think? You think that anyone who reads this description will think of NBK Whole Foods for their next cake? I do! And that, my friends, is how social media works to grow your business beyond your wildest dreams!

It's not a Monologue! It's a DIALOGUE! Get in on the conversation!

Laughable Litany of Social Media Terms

2010-03-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

"ReBuzzThis Wants To Be The TweetMeme Of Google Buzz
Written by Erick Schonfeld on Mar 5, 2010 for TechCrunch

You know how TweetMeme started out trying to be the Techmeme of Twitter before it ventured off plastering its ReTweet buttons on every blog on the Web? Well now there’s a site that just launched today that wants to be the TweetMeme of Google Buzz called ReBuzzThis."

Ok, I gotta ask this. Am I the only one that thinks the litany of made up social media terms sounds like gibberish? Honestly, if the Back to the Future Delorean really existed, do you think that Doc would have any freakin' idea what we were talking about if he read this? Wanna real laugh? Read it out loud! Ok, so I'll take a step back from my seemingly judgemental position to comment constructively.

Retweeting, Rebuzzing, and Tweetmemeing are just sexy terms for reposting. In other words, taking your place in the social media line of passing along the good word on an article, topic or product that made a memorable impression on you. Good or bad, it inspired you enough to share!

It's your responsibility to be a part of the dialogue that fuels social media, especially if you are on the other end of the spectrum hoping that someone will re-post, tweet, or buzz your post.

It's all in the game of good sportsmanship to share and be shared. These tools are simply FANTASTIC as traffic driving SEO machines, but boy...they sure sound ridiculous! Tweet on my friends! May the Buzz be with you!

Email Success: Quantity or Quality?

2010-02-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

Should Marketers pick quantity or quality in measuring Email Return-on-Investment?That is the million dollar question.

For a lead-generation email campaign to be a success, business owners must understand that Return-on-Investment (ROI) is the most important metric.

Marketers must first decide if the campaign will be sent to a large list of opt-in email addresses, or a smaller, more targeted list based on previous purchase or request for specific information.

Dealing with larger quantities of email addresses can create challenges because it is difficult to test the campaign on a large list. Every campaign I ever executed started with testing, as I believe testing is integral to success.

If the campaign must be sent to a large list, the subject line and text copy must appeal to a large audience. This isn't so easy to accomplish and still have a strong call to action without sounding promotional and spammy in nature. (Like that? Spammy? I think I just made that up.)

If a marketer can splice and dice the list into a smaller, more targeted email campaign the overall open and click through results will most definitely improve. Another key strategy is to divide the mailing up geographically to test different subject lines based on geographical segmentation.

All that said, I stand behind quality in marketing over quantity any time. As it pertains to ROI, it's all about the goal and the conversion rates of the email that correlate to that goal.

WHAT THE *%$8 IS SMAD?

2010-02-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

Social Media Anxiety Disorder! Oh my, is there really such a condition? What kind of credentials must the diagnosing party have to label it as such? Does the sufferer shake and cough when they are tossed offline or only when they have to execute an integrated social media component into a marketing plan?

How many of you have been bucking the trend towards social media usage whether on a personal or a professional basis?

Social media has fast become the only growth media there is…with over 66% of marketers saying they'll be throwing more of their budget into social media, it appears its time is here!

But, does the learning curve with juggling it and all the prospective optimized cross links you can create through it give you the same shakes you suffered during vows to your FIRST spouse? Does the idea of having the public be the conversation starters AND controllers about your brand or product make you consider medical or psychological intervention? Do the viral videos, survey monkeys, quizzes, rating systems, and blog commentaries induce crippling anxiety?

Sounds to me like a clear cut case of SMAD!

To be clear, SMAD is a bit different from what psychiatrists have defined as Social Anxiety Disorder. According to the DSM IV, the guidebook to all things mental, SAD is "a persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others" (eg; "Life").

SMAD, on the other hand, is caused by stress from the pressures of social media: the constant management, requests, writing, invitations, posting, tweeting, commentary, networking, profile writing, page development, and blogging to name a few. If the constant chatter among customers, potential customers, and angry past customers alone is enough to make you run from your office screaming, you are suffering from SMAD.

Now, there are multiple ways to relieve yourself of the acronym, not the least of which is to dig a hole and stick your head in it. But, a more productive manner of coping might start with a strategic plan and some time management techniques.

Social Media is an amazingly responsive and seriously effective way to drive traffic to your website, increase exposure of your brand in and beyond your “marketplace” and create BUZZ about whatever it is you or your company represents.

There is nothing to be fearful about! I repeat, there is nothing to fear! There is moderation meets a keen strategy with conversion goals (goals for how you want to measure your success – based on sales, traffic, comments, tweets, forwarded links, a combination of all of them, etc.)

Freakin’ Genius Marketing are pros at working with you to develop a strategy that integrates into your existing marketing plan so that you can find relief in the ROI you will realize, and kick the SMAD to the curb. Yeah, that’s us…We’re the antidote to SMAD. You’ll find our pricing isn’t a hard pill to swallow either!

SmartyMail™ and Smart Direct Mail Make a Winning Combination!

2010-01-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

SmartyMail™ and Smart Direct Mail make a top notch tactical combination to generate leads and effectively increase loyalty by your current customers.

How does it work?

1. We start with a top notch mailing list (either yours or we purchase one that meets all the criteria of your top prospect). Note: Testing this tactic by picking a niche target market is an excellent idea for those skeptics out there.

2. Then, our award winning design team creates a traffic-driving, promotionally-driven jumbo size post card with a strong web-based call-to-action. The Smart Direct Mail drives your prospect to a customized landing page offering a trial or reward for opt-in to your email database.

3. When they opt-in, they are entered into your database where SmartyMail™ can take over and send them an autorespond to thank them along with delivering their "reward" download or "trial" information.

Now, you own an enhanced email list of target prospects who have all the criteria to be your new best customers and they have OPTED IN to see your emails. SmartyMail™ then delivers regularly scheduled customized and branded emails of varied topic to those customers and prospects to maintain exposure and increase brand loyalty.

Buying or renting email lists has proven to be very unsuccessful for many Freakin' Genius Marketing clients. This is a much more effective way to develop your own list AND it gives you so much flexibility relating to the landing pages as it relates to that specific prospect!

Call us at(847)882-4234 or drop us an email (info@freakingeniusmarketing.com) to find out how we can customize a program for you! Make the first quarter of 2010 impressive, get SMART with a SmartyMail™ and Smart Direct Mail combo campaign!

Controlling the Assault of What? We're talkin' Emails here!

2010-01-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003- full name, Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing - established national standards for sending commercial email.

CAN-SPAM allows the Federal Trade Commission to implement a National Do-Not-Email list similar to the National Do-Not-Call Registry against telemarketing. However, the FTC soundly rejected this proposal, and will not implement such a list.

The reason this all comes to mind today, is this morning my inbox was so jammed up with bogus holiday services and promotions that I thought it was a good time to review the CAN SPAM laws.

This week marks the six-year anniversary of the President making the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act official. Bolstered by an overwhelming approval by the U.S. congress after six years of debate, it created the first federal law regulating spam. Many U.S. states already had anti-spam laws. In some cases the state laws were more stringent, though overruled by the federal version.

The law went into effect January 1, 2004. Here’s a quick rundown of the law’s main provisions to keep in mind while sending out your email marketing campaigns.

•Header information must be correct and legitimate. Your email’s “from” and “to” lines must be accurate, including the originating domain name, and identify the person who initiated the email.

•The subject line cannot mislead your email recipients about the content within the email.

•Your email recipients must have an opt-out method and it must be clear, easy to follow, and it must work to end any commercial messages.

•The opt-out option must be available to recipients for at least 30 days after they receive your commercial email.

•Opt-out requests must be handled within 10 business days.

•It’s illegal for you to sell or share opt-out email addresses.

•If your list is not double-opt in, your email must be identified as an advertisement and include a valid bricks-and-mortar postal address.

•Don’t harvest emails and don’t use automated means to create email addresses.

•If you share an email address with a third party, you must give the recipient “clear and conspicuous notice at the time the consent was communicated”.

The law also distinguished commercial emails from transactional emails, if the purpose of the email is to “facilitate, complete, or confirm”. Since the original law was enacted, the FTC has made some updates including some in the last few months including Spam directed at wireless and mobile related devices.

Here are some of the newest provisions, cut and pasted directly from the FTC Web site:

1.an e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender;

2.the definition of “sender” was modified to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single e-mail message is responsible for complying with the Act’s opt-out requirements;

3.a “sender” of commercial e-mail can include an accurately-registered post office box or private mailbox established under United States Postal Service regulations to satisfy the Act’s requirement that a commercial e-mail display a “valid physical postal address”; and

4.a definition of the term “person” was added to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons.

Keep in mind, CAN SPAM law is intended for the U.S., so email in other countries is governed differently. The European Union, for instance, has a set of standards, but the actual laws are different throughout Europe.

In December 2003 when Bush enacted the original CAN SPAM law,many critics said it would do little or nothing to lessen the amount of spam. The joke at the time was that CAN was a verb allowing permission. It appears the critics were correct. But proponents of the federal law still say it helps send a powerful message to spammers through a nationwide legal standard.

If you’re just starting out with email campaigns, adhering to legal standards might seem overwhelming. In this case there’s no substitute for chatting with your legal team. But for many simple email campaigns, just using the features of software like Freakin' Genius Marketing's Smartymail(tm) can help ensure you’re covered for opt-out mechanisms and ensuring your header information is correct.

Well, I hope this post acts as a nice reminder for everyone. Gotta get back to Spaminating my mailbox. Wishing you a Spam Free Holiday!

Think about things differently in 2010! Happy Holidays From Your Friends at Freakin' Genius Marketing

2009-12-25T07:56:00.000-08:00

You sent the Email, but will they read it?

2009-11-17T19:20:00.001-08:00

Ok, so a recent poll I looked at on Linked In estimated that most mid-to senior level executives get between 125-175 emails a day. That's just an average! So...when it comes down to it, you call and get voice mail. You write and have nothing but a Fed Ex delivery receipt to account for your message getting there, and you email and what have you got? You're in line...behind or among 174+ other emails DAILY! Sigh...So how are you supposed to set yourself apart from the competition, even when the other emails have nothing in common with yours? Face it, you are in competition with EVERY email...even those MailerDaemon emails because you are competing for TIME. Tick Tick Tick.

So how DO you make the cut?

Here are some Tips:

1. Get Personal. Image personalization is still a novelty on post cards, but is far beyond a novelty in emails. It can be used to spark an immediate emotional connection and has been known to result in a 10-15% return on response.

2. Have a strong subject line. you have about 54 characters to make this count! You know the old WIIFT (What's in it for them)? Tell them what's in it for them here! Tighter than twitter by half the size, you need to be pretty concise but comprehensive. The ultimate impossible task? I think not! Get creative!

3. Use the most familiar Sender Email you have. Your email prospect will open the emails he or she recognizes first. If you have a personal relationship, use a personal email address. Stay away from the impersonal info@ and news@ email sender addresses.

4. Create a Sense of Urgency. Catch their attention with your subject line and familiar sender address. Have a strong call to action in the first paragraph of your email.

5. Keep it brief. Don't use an email to oversell the virtues of a product or service. That's what the personal touchpoint is for. Be brief and give prospects a place where they can find more info, opt in to receive future communications from you, or a phone number to call you.

6. Branding!!! Every message you send must incorporate your brand in some way. It can range from the complex- like video and FLASH- to the utterly simple, like a logo, customized signature or slogan. The point is, you want each e-mail to be immediately associated with you.

Social Media is Word of Mouth on Steroids

2009-11-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

A price averse prospect posts a miffed “review” on a ratings site, smacking a respected company with a public black eye. An architect writes in a Linked In Group that remodeling prices are way down, spurring a feeding frenzy of homeowners expecting deep discounts. An employee lists where he works on his obscenity-laced Facebook page, prompting prospective clients doing due diligence on the company to write it off in a hurry.

Whether or not you’ve embraced social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and/or blogs, it’s becoming essential to actively listen to them. Online conversations are windows into unfiltered opinions, experts say — insights that can help you improve, as well as to engage and build trust on a personal level. So, to get started...

Create automatic alerts. Free tools such as Google Alerts can reveal when your name (or other search term, including your competitor) appears in a variety of public online media.

Surf and increase cross postings. At least weekly, search for your name on consumer-driven ratings sites, from Yelp! to the Better Business Bureau.

Join community listservs; when relevant, respond to queries in your groups with helpful, non-salesy advice and insights.

Promote glowing reviews. Encourage strong clients and trade partners to visit the sites and share their perspectives on your company.

Keep a level head. For negative comments, if you know the poster, politely call and ask if there is anything you can do to change their impression. If a review is flagrantly untrue or is posted by someone you believe is not a client, you might be able to contact the site and challenge the post’s legitimacy. Otherwise, just use the opportunity as a way to prove the excess of your customer service and grace by responding with a “higher road” reply offering to make right whatever the poster seems to have had a problem with. Be careful; rebuttals can sometimes sound like a dogfight and only put you in a defensive position. This is the opposite of the goal you should have.

Younger employees help senior executives unlock social media mystery

2009-10-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

Both groups benefit in reverse-mentoring programs

From 10/25/09 Chicago Tribune Online
By Barbara Brotman

Janet Cabot couldn't wait to show Ashley Spohn her latest accomplishment.

"I am so all over this Delish thing," Cabot bubbled, punching up delish.com on her computer in her office at Edelman, a Chicago-based public relations firm.

"Oh, you're doing so well!" Spohn said delightedly, counting the recipes Cabot had collected on the food lovers' Web site. "Look, you've got so much!"

Her pride was as evident as the exchange was notable. Though Cabot, 56, is Edelman's central region president with more than 30 years in the business, she is the student. Spohn, a 23-year-old account executive on the firm's digital team, is the teacher.

Many organizations eager to strengthen their presence in the online world have discovered that they have the perfect consultants on their staffs: 20-somethings who live in that world.

"We grew up with social media," said Matthew Clay, 23, a media executive at Edelman. "We spent eight hours every day on AOL IM." For more of this article, click here!

How to reach moms in the marketplace!

2009-10-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Great post on Mediapost.com by Stacy DeBroff who is founder and CEO of Mom Central Consulting (www.MomCentralConsulting.com), about how to target moms.

• Moms increasingly go online to connect with like-minded Moms, actively seeking out friendships online to fill the void of a lack of best friend or strong inner circle. Brands now have an opportunity to pull them together in forums with others who share their interests. The result? Increasing loyalty to brands that facilitate Mom-to-Mom connectivity.

Key Take-Away: More than ever, brands should focus on providing Moms with opportunities for connectivity, both online and offline, rather than just information, expertise or coupons. Tactics such as forming Mom Ambassador programs offer them significant opportunities to build relationships and leads them to effusively thank the brand for bringing them together.

• Geo-Targeted Local Gatherings: With the frenzied pace of today's Moms, many women find that friendships and relationships often fall to the wayside. With just 19% living in the community where they grew up, Moms desperately seek new connections and they struggle: 58% report experiencing loneliness in the past month, and 4 out of 5 need more friends in their lives. Offline events give them the opportunity to meet fellow Moms they know from online communities.

Key Take-Away: In developing Mom-focused consumer campaigns, brands have to think locally while reaching globally. Robust geo-targeted programs with both online and offline components enable Moms to relate brands to their daily lives, and offline events help them build local relationships and connections with fellow Moms in their communities.

• Rise in Social Network Participation Due to Friendship Seeking: Millions of Moms turn to sites like Gather.com (Mom groups), along with Twitter (shared passions), Facebook (reconnections with family and friends) and Linked-In (business-related) for connectivity.

Key Take-Away: By facilitating connectivity and community on these platforms, brands can build tremendous and lasting loyalty among their Mom brand enthusiasts.

For a copy of this research study, please contact Tracey Hope-Ross, VP Social Media and Research: tracey@momcentral.com or 617-244-3002. Freakin' Genius Marketing can help you leverage relationships with this integral target market- from list development to social network participation, we have you covered.

The Very Important

2009-10-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I met with an entrepreneur who owns a healthy IT business. He contacted me to network a bit. He shared some wonderful leads with me and then we brainstormed as he discussed some growth opportunities and ancillary business ideas he is exploring.

When our meeting ended, and we walked towards the door, for a moment my balance was askew. It was then that I realized there was something that just felt different. It took me a few moments, but as I shook his hand and looked into his eyes, I got it! I realized WHY this meeting had been so different.

For 10 months, perhaps even longer, 90% of my meetings with clients have been to discuss and offer strategic support for their struggling and sometimes desperately faltering businesses. Their product repackaging, their lead generation reinvention, their reinvestment of greatly reduced marketing dollars, and their downsized staff restructuring. Here, was a meeting in which the topic of the “truly urgent” was not at hand. He wasn’t looking for strategic insight on his day-to-day marketing, his customer profile, or his changing channels of distribution, he was looking to brainstorm his strategic plans for growth in the next 3-5 years and beyond. It was a paradigm shift for me. He was, indeed, addressing the “very important” of his professional life.

Perhaps this is a sign that the economic downturn is waning?

I am excited to work with this new client on his “future scope” of potentially exciting new opportunities and am grateful for the recognition that I can be a strong resource for him.

I have hopes that in the next few months more people will approach Freakin’ Genius Marketing with longer-term matters, shifting from their “truly urgent” hats to their “very important” suits! The difference is really about making the choice of not letting their businesses run their lives, and instead building the business of their dreams. Addressing the “very important” means preparing for the future, and that future is looking better and better every day.

The Freakin' Word: Spotlight on Genius in Action

2009-10-16T15:18:00.001-07:00

The Freakin’ Word's Lori Gertz
interviews
Lynne Jankovec, owner of Olivias Past, www.located in Long Grove IL

FG: What is the secret to your sauce Lynne? 17+ years in a historic town that is off the beaten path with minimal shopping hours, and a shrinking retail base? How do you do it?

LJ: My store has a cozy feeling and is merchandised to make the shopping experience both relaxing and exciting at the same time. Many people have described it as a “treasure hunt” through the small space that is packed with interesting clothing, jewelry, art and gifts. My customers are loyal and come to shop frequently because the size of the shop enables me to turn over the merchandise and feature new lines regularly. The secret to my sauce is a combination of people who enjoy shopping the quaint shops and the historic ambience of Long Grove plus those who know I have my finger on the pulse of what’s hot and what’s stylin’ for my demographic market.

FG: You are a rock solid buyer and have a real nose for clothing trends, how did you define your market? Did your merchandise self define or did you decide who you would buy for?

LJ: I buy from my heart using instinct. I love creating a versatile merchandise base of fun and interesting options for non-cookie cutter shoppers. My demographic is wide, so I have to be cautious to vary the merchandise for an array of shoppers.

FG: What have been the greatest customer acquisition methods you have used to build your loyal base of customers?

LJ: Word of Mouth! Yep, word of mouth and repeat business from my loyal customers is the biggest part of my success.

FG: What would you say is your greatest point of difference?

LJ: I’d like to think it’s my merchandise mix and my bubbly personality that differentiates me from other small boutiques. There is definitely a cache to my location in a tourist driven town though.

FG: Your store’s eclectic interior, like the cottagy exterior, is so unusual. What part of the customer’s experience in your store is sensory and what part is driven by a clothes shopping expedition?

LJ: I hear a lot of comments all the time about how much people love the “feel” of the store. I use a particular air essence and it has its very own sensory trademark, but honestly, it’s hard to say what “makes” any shopping experience…it’s a very personal thing.

FG: Tell me about what the general sense of business owners in Long Grove is as it relates to weathering the downturn in the economy.

LJ: As it relates to the national average, the empty storefront rate is below the average. Meaning, Long Grove is doing better than the average downtown shopping areas around the country. Of course, there’s a lot more creativity in marketing the town through the merchants association, of which I am a part. It’s a great group of committed business owners dedicating themselves to keeping the spirit of this historic place alive.

FG: Given that Long Grove has gone to event marketing, do you find yourself creating marketing tactics in line with those events, or are yours rather, in spite, of the events. Some events would include the annual Long Grove Strawberry Festival, Apple Festival, Chocolate Festival, etc.

LJ: The creative events sponsored by the town of Long Grove are great for driving traffic but we also plan many of our own events that we think appeal to our customers. Trunk shows of up and coming jewelry artists, fashion shows, private parties, have all helped us to create traffic for ourselves.

FG: What is the best tactic for getting your existing customers to visit?

LJ: Personal relationships are key. When I get a new item in, I CALL, yes, the old fashioned way of reaching out, I pick up the phone and call my customers to tell them when something arrives that I know they will love. I enjoy the direct contact with customers and am utilizing email to reach them with news of new and interesting items, promotions in the store, etc.

FG: Tell me, what would you advise if someone just starting out in the specialty women’s clothing business came to you and asked for advice?

LJ: Retail, especially women’s clothing, is a very difficult business to break into. It is most important to set your goals, be aware of your market, monitor expenses, and most importantly, follow your instincts. This is not a business whose success can be defined by a spreadsheet. It is one of passion, determination, and a LOT OF LUCK!

How to Best Measure Your ROI Using Google Analytics

2009-10-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

by Jeremy LaDuque

Google Analytics is a free service that produces statistics about the visitors to a website. It can track visitors from which search engine or website they were referred by, email marketing, online PDF documents, and pay-per-click networks.

1. Understanding Traffic Building Behaviors through Statistics
If you know which online campaigns, keywords, and adwords are working and which ones are not, you can focus on the tactics that have been proven successful and change the ones that are not producing sales.

2. How to Build Meaningful Reports
Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) help you track what matters. Every industry is different, therefore goals are different. The best way to track KPI’s is to come up the ones that are useful in reaching your goal.

Here are some examples of formulas used with these goals in mind:

Have more people visit the website: Visitors > Visitor Trending > Absolute Unique Visitors
Ensure there’s a return on marketing efforts: Traffic Sources > AdWords > AdWords Campaigns Have more people buy products and/or services from the website: E-commerce > Conversion Rate
Have more people register to be a user on the site: Goals > Conversion Rate
Determine your newsletters’ effectiveness: Goals > Conversion Rate
Increase the percentage of returning visitors: Visitors > New Vs Returning
Increase the number of “branded visits”: Visitors > Visitor Trending > Visits

3. Establish KPI’s that measure ROI
Albert Einstein brilliantly said, “Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result”. The same concept applies to your online marketing efforts. How much return on your investments are you actually getting from your online marketing strategies?
You need to determine what matters most to you (your conversion matrix) in order to decide what to track.

Here are some examples:

For Brand awareness, things to track include:
• traffic
• new visitors
• time on site

For Building leads, things to track include:
• landing page success rates
• website signups
• newsletter click throughs

For Sales, things to track include:
• conversions to sales
• abandoned cart percent

4. What is your Return On Investment for each web initiative?
• How much is email list acquisition?
• How much did the newsletter cost to design?
• How much did it cost to send out?

Twitterati Unite! Makin' Twitter Work for your Business!

2009-10-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

Twitter.....It's getting a lot of buzz, but few know how to truly make money from this site...

You may already have a Twitter account. But there's a good chance you've missed one or more of the critical steps I'm about to explain on how to set up a Twitter profile to bring you clients.

If you don't have a Twitter account, this is your chance to jump in and start profiting within the next few minutes! Let's get started...

STEP 1: How To Sign-Up For Twitter In Under 5 Minutes
Go To http://twitter.com/ (click “Sign Up Now”)
COMPLETE BASIC INFORMATION (name, username password, email)
SPECIAL INSIGHT: make your username “human/personal” NOT corporate or weird. And even though you are allowed up to 15 characters for your username, make it as short as you possibly can (10 characters or less is optimal). More on this in step 2...
DOCUMENT and SAVE your username / password.
SKIP the FRIENDS part for now...(select “Skip this step” at the bottom.You can return to SETTINGS later if you wish to do this).
SKIP the NEXT STEP (“Look who else is here...” Don't do this unless you are a celebrity freak...it's not going to bring you business in your local market).
CONGRATULATIONS (your account is tweet ready - but needs tweaking).

Don't Tweet yet, it's time to set a few things up so that you don't look like a Twidiot!

Click SETTINGS at top of your profile. (https://twitter.com/account/settings)...

STEP 2: How To Set Up Your Account Like a “Twitter Twenius”
That's Twitter-speak for “Genius”!
You need to optimize FIVE areas of your profile on Twitter...

A. Real Name and User NameInvest some forethought into your Twitter username. I needs to be 15 characters or less; so make it short, memorable, relevant, personable, and easy to spell. You will also be able to associate a 20 character (max) REAL NAME with your username. If you are a local business or if you use a 800 hotline, it may be possible to incorporate that phone number in the real name. You could also categorize what you do as part of your real name. This is a very visible part of the Twitter system...choose wisely.

EXAMPLE, I could use the following:
Real name = Lori G (800) 555-5555 -or- Lori (BiZStrategy) SPECIAL INSIGHT: Keep in mind that your REAL NAME is used in search results, thus it has SEO value (so think about your “keywords”).
User name = lgertz

HINT: Your USERNAME steals away character spaces when others want to “reTweet” you (re-post your Twitter message), thus a 10 character or less username is better, even though you are allowed a 15 characters max.

B. Location: Make sure you add your LOCATION, in other words, where on earth are you located? Unless you are intentionally hiding-out from the FBI or debt collectors, a Twitter location is highly recommended. If you are using your account for a local business, adding a very specific location can be extremely beneficial. People seek local connections...make it easy for them to find and follow you.

HINT: You can also search and add people in your local area who are on Twitter by using the Advanced feature of Twitter Search.

C. “One Line Bio”: Definitely optimize your 160 character BIO which appears on the upper right of your Twitter profile page. It does not have to be a typical bio, it can be an interesting message or statement if you prefer. In most cases the goal of the bio line is to get the reader to think you are “follow worthy.” Make it real, make it fun, make it interesting, make it YOU. Literally make your bio in to Twitter “follow bait.” If you are fishing for followers, the better the bait, the more followers you'll catch.

HINT: Many savvy followers find the people they want to follow by searching Twitter BIOs. With this in mind, it makes sense to pepper your Twitter BIO with keywords and keyword phrases that will attract the type followers you seek. After all, it's not followers you seek, it is “targeted followers” that want to hear what you are tweeting.

D. Picture: Make your personal picture (icon) a good one - in fact, make it great! Twitter is driven by personalities, so use a picture that expresses the “personality message” you want to get across. Logo's, text, and images without humans or animals are often too business-like and restrain the driving social force that propels Twitter.

E. Background: Upload a really interesting BACKGROUND (Twitter wallpaper image) under the “Design” tab of your Twitter set-up admin area. Here are 2 great places to look for backgrounds:

A quick search on Google Images for “Twitter Backgrounds”, “Twitter Wallpaper”, or “Twitter Templates” will likely help.
You can also check out TweetBacks for several great Twitter background templates that are easily customized.

STEP 3: How To Create a “Twitter Convincer Page” To Get Followers
Do not think that just because Twitter asks for your web address in the settings account area with the silly question, “Have a homepage or a blog?”, that this means you must put in your current web site or blog URL? In fact, in many cases that is NOT a good idea.

To get started you can link to your web site or blog. But what's even better is to enter a URL to a dedicated page made specifically to greet, excite, or manifest interest from the people that will be investigating that link. It's literally like a landing page (what I call a “Twitter Convincer Page”) and in should be designed to get people to follow you.

HINT: Your “Twitter Convincer Page” can be a simple blog post (where you create a post specifically for this purpose and link to that single blog post page), it can be a dedicated page on your web site, or it can be a profile page like a Google profile page.

STEP 4: How To “Tweet” : Interesting Topics To Get Listeners and LeadsWhat do you tweet about (post to Twitter)? Ah, that's the magical part. Now granted, what you post depends largely on your goals and purpose with Twitter, but in general this is easy... post: interesting stuff, preferably related in some way to what you do, who you are, and what you (and your followers) are interested in.

HINT: It pays to be interesting to your followers, but it pays more to be interested in your followers. Twitter is NOT a micro-advertising billboard. However, you can let your followers know if you have a new listing or an upcoming seminar for first-time homebuyers...as long as it's interesting to the followers you attract.

Spend some time exploring other Twitter tweets and personalities. Listen to the conversations. Observe and take notes. What do you like, what don't you like? Try to ferment in your mind (and yes, a beer or glass of wine might actually help here) a “style” of Twittering that you like. Maybe you find someone's style you can mimic or perhaps you create a “mash-up” style that's all you.

Congratulations! Your Twitter account is set-up like a true Twitter “Twenius!” Here's an example of what your profile might look like... http://twitter.com/lorigertz

Set up your Twitter account today to get involved in the social media “cocktail party” going on right now in your local area to maximize your exposure and grow your income.

What's in a name?

2009-10-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

On Friday I attempted to choreograph my way through a product launch press release in which the new company, which is web based sans brick and mortar entirely, sports a domain name that is the same as the company name. The product or tool, however, a portal of sorts, didn’t really have a name. Well, I guess it had a name, the same name as the company, but I was struck with the quandary of how to distinguish between the company, the domain name and the actual product in a way that just didn't sound like gobble-de-gook in the launch release that was announcing both the new company and the new product.

It was clear that the name of the company reflects its mission. While that makes perfect sense as a company name, it’s not intuitive at all for search effectiveness, which of course, when you are a web-based tool, needs to work for you, not against you.

Anecdotally, I did a google search for the name of the company, which of course is also the domain name. I had results pages long of completely unrelated topics because the mission of this company, while being a goal, is not at all what its product is about. Using the product itself leads to the goal of the mission, but the search terms or keywords a potential customer would use would not be intuitive.

So, while the brand is effectively named…the product name was not optimized for search, which is key to driving sales on the internet.

One must always remember, a potential customer will search for what they need in terms of a description. Sometimes, if they already know a product, they will search by its name, or the domain name, but better yet, if the domain name is reflective of the product name, then the search will be that much more successful at finding the product.

So….what’s in a name? A name has as much importance as unlocking the door on the front of your brick and mortar business. You don’t want the customers peering into the window but not be able to open the door.

What do you want to achieve in 2010?

2009-10-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a tough year....and a revolutionary decade with the evolution of Social Media and web-based solutions for nearly everything one needs.

Imagine taking control, establishing a return for every minute you invest in your company, and feeling that passion in your work again!

Freakin' Genius Marketing can faciliate your growth into the business of your dreams!

Do you want to gain awareness for your business?
Do you want to increase leads?
Do you want to nurture your current leads?
Do you want to keep in contact with current customers?
Do you want to take your business to the next level?

Email us for a free consultation! info@freakingeniusmarketing.com

We will help YOU make it happen in 2010!

Boost your Business with Effective Testimonials

2009-09-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Some of the most effective marketing doesn’t come from you at all. It comes from your past customers.

Given the insurgence of Social Media Marketing a lot of us are fast becoming word-of-mouth businesses! One way to give your marketing efforts a push up the ladder is to encourage satisfied clients to sing your praises to people they know. To achieve results, remember these two key factors:

1. You must ask them for the favor. Don’t assume that satisfied clients will automatically mention you to others with similar needs.
2. You need to make it easy for them to act on your request. If it’s a testimonial you are looking for, give them the questions you’d like them to address in it, give them a print or online form, and make it so concise an activity they can do it in 5 minutes or less.

Web Worker Daily has a short, excellent primer on the features of an effective testimonial, how to ask for them, and how to use them most effectively. Here's a few of their insights:

What makes a great testimonial? They give details, cut out the sugar and help answer prospects’ objections.
Be specific. Good testimonials don’t stop at “They did a great job” or “The product made a difference in my life.” They explain why the service did a good job or how the product made a difference.
Be believable. Sugary and fake-sounding testimonials tend to lead to mistrust. To make a testimonial sound as credible as possible, include details like full name, business name, web address of the business and a photo. Video testimonials add more credibility. After all, would you give a fake video testimonial?
Make sure the testimonial answers common concerns. When prospects consider your product or service, what barriers stand in the way of their buying from you? Testimonials that erase potential objections are incredibly useful.

Read more about what makes for good testimonials at WebWorkerDaily.com.

Heck, I hope we don't freakin' offend!

2009-09-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

I'm laughing out loud today at all the hoo hah about the use of the word "frikkin" in a SNL skit that went awry when one of the actors accidentally said the authentic "F" word by mistake. I especially like the Chicago Tribune Daywatch email I received this morning, the subject line of which read "I'm not a Fan of Frikkin". The article, by Eric Zorn in his Change of Subject Column made me smile, as he admitted while he's not a fan of other "f-isms" he IS a fan of the F-Word in general, unless it is around children or on the airwaves. The article is here. I respect his point of view and would like to bring about some conversation from you, our loyal Freakin' Genius Marketing fans. Please tweet as you see fit, FB the question to friends...and DO Freakin' comment below! :)

The Freakin' Word: Spotlight on Genius in Action

2009-09-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

The Freakin’ Word's Lori Gertz interviews Doug Hein, Co-Owner http://www.bkboatnsleds.com/ located in Lakemoor IL

BK specializes in all powersport parts and accessories, both new and used, from winter sports to summer boating.

FGM: Doug, you are quite a web saavy marketer. Can you tell us what came first, your brick and mortar business or your dot com? If it was your dot com, have your distribution channels changed any since moving into a fancy new and improved location? (yes, I read your blog!) If it was your brick and mortar, when did you start your accompanying web “business”?

DH: Our dot com came first. I had been selling on eBay for a few years before my partner, Mike Missak, and I started Bk Boat n Sleds.com. Ebay was the easiest and quickest way to get a hold of customers. With eBay, you don't have to go searching for customers, millions of them search for you. It was the perfect venue for us to try our new powersports parts business idea. Once we knew that we had something and parts were selling very well, we decided to expand the business and go full time.

We started the business with $2000 ($1000 from each of us) and were VERY careful with how we spent our money. We let the business grow at its own pace rather than forcing it. We worked with what we had, which included our personal garages and some borrowed space at a friend's marina. When it made sense to get a retail location to increase our storage space, we made the move into brick and mortar.

Ebay was our bread and butter and we knew that. Anything we could sell through our brick and mortar would be gravy. The brick and mortar actually made us more reputable. There are deals that we land now that we would have NEVER been able to do in my driveway.

With a brick and mortar, we are able to be part of the community and have become a destination for people. We still sell 90% of our items on eBay and have a quick moving, fast paced attitude, that comes along with selling on eBay, but we also have a local side that is very appealing to our customers.

FGM: Tell us how you use your blog to drive traffic to your site. On that note, tell us how you utilize social media (twitter, facebook, Linkedin and YouTube) to market your business. Do you find that conversations by your customers are started there about you and your products and services?

DH: We have always been a part of social media. We each had personal pages on Myspace and started a Bk page on that site to begin with. When Facebook came out of the smoke it blew Myspace out of the water I made the move to the largest Social media site out there. Mike had already beat me and made the move earlier than I had, but once we both took the Facebook stage.....we owned it!

Word of mouth has gotten so out of hand it's outrageous! It used to be that one farmer would tell another farmer who would tell some old man who would tell his wife who would tell her friend....then the whole town would know. Now, I can update my Twitter and 400 people will know. My Twitter updates my Facebook where another 300 people see it. Those people comment, I comment back and THEIR 500 friends see it. If I post that I am having a grilled cheese for lunch, hundreds of people could know that before I am even done with my sandwich.

The internet is a great place to spread the word. I have a lot of customers that are friends of mine on facebook. I do a lot of business on Craigslist and exchange a lot of emails. I dumped all my gmail contacts into my facebook to see if any of the people that I had contacted about parts were on facebook. There were quite a few! I asked them all to be my friend and most of them replied with, "Who are you?"LOL. Fair enough. Once I explained that we exchanged emails about a certain snowmobile or part, many of them accepted my Facebook friendship.

With the use of my Blackberry, I can upload a picture of a boat or snowmobile as soon as it hits the shop. I usually have someone asking for parts from it within 10 minutes of that picture hitting Facebook.

Now, not all of those comments or connections land a dollar, but it builds a relationship. I am not "selling" this stuff to people, this is stuff that people "buy" from us. If you don't need it, I am not forcing you! We have become "the guy" in the statement....."I got a guy". That is the basis of our Social Media plan. We show what we do here, we share it with people, and we have fun doing so. All of these sites make you more accessable too. If you can't get a hold of me on the phone, you can get me in email, a forum, AIM, Facebook, Twitter, or a YouTube comment.

FGM: I met you through a link a mutual business associate and friend posted on Facebook, but I found a sassy viral blog you have created. Can you tell us about it?

DH: AAAhhh yes......the couch. dougscouch.com is brought to you by bkboatnsleds.com. The Couch is a 8 foot blue couch that I take on little adventures and then blog about it. I started the couch site as just a fun way to spend my spare time. It started at the doors of the Bk Boat n Sleds shop, then went around to other businesses that I knew the owners of. I was going to use that as a base so I could get some attention and those owners would share it with their friends...

FGM: Ah, sort of like the old Flex Shampoo commercial...

DH: YES. and then their friend’s friends would share it, etc etc, building more traffic for the site. Well, more and more business owners wanted the couch to come by because it was getting so much attention. I was happy to do so because A) I was able to network as we sat on the couch for the pic, and B) it is an 8 foot rolling billboard for BkBoatnSleds.com.....heck yah, I will bring it over.

FGM: I love this concept. It’s up there with the Travelocity traveling gnome. Can you share with readers how the traveling couch got to be so viral? Was it purely word of mouth? Does word of mouth also correlate to your business success as well?

DH: Word of mouth is HUGE with both the couch and BkBoatnSleds.com. The couch is unique in that it allows us to share and experience some “down home fun” with other people. The couch is almost it's own entity. And, trust me, I am just as suprised and thrilled about the couch as everyone else is.

The feelings that you have when you see the couch are the same that I have. "What the heck? Why is that couch here? That's a great idea! This is so much fun!" I have all of those thoughts too when we are out with the couch. The only difference is that it is my couch.

The cool thing with the couch is that the place or business that we are visiting promotes that the couch is coming too. So now we are not the only ones spreading the word, the business or event that we are featuring on the blog is also promoting themselves....ON the couch!

When we got to Camp Bow Wow in Mchenry, Il we learned that the owner, had made fliers and sent hundreds of emails out on her mailing list about the couch's arrival. We went to the Thirsty Troll Brew Fest in Mt. Horeb Wisconsin and learned that we had been mentioned in 2 newspaper articles the week before! It just goes to show you how very powerful word of mouth is!

FGM: As you mentioned, I love that you post where the couch will be, with dates and locations for those “groupies” that follow you/it. Do you have followers on your blog that attend events just to be photographed on Doug’s Couch?

DH: I have some real "serious" fans of the couch. I take it to a lot of local events that a lot of my friends attend also and one of the first questions is.."Did you bring the couch?" I can't say that the couch has attained the status of having Groupies just yet.....lol Someday maybe, but not yet.

DougsCouch.com has become a cool viral marketing tool. People wouldn't give a hoot if I was tweeting or posting “BkBoatnSleds.com went to the fish market today”. If instead, that blog entry or tweet was about me taking this ratty couch to the market and the guy that guts the fish sat with me ON DOUGSCOUCH.....thats a little more interesting!

The couch allows us to get your attention with something and in the meantime get the name "BkBoatnsleds.com" out there. If you look at the couch, you can't miss the 'Bk Boats' written across the backrest. A very common question is..."What's Bk Boats?" and BAM....captive audience. You don't get that attention with a shirt or bumper sticker.

FGM: Do you have any hints for readers who want to tackle becoming “authentic” through the use of a blog and/or social media but just don’t know where to start?

DH: As dumb as it sounds, and we have all heard it before, just be yourself. That’s the best part of the internet. You can be as creative, serious, funny, or boring as you want AND THERE IS AN AUDIENCE!

I mean, I just got interviewed by YOU, FREAKIN' GENIUS MARKETING about an ugly old couch with spray paint on it that I drag around and take pictures with.

If you take it for what it is, it is a stupid idea. But it has become so much more than that. It is all about attention and doing something different. If you have an idea or a passion that you want to try....TRY IT! When I started the couch blog, I thought that no one would read it....and I was right. I dropped a link to it on a couple forums that I was a part of, I linked it on Craigslist, I added it in my email signatures and now I get about 45-100 hits a day. If you sit there and try to 'think' of a great idea, you will never have one. You need to just DO it and go with it.

If you have the passion and love for something, others will feel that and be drawn to that vibe. There will always be those people that don't understand why you do what you do or think that you are doing it wrong. Don't focus on those people. The people that DO get what you are doing and LOVE being a part of your blog or site are the ones that will give you the confidence to continue. Bottom line is to just start with something you like and the rest will follow. Blogspot is free and easy to use. When I first started.... I didn't know how to "Blog"....but now I guess I am a Blogger....go figure! lol

Social Media 101: Whose Program Comes First? The Franchisor or the Franchisee?

2009-09-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Note to reader: Freakin’ Genius Marketing and its sister company have multiple franchise clients weighing the social media marketing decision at this very minute. Social media marketing changes the whole game for multi-location, diverse ownership businesses. This is an article reprinted from this month’s (September ’09) Franchise Times addressing just this struggle.

By Gini Dietrich

Managing the differences between corporate and franchisee branding has been a struggle in the franchise industry. Ensuring each business owner maintains individuality and local appeal, while representing the greater whole, is a full-time job for any franchisor.

Now enter social media. The battle to achieve consistency still exists—only now the messages are pushed onto Facebook walls, Twitter streams and LinkedIn updates for everyone to read and interpret for themselves. Because the level of attention placed on companies and their business models has increased exponentially during the past year, it’s important to prepare for social media early and develop a plan.

In a survey conducted in July 2009 by Franchise Business Review, 72 percent of franchisors stated they are using social media and that 70 percent of their franchisees are, as well. But only 20 percent of those folks use social media for professional use.

Saving Face

There are many reasons to introduce your company to social media before your franchisees beat you to it. You may even be a franchisee trying to convince your franchisor to participate. By getting a head start on the game, you have the opportunity to develop consistent messaging, user names, and support groups that represent your company as a whole, not the individual franchisees. You also get to educate reluctant franchisees about the strong business possibilities social media offers and help them implement strategies into their current business model. Most importantly, you position your franchise as an industry thought leader, bringing new ideas and innovation to your business.

Below are some tactical steps you can take to bring your franchise on board with social media before franchisees do it themselves:

• Develop a set of standards franchisees should follow when starting their social media participation. For example, they should all use the same logos and colors, be involved in relevant groups and post appropriate pictures.
• Build a social media toolkit, featuring strategies on how franchisees can connect and engage with current customers and foster relationships with new customers through specific social networking sites.
• Create daily content on behalf of the corporate brand to engage all networks connected to both the corporate and individual Web sites.
• Build initial profiles and pages for every franchisee and create http://ping.fm accounts, allowing the corporate page to automatically populate franchisee pages with company social media campaigns, including promotions, contests, and discounts.
• Remember when KFC offered its new chicken for free on one day? Local franchisees didn’t know about the offer and weren’t prepared for the masses of customers on that day. Most had to turn people away, which makes for angry customers and upset franchisees. If you have a “free” day your communication firm is promoting via traditional PR and social media, your franchisees need to know about it and be prepared for it so let them know via the traditional channels, as well as by updating their social networks.
• Make it clear you aren’t policing: The focus is on ways to use social media to promote the individual locations, rather than ways to avoid embarrassment. Make that clear to new franchisees by helping them create their networks and stress you won’t be policing.
• Provide a list of blogs they need to read. Have them subscribe via RSS for efficiency’s sake.

Finally, encourage them to subscribe to other blogs and explore their interests.
Impress upon them the importance of social media: Consistently discuss the value of social media. Use case studies of success at the franchisor level and use the Intranet and franchisee calls to share best practices and case studies with one another.

This may seem like a lot of work—you may even worry franchisees won’t be willing to jump on the bandwagon—but your efforts will pay off as your branding illustrates the same concepts, your consumer messages remain consistent, and new customers start running to your door.

Branding existing franchisees

Now you may be thinking, “But my franchisees are already on social networks, representing individual units and regions, and creating inconsistent messages. It’s too late for a corporate plan. What do I do now?”

It’s never too late for a corporate communication plan—especially when it comes to social media. You just have to change your focus. Instead of walking franchisees through the beginning stages of social media, such as creating a Facebook page, and signing on to Twitter, you can direct more of your efforts toward creating strategic messages and illustrating direct businesses successes.
One situation you should not take lightly is working with your franchisees to transform their personal social media pages to incorporated company-wide information and branding. As Paul Segreto, president and CEO, FranchisEssentials says, “It’s always best to convince rather than demand.”

If you convince franchisees that consistent branding and messaging are the best ways for everyone to succeed as a whole, instead of demand they follow new corporate policy, you will find much more success, while keeping motivation high.

Another option is to offer a financial contribution, aiming to motivate franchisees into adopting new social media strategies. While the price to activate and maintain social media accounts is very cheap, the monetary incentive helps ease franchisee tensions as they agree to relinquish their personal pages. This option also ensures the parent company owns and operates one brand identity.

Most importantly, don’t get discouraged. Use the technology to develop new relationships with potential franchisees, foster relationships with customers, recruit talent, and create brand loyalty through engagement. It’s about finding new ways to connect and communicate with people. And it’s fun. So have fun doing it!

Sustainable Marketing!

2009-09-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

Nearly seven in 10 Americans (67%) agree that "even in tough economic times, it is important to purchase products with social and environmental benefits", and half(51%) say they are "willing to pay more" for them.* Source- BBMB Conscious Consumer Report

That's a pretty compelling reason to pump up your green efforts, especially in the face of the current economy. Going green could actually be the catalyst to finding a whole new target market you may not have been reaching with your existing marketing tactics.

Going green can create efficiencies you never dreamed of, downsized line items as they pertain to energy costs, overhead and the like. There is no question that green efforts can also be positioned to differentiate you from your competitor who may not be practicing such earth-friendly ideologies in their business.

As for attracting new customers, it's got a big hook! Just look at the numbers. 67% of Americans recognize sustainability as being an important factor in their reason behind purchases. Also, as you seek to increase loyalty in a tough market, a lot of big brands have found that there is a huge WIN factor in showing customers that green is good for them. (Examples include SunChips new 100% compostable packaging, Walmart's initiative for Roll backs on Eco-friendly products,as well as their private label brands).

Saving the planet and producing results while weathering a most challenging economy can be what green marketing is all about to your company. Take a look at what you can do to be green and then tell everyone about your commitment to the planet. You will be amazed at the response!

E-maily Post: Do's and Don'ts of Email Design

2009-09-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

So, you've decided it's time! Whether you are undertaking an email campaign to drive traffic to your website and generate leads, build brand loyalty or obtain new customers, I say, good for you! Email Marketing is an incredibly effective medium to be successful at all of these goals.

Freakin' Genius Marketing is regularly retained to develop email campaigns from design to execution, but if you are a DIY'er or just trying it on for size, here are a few important tips to avoid the "water" hazards on the course to reaching and making an impression on your recipients.

1. Let your Brand Shine Through!

When your readers open your email, your brand should be clearly visible at first glance. Make sure your template includes your logo and tagline if you have one. If you don't, consider creating one. Brand recognition will make your email subscribers more apt to open and read your emails going forward. Synchronize the colors and fonts with your website, too. Keep it all consistent so your readers get used to seeing what comes from you looking a certain way. It fosters a relationship which is the foundation of all successful sales efforts.

2. Let them jump ship if they want to!

Opting out must be clear and easy. Losing subscribers isn't a warm fuzzy, but giving them the option to opt-out is one key to fostering that relationship I talked about in the last paragraph. It also reduces the risk of having them report you as SPAM (You definitely don’t want to get blacklisted, as a newbie or otherwise). Other alternatives such as an opt-out page, giving your subscriber the opportunity to receive your mailings 1X a month or quarterly instead of more often. Now, instead of losing your subscriber completely, you can still relay a message to them at their preferred frequency.

3. Write it right!

Don't waste time on fluff. Don't bury the lead. Get to the good stuff right away. Include a call to action or a link to a call to action. Don't send out communication that doesn't go anywhere. Your frequency and length should have an inverse relationship. Short and often! Or, if you are sending a monthly email, like a newsletter, make sure it is chock full of value-added information as opposed to having a goal of multiple lengthy articles to keep them engaged.

4. Don't leave anyone out!

An often overlooked aspect when designing an email is making sure there is an option of reading the email in basic HTML or alternative formats. This is imperative because if the email is unreadable (as is often the case on a mobile device) you risk losing them as a subscriber. Additionally, they won't be able to click on links or buy anything from your website. On that note, links are also important as they help to engage the audience, drive traffic to your website, and promote click-throughs (which is most often the analytic you will follow to estimate success of the campaign).

5. Be Consistent!

This sets expectations for the future and allows your reader to easily navigate your emails out of familiarity. They will know where to look to be able to find promotions, articles or favorite sections they've come to expect. Keep your emails clean and easy to read. This can be done by using white spaces between paragraphs, table borders, graphics, columns and sections to compartmentalize materials. No reverse type either. Maintaining a high contrast between font and background colors allows your words to pop from the screen, but reverse type doesn't translate well to screen viewing and certainly not to printing.

A good email design goes a long way! Test Test Test until you have something that you get the results from. The more you test, the easier it will become to create an email that represents you and your company in the best possible way.

If you follow these simple techniques, you will find that it will help optimize your open and click-through rates, reduce SPAM reports, and help you build your customer base. If you would like more help in designing or executing your email campaigns, contact Freakin’ Genius Marketing by emailing us at info@freakingeniusmarketing.

Just Skip It!

2009-09-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

Jumpin' on the Email Marketing Bandwagon

2009-09-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you’ve decided to jump on the email marketing bandwagon. Where do you begin? With design and content quandaries, deliverability, recipient overload, bounce rates, and consumer distaste there are so many choices that if made wrong, will negatively impact click-throughs, read rates and unsubscribes.

Marketing services agencies like Freakin’ Genius Marketing can handle all aspects of your email efforts from design to execution, all while providing analytics to help increase your lead and success rate, however, if you choose to go the DIY route, you will be deluged in options and resource providers.

Below is a great 3rd party list of turnkey email providers that will not only serve as the foundation for your email campaigns, but will also house your databases safely.

Evaluate your needs and assess a number of them before making a choice. If you are html saavy or have a programmer on staff you may not have to utilize a resource like this. However, if you are looking for a bevy of templates for newsletters, e-post cards, announcements, emails, vmails, etc. then you should make sure that the templates offered by the service provider in question meets your needs. If the providers offer a free trial, give it a test spin…upload a test list and experiment with the design tools. Make sure there is a spam test and run it against your design to make sure you will be cleared.

Using a top notch service provider is imperative to your emails getting through and not ending up on a recipient ISP’s blacklist. This takes some undoing and will seriously affect your delivery rates.

Questions? Overwhelmed? Call Freakin’ Genius Marketing and we can help you create an annual campaign effort from design to implementation.

Top 50 Email Marketing Service Providers and Resources

Source: Website Magazine’s 50 Top rankings are a measure of a website’s popularity. Ranks are calculated using a proprietary statistical methodology of average daily unique visitors and page views over a specified period of time. The site with the highest combination of factors and variables is ranked in the first position.

1. Icontact.com
2. Getresponse.com
3. Mailchimp.com
4. Cheetahmail.com
5. Streamsend.com
6. Lyris.com
7. Campaignmonitor.com
8. Aweber.com
9. Campaigner.com
10. Sandblaster.com
11. Silverpop.com
12. Listrak.com
13. Benchmarkemail.com
14. Emaillabs.com
15. Bronto.com
16. Fusemail.com
17. Boomerang.com
18. Email-unlimited.com
19. Eliteemail.com
20. Subscribermail.com
21. Mailworkz.com
22. Netatlantic.com
23. M,yemma.com
24. Yesmail.com
25. Jangomail.com
26. Cakemail.com
27. Strongmail.com
28. Emailbrain.com
29. Epostdirect.com
30. Goldlasso.com
31. Contactology.com
32. Resultsmail.com
33. Contractpro.com
34. Inwise.com
35. Contantcontact.com
36. Verticalresponse.com
37. Emailvision.com
38. exactTarget.com
39. permissiondirect.com
40. listcast.com
41. simplycast.com
42. mailermailer.com
43. bigresponse.com
44. pinpointe.com
45. vipermailer.com
46. volomp.com
47. contact29.com
48. skylist.com
49. enterprisemailer.net
50. lightningemail.com

ROI darn it! It's all about your Return on Investment when it comes to marketing!

2009-09-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

So...your budgets are shrinking and so is your lead generation. How do you stay visible affordably? How do you know what trigger will work to get customers shopping you again? How do you direct any money towards marketing when you have no idea how it will fare for you?

The key to knowing the answers to all of these questions is to establish a goal ROI (Return on Investment) and identify (in advance!) what your results need to be in order to make the marketing pay for itself. Direct mail is a fantastic tool to accomplish this because it is affordable, scaleable, testable, and measurable with the right foundation in place. Here are a few tips on how to make sure you build your marketing on the right foundation.

Know your Budget! Don’t invest a red cent until you know what you have to spend and what you need to make from it.

Hit the Bullseye! Mail out a highly targeted and personalized Call to Action to a known database of predetermined target prospects.

Try different messages and TEST TEST TEST! Divide your mailings into manageable sizes so you can assess the variables including format, offer and message. Once you find a winner based on conversion, use it as your control mailing in your next cycle of marketing.

Change the Channel! Integrating your message and offering it through multiple channels will enable you to reach a larger share of your marketplace. Cross market your direct mail through your website and send your mail recipient a special offer when they visit your website.

More More More! Increase your frequency of mailing. The magic number is 17 times a year…every 21 days you want to be in the mailbox. Studies show it can take up to 8 attempts to encourage interest in your product.

It’s so Clear, you can see it from the North Pole! Don’t bury your lead! Make sure your message and call to action are CLEAR!

Eeeny Meeny Miney Moe! Should it go in an envelope, is it a natural self mailer, or should it be in a flat package? Refer back to your budget and your goals when considering this. Think of your target market too…is it going to an office or a residence? TEST TEST TEST.
Stamp out overspending! Minimize postage expenses by choosing the most efficient size for your mailer- including weight (paper stock), number of pages, dimensions, etc. Ask your mailer or local post office for advice in this area.

Think your design through! Brand and corporate awareness are key in being memorable and making that repetitive impression. By giving all your materials the same look and feel, you quickly build a sense of familiarity with your audience! Variable print technology gives you the opportunity to deliver a branded message with a fully customized feel to the recipient.

No Fall Through the Crack Leads! Ok, so you got your piece out and now the leads are coming in. It’s critical to have an automated follow-up system to convert those leads into customers. Make sure you know what your plan is before you execute the campaign.

Measure it up! Set concrete goals of measurable success expectations before you execute the campaign. You can measure the number of responses, you can measure the number of sales, you can measure the number of visits to your website or the number of inquiries. Your measure of success is up to you and the options are enless. You set the criteria, but make sure you evaluate the success of the campaign based on a consistent measure.

When you figure out what works, you can repeat the techniques multiple times during the year against multiple target lists. The lead generation will be year round and the ROI rewards you reap will be bankable!

Direct Marketing is Alive and Well!

2009-09-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More usps

How to Give em' a Hand (shake)!

2009-09-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

After a few wimpy introductions, I've decided to take you to the very basics of social skills and perhaps give you a few laughs at the same time. How to Give a Great Handshake and How to Fist Bump are two humorous and engaging videos that do a fantastic job showing all the variations as well as the do's and don'ts of a strong handshake.

FGM Facebook Fan Page

2009-09-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

Join the Freakin' genius Marketing Facebook Fan Page and find your inner genius!

1. Click the "Become a Fan" button above to join the community (Can't see a button? You're already a member!)

2. Head over to the Freakin' Genius Marketing Wall to join in!

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What is Freakin' Genius Marketing?

Freakin' Genius Marketing is a strategic marketing services agency focused on teaching our clients how to use the appropriate combination of our marketing solutions to get the "who" and the "how" right. All that done, our clients can then focus on their core competence to get the "what" right. It's freakin' genius! Don't you agree?

What can Freakin' Genius Marketing do for me?

Provocative thought leadership helps businesses grow in an unstable economy. Freakin' Genius Marketing unravels the mystery to our clients’ business success complete with an in-depth plan of exactly how it will be executed. We don't just talk about it, we do it - with our clients, for our clients. As translators and excavators of human genius, we unleash the genius deep inside every client. Using these findings we develop a complete plan and solution(s) that will deliver the needed results by combining the appropriate mix of our direct marketing solutions. Brilliant, perhaps...Freakin' Genius most certainly!

Can Freakin' Genius Marketing help me with my social media quandaries?

Definitely! Whether you are confused about business applications for twitter, or curious about how to integrate your blog into your website, Freakin' Genius Marketing provides support and training and will help you integrate social media marketing into your marketing plan.

What is your "gut" potential?

2009-09-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Does it ever occur to you as you are about to make a business decision, or a statement to a customer or a non-sequitor remark on a phone call, that perhaps you shouldn’t? Some call it gut instinct, some call it intuition…but either way, it’s as if there’s someone sitting on your shoulder saying, “uh uh, wouldn’t do that….don’t think it’s prudent (if I can steal a Bush-ism of the HW variety)”. Often times, it’s really not so much about making the statement, but the value of not making the statement that your gut so naturally pulls at you about.

Saying too much in a meeting can often leave a potential customer or even a longtime customer feeling like your interaction was more of an opportunity for you to perform for them and not so much like you even cared to listen to them.

Those poignant moments when there are definitely things to be said, but the noise of your voice in the back of your brain says, “noooooooo” are often times of enlightenment in your professional relationships. That pause, or rethinking of how you want to position a thought or action shifts the whole dynamic often placing you in a very different position of strength and humility for that matter.

These growth opportunities are aplenty if you give your intuitive nature a chance to show you, and often times what results of them is a sense of control you would have lost had you gone in an alternative direction.

I love this zen-like approach to relating with oneself and others, whether professionally or personally. It also gives you the opportunity to really think out your second best response- which often times, is so much more valuable than the first.

Here are 8 great strategies to help you sharpen up your intuitive abilities:

1. Self-Appreciation

Intuition is your own higher perspective. Most everyone already knows that when you ignore intuition, the situation does not generally turn out so well. Allowing yourself to invite more of your intuition into your life is a powerful act of self-love. By embracing your intuition, you show compassion for yourself and make the choice to bring more positive outcomes into your life.

2. Listen To Your Body

Your intuitive messages can come in a number of forms. You may hear actual words, see a clear image, or have a deep inner knowingness. Your intuition may communicate with you in the form of hunches, insights, Aha! moments, a feeling, a sixth sense, or various types of body sensations. Set your intention to notice the many individual ways your intuition communicates with you.

3. Embrace Quietude

Intuition is initially often a quiet, gentle nudge. It generally does not shout loud enough to be heard over your stress, upset, frustration, anger, or judgement. Spending some quiet contemplative time each day is good way to strengthen your intuitive voice. Simply sit in a quiet place every day for about 1 to 20 minutes. Take a deep breath, and ask, "What is it I need to know?" or, "What will move me one step closer to a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Then be open. Release your need to think, analyze, and know everything. The best information comes from the quiet guidance of your own intuition.

4. Sit With Your Problem

Try this experiment. When something is deeply troubling you, just sit with it. Don't do anything to logically fix or solve the problem. Instead, just sit, place your intention on allowing the best possible outcome, and breathe. See if you can step away from the negative thoughts circling with frenzy within your head. Your intuition sees many creative ways to bring about a goal or bring about a positive outcome to your situation. Your job is to stop fretting and stressing with the problem, and instead place your focus on being open to amazing new potentials. Make the decision to allow your intuition to get involved in your life.

5. Play Games With Your Intuition

Play fun little games with yourself that allow intuition to expand. For example, when standing in front of a bank of elevators, ask your intuition to "tell" you which elevator will reach your floor first. If you guess correctly, make a big deal of it. Notice how good you feel and breathe into that feeling. Let yourself know that you want more of this type of intuition that feels good. It doesn't matter if your correct guess was just a fluke or actually intuition. Your purpose is not to second guess, but to build up more of what you want. If you guessed incorrectly, just shrug it off. Let your intuition know that you may have ignored it in the past, but you are now ready to begin listening and taking action on its wisdom. Have some patience with yourself. Once you decide that you want more intuitive information in your life, it will begin showing up. Allow yourself to turn those initial little successes into avenues of greater intuition.

6. Ask Intuition Based Questions

Questioning is one of the best ways to develop stronger intuition and gain clarity and insight. When getting in touch with your intuitive self, ask questions that would lead you forward into positive solutions. Ask clearly formed questions that allow clear answers. For example, you might ask, "What is the next step I could take that would bring new energy and new passion?" Intuition can bring you down paths you hadn't considered. Intuition can show you new paths to try and new possibilities. Your intuition is infinitely inventive. When listening for your intuitive answers, remember that you may get your answers from a variety of sources including hunches, coincidences, feelings, words, or even physical sensations.

7. Follow Your Hunches

Once you get an intuitive idea, decide to take action. It doesn't have to be a huge life changing action, but you can take one small, comfortable step in the direction of your intuitive guidance. On a day-to-day basis, allow your intuition to play a bigger role in your life. If you have a sense to take a left turn instead of a right turn, follow through and go left. Your goal is to create a bond of trust between your logical self and your intuitive self.

8. Journal

Writing is a gateway to your intuition. Exploring with pen and paper allows a process to unfold of reconnecting with hidden aspects of your self. It helps you speak out, allowing ideas to become tangible words. It allows vague concepts to take shape in the safety of a journal. Writing is a power tool that allows what is often locked away inside to have access into the world. It allows you to feel into your physical body and connect with intuition, creativity, and imagination. Writing allows the time to find precisely the right words or the most powerful images to express your self. It takes fuzzy or confusing images and brings them into sharp focus. Writing is an easy way to gain insight from your intuition.

Intuition is your higher perspective and guidance. Since it is an aspect of you, it holds your best interests for creating a fulfilling and meaningful life both personally AND professionally. So what’s your quiet little voice been telling you lately? Listen, learn and find that your untapped gut potential is unlimited!

Agility Training for Entrepreneurs

2009-07-31T18:10:00.000-07:00

Today’s business section of the local Suburb paper I have delivered daily had me shaking my head.

The two main articles on the front of the Business Section spouted that Motorola executives think the “Worst (of the recession) is over”. The article under that was titled,
“Wall Street basks in glow of good reports”… But the “Biz beyond” column which saddled both articles to their left read like an obituary of big business.

The retailer Officemax reports a drop in sales, Brunswick (world’s largest recreational boat maker known for its bowling, billiard and fitness products) reported a 52% decrease in sales, Aon, (touted as the world’s largest insurance brokerage) saw an 11% profit decline, Tenneco (auto parts maker) reported a $33 million dollar loss (attributable to reduced vehicle production) and Caterpillar, who has laid off more than 30,000 workers during the recession laid off another 75 in it’s central Illinois foundry and is considering a two month shutdown.

If things are really looking up, why are so many huge companies finding it hard to stay in the positive column? All of you who jumped ship on a big corporate job to go out and become the master of your own domain know why…and the recession is only one part of the reason.

I just finished a book called Battling Big Box: How Nimble Niche Companies Can Outmaneuver Giant Competitors which succinctly explained the woe of the huge company- the behemoths that seem to loom large on streets globally and in the WSJ daily.

As small to mid size companies become “at one (ommmmm) ” with their agility and ability to be change agents, adaptability, customer service, and credibility without the trailer hitch loaded with executives and board members behind them, they can definitely win the battle against Big Box.

Whether the arena is business-to-business or business-to-consumer, retailing, manufacturing, or services, it's a battle of David vs. Goliath on steroids. The mega-sized competition has deep pockets, massive advertising budgets, and suppliers that court them every step of the way, while small companies operate on shoestrings and have to struggle every day just to survive. These same competitors are headlining in papers across the globe with reports of their losses, their cuts, their downsizing, their every attempt at being a shade of “agile” in response to the current downturned economy.

By empowering your people, building a powerful brand, managing your cash flow, innovating relentlessly with a vision for your business’s future in mind, and listening to the pulse of your strategic marketing and business plans, I dare say your agile small to mid-size business will not be another victim of the downturn obits. Be cautiously optimistic when you read the paper but rest in knowing if you employ these four key tactics to building and sustaining a successful niche company, you will be nimble enough to avoid the pitfalls of your largest (and I do mean largest) competitors.

Check out the Competition

2009-07-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

How does your company’s customer service stack up to your competition’s? You’d better have a handle on it, then you better one-up it by a yardstick!

How do you find out how you stack up against them? Call your own customer service department with an issue and find out how they treat you. Call your competitors with a similar issue and see how they treat you and whether you are satisfied with the resolution. If you don’t yet have a serious point of differentiation, make the way you will now reflect resolution in YOUR customer service department the top differentiating benefit when you position yourself and your “brand” to potential customers who are “shopping around”.

You Are What You Eat!

2009-07-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

The interesting thing about food is that we all eat it.

I’ve had cause recently to assess the grocery store aisles and the brands that line them a little more closely. My daughter has some special needs and so I have been trying a wheat and dairy free diet for her with impressive results. The challenge of course, is in finding convenient and comparable food items that will replace her previous noshing on all things dairy and wheat. Think Pizza replacements, cereal replacements, milk, cheese, cream cheese, butter…and you see the challenge.

Though the major grocery chains often carry many organic and restrictive diet foods, I have spent much of my “free” time over the last few weeks ducking in and out of smaller specialty stores. Dominicks, for example, used to have a special Organic/Natural Foods area which enabled a shopper to find all things natural and organic in one area of the store. In recent months, however, they have incorporated this specialty foods area into the general aisles which has increased a shopper’s time in the aisles three fold.

The No Bull Docs, a client of Freakin’ Genius Marketing, say, “shop the outer perimeter of the store, ignoring all processed foods entirely. Keeping heart healthy means staying off the foods that offer no nutritional value.” But there I stand in the cereal aisle looking for the one or two simple wheat-free cereals I can choose from among hundreds of wheat and sugar laden boxes.

As I look now, more closely than ever, I see 4-6 different incarnations of Corn Flakes by the same manufacturer. I see 4-5 different brands of Corn Flakes side by side, and that doesn’t include the bulk brand sold sans the box. That means, and I actually counted one day, in a revelation of sorts, nearly 20 varieties of Corn Flakes to choose from. Add to the variety the variance in pricing which is sometimes as much as 30% different among different incarnations of the same brand. Talk about complicated! I see repetition of the same marketing strategy by the makers of Mini Wheats, Cheerios, and even the store brands have knock-offs. The cereal aisle in most grocery chains is on average 25 feet long and 8 feet tall. This is no aberration to the cereal aisle either. History repeats itself throughout the store as I learned passing the yogurt section of the dairy case. There, I see fat free, sugar free, organic, and regular versions of the same brand, with another 8-10 brands in direct competition.

So, my question is, isn’t a recession a time of simplicity? Isn’t the strategy failing these manufacturers in that all they are doing is eroding their own marketshare. I know, I know, they are trying to keep their once regular corn flake eating customer now that they are a little older and perhaps looking for a calcium enriched corn flake, or a sugar free frosted flake – but really, are they accomplishing anything but increasing the shopper's time in the aisle and sending them and their cart out the front door of the store exasperated at both the time and the money blown in the store?

I say, simpler is better. While my grocery bills are no smaller, my frustration level is lessened by shopping smaller stores with fewer but basic varieties of choices. Fresh, organic foods, corn fed free range chicken, and grass fed beef help to keep heart disease away in more ways than one. I know that the less stress I have staring at an 8 foot tall, 25 foot wide cereal aisle for 8 minutes trying to find the one item I am looking for, the healthier I will be for it!

How I spent my June evenings or what I’ve been reading while you have been sleeping?

2009-07-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Being the forward thinker I like to consider myself, my bedside night table is littered with a number of books, written by academics abound, about 2012 as it relates to the future for all of us. I found The Mystery of 2012 the most captivating.

For those of you who are less in the know, 2012 marks the end of the Mayan Calendar, and some say that it could also mark the end of the world as we know it. Now before all of you go clicking to get off this page, let me tell you, this is not an Armageddon rant, though many academics go on and on about those possibilities and in fact, probabilities if things don’t change between now and 2012.

What was of most interest to me was the stance of a total shift in the general consciousness of all of the earth’s inhabitants. Now, this book was 450+ pages and this article is only bound to be 750 words, but so much of what I read led me to think about core values, core consciousness and core ideology…as it relates to self, business, community, politics, government and global issues. It got me thinking about Freakin’ Genius Marketing and our ideology and it should get you thinking about your company’s ideology too!

Does your business have a core ideology that you were instrumental in developing?

A core ideology is a shared understanding of an organization's “reason for being.” Why was it created in the first place? Of course, organizations are started to make a profit and provide a living for its founders and employees. But, there is so much more… there is something that each company does to contribute meaningful value to its customers, community, employees and, even society as a whole.

How is the world better because your business exists?

Clarifying a core ideology gets at your greater contribution to the world. Whose lives will be enriched because of your products and services? What global resources might be saved or worse, tapped? What are you adding to the eco-concern? Have you increased your personal carbon footprint at work today? Have you asked everyone on your staff to do the same without realizing it?

How would the world be worse if your business didn’t exist?

How does your very existence make a difference to the communities or society of which you’re a part and what if, in like the Scrooge film of yesteryear, you could envision a world without your business in it. What would be missed?

What are the driving principles on which you make day to day decisions?

A core ideology also has to do with the “character” of your organization. What are the most important guiding principles or values by which you want people to conduct themselves? In this sense, your core ideology is like a founding document, your “constitution” that teaches people what you believe and how you want to behave.

Do you have people working with you who align and think this way?

Your ideology is the foundation that helps you build your culture. A good ideology, well-executed, should shape attitudes, habits and behaviors of everyone within your company. Culture check on register 5? When was the last time you thought to consider the corporate culture as the essence of how the community sees you from the outside looking in?

Awareness: Once you have worked on documenting your core ideology, make the statement known to all employees and clients. Publish it on your website, in your newsletters, and communicate it multiple ways to your staff. Become more aware of your business' core ideology yourself. Make a commitment, take a stand, keep your word.

Discovering the core ideology of your business if you haven’t already done it

It's not novel and there is no rocket science here. There is no right or wrong way to discover your business' vision - it's a unique journey. You discover core ideology by looking inside. You can't fake it - it has to be authentic. It's not an intellectual exercise.

It is in discovering the core values we hold as individuals that provides unwavering guidance in our lives. It's equally as meaningful to your business and the people inside your business. The quest for the answer and what it stands for in your business is like the yellow brick road to greatness.

I am personally going to devote quite a bit of time to the effort of documenting the Freakin’ Genius Marketing core ideology over the next few months. I think it will help both me, my staff, and my business stand the test of time, most especially if that time involves a shift in consciousness to the greater global good on December 21, 2012.

Loyal Customers in Good Times and Bad

2009-06-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Loyalty. Something most businesses would give their bottom line for! Loyal customers are the best investment and asset a business can have and will help you weather the proverbial storm during the mean times. In the end, it’s your loyalist’s experience with your company, products, and employees that will keep them faithful and encourage them to spread the word to others also. So what strategies do you have in place to not only keep your faithful customers happy but perhaps even increase their spending with you?

Consider what the impact on sales would be if you could motivate your top customers to purchase one more item per visit. Executing a cross-sell promotion to drive the purchase of an additional item or a bounce-back offer to motivate the customer to come back for an additional visit can have a significant impact on your sales. Make your loyal customers feel special and the results will speak volumes.

Not all ambassadors of your brand will need a specific reason to tell someone else how much they love you, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to empower them with new exclusive benefits that they’ll be so excited about they’ll tell everyone. With new customers getting harder to acquire, word-of-mouth marketing through your tried and true loyal customers may be the most attractive. Give them something fun or valuable to share, or create a “refer-a-friend” program.

Creating conversation with your most loyal customers is easy. They are already loyal to you and have a lot to say to you. You have earned their respect. You can get their feedback on your product line, customer service, or e-mail campaign by using a satisfaction survey or an exit interview at your register or door. Enhance any customer touchpoint with product review options, testimonial forms, and acts of sincere thanks for their business. Asking for your customer’s feedback and advice is the greatest form of flattery, and the last time I looked, there was no itemized budget for flattery, so use it generously.

One word of caution, when you collect your loyal customer’s feedback, don’t ignore it. The act of collecting it is not the endgame. It is imperative that you react to the feedback you receive from your best, most loyal customers. Be ready to respond to concerns that could lead a loyal customer to jump overboard. Lastly, don't let once-loyal customers slip away. Reach out with an incentive-laden “lifeboat” at the first sign of activity drop off.

Tweeting for Profit

2009-06-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

Smart entrepreneurs are now doing deals in 140 characters or less on Twitter

(Source: Fortune Magazine)
A year ago Kris Drey couldn't care less about Twitter.

With 13 years of Web site experience, Drey is no technophobe. He serves as vice president of product marketing at Fliqz, an online video-hosting service with 20 employees in Emeryville, Calif. But when he first skimmed Twitter, the popular micromessaging service launched in 2007, Drey saw a lot of mindless chatter and very little that seemed useful to a video business.

Still, with the economy taking a dive, Drey persisted. He was looking for ways to spread the word about Fliqz without spending any more of his maxed-out $15,000 marketing budget. Not only was Twitter the fastest-growing social media service around -- its user base grew by a whopping 1,841% in 2008, to 14 million -- but it also wouldn't cost him a dime.

"The only overhead is your time," says Drey, 40. "You need to pay attention."

He did just that. Drey started posting three or four updates a day as @Fliqz (all Twitter IDs start with "@") and subscribed to (or "followed") the 140-character updates (or "tweets") of anyone he could find who seemed interested in the online video industry, even if the person was just posting links to stories on blogs. One Saturday afternoon Drey spotted a Twitter post from a Fliqz customer who was having trouble encoding video. After exchanging a couple of tweets with him, Drey called the customer on the phone, figured out that the guy had a corrupted file and fixed the problem. The customer posted a tweet of happy surprise.

Talk back: Are you on Twitter yet?
Fast-forward a few months, and @Fliqz now boasts 1,358 followers. Thanks to Twitter, Drey snagged 21 new sales leads, and Twitter also helped him seal one $6,000-a-year contract. Fliqz signs or renews up to 30 deals a month, so the company is hardly tweeting its way to massive growth. But it's not too shabby a return for a free tool. Drey estimates that he spends eight hours a week on Twitter, or the equivalent of 2% of his marketing budget every year.

Call this the year business invaded Twitter. The service -- which can be used on any cell phone or computer -- has been a hit almost since its inception, with celebrities as diverse as Richard Branson and Britney Spears using it to tout their appearances and correspond with fans. But in the past year, @Comcast has set up what has effectively become a help desk on Twitter, while @JetBlue (JBLU), @Zappos, @WholeFoods (WFMI, Fortune 500) and @Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) interact with hundreds of thousands of their followers. (Source: Fortune Small Business)

The Perfect Marketing Analogy Indeed!

2009-06-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

The perfect marketing analogy! Love this video! Are you a follower or a leader?

From the marketing genius of Seth Godin, who writes on his blog today:

"My favorite part happens just before the first minute mark. That's when guy #3 joins the group. Before him, it was just a crazy dancing guy and then maybe one other crazy guy. But it's guy #3 who made it a movement.Initiators are rare indeed, but it's scary to be the leader. Guy #3 is rare too, but it's a lot less scary and just as important. Guy #49 is irrelevant. No bravery points for being part of the mob.We need more guy #3s."

Thanks to my linked-in group member, Geoffrey Short
Director of Sales and Marketing at Bio-Safe, International for calling this to my attention today.

Fantastic Visual Guide to Twitter

2009-06-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ritu Pant (Co-Group Member on Linked-In), Web Strategist, Content Optimization, Social Media Consultant for this incredible Guide to Twitter...to see a copy you can enlarge to read or print, CLICK HERE.

Are Brainstorms Dead?

2009-06-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

by Andy Eklund

In the past two months, I've received five articles and two blog posts heralding the death of brainstorms. Is it the economy which has caused this? Perhaps. I've had three brainstorms in the same time period cancelled. (One client told me her boss said: "We don't have money to implement new ideas at the moment." Well, good luck with those old ideas.)

Or, perhaps it's because four of the authors had a new book to spruik. (What a surprise.) Each of them had a new "buzzword" and methodology which rendered the philosophy of brainstorms obsolete. One of them even confessed - and I'm not kidding - that he'd invented his new buzzword during a brainstorm.

Personally, I think the reason is even more simple. We're all tired of attending badly managed, poorly organised and strategically inept meetings where nothing gets accomplished - meaning, no good ideas are generated.

Does this describe your brainstorms?

They're held in a featureless conference room, without beverage or food, toys or stimuli, flipchart paper and crayons, and very likely, oxygen. There is no direction, no purpose, no insights, no information, no agenda, and no facilitator. Or, there is a facilitator, and he/she talks solely about their own brilliant ideas. Everyone else is there merely to witness the Immaculate Conception.

The wrong people are invited. Or rather, the right people couldn’t or didn't attend, so the blobs who weren’t invited originally (probably for good reason) become the front-bench by default.
The brainstorm is scheduled for one precise hour, and darn it, people had better invent the perfect, new, unique, never-before-seen idea in that hour. Or else.

If this assessment is accurate, then I too hope brainstorms are dead. They don’t deserve this kind of treatment.

Sarcasm aside, brainstorms can and do work – but only if they're given a bit of care and consideration in advance. A good brainstorm should be like the perfect party: energized and fresh, full of excited people at an unusual location with good catering. (You do know these type of parties are organised by a party planner who works their bum off to make it look spontaneous, don't you?)

As with any meeting, a bit of ground work in advance is important if you want it to be successful. And, I'm not saying this because I might have a book to spruik, but if you've ever been to a successful brainstorm, you know a good facilitator is worth their weight in good ideas.

Curious what it takes? Write me. I'll give you a bit of free advice.

At the same time, there are a number of principles that can be taught to teams to improve their creativity, as well as the quality of the brainstorms. I know I'm going to get e-mails from Important People telling me that creativity cannot be taught, so let's clear the air.

No, you cannot teach people to have eminent creativity - a divine talent bestowed on very few of us, like Leonardo da Vinci, Wolfgang Mozart, Albert Einstein or James Joyce. Yes, you can teach people to increase their everyday creativity.

Among these many daily principles, here's one of the easiest and fastest to put into action: know how and when your brain works most effectively, and leverage that information to be creative.

Most people say ideas come to them when they're doing something else, entirely unrelated to the problem where they need an idea, such as taking a shower, riding public transportation, exercising, and - yes, it's true - sitting on the toilet. The brain also tends to get charged with ideas when it's bombarded with stimulation: working on a project on a different topic, engaging in a lively discussion with someone else, or one or more of the five senses are piqued at the same time, such as experiencing a movie, artwork, music or sport. In either case, your brain is making connections between the current problem and the other disparate information floating around in your head, and these connections become potential ideas.

So, how do you leverage this everyday?

Know where and when are you most creative. Where do ideas come to you most easily? What time of day is your brain most active? What inspires you, or relaxes you, so you can think most prolifically? You can use these places, times of day, and sources of inspiration to stimulate your creativity - but only if you know what they are.

Learn to be sensitive to what your brain is thinking about when it's doing "something else." Can you apply any of these unrelated thoughts or visceral emotions to the "other" problem as a potential solution?

Have pen and paper with you to remember your ideas. You'll no doubt think this is weird, but I have pen and paper in, on or by ... my wallet, briefcase, gym bag, night-stand, all three of my computers, car, kitchen bench-top, television … and yes, even by the toilet.

Invite someone else - again, unrelated to your topic - to help you brainstorm. A different perspective can yield great insights. Ask a child to solve your problem is a common answer, but virtually anyone can be a potential partner in brainstorming potential ideas.

Seek out activities that deliberately put you into different situations or environments. In fact, when you need an idea, get up off your duff and go for a walk - preferably outside. You'll see and experience something else which might have the potential to connect with your original problem to create a new idea.

The last point is the simplest: when you need to brainstorm, stand up. Surely you've noticed that your brain is always more attentive and useful when you're not sitting down, at rest?

Reprinted from http://www.andyeklund.com/

To Direct Mail or Not to Direct Mail, that is the question...

2009-05-23T20:26:00.001-07:00

Those who have success with direct mail tell everyone they know how effective it has been for them and how amazing their return on investment is, but often I hear from confused marketers how while they hear it is the single most effective element in someone else’s marketing mix, they can’t seem to make it work for themselves.

What I’m finding is that it usually is because they don’t “get” the right techniques for using direct mail, and as such they rarely make the most of even a smidgen of the opportunity that good direct mail can offer.

The golden rule of direct mail success sounds something like this: Success is based 40% on the list you use, 40% on the strength and relevancy of the offer you make, and 20% on how you execute. In other words, it is much more about saying the right thing to the right audience than how you say it. Content beats style for sure!

I'm teasing you with 4 Direct Mail Best Practice Most Asked Questions here....email: info@freakingeniusmarketing.com for 8 more and the whole White Paper now!

1. Do they even read ‘em?

While 25% of most ads are read, the Direct Marketing Association’s proven statistics are that 75% of mail is opened and read. When you consider that direct mail costs more per contact as it compares to an ad reaching the masses (many of whom it doesn’t relate to anyway) this is an important statistic to remember, because the quality of contact is much better with direct mail.

2. How many prospects/customers will call me as a result of my mailing?

As for the response rate you should hope for, 2% is the industry norm for prospecting leads. This has long been reported by the Direct Marketing Association in cases where “more information” is the call to action. While 2% may seem low, consider that on a percentage basis, ads typically get response levels below .5%. Also, consider that the responses from a pre-qualified mailing list are almost always better than from any other source. I guess the most important point here is not to get all hung up in the averages, and keep your eye on your objectives.

3. How many touchpoints do I make? How often should I mail?

The general rule is to mail 3 times in a relatively condensed period of time. Typically, you will receive 60% of your total response from the first mailing, 20-30% from your second, and under 10% from your third.

Want more? Sure you do...you know you do....email: info@freakingeniusmarketing.com for the whole white paper!

Lose the "Retail-itude"

2009-05-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

In a time when most customers are rare, and every dollar spent is precious, I am often floored at the potential for those whose responsibility it is to parlay respect to shoppers to disappoint.

I was privy to an anecdote of undeniable customer disservice today. Surprisingly, it was in a retail store that often hinges its reputation on its customer-centric philosophy. Sadly, what floored me was not what actually transpired, but that in times like these, and I do mean, economically so strained, that the management of any large chain of retail stores could be so inconsiderate as to leave a customer so angry they were left stomping their feet in dismay.

We’ve all been in the position of the customer and nearly all of us have found ourselves in the position to be able to “make it right” for someone in a customer service setting so I think that we can play this out while stepping into both sets of shoes.

In my world, there is no room for “retail-itude” when it comes to Managing. In this particular case, what came of it was a slew of sales people AND other customers listening and watching as the Manager mistreated a customer. The customer wanted to be recognized as a real person standing in a line waiting to check out. The Manager opened another register to do a “return”. The customer was waved over to her register which she promptly shut down just after processing the return. The customer had lost her place in the other line, and was S.O.L. (standing off line, though I know you know what I meant here!). The same customer had two small children with her and the whole mess was a meltdown in the making.

The Customer’s POV: She was frustrated at the long waiting time to begin with and was confused as to why she was waved over and then dismissed by the Store Manager.

The Store Manager’s POV: In the process of a return, she waved over other customers but then changed her mind. She was frustrated that a line had formed where there was none before and she decided that since the other line was moving again that they would just naturally shift back over to the regular register and she could go about her other work again. She was just helping out for a return and ultimately wasn’t responsible for checking customers out.

Neither one was necessarily in the wrong (though I would beg to differ on the point of the Store Manager being ultimately responsible for checking customers out), except the Store Manager gave the customer “retail-itude” by dismissing her both with a hand sign and verbally. An honest explanation as to why she couldn’t continue to run the register would probably have sufficed to calm the situation. But, instead, she gave the customer an attitude, the other sales staff watched and listened to her treat someone that way instilling in them that customer’s needs don’t matter.

The thought of the domino effect on the staff disturbed me though in some way it was the perfect explanation as to why certain stores have cultures that breed negativity amongst its staff.

“Retail-itude” breeds negativity and most certainly doesn’t instill loyalty in any customer, not the one who was left stomping her feet in frustration, nor in any of the 7 people in line watching the drama unfold. The only answer is to “just say no” and nip “retail-itude” in the bud. Positive management role modeling is the only way to breed a customer-centric culture and it’s a great investment in the longevity of your business.

Cinco d' Swine-oh

2009-04-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

I wrote this week's entry for my personal blog...and as I sat to write the Freakin' Genius Blog, I realized how applicable it is to business in so many ways. Being a solutions-driven strategist, I muse over how many times I have heard clients rationalize their situation, no matter how dire. Placing blame somehow gives some the power to face another day, another meeting. In this economy, however, the reasons really don't matter. All that matters are the actionable solutions to making things WORK again.

The other point to be had here, is holy cow, how news of this swine flu has travelled. The flu itself has travelled nearly at the speed of the internet which illustrates the nature of a global community. The core of that global community, of course, being the absence of distance of any definition, actual or virtual. The internet is indeed the force...we must make sure we are friends with it as it pushes us further into the future.

My partner, Peter, often full of wise cracks, is equally full of wise insights and said to me after reading this entry, "there are lessons to be learned in every challenge, making us stronger and all the wiser for the next big hurdle".

The recession...the depression as others have called it, The swine flu, could all just be our global way of getting our degrees in the matters of business and life in the 21st century.

This week's entry is entitled: Cinco D' Swine-Oh

How tragic that I can look into my crystal ball and know that in a week, nearly every amazing, kind, and truly authentic person of Mexican descent that I know will be viewed with disdain. My question is, does it really matter where it started? The implications of mosquitoes, birds, pigs, people, when it comes down to a virus that can affect us all, does it really matter where it started?

It is human nature to look for the reason, the source of ones problem. Not so much to rationalize it, but more to implicate a blame of sorts, and in doing so, point the finger away from oneself. But when it comes down to finding a way to deal with whatever the issue is, doesn't all the blame just get in the way of finding a solution? Doesn't the anger associated with both sides of pointing fingers just get in the way of seeing the forest through the trees? And if all the finger pointing is in one direction, doesn't that just plain HURT and not do anyone any good?

I hear the message in the underlying CDC announcement of the emergency situation concerning the swine flu outbreak. It is mostly "CYA" in nature and we are being told not to panic, it is mostly to unlock the funding for treatment and enable the polarizing of medical needs if necessary IF a large scale pandemic arises. As I sit here this evening, I reflect on weather that shifted in 30 degree directions at least 6 times over the last 2 days. Yet, tonight, as we shift into another 70 degree period, the birds chirp and the daffodils sit up straight and proud. As analagous as weathering the storm, our species too is strong and can handle strong shifts in challenge.

As humans, we are innately driven to survive. The swine flu will be another challenge to overcome, one, like the 30 degree shifts in weather, but if there is anything I can do to drive home the point that no one is to blame for this then let me say this: That Ground Zero will hardly matter if it comes down to a huge percentage of us getting sick and, that what will count is our nature to kick this virus in its proverbial nucleus' ass and be stronger from it.

On that note, I am taking and feeding a boatload of immunity boosters to my family this week. We are avoiding large crowds for awhile and depending on how things shake out, I may or may not attend a conference in Wisconsin. To quote a rather well known movie, "may the force be with you" and may we weather the storm like the daffodils in my backyard.

Listen up!

2009-04-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

It's fast becoming obvious that there is a misperception about what social networking is about. While twitter has become infiltrated with people who share micro-details of their day-to-day lives that out of context have no meaning to most, Linked-in serves as a place where most people write so they can self-promote and read themselves over and over. It's akin to talking just to hear oneself talk, and it can wear out the usefulness of all the venues if we are not careful.

Instead of pontificating madly, listen up. If you aren't asking a question and investing yourself and your listening skills in the group or community that you are hoping to be accepted in, you are not going to find many welcoming committees.

Widening your scope, opening your mind, and reaching out to a group rather than forcing yourself in is the secret to success in social networking.

Re-tweet an article of value that you found, or introduce two Linked-in connections you have. Send a customer an article that you found on a recent bout of keyword surfing, and ingratiate yourself for thinking of another's challenge instead of purporting to have the most important advice for someone you barely know.

I know that I have learned so much from my groups. I feel like I am so lucky to have been welcomed into them so that I can share in the wealth that the combined power of the group itself has to offer. Providing value to add to the dynamic should be your goal. The networking comes as the cherry on the sundae.

Trimmin' the Fat in Lean Times

2009-03-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

Many Freakin' Genius Marketing Clients are facing very lean times this quarter. Not like tax season isn't hard enough, so many businesses are looking at downsizing and streamlining expenses in an effort to run at break even.

As a business strategist involved in many different areas of our client's business I am often asked how to prioritize cuts. It is a complicated question that really has a different answer for every individual business. Certainly if your company carries middle management whose main purpose is delegation, cut away. Accountability comes with hard times and those in the delegated areas need to stand up and take responsibility for takin' care of biznezz'. As for management positions that are more in line with Account Management and often times are heavily involved in Business Development and Customer Relationship Management, think "WHOA" before the cutting begins.

I always suggest looking at each line item of the cost of doing business before sending anyone in your company to the unemployment line. Why just last month, by assessing our household line-items we were able to save over $300.00 a month by bundling services alone. One client I was involved with reevaluated their shipping service and saved $800.00 a month by switching providers.

Take some time with your staff, and sit with excel sheets and assess monthly expenditures. Bundle, meet with alternative providers, prioritize, and remember that job responsibilities can be shifted to increase productivity of employees whose jobs need redefining vs. cutting. I have another client who realized they needed to rehire one of their recent layoffs just a week after the layoff to cover new responsibilities as they strategize their future. No one wants to treat people like commodities. Those companies that can be successful in lean times will be the shining stars in fattier times. Which, with some luck, we will see again in the coming years.

As Linda Richmond would say, DISCUSS

2009-03-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

Is it ethical to use one's children to increase brand exposure?

Marching Orders: March Marketing Tips when you NEED em'!

2009-03-20T21:14:00.001-07:00

Your competition is toast when you know who your bread and butter are.
Seriously, it’s time to reprioritize customer segments!

What the heck is a customer segment you ask?

It’s your customers by definition and purchasing priority. Identify core existing and secondary, then tertiary prospective customers. Assess your product line, your price points, your distribution channels and the customer targets and strategize a plan of action for increasing the amount of business you get from your non-core customers. Shore up your strategic insurance by building a more diverse customer base!

Make your own Damn Headlines!

Public Relations is one of the best tools to use in a slumping economy because it increases word of mouth. It’s simple to use as a marketing tactic because it generates free media coverage. Think about interesting angles for your business and the services you offer, then write press releases and distribute to a targeted list of media contacts. There are a boatload of free press release submission sites on-line too! This will generate links galore all over the web increasing your SEO at the same time! Integrate public relations into your total mix. PR enhances the credibility of everything else you do.

It’s not Touche to be TOUCHY!

Look at all of your customer touch-points and turn them into positive, brand-building opportunities. Tear down the lead generations touches, sales touches, service touches, delivery touches, follow-up touches, transaction touches, and billing touches and make sure that every single one of them is a performing a killer marketing function for your business.

For more ideas, come to our Seminar on March 31st. The CEO of Plum Grove Printers, Peter Lineal, and Freakin' Genius Marketing Chief Freakin' Genius Lori Gertz, will be presenting a fun lunch seminar in conjunction with the Palatine Chamber of Commerce. Have a bite to eat and hear a slew of great, easy to execute actionable tactics you can put in place RIGHT NOW to shore up your business!

There’s a “whole lotta awful” out there, don’t join the chorus! Challenge yourself to try something new, and risk SUCCESS!

Join us! It’s lunch and a “whole lotta fantastic!” at a great price! For registration or more information, click here.

Avoid Fall-Through-the-Crack Leads with effective email and website driven marketing

2009-03-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

Effective email and website driven lead generation attract prospective customers to you in ways you might not realize!

Here are a few hints on how to spice up your digital marketing to get better responses and real live leads!

Hint #1: Grab them by the leg

Did you know that one of the most valuable pages on your website is the page that appears after the visitor has signed up for your email list, newsletter, or webinar? So…if you don’t have one of these yet, GET ONE. And if you have one, DO SOMETHING with it! Many marketers do absolutely nothing with this page!

This "Thank You" or "Success" page is incredibly valuable because your visitor has just expressed a high level of interest by having just taken action on your website. This person is much more likely to take more actions, if only asked. So ASK! Some sites redirect the visitor back to the home page, and some sites just leave the visitor hanging there until they hit the back button or bail out some other way.

Holy Cow, don’t let the opportunity to put another offer on your "Thank You" page, or link to more about your firm or services, at the very least.

Hint #2: Land Ho! Maintain Your Landing Pages long after your Campaign

Have you ever gotten an email offer that really interested you, but you didn’t have time for? Those single emails get clicks long after their original release date. Some of the customers you will send an email to will save the email (if it's a really good offer) so they can consider it at another time. Other subscribers pass them along to colleagues. (I do this all the time with my Barnes and Noble and Borders gift certificates).

So, if you send a solo email, remember to keep your landing pages up for a long time, and don't forget to check for new leads long after the campaign ran its course.

You can follow your click thru’s in your email service providers analytics…and you will see for yourself. There is definitely a cycle to the responses, but don’t be shocked if months later you receive a latent response. Why? With newsletters for example, it happens simply because many subscribers hold on to back issues in a separate email folder for future reference.

Hint #3: Short and Sweet!

Patience is a virtue but highly overrated when it comes to digital communication. You've probably noticed that you receive more and more messages every week. The frequency of the messages has increased, but the length of each gets shorter. Texting only allows for 160 characters while Twitter allows just 140.Every word has to work hard. Response rates tend to be higher for ads using bulleted, hardworking points that convince readers to jump from the newsletter to the landing page. It's always easy to write more; the hard part is writing less.

Hint #4: Consistency and Branding, Ever Important!

You always want to send someone from your email to a particular landing page on your website. Action! Action! Action! But, does your landing page reinforce that the user has come to the right place? Does the title bar match the message in the viewable HTML?

Let's say a visitor signs up for a newsletter on your site. The site often tells that user to expect an email with a link to their first issue. Does that email, which you subsequently send out, use the same type of language and have the same look-and-feel as the landing page where your visitor signed up? For continuity and branding purposes, it needs to, and it will help the recipient connect the dots back to how it was he/she came to your website and to want your newsletter.
Don’t assume that the recipient of that email containing the download link for your newsletter will take immediate action. The recipient may hold onto your email for days, weeks or months before actually downloading your newsletter. So, you want to reinforce the value of that download within the email containing that link.

Hint #5: Blogging for Lead Gen

Did you know that blogs can be lead generators? As you create content for your blog, be careful not to stray off topic and make sure to keep it updated to avoid the “ghost” label a blog gets when it is left unattended for too long.

If you offer consistent value in your blog, robust topics and dynamic content, your blog will draw a lot of attention, people will link to it and visitors will find you that may never have known you were there.

Does the Tweet have business applications? Heck yah!

2009-03-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Great Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

First Steps

Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)
Add a picture. We want to see you.
Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.
Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).
Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)
Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.
Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)
Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.
Talk about non-business, too, like @astrout and @jstorerj from Mzinga.

Ideas About WHAT to Tweet

Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”
Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.
Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.
Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.
Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.
Don’t toot your own horn too much. (Man, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I do it all the time. - Side note: I’ve gotta stop tooting my own horn).
Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too.

Some Sanity For You

You don’t have to read every tweet.
You don’t have to reply to every @ tweet directed to you (try to reply to some, but don’t feel guilty).
Use direct messages for 1-to-1 conversations if you feel there’s no value to Twitter at large to hear the conversation ( got this from @pistachio).
Use services like Twitter Search to make sure you see if someone’s talking about you. Try to participate where it makes sense.
3rd party clients like Tweetdeck and Twhirl make it a lot easier to manage Twitter.
If you tweet all day while your coworkers are busy, you’re going to hear about it.
If you’re representing clients and billing hours, and tweeting all the time, you might hear about it.
Learn quickly to use the URL shortening tools like Tiny URL and all the variants. It helps tidy up your tweets.
If someone says you’re using twitter wrong, forget it. It’s an opt out society. They can unfollow if they don’t like how you use it.
Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting what others have posted is a great way to build community.

(Excerpts take from an original article by Jennie Gearhart at http://blog.hpcareernetwork.com/?p=212)

Palatine Chamber invites Freakin' Genius Marketing and Plum Grove Printers to Present A Seminar on Tactics for Business Survival in Tough Times

2009-03-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Isn’t business awful? What are you going to do different and better to survive in these tough sales times? You need some red-hot ideas alright! You need novel approaches to get you and your staff motivated and closing new business and this fast paced seminar will give you 45 great ideas to put in place at a rapid fire pace. Being fired-up with enthusiasm isn’t always enough, especially in these tough times. Attitude is vital – but will not ensure success. You need to do something different! Now! Join a seminar hosted by the Palatine Chamber of Commerce at the HOTEL INDIGO (920 E. Northwest Hwy., Palatine, IL) on MARCH 31st from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. This event costs $25 to members and $30 for non member attendees.

In this high-speed session you will get 45 unique ideas on everything from maximizing your marketing dollars and guerilla marketing across the full range of marketing concepts from price points to branding to distribution strategies, event marketing, and electronic and print advertising.

This seminar is for EVERYONE who is in business. Everyone including salespeople, business owners, retailers, marketing executives, and anyone feeling the pain of our nasty economy who is not willing to sit back and let the “whole lotta awful” win.

Your presenters are real people running real, successful businesses -- including landing over 30 new clients to date in 2009. Lori Gertz is Managing Partner of Freakin’ Genius Marketing – a sassy new division of Plum Grove Printers. She has been helping clients in consulting and sales for over 25 years. Peter “the Printer” Lineal is founder of Plum Grove Printers, Inc. – a print, mail and design firm with a staff of over 35 and a top 100 Business Printer in Hoffman Estates. He is also the CEO of Natural Golf – a golf instruction/club company.

Let’s push the dime and try to get to more than 45 ideas! Come with questions and challenges!

Freakin' Genius Marketing - Used as source for article on Social Networking Sites

2009-03-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Social networking sites offer free marketing
By CRYSTAL LINDELL - NW Herald

For Jim Haisler, Facebook is a way to personalize his Realtors association. Megan Osterhour uses MySpace as a way to keep in regular contact with restaurant patrons for free. And Lori Gertz likens LinkedIn to a "constant source of focus group results." To read more click here

Another Escalator Abandoned

2009-02-27T09:46:00.001-08:00

My kids are going to be devastated. What could be more fun than to ride the escalators at one of the nation’s largest bookstores after an exhausting day hopping museums in downtown Chicago?

This morning I opened the trades to read that Borders has “stunned” Chicago by announcing the ailing company’s plans to close the Windy City’s flagship Borders store.

The “Magnificient Mile” Michigan Avenue store, which opened in 1995, at just under 50,000 square feet of retail space, is not only the largest Borders store in the Chicago area, it’s the largest Borders in the US (the average Borders store is 27,000 Sq. Ft.).

I have to scratch my head and ask, did this really “stun” anyone? I mean, other than my children who will no longer be able to entertain themselves on the moving stairs while I carefully choreograph my movement from the business to the parenting section?

In a statement released by Borders, Steve Davis, Borders Group senior v-p, stated, “It’s a difficult decision to close a store and we’ve done all that we can to keep this location open. Therefore, we have no choice but to close the store in 2010.”

This store has not been profitable for a long time, if ever. At 49,881 Sq. Ft., was it just an ego location to begin with? Sitting ever so proudly right across from Water Tower Place, was the location alone supposed to shelter it from the storm that is raking the publishing industry, or any other industry for that matter?

Freakin’ Genius Marketing is the strategic marketing agency for several published authors who hired Freakin’ Genius to make up for the lack of marketing prowess from their book publishers. Highly respected book agents are left hounding the downsized staff at what used to be 5-Star publishing companies for any novel or even substandard marketing support. Many of the publishing companies are "modeling" marketing and even distribution plans around the results of previously published pieces, not even of the same author, and in most cases, not even in the same category. Does that make sense? What makes sense is self publishing and taking on the weight of the marketing and distribution challenge a la "Chicken Soup for the Soul" author Jack Canfield who's self professed "out of the trunk of my car" distribution method made him his eventual millions.

It’s an interesting industry. For an author, one might assume “paydirt” upon having an agent call and tell you that a major company has chosen to publish you. But more and more, the publishing companies are modeling books’ future sales by other books’ performance in similar categories. What modeling doesn’t take into consideration with authors and published matter, is that everyone has their own voice. A book on Heart Disease is not a book on Dieting or Cancer or Wellness for that matter. A book written by a nurse is not necessarily only of interest to nurses, but might be a seriously overlooked mainstream book because of the modeling by the publisher. Success could be realized with something as simple as a categorization of the book in multiple areas. Or, it might be realized with alternative channels of distribution, or in conjunction with integrated marketing through other media venues. Lastly, it could be as basic as unique merchandising once the book makes it to the shelf.

Walk into that store on Michigan Avenue…heck, walk into any Borders or any of the chains and be amazed as I always am- being an (as yet) unpublished book author, at the sheer volume of books. The shelves towering above you with opinion, essays, fiction, biographies, non-fiction – all works that the authors were as passionate about as Mozart at the keyboard. So much to read, so little time! So much to market and so many ways to do it, and so much goes undone. And before an author knows it, their passionate work lands on the $2 sale table in the lobby and the store puts up a For Lease sign.

As a consumer, you probably don’t spend too much time thinking of the proverbial food chain of how a book lands in your hands as you lay on the couch on a quiet weekend day, but as a marketing strategist who is NOT “stunned” by the shuttering of the flagship Borders Store in Chicago, I can tell you that the erosion started just after the author got the glorious call from the book agent.

It’s not that anyone specifically is to blame. It’s more the process that is flawed.

I fully support that modeling and profiling customers and markets is integral to growing ones base of customers. It is integral to knowing who a CORE CUSTOMER is and all those who could be CORE CUSTOMERS. However, modeling to template results is counterintuitive to the whole process, especially if the model being templated is only moderately successful to begin with.

In my humble opinion, Borders has many other issues at stake which I won’t begin to try to assess here. Their original selling proposition was that they carried MUSIC and BOOKS. When everyone else caught on to that, well, then it was just a matter of their loyalty programs, how fair their return policy was, and how good the coffee they serve was.

I, for one, will miss the escalators along with my kids. The experience of the flagship store in Chicago is one of awe for any book-loving human. To me, second only to walking up the glorious stairs of the New York Public Library, past the lions and into famed home of the written word.

“Stunned” I am not. Saddened is more like it. Saddened by the lack of insight into the marketing of the written word and all of the selling propositions each individual author creates. For fully engaged marketers who are charged with finding each book a place in the hands of its perfect owner, on the couch, on a quiet weekend day, this is a very challenging time. But, fully engaged marketers love a challenge, don’t we?

Difficult times call for unique measures and messages

2009-02-15T19:04:00.000-08:00

On Friday, February 6th I pulled away from the Sign Advantage with my sassy persona all over my ride.

I have to admit, as excited as I was to get my company name all over town (literally) I was caught a little off guard at the staring and the pointing and the responses my sassy cow gets in traffic, at lights, and even as I stroll down lone residential streets looking for the houses of my children's playdates.

On Monday, Febuary 9th I was visiting a few clients when I received a voice mail from a newspaper reporter who had seen my car, looked up my website, located my phone number and was calling to interview me on social marketing and networking and to discuss my novel approach to marketing in a tough economy. I told her my philosophy is based on only having one opportunity to make a first impression, and that as she could see from the way she had found me, I practiced what I preached.

The article she was writing has yet to be published but was an interesting investigation on the role of virtual networking and social network marketing in business today.

I have enjoyed many opportunities as a result of networking sites like Linked-in and Facebook, but expressed that my fear of people utilizing them the wrong way will eventually compromise their overall value and fewer people will use them as a result. For example, last week I received a Linked-In email from someone who had searched me out under the term GOLF. I serve as the outsourced Chief Marketing Officer for Natural Golf and this is on my profile, so they used the Company and Topic search strategy to locate me (novel and tenacious...I like this in a salesperson!). This person was interested in discussing some golf related marketing opportunities he had relative to the PGA and LPGA. I wrote him back almost immediately. I try to be responsive and respectful to everyone who emails me as I find Linked-In a valuable tool and am glad people are finding me there. So...I wrote him that at this time, Natural Golf is not looking at any new marketing opportunities and is busily holding tight during a rough and tumble economic downturn. I thanked him politely but was clear with my message that at this time, I was not in a position to look at any new marketing tactics for them. I was surprised to see him in my email box again just 5 minutes later when he responded having completely ignored my response with more specifics and pricing. This was a clearcut misuse of a Virtual Network Marketing "touch" and made me wince to think that he might be part of a growing group of Linked-In users who could use a little Virtual Marketing Etiquette 101 class.

I think Social Network Marketing is a viable and targeted means of making new contacts. Business practice is business practice though and one needs to be respectful of other's time. As for making that first impression...it takes a lot to make that first impression in a world where anything new hasn't been tried before. The way I see it, to add vitality to ones Branding and develop a Unique Selling Proposition depends entirely on creativity and messaging that plays to the buyers needs and interests. It's why I chose to use my FJ as a means to let my community know I am open for business, and it's why I blog til the wee hours professing my passion for unique marketing strategies and tactics. It's why I network with others in Linked-In groups where I have the most in common with others and we share ideas on what works and what doesn't. It's why Facebook is an integral part of my marketing because I can let everyone who knows me tap into what my business is doing and gather bits and pieces of marketing advice off the Freakin' Genius Marketing blog.

I sent an email off right away to my Sign guru as a testimonial to his work! Less than 6 hours into my first business day with my mobile Freakin' Genius Billboard I was being interviewed by a reporter. I think that's one heck of a good ROI!

Lori Gertz is the Chief Freakin' Genius at Freakin' Genius Marketing in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Lori prides herself on excavating her client's genius and providing strategic momentum for change and growth in small to mid-size companies.

Putting your .02 Cents In!

2009-02-11T10:04:00.000-08:00

It's Valentines Day, and with the massive dose of red envelopes in your mailbox comes the annual announcement from the United States Postal Service on the annual rate of increase for postage. Beginning May 11th, we will all being paying an additional .02 cents for a First Class stamp and a penny more for direct mail post cards. Seems incremental at best given the economy...if you are a consumer sending valentines or birthday invitations. But, if you are a business owner who relies on direct response ROI to drive your margin, it's not such a little increase.

In the past 10 years, there has been a 31% increase in the price of a first class stamp affecting the way everyone does business. Of course there is a lot written about how it rises as a reflection of inflation and the price of transportation, gas, you know the dribble. Most of it is true, however, even with the regular increases the service hasn't improved and in fact in spite of the increases, the postal service still threatens to decrease service hours and streamline locations. For business owners, every move the postal service makes affects bottom line. Whether it be delivery times and service for products being shipped, business communication by post (greatly reduced by the efficiency of the now nearly dead fax machine and new fave- EMAIL), or distribution channel management there are more costs to doing anything that involves getting something somewhere in a particular period of time to drive response.

Direct Response driven marketing tactics are turnkey methods of seeing a rise in response if your call to action is right on to your profiled customer! There are still many tricks to getting the post card or newsletter or magalog/magazine into it's desired location and navigate the United States Postal Service to get the best deal. Peter Lineal, President of our sister company, Plum Grove Printers is one of those magicians who is a wizard at navigating the postal service and all of its incremental increases for his customers. He evaluates the message and consults to design the direct mail piece (whatever it might be) to the size and shape that is the most efficient for mailing. Ok, it's .02 cents first class, bringing that stamp up to .44 a letter. But what if, like a number of businesses, you are mailing out 1000 pieces of mail weekly. And as it relates to the direct mail postcard, a penny higher at .28 a piece, if you are mailing out 10,000 pieces at a time, 3-4X a month with multiple calls to action, it has to be accounted for in your ROI. So what do you do? Increase the price of your product to make up for the increase in the cost to market it?

The slippery slope of increases everywhere we turn has to be navigated carefully. There will surely be increases in nearly everything a business owner has in overhead relating to the cost of transportion, or the cost of utilities, or the cost of healthcare. The cost of postage, as incremental as it seems, can be the cherry on the sundae...or worse, the straw that breaks the camels back. There are many strategic methods for navigating the small stuff....never be afraid to ask your direct mailer, printer, or agency for support in this area. It should be integral to the service they offer you - effectiveness and efficiency! Staying ahead of the next .02 increase is the way to stay above break even in a business of any size in any economy.

Read more info on the postage increase and how it will affect the Direct Mail Industry, When you click HERE (DM News 2/16/09 issue)

The World of Business as we knew it, NO LONGER EXISTS!

2009-02-06T18:48:00.001-08:00

Ok folks, if this isn't proof of why it's time for Plan B, then I'll be darned if I know what is. Americans are shopping down. What does that mean? Well, profile your customer. Who do you think your customer is? Now...sit back and ask yourself, did you make an assumption when you answered that question that your customer is the same customer from January 2008?

Let me tell you, you still may have customers...but they are different. People are shopping differently and many of your profiled customers have had to adjust their spending and are shopping elsewhere. Someone elses customers may be shopping you... but somewhere at some levels some businesses are seeing no customers. None from before and none from other categories or competitors. And trust me, no one is immune - businesses big and small have watched the thinning out of customer loyalty as the recession grips us all.

It's not so much that the relationships weren't there. In our heyday, hell, we all had the best strategies to grow our CRM and increase our ROI by investing through customer service and product guarantee tactics. But now, it's just a matter of consumers having much less in their wallets. Many of them are out of work.

The shuttering of brick and mortar biggies such as Circuit City doesn't pump more volume into Best Buy, in fact, it puts Best Buy in an even worse position to compete with the category busters like Walmart.

It's no different if you are a small to medium size business owner or working for a Fortune 500 Company. If you don't shift gears immediately and assess your customer profile and match your products/services to meet THEIR needs, not your old customer's needs or even worse, your needs, you will soon find yourself with no customers.

Shortly before Christmas I was in TJ Maxx and noted how crowded it was. I actually had to stalk the parking lot for a spot. They had just received a huge shipment of very high-end Italian handbags and the place was jammin'! The bags were flying out of the store but were priced way out of my price range at an whopping $400. I wondered, who is shopping in TJ Maxx that a $400.00 handbag would be flying out the door?My A-HA moment was when I realized that the Neiman Marcus shopper was here scoping out the bags that had originally retailed there for no less than $1,200.00.

So, the Neiman Marcus shopper is shopping TJ's, the TJ shopper is shopping Kohls and Walmart, the Kohls and Walmart shopper is shopping the Dollar Tree and the Dollar Tree profiled customer is either the same or not shopping at all.

The interesting thing to note is that the list of retailers below aren't just the high- end sort of businesses like Neiman Marcus. They are the businesses that didn't have their ducks in a row. They are the businesses that didn't see change in their customer profile.

You want to tell me that with all the news on housing start decreases and layoffs, that Home Depot couldn't see that they were going to get walloped if they didn't restructure their high-end Expo stores to serve more reasonable remodeling projects? The Great Indoors was the first to go...why would Home Depot be any different. And why are biggies like Lowes and Menards safe? Perhaps product or market diversification? I think, a better finger on the pulse of the core, yet wildly changing customer profile.

If I can leave you with any thoughts to muse, it's these: Have you really taken the time to look at who your current customer is? Have you taken the time to assess what your current customer profile's needs are? Does this customer have different needs that you can serve by changing your products or services with a tweak here or a tweak there or perhaps even full-scale changes that will affect your infrastructure but offer strategic insurance for your business?

Total January 2009 layoffs 151,352

This is a list of the total announced layoffs at America's 500 largest public companies as measured by a composite ranking of sales, profits, assets and market value during January 2009.

January 5th

Cigna: reduces workforce by 4% (1,100 jobs).
United States Steel: cuts 50 jobs as it closes production lines in Texas.

January 6th

Alcoa: starts global salary and hiring freeze, plans sale of four non-core businesses and cuts workforce by 13% (13,500 jobs).
Aqua Glass (Masco): pink-slips 30 employees.

January 7th

EMC: fires 2,400 as it reduces 2009 expenses by $350 million.

January 8th

Union Pacific: pink-slips 230 as company struggles; stock down 22% year-to-date.
Bath Iron Works (General Dynamics): dismisses 179 employees.
Eaton: 78 laid off in Iowa.
Walgreen: cuts 1,000 (roughly 9%) from corporate and field manager ranks.

January 9th

Oracle: cuts 500 from U.S. sales and consulting businesses.
Boeing: cuts 4,500 and returns workforce size to what it was in early 2008.
Freeport-McMoRan: cuts workforce in half at Arizona mine; 1,550 workers let go.
Smitfield Foods (Butterball): Fires 75 at Missouri plant.

January 12th

Mosaic: 1,000 employees in Saskatchewan.
Aircraft maker and Textron (Cessna): 2,000 employees fired.
Best Buy: 12.5% of its headquarters staff with 500-employee layoff.
Precision Castparts: dismisses 40 as airline industry continues to struggle.

January 13th

Cummins: freezes salaries for the rest of the year and lets 800 go.
Pfizer: cuts 800 researchers as it lowers cost in the face of poor performance and coming patent losses.

January 14th

Ecolab: restructures and reduces workforce by 4% (1,000 jobs).
Delta Air Lines: gives 2,000 early retirements as part of 8% capacity reduction.
Motorola: lays off 4,000 following a 3,000-worker layoff last year; savings of $700 million a year.
Google: fires 100 hirers cutting back on contract workers and temporary employees.

January 15th

Xerox: cuts 275 jobs in New York region.
MeadWestvaco: fires 2,000 and plans closings or restructurings at up to 14 plants.
Autodesk: expects loss from 2008 fourth quarter; pink-slips 750 (10% of workforce).
Marshall & Ilsley: cuts 8% of staff (830) in ongoing cost-cutting.
General Electric: jet-engine group cuts 1,000 white-collar jobs.

January 16th

ConocoPhillips: trims capital spending by 18%, writes off $34 billion and reduces workforce by 4% (1,300 jobs).
Hertz Global Holdings: sets out for worldwide restructuring in first quarter of 2009; cuts 4,000 jobs.
WellPoint: reduces workforce by 600 and removes 900 open positions.
Advanced Micro Devices: reduces global workforce by 9% (1,100 jobs).

January 20th

Clear Channel Communications: reduces workforce by 9% accounting for 1,850 job losses.
Deere & Company: dismisses 120 at Iowa plant.

January 21st

Burlington Santa Fe: cuts 2,500 workers (5% of workforce).
UAL: fires 1,000 to cut overhead costs.
SPX: attempts to sell a business unit and cuts 400 employees to help endure the downturn.
Intel: closes five manufacturing plants and pink slips 5,000.
Walt Disney: offers voluntary buyouts to 600 theme park executives on poor attendance.
Wynn Resorts: wraps up construction on Las Vegas Strip casino with 53-worker layoff in design and construction affiliate.
Eaton: total workforce reduction since the beginning of last year to 10% with 5,200-worker cut.
Warner Bros. Entertainment (Time Warner): cuts 10% (800) of its jobs.

January 22nd

Microsoft: has first mass layoff in 34-year history; pink slips 5,000.
Huntsman: reduces workforce by 9%; cutting 1,175 regular workers and 490 full-time contractors.

January 23rd

Deere & Company: subsidiary lays off 502 employees.
Abercrombie & Fitch: cuts 50 from headquarters as company leans expenses.
Harley-Davidson: sees 60% drop in profits in fourth quarter of 2008; fires 1,100 (10% of workforce).

January 26th

Lincoln National: posts five quarterly declines in profit; cuts 540 (5% of workforce).
Caterpillar: announces quarterly profit plunge of 32%; fires 20,000.
Pfizer: closes five factories and cuts 15% of total workforce (19,000 workers).
Sprint Nextel: pink-slips 8,000 workers--recording more than $300 million in severance charges but saving $1.2 billion a year in labor costs.
Home Depot: closes high-end home design shops and slims ranks at headquarters; dismisses 7,000.
General Motors: cuts production at several plants and fires 2,000 in Michigan and Ohio.
Texas Instruments: pink-slips 3,400 (12% of workforce).
IBM: selects 2,800 to participate in its “current resource reduction action.”

January 27th

AOL (Time Warner): reduces workforce by 10% (700 workers) as it fights declining ad revenue.
Merillat (Masco): cuts 20% of workforce (70 workers).

January 28th

Starbucks: organizes closings at 900 stores worldwide and fires 6,700 in the process.
Target: cuts 400 open positions and 600 employees on sagging sales. Source: Recession.org

Lori Gertz is the Chief Freakin' Genius at Freakin' Genius Marketing in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Lori prides herself on excavating her client's genius and providing strategic momentum for change and growth in small to mid-size companies.

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