JephMaystruck.com

Episode #5 – What Does The Vintage Tea Room & The Imax Have In Common?

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:27:41 +0000

Episode 5 – Collette & Greg on Imax Popcorn and Future of Social Media <–Click Here

This one goes for almost an hour long, I’d suggest putting it on in the background and doing something else on your computer (or download it in iTunes and listen in your car). There’s some very smart points made on the future of social media and marketing in general, you’ll want to hear what Collette and Greg have to say. Enjoy.

I had an absolute pleasure talking to Greg (@Hluska) and Collette (@colletteparks), both are quite fascinating individuals. I met them on Twitter and since have seen them at Tweetups, and have lunch from time to time. Greg is the Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors but really has a love for entrepreneurship and web development. Educated as a marketer but really in an technology practitioner. You’ll enjoy the stories Greg shares in this podcast. Visit Greg’s website www.Hluska.ca.

Collette Parks is the Manager of Marketing & Communications at the Saskatchewan Science Centre. She’s a very smart marketing professional that takes a different approach to social media. See her website here: www.ColletteParks.com. When she started on Twitter with the Science Centre she listened to what local people were saying and tried to determine ways she could add to their conversations. Collette also approaches Facebook differently as she believes it’s an entirely different audience then Twitter. Take note (this is very smart). and she has taken Facebook on as her 2012 project.

In this Podcast we talk about:

Does everyone need a Twitter account?
What types of businesses could a Twitter account really benefit
How Mom and Pop shops could utilize Twitter
At the core of social media is word-of-mouth, if you’re good, people will tell people about you. If you suck, people will tell many other people that you suck
Greg tells the story of an amazing magazine he started and transformed some lives while doing so
Collette tells her story of meeting astronaut Chris Hadfield
We also talk about how Collette knows one of my favorite authors Julien Smith
Julien wrote “The Flinch“ – it’s free on your Kindle or Kindle app
Collette’s thoughts about Social Media summed up: “Don’t worry about what you’re supposed to be doing, just do what you think makes sense to you, share what you’d want to see.” Brilliant, simply brilliant.

Realize: How Not To Market a University

Jeph Maystruck — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:28:12 +0000

Lately I’ve noticed several different University of Regina billboards around Regina. Now if you immediately jump to “but Jeph you saw them and remembered them. Isn’t that a great billboard?!?” Hardly. Not all exposure is good exposure. Do you think BP’s oil spill was “good” exposure for the company?

The first billboard caught my eye because it says “Be a Project Management Guru” Really? REALLY? How many grade 12 kids are aspiring to be a “guru” in anything, let alone project management? This one shouldn’t have got past the brainstorming session. No one aspires to be a guru in anything.

The next one says “We’ve got your back. Ensuring your success”. Thanks, but I don’t need my post secondary institution to “have my back”. I want them to be the smartest, most prestigious institution in the province, maybe country. And how are you “Ensuring” success? Sounds like a promise they can’t fulfill.

“We got your back” sounds like something the mob would tell you. “Don’t worry bout it, Vinny’s got yer back!”

The third one reads “Enrich your personal side.” So they think spending $500 a class is a good way to ‘enrich’ your personal side? I can think of at least 287 different things to do for $500 that will ‘enrich’ my personal side. People go back to school to get more letters behind their name, boost their ego, learn something new, or all of the above. “Enrich your personal side” sounds like the tag line for the Moose Jaw spa or Glee club. Albeit, I am no where near the demographic this billboard is targeting so I could see the argument that my parents may enjoy this billboard, though I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t look twice at it.

I don’t want to come off as a negative Nancy here so here are some ideas of how I’d run the marketing department.

Contrast the U of R’s billboards to what the University of Saskatchewan has done.

I also remember a billboard the U of S put up in Regina last fall that had on it the number of CIS Championship Titles the Huskies have won. That’s smart. That makes me look up to their school and want to be a part of it.

My alma mater thinks I want to be a ‘guru’.

I have written about the UofR before and I’m going to make the same argument. Tell the best story you have to tell. The Hill School of Business JDC West team won it all this year. That’s right, they beat UBC, U of A, U of S, U of C, U of M, and every other school in Western Canada. The marketing department (or the UofR’s agency) could have been on their toes with a billboard campaign stating “Best Business Case School in Western Canada – 2012 JDC West Champions”.

That’s not a regular billboard. Put that up in Saskatoon and see what response you get.

It’s not only JDC that’s doing amazing things at the U of R, how about our women’s basketball team, ranked #1 in Canada right now. Tell people that. Put it on a billboard. Show people that the U of R isn’t a joke where people go to become a guru, but much more than “just” a regular school.

I know what you’re thinking. It takes months to plan an ad campaign and weeks to implement it. As long as you believe this to be true, the U of R will never have a remarkable marketing campaign.

Last fall, Siast put up this billboard and pissed off a lot of people. As Martin Lindstrom states in the book “Brandwashed”, when coming up with a new campaign, determine who you target audience is not and try to tick them off. If you can piss off a certain demographic, you usually make another demographic extremely happy. Essentially from the book “Rework“, pick a fight.

You see, people who have BA from the U of R are the ones pissed off. And who is the least likely of all people to enroll at Siast? People who already have a BA or BBA. Siast was brilliant in putting up this billboard. They were pissing off the people that they weren’t targeting and creating an allegiance with every young kid that was thinking a University degree might be waste of time. That’s very smart marketing.

Always remember,

“The number one thing you don’t want is for people to be indifferent about your brand.”

-John Morgan, Brand Against the Machine

We still talk about the Siast billboard, that means it was remarkable.

Or here’s a radical idea – scrap the marketing department altogether and give the budget to recruitment. After all, what’s the goal of the marketing department? To gain more exposure or to increase enrollment?

Thoughts? Do you want to become a guru? What other ways could the U of R’s marketing be improved so it’s not embarrassing for Alumni to see billboards with our schools logo on it?

The 6 Most Inspiring Quotes Ever (But not what you think)

Jeph Maystruck — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:54:26 +0000

Most quotes are pretty cliche. But quotes that are provocative or wrong or provocatively-wrong I find incredibly fascinating. Maybe because the author went out on a limb and failed. Maybe because it’s a reflection of the imposed limits we as a society seemingly always put your ourselves. Or maybe because it’s proof that someone didn’t listen to advice, that they never gave in when everyone told them they were wrong. It’s those people who change our world. I think these quotes are an inspiration because it’s proof that no matter how crazy people say your idea is, you can make it happen.

Hat tip to The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk for inspiring this post.

Episode #4 – Ryan Holota On Why Your Marketing Strategy Needs To Be Risky

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:05:11 +0000

Episode 4 of The Marketing Revolution Podcast Featuring Ryan Holota <–Click here

I met Ryan Holota roughly three years ago on Twitter. Since then we regularly go for coffee or a lunch sharing ideas on how we’re using social media. He’s very smart. I have a lot of respect for Ryan and his thoughts on social media are bang on. If you’re looking for an expert on writing and social media in Regina look no further, Ryan’s the best, I’d definitely hire him.

Visit Ryan Holota on Twitter and his website here.

Ryan talks about the beginning of his writing and marketing career
On writing: “Don’t expect to have a masterpiece every time you sit down to write. Just like the marathon runner gets up every morning and stretches before they run, you must practice your writing like a professional for a long time to see results.”
Books on writing “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield, “Accidental Genius“ by Mark Levy
Ryan predicts 2012 “the year of mobile” for the third year in a row and adds that next year will probably be “the year of mobile” as well.
Social Media isn’t new, people have shared media throughout time. It’s just easier now. Communication doesn’t wait for a story to be printed in the weekend paper, we share media in real time.
He talks about how companies could use social media platforms much more effectively.
At the core of your marketing strategy, Ryan says there’s one great way to tell if you’re effective, increased sales.
We talk about how agency’s are going to withstand the new social/digital marketing convergence and if having an agency manage your social media strategy implementation.
How do you ensure your company or marketing department is still relevant in the next three years? “Don’t be safe”. Experiment, take risks, test things out, never assume your marketing is flawless.
We talk about how Christopher Penn experiments on his blog and Twitter account with extreme transparency and he shares the results of what he finds.
We talk about the infamous “Kenneth Cole Tweet” that created an uproar early last year.
Near the end I ask Ryan “does sex sell?” based on a blog post he wrote on the topic.
He also shares how he works, the life of a writer and what his days are usually like.

We also talk about these three articles:

6 Potentially Wildly Inaccurate Observations about Tostitos and Social Sentiment – How do you know your message is resonating with the right demographic? Is “everyone” your target market?

Direct From Google: How To Build A Quality Website In 2012 – What do companies need to be looking at in a website this year? Ryan shares some ideas on improving your website strategy, if you’re building a new website this year, this conversation will definitely help you in the planning.

How People Watch TV Online And Off – Contrary to what you’d think, the US is watching more TV than ever, but they’re also watching it with another screen in there hand more than ever. An interesting discussion follows.

I Want to Work With You, Maybe?

Jeph Maystruck — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:52:16 +0000

I don’t sell on my blog usually, I think that’s tacky, but there comes a time when one must reach out to their community and ask for help. And I may not necessarily be able to help you or your company, but if you know of someone you think that could use my services, please let them know.

Any way you can help spread the word I’d very much appreciate it!

If you don’t know already, I left Fraser Strategy late in 2011 to do my own thing, and I’m sure some of you have wondered what it is I actually “do”, after struggling for three years I’ve finally figured it out.

I help companies tell their story online. I give people the tools to measure what they’re doing so they make better, more informed decisions in the future.

I help people do amazing things online.

A lot of what I do is not marketing but customer service. The marketing industry has seen many changes recently and I don’t think it’s about to slow down any time soon, I help you navigate through this ever changing marketing world.

I’ve been working with the fine folks at Highland Mortgage Partners for the past few months helping with their marketing (and they’re doing some amazing things) but now I am looking to help more people.

What do I cover with my clients?

A better way to find information (educating yourself faster and more efficiently)
Social strategy (Why and how to use: Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, E-mail)
Content strategy (Why you need to be blogging, video blogging, or podcasting)
Measurement Strategy (how you’re going to measure your efforts)
Online advertising strategy (Google Adwords overview, Facebook Ads overview)

Every company is different and no two marketing strategies are the same. Writing long, drawn out marketing plans is a waste of time and rarely get implemented. Instead, I’ve found that setting short-term measurable outcomes that are aligned with your overall strategy is a much easier way to go about implementing your marketing tactics. We develop the “plan” together and create a checklist of tactics to implement. Then, meeting once a week for two hours creates a weekly time slot where we are actually creating, developing, recording, planning or scheduling.

In March, I’ll be looking for two new clients. I have developed a methodology over the past three years that focuses on what is absolutely important to marketing your business. We’re going to be meeting lots. It can take anywhere from two to six months of weekly meetings to get you to the point of managing your complete online strategy. And even if you never want to completely manage it, I’ve developed solutions to help you on a monthly basis. To try it out it only costs you $1,500 and I’ll never make you sign a contract.

If you’re at all interested lets grab a coffee and chat (Email: JephMaystruck@gmail.com). At the very least I’ll be able to tell you some fascinating things about your website.

Episode #3 – Nothing’s Impossible, For The Regina Symphony Orchestra

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:13:37 +0000

Episode 3 of the Marketing Revolution Podcast – Nothing’s Impossible for the RSO <– Click Here

In episode 3 of the Marketing Revolution Podcast I talk to Taron Cochrane (@taron_cochrane), the self proclaimed “music fanatic” is the creative marketing and promotions manager of the Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO). Taron loves music, it’s his passion and just talking to him for a few minutes you can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice, music is a major part of his life. Other than working for the RSO Taron also is a freelance writer for the Leaderpost, Horizon’s magazine and also is a graphic designer. See Taron’s Website.

Total running time: 49:30

In this episode:

We talk about how Taron manages The RSO on Twitter - @ReginaSymphony
How he approaches the The RSO Facebook Page – www.Facebook.com/ReginaSymphony

Why they aren’t on Foursquare anymore.

Why they don’t have a blog…..yet.

How he does all this work within social media without a cell phone. Yes, Taron doesn’t have a cell phone, I’ve made it a personnel goal of mine to get him a cell phone this year. So Sasktel or Rogers, if you’re reading this, Taron would be a great guy to sponsor with a cell phone, he has a very loud mouth. (wink, wink, nudge, it should pretty obvious by now)

One of Taron’s biggest accomplishments of 2011 was being in the top 24 finalists in the SocialFresh.com contest for the Top Ten Twitter Brands of 2011. An amazing feat being one of the only Canadian brands to make the list.
He tells a story about the legendary Walter Ostanek and how he tried to get Canada’s Polka King a Juno. Using social media, Taron ends up on the CBC National, gives his Grandma a wonderful gift and receives a heartfelt thank you from Walter Ostenek him self.
He talks about the most important lessons he’s learned, “there is no such thing as a crazy idea” and “nothing’s impossible”. These have been a part of Taron’s mantra when he goes about planning his social media strategy. Taron has had many ideas, he tried many different things and to succeed online he believes you must try doing things outside your comfort zone.
In Taron’s opinion, the biggest thing to focus on in 2012 is to have a unique idea, to create something that no one else has ever done before. Originality says a lot.

I ask Taron:

Can you develop a strategy around creating something that is “viral”? Why/Why not? In regards to The Viral Marketing Cheatsheet
What are your thoughts on Mobile? See the article: The Year Of Mobile? Sounds Like The Month Of The Smartphone
The majority of the time, businesses pay lip service to customers much in the same way politicians make promises to voters prior to each election. Is this true? Could there be a digital evolution going on? See: Brian Solis on Digital Darwinism and Customer-Centricity (http://www.conversionation.net/2011/12/brian-solis-on-digital-darwinism-and-customer-centricity/)
The book Taron mentions several times is “Anarchy Evolution” (Amazon Link)

Taron really does go above and beyond for the RSO, they’re very lucky to have a guy with his skill set and ambition. He’s a fascinating gentlemen, if you ever have the change to have a coffee of a beer with the man take it! Also, I am looking into a cell phone sponsor for him, do contact if interested.

Casestudy: How a Babyboomer Buys a Vehicle

Jeph Maystruck — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:02:43 +0000

My Father is a baby boomer, he has no brand preference to vehicle (see next sentence) and he loves his cars. In the past ten years my he has driven a Nissan, Infinity, Honda, BMW and recently he went out to find a truck. My Father doesn’t just go look for a car on Saturday and buy it on Sunday, he’s one of “those guys”, you know, the ones who look up the msrp online, and knows more than most salespeople in a showroom. He even assists people at work and Church buying vehicles because he’s known as “the car guy”. Seth Godin would call my Dad a “sneezer”.

He loves his cars.

In November he decided to buy a truck for the winter. As a man with no brand preference would, he began his search online. He knew roughly what he wanted and test drove several different brands of trucks over the course of a few consecutive weekends. One day while at work, a lady told him about a salesperson at Capital GMC she held dealt with, who was quite pleasant. He took down the name and my Dad was sold. Though my father did barter with the salesmen about the “administration fee” (evidently he read online how much a dealership “should” be charging) they even reduced the rate for him. He was happy. That weekend my Dad bought the truck with the help of the recommended salesperson.

Then the salesmen made a mistake. He told my Father that he’d send a followup survey to see how the dealership did, where my Dad wanted to let them know about the inflated administration fee. The follow up survey was never sent. A pleasant experience up until the salesmen broke the first rule of marketing and branding anything or anyone: keep your promises.

My Dad didn’t even tell me the salesperson’s name, he didn’t know it anymore. He had no reason to tell people about this salesperson. A lady at my Dad’s work passed on positive word-of-mouth that was stopped dead in it’s tracks because of a promise unfulfilled. All the salesperson needed to do was to send the e-mail. As small as this sounds, it made a big difference. My Dad did not feel like this salesperson was credible enough to pass along his name, that’s a big deal. The sales person didn’t ask the ultimate question, would your customers recommend you?

All the advertising in the world can’t influence authentic word-of-mouth. I wonder what Capital GMC’s advertising budget compared to their customer service budget is.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Spend less money on telling people about how amazing you are (marketing) and spend more money on giving people reasons to talk about you (create positive word-of-mouth).

Episode #2 – Why would a car dealership use social media?

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:00:20 +0000

Click here –>TMRP Episode #2 – Why would a car dealership use Social Media?

In this episode, the brilliant Mitch Gallant and I talk about how Capitol Ford (@CapitalFord) uses social media within their marketing mix. Mitch heads up the online marketing for Capitol Ford. Along with a star studded team, including @Kiley_G @theRealBernando and himself @mitch_4.

I grill Mitch on his best moment of 2011, how he manages Capitol Ford’s online marketing entities and his (questionable) opinions on mobile (said in a very sarcastic tone). Also, Mitch tells how he prioritizes projects using a football field on the wall in his office, an amazing example of how to manage online projects when you want to implement everything you come across. Near the end Mitch shares what he thinks the most important thing marketers need to focus on in 2012.

Finally, Mitch recommends some books to read for young, aspiring marketers, Unmarketing by Scott Stratten, Six Pixels of Seperation by Mitch Joel, All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin, The Thank You Economy and Crush it! by Gary Vaynerchuk.

The Marketing Revolution Podcast Home

7 Marketing Predictions For 2012 | Part 2 of 2

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:31:49 +0000

This is part two in the wonderful year end wrap-up. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s part one: “What We Learned About Social Media in 2011″

1. It’s the year of mobile! (except for Saskatchewan) I don’t mean we won’t see growth in the use of mobile in Saskatchewan, I mean our province is slow to adapt to new technology, there’s still a phone book in most houses. Everywhere you turn you see startling statistics on the use of apps on mobile phones. Until businesses start seeing their bottom line increasing because of a new “app” it’s still a shinny new tool in the toolbox.

At this point apps don’t turn me on, Google does. Many people underestimate the power of Google in your pocket. We don’t understand the ramifications of having a device in our pockets that can answer most of the questions we have in our lives. This will impact kids more than it will older people. The smart companies are beginning to understand how search works and how to be found.

Hearing that 6.8 million new activations of iOS and Android devices on Christmas day alone should be enough to ask the marketing department if they have mobile website, let alone a mobile strategy.

2. Search will increase. No matter what happens to the media and how we’re marketed to, we will always need to search for information. The more we are marketed to, the more difficult to decipher what is a legitimate message and what should be ignored. This makes a strong case for search to increase, we want media when we want it, on our own time, and we don’t want to be sold to. Being found by Google is a very smart tactic to undertake in 2012.

Making your website mobile friendly should already be on your “to-do” list, I would also spend sometime understanding how Google works and maybe even spend some money on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and analytics. You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

3. It’s been done before. We’re going to see less one-off contests and cliche iPad give-a-ways. When the contest is over what do you do? What will you do with the permission asset you’ve created? Will you try to interact, or God forbid, make friends with people on the inter-webs? Have you ever thought of how the internet is going to evolve? How is your brand going to attract attention of me (your customer) in the next two years with all the clutter out there? How is your brand going to standout amongst the crowd?

4. To say Social Objects will only be a fad next year is a huge underestimation, they are the future of marketing and anyone who has a vested interest in marketing in the next five years, I’d strongly suggest you read up on Social Objects and begin brain storming. It’s apparent that the non-profit sector has a grasp on Social Objects and doesn’t even know it.

5. Marketing budgets will be slashed. As they should. Some call it a market correction, some call it spending ridiculous amounts of money on advertising every year without justification. When someone asks, “why are we still marketing on the radio?” you better have a more intelligent answer than, “we’ve always done it that way”. CMO’s will have to justify their spending much better in the future, this will force an increase in measurement and reporting tools and personal that can perform these tasks.

6. Social media’s here to stay, what does that mean? Extreme transparency. Everyone can know anything about your company within a few searches on Google. Upset about that? Many are. Want to fight it? Good luck. The only way to survive as a company in the next five years is to brutally honest in the public eye. Opening up to your customers and gaining the trust you deserve. It all starts with the very first rule about marketing anything, “Keep your promises”. If you lie, people will find out. If you tell your employees one thing and customers another, sooner or later, they will find out. You can’t afford to operate unethically for long, our new interconnectedness will ensure you stick out like a sore thumb. When you are found out, you will lose the most precious asset you had, trust.

This is your warning, transparency is here to stay. Open up, show the world what kind of an amazing company/person you really are and people will love you for it. Close yourself off, lie to us, pretend to be something you’re not and you will alienate everyone you come in contact with.

7. What’s the most important tactic to focus on in 2012? Word-of-mouth As a marketer, if you can figure out a way to get people talking about your company or product in a positive light, you’ll be worth your weight in Tweets. Word-of-mouth is the most powerful form of marketing, beginning to understand how and why it spreads is your first order of business. It can take a long time to develop something worth talking about, you’ve been warned, now go read Purple Cow and start developing your own Purple Cow.

What’s your prediction for 2012? Disagree with me? Agree with me? Something else to add? If you’d be so kind as to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Oh yeah, and if you want to listen to the first episode of the marketing revolution podcast, click on the picture at the top of this page.

Episode #1 – Your Corporate Twitter Account is Boring

Jeph Maystruck — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:36:57 +0000

Episode 1 – The Marketing Revolution Podcast – Your Corporate Twitter Account is Boring! <– Click here

In this episode @Lindenwilcock and @Kiltedbroker join myself for a conversation on corporate and local Twitter accounts. Should you have a separate company Twitter account? Why not? If all you’re using Twitter for is another mega phone to “get your message out there”, please stop. You’re wasting your time. The solution conceptually is quite simple. Just add value, that’s it. Conceptually simple but realistically very difficult because we perceive value differently and what one person loves another may hate. So how do you implement the right strategy?

We talk about @TeamGBIS, @reginapolice @ReginaSymphony @EarlsVicEast @codaclothing @HickoryGrill what’s good about some of these accounts and a couple stories on what not to do.