Marketing Rule Breaker

Why Would Sarah Palin Team-up With A No Name Company Brand?

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:08:00 +0000

Written By: Rob Rohena

Have you ever wished you could run into a celebrity who would be willing to endorse your small unknown business for little to no cost. Well, I recently came really close to making this wish a reality for my Interactive Marketing and PR Agency, ( DIR Incorporated ), while attending the 2011 REBAR Camp, in South Bend, Indiana. I had just finished a presentation on Search Engine Visibility, and was exiting the room sponsored by Gold Key Home Inspection, when I saw Sarah Palin.

First, I thought I need her autograph, then I thought no I need a picture because nobody will believe the autograph is authentic. So, I approached her and said "Mrs. Palin may I have my picture taken with you?" She replied, "It's Ms. Palin --I left Todd in Alaska." Next, I asked her "Why don't you have any security with you today." She broke, "Because, I am not Sarah Palin, but, I get it all the time." Wow, she had me fooled. [ Then again, I believed in Santa Claus until I was 24 year old ... no not really ].

Turns out that "Ms. Palin" is actually a lovily young lady named Donna Miller with Gold Key Home Inspection, so instead of Sarah Palin endorsing DIR Incorporated, here I am writing want happened to me and in essence endorsing Gold Key Home Inspection and their Sarah Palin look-a-like. Maybe, I should hire a celebrity look-a-like? Actually, sounds like a marketing campaign... MORE TO COME ON THIS!

By the way, this article was inspired by Kunur Patel's recent Adage Digital Magazine article about why brands we easily recognize seems to partner was brands you have never heard of. ( http://adage.com/article/digital/brands-partner-startups/228423/ )

Feel free to share your thoughts, comments, or funny stories with us:

Facebook.com/SocialMobility,
@DIRIncorporated,
http://www.dirincorporated.com/

Kathy Ireland? Riland says " I'm Hotter !?!" @ #REBCIN

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:48:00 +0000

by: Rob Rohena

Yesterday, while reporters were busy beating-up South Bend and labeling it "a dying city", a group of over 200 people including real estate professionals, home service experts, and marketing thought-leaders joined at the Marriot Hotels located at 123 N St Joseph Street, South Bend, Indiana to educate, share ideas, and network together in an event called "REBAR Camp"; a one-day social media marketing and technology "un-conference" for real estate related professionals, ( http://www.barcampindiana.com/ ).

Barry Skalski, of Prudential One Realty and Allie Hostetler of the Indiana Board of Realtors put together a committee to successfully launch the highly successful event. The event featured speakers like ex-radio host and superstar Local SEO marketer, Dave Woodson who shared , video marketing tips, Twitter 101, local search directory secrets, and social media tools, Robby Gehlhausen Slaughter of Slaugther Management who shared the importance of using productivity tools to save time and accomplish more, and myself representing DIR Incorporated who shared Craigslist Lead Generation tactics, Capturing Ratings and Monitoring Reviews, How Public Relations Integrates Social Media ( PR-I-SM ), and Advanced Methods for QR Codes.

Kathy Ireland, Former Swimsuit Model

Kathy Riland, Meridan Title Company

Personally, aside from meeting Sarah Palin, which, I will discuss in my next blog, the highlight of the event occurred when during my Rating and Reviews sesions, I thought I heard Kathy Riland, of Meridan Title Company (one of the event sponsors ), say:

"When I google myself, it always asks did you mean Kathy Ireland? And, I'm like Kathy Ireland? NO ... I'm hotter".

I replied "Wow... that's coinfidence... it's good to know you are hotter." Ms. Riland quickly responded, no I said "she's taller" ... Oops...What do you expect from a guy with selective listening?

Another funny moment actually occured on Facebook when Tracy Maurer Jones of Remax wrote: "I have CDO, it is just like OCD, but, in alphabetically order."

The point is South Bend and the surrounding counties are loaded we talented people and growing businesses that have a sense of humor, know how to work together and never stop learning. By the way ... Newspaper and Wall Street Journal take note, because "traditional" newspapers and magazines will be dead way before South Bend, Indiana.

Please feel free to comment below and share with friends!

The PR-I-SM Effect - How Small Business Can Make Big News

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:09:00 +0000

by Rob Rohena

If you are a small business owner, or the General Manager of one you probably will agree that you see very little return ( in terms of $ ) on your advertising. You would probably also agree that your social media marketing is limited ( in terms of share-worthy content ).

Well, today is your lucky day, because I am going to share with you, the small business owner, a system worth about $750 per month for FREE... yes you read that correctly. And, I'm not even going to make you opt-in to a secret squeeze-page where you can buy more stuff for $49.00 a pop.

Instead, I am going to share two videos guarenteed to make this blog posting worth your time to read, comment, and share.... ENJOY!

By the way, it's called PR-I-SM, because it blends three words : Public Relations ( PR ), Integration ( I ) and Social Media ( SM )

Here's a short introduction video:

The PR-I-SM Effect : Part #2

I hope you enjoyed these videos. To learn more about PR-I-SM, or any other system created by DIR Incorporated visited http://DIRIncorporated.com/PrismProgram , or call (574) 329-9022.

Don't forget to share this with your friends and other business affiliates such as your local Chamber, Church, and Association.

Small Business Benefits From Recycled Headlines

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:18:00 +0000

By: Rob Rohena

Most small businesses never get any media attention, a some spend a few dollars on advertising and memberships, a few get a ribbon-cutting picture in the newspaper.

On March of 2011, one small business serving the RV Industry, and based in Elkhart, Indiana turned a local media opportunity into a national success story.

"Our marketer told us that the South Bend Tribune Business Weekly was looking for interesting stories about small businesses in the area.", says Michael J. Lewis, Vice President of UHI Worldwide; a local niche manufacturer and suppliers of RV holding tanks heaters for the RV Industry. " We thought ... well we are approaching 25 years in business, in this industry that's a lot to talk about".

When Gene Stowe, a freelance writer for the South Bend Tribune and co-owner of Write Smack Dab called to interview the company he was amazed at how the company developed niche markets to survival during some tough years. "After, two minutes of questions, I know we had a great story to tell", says Stowe.

While most small businesses would have brought a frame for their FREE local publicity, UHI's marketing team felt that while the coverage was great it would not be seen by most of UHI's target audience.

So, the team fired emails, made phones calls and used social media platforms to share, tag, and bookmark stories so that the RV Industries top publications would find it. Two months later while UHI marketers reviewed Google Alerts the marketing team discovered that the story had been paraphrase and re-release on March 2nd by RV Business News and RV-Pro Magazine, the two most respected publications within the RV industry.

Wow... Just one half page ad in either publication would have cost over $1500 each. Instead UHI paid these publications $0.00, and their outsourced marketing company provided a great ROI.

Break-aways here are simple:

Opportunity is out there, go find it.
Identify your target audience, but, don't limit new resources by them.
Share and re-distribute company achievements with everyone.
Deliver news-worthy ideas to relevant media outlets.

Please feel free to leave a comment below.

If you have a need to speak with UHI Worldwide visit, http://www.uhiworldwide.com/

If you'd like to speaker with the UHI Worldwide's Marketing Team visit, http://www.dirincorporated.com/

Branding Trumps Execution On Celebrity Apprentice

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:19:00 +0000

Country singer John Rich and Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin spent the last week facing for last nights final showdown to see which would be named "The Celebrity Apprentice" and win $250,000 for their charities, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Starkey Hearing Foundation, respectively.

Typically, regardless of pass performance Trump selects the individual who wins 2 or more of 3 project components. In this case, they were ( 1 ) Re-branding of 7Up Retro, ( 2 ) Execution of the event, and ( 3 ) Best commercial.

In my opinion John Rich had a better packaging and a better commercial, which featured Dee Snider, "Twisted Sister".

However, as it played out on the show, the 7Up Executives liked both packages and commercials equally. Therefore making the execution of the event critical to the task.

Marilee's team executed a flawless event. They greeted people at the door, including the 7Up Executives and Team Trump. Marilee and the Harlem Globetrotters executed right on time and with great enthusiam.

Meanwhile, John Rich's Team had no door greeters and it scheduled Def Leppard to appear on stage 15 minutes after they were originally announced on stage. However, John did not panic, he went out addressed the audience and quickly put them at ease with self-entertainment. Once Def Leppard arrived he reannouced them and a disaster was avoided.

Based on these fact alone one would have thought that Marilee who brought in $1 million dollars in one night during a prior project would be crowned the victor. But, instead it was the extra energy John Rich brought to the table each week that made him outshine Marilee.

John won more matches as Project Manager than any other contestant, due to his incredible branding and writing skill, and he too raised over $1 million over the course the season for his charity. Next add, one of the hottest songs being download on iTunes " The Kids" which he wrote for his Charity and got his opponent to perform on-stage with him. He also brought in powerhouse names like Dee Snider and Jimmy Fallon to add value to his projects.

John Rich poses with Donald Trump after winning "The Celebrity Apprentice."
Trump is wearing the cowboy hat Rich gave him.

(Credit: NBC)

And, if that's not enough as Don Jr. stated " I never dreamed I would see my dad wearing a Cowboy hat on live television" . Consider these things and it is easy to see why "The Donald" picked him.

New ways to view your ad performance

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:46:00 +0000

The content and information on this posting come straight from Facebook's Ad Newsletter.

To subscribe to more stuff like this CLICK HERE >>>

View the impact your campaign is having on real people

We've introduced new metrics to make it easier to see how your ads and Sponsored Stores are reaching and influencing real people. As part of our changes to the Facebook Ads Manager, you can now see Social Reach, or the number of people who have seen your ads or Sponsored Stories with the names of their friends. You will also be able to easily view Reach—the number of people who have seen your ads or Sponsored Stories, and Frequency—the average number of times each viewer saw your ads or Sponsored Stories. You can tour the new interface by visiting Ads Manager, or by downloading a brief guide to the changes from the Help Center.

Social Media Helps Rise Money For Japan Relief

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:55:00 +0000

Here's a reply to our inquiry for amazing social media stories.

Hi Rob,

Your email bounced so I'm sending this through the HARO address... I am the coordinator for our town's sister city exchange program with Otsuchi, Japan. This small coastal town has been utterly destroyed by the quake and subsequent tsunami. Of the 15,000 residents 12,000 are still missing. We've created the Otsuchi Recovery Fund. I already had a Facebook group for our exchange and now it's become a place to share information on this tragedy. I've also been Tweeting, blogging and doing internet radio to promote our fund. Our small community has been devastated by the destruction of our beloved sister city. So far, we have raised over $50,000. Not bad for our little community of just over 8,000. The story of how the relationship began is compelling-- a young man whose father was lost at sea would sit on the Otsuchi headlands waiting for him. Eventually, it occurred to him to wonder what was on the other side of the ocean and so he followed their latitude across the Pacific and found Fort Bragg, California. He made contact and we became sister cities. This year is the 10th anniversary of the formation of our program. Thank you. __________________

FBOCEA Coordinator 707-961-9650 707-813-7574 If you can, please help Fort Bragg’s sister city, Otsuchi recover from the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Visit http://otsuchi.org/ to find out how.

How Social Media and Mobile Connect

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:05:00 +0000

Over the past few months I have been talking to various groups and individuals about mobile as the lifeline to social media. During this time several interesting questions have surfaced, which, I believe would greatly benefit our fan-based and search-based audience. Please feel free to ask additional questions in the comment section below.

Mary Jo Smith, at the Michiana Optimist Breakfast asked, "Is there really a collision between Social Media and Mobile Marketing?"

Absolutely. At DIR Incorporated we are certainly excited about the continued growth of social media and mobile. However, we are waiting for more as mobile seems to be slowly graduating to the levels we see in Europe and other places across the globe. And, with the advancement of location based services; "Foursquare, Facebook Places, Uber, etc." , we truly believe that mobile will experience a launch pad explosion.

Deb Adams, Community Casket Company, LLC - "What role have iPhones and smartphones played towards bringing social media and mobile marketing towards a state of 'Social Mobility'?"

The funny thing is that while yes - we see many people on iPhones, Blackberry's, and Evo's, there's still a huge segment of the population using regular flipphones, barphones, and sliders. Yet, because of the ones with the fancy phones, this segment of regular phone owners are starting to get curious, and that has opened the door to the idea of exploring mobile web, adding apps, GPS, and entertainement [movies and music].
Doug Moore, Host of WFRN's Doug & Vincy Show, "What campaigns are you seeing bloom most?"

Most successful companies are definitely Media & Entertainment related. These industries know you might see a commerical for a movie / an album, but, you won't remember the day it airs at the theater / releases at stores, so they say "text-in and we'll remind you". Next, they know you'll share it with a friend... especially if it comes with a 50% off incentive.

Francee Foster, owner At Home Realty Group, "How do you get the older generation involved?"

First, the fastest growing segment on Facebook is 45+. According, to a 2009 Nielsen study, mobiles on the other hands are a youth tool, unless the person owns a business / or the an executive and earns more than $75,000 per annum... http://bitbriefs.amplify.com/2009/09/20/smartphone-and-iphone-demographics-from-nielsen/.

Another interesting thing we are finding is the dream target audience of most consumer product goods (CPG) the "soccer-mom" is realizing they can do more away from home. So, if you focus on needs and adding value you can have success influencing older people.

Eye tracking, product placement and Lady Gaga: What Bad Romance can teach us about embedded branding

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:17:00 +0000

Editor's note: Jennifer Knodler is director, sales and marketing, applied sciences, of SensoMotoric Instruments Inc., a Boston research company. She can be reached at jennifer.knodler@smivision.com. Stefanie Gehrke is manager, market communication, of SensoMotoric Instruments GmbH, Berlin, Germany. She can be reached at stefanie.gehrke@smi.de. As a memeber of Quirks, DIR Incorporated is a reposting this interesting article. This article first appeared in the January 24, 2011, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.

Today's marketing professionals face some pretty notable challenges when trying to get their messages in front of consumers as they buzz around syncing up all of their devices at their own convenience. As prospective customers spend more time browsing content on mobile phones and social networks, marketers can no longer rely on their traditional channels for messaging.

But marketers aren't reinventing the wheel. For many, the solution to this new-age problem lies in an age-old approach: product placement. Call it what you will: embedded branding or branded entertainment - the marketing tactic of placing branded products inside emotionally engaging and relevant programming isn't exactly a new concept. MediaPost.com cites occurrences of blatant product placement in films for over 100 years. PQ Media has been tracking spending on this methodology since the mid-'70s and has reported nearly consistent growth in this approach through the decades. In fact, even after reports of a sluggish year in 2009 (approximately $3.61 billion spent on strategically-placing products in television, films, Internet, video games and other media), PQ still predicts that we will be able to measure increased growth in 2010 and beyond.

Reliable metrics
But, when it comes to product placement, how do you measure exposure? Can you measure brand and ad recall? Can you get a feeling for overall impact? How can you create standards for matching a product with the most effective context? Are there reliable metrics to help with pricing more competitive product placements over others?

There are a number of installed methodologies that marketers can use to answer these questions. Traditional testing methodologies such as observation, self-reporting, questioning methods and case studies to test product recall have all been employed to achieve that perfect balance of having limited-but-enough exposure to promote recall and elicit an emotional response that could impact purchasing decisions without interfering with the overall consumer experience.

New York researcher The Nielsen Company established the PlaceViews application in 2006 as a result of a 10,000-person study over 50 programs that contained both embedded and traditional commercial content. Its method combines metrics such as placement duration, type and number of occurrences with brand familiarity and recall based on post-exposure questionnaires.

From Nielsen's findings the community has taken some solid steps to understand what properties will cause recall. Although post-production testing followed by post-exposure questionnaires is informative, it only continues the cycle of a trial-and-error game. So with the aforementioned questions in mind, marketers are looking to gain some insight about the effectiveness of product placement before a piece is launched.

Banking on Lady Gaga
While most actors and performers grudgingly acquiesce when forced to incorporate product placements into their TV shows and movies, Lady Gaga has no such qualms. In fact, the Product Placement News reported that Lady Gaga was "set[ting] the standard for music video product placements" and that the companies who have products that are featured in her music videos are "banking on [her] to revitalize the market." Experts anticipate that partnerships with her could result in as much as 30 percent of future profits - starting with her music videos and continuing into the future with a relationship to her reputation.

Thus, Gaga's music video Bad Romance was a natural place to begin. Over the span of its five-minute running time, the video includes a host of branded items including shots of an HP Envy laptop, Nemiroff Lex Vodka, Carrera sunglasses, an iPod classic, a Wii controller and Dr. Dre headphones and ear buds. Peppered with brand placement there was enough diversity in size, duration of exposure and branding to draw some preliminary conclusions about the parameters that lead to recall.

Explore the impact
To explore the impact of embedded branding, Ania Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Key Lime Interactive (KLI), a Miami research company, designed a short exploratory pilot study and worked with SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI), a Boston and Berlin, Germany, research agency, to use its eye- and gaze-tracking tools to capture attention data over Bad Romance. The objective of the study was twofold: to determine if there are significant trends in size of branded products or length of exposure that reliably result in product recall; and to use preliminary data to design a study that could attempt to determine ideal parameters for embedding products without disturbing the viewer's experience.

"Ultimately, if the industry can define some sort of baseline standards for these parameters we could ensure that the pricing for such placement is on target and, even more interesting for me, if we've managed to maintain the desired fluidity of the entertainment piece," says Rodriguez.

Participants were asked to "relax and enjoy the following video" while their attention was monitored for the entire four minutes and 55 seconds by SMI's RED eye-tracking device. Post-viewing, participants were asked if they could recall any advertising in Bad Romance. Then they were shown a list of the embedded brands and asked again if they recalled any of those listed.

The combination of the measurements from the eye-tracking equipment and the questionnaires produced the following metrics: visible time of products in the video; the amount of time participants spent looking at embedded products (i.e., dwell time, revisits, diversions, etc.); aggregate visual trends across the group as a whole to determine parts of the video that demanded attention/competed for attention; and comparisons across given demographics of age, gender, country of citizenship and previous exposure.

Results were informative
Overall, the results were informative. For example, the participants were asked post-viewing if they recalled any advertising for products in Bad Romance and 56 percent reported that they did. They were able to freely recall some products and significantly more products were recalled by younger respondents (less than 34 years old) who might have served as the target demographic for particular brands.

The study went on to integrate the recorded visual attention to investigate a correlation in the video design parameters to the ability to recall products. Perhaps not surprisingly, the amount of time a participant dwelled on a particular product resulted in a significant increase in their ability to recall the product. One common type of visualization that can be easily extracted from the eye tracking is a heat map. The heat map shown below depicts the aggregate attention of all 43 participants at a given frame in the music video. The warmer spots are indicative of a longer dwell time and the spots that have no heat information were likely not dwelled upon. The majority of attention was focused on faces or more specifically eyes/sunglasses.

As one would imagine, a product's frequency of appearance had a slight statistical significance to the product recall. The relationship between the amount of time participants dwelled on a product and the number of appearances that product made explained nearly 92 percent of cued recalls. Surprisingly, display size of the product was seemingly irrelevant.

Some products appeared simultaneously or competed with other semantic attractors (i.e., flashy or erotic events during the video) that likely disrupted their call for attention. For products placed during these parallel events, visual attention was not reported during competition. Differences were seen in the products recalled by participants based on their country of citizenship (U.S. or Germany). It's suspected that brand campaigns, pop-culture trends or other variables might result in priming of the recognition and therefore attention that particular brands receive.

Measurable return
As with all advertising opportunities, we can assume that brand managers and marketers are going to want to have a measurable return on their investment before making the decision to allocate advertising dollars on product placement. Additional studies similar to the Lady Gaga project could help determine the minimum amount of exposure recommended for brands with a given reputation or a better understanding of how such products should be placed in context. Once these metrics are established, it's not far-fetched to think that product placement space in pop culture could be bought and sold at standard rates in the same way you would opt for a fourth-page ad vs. a full-page ad in a print publication.

References/Resources

Nielsen Wire, Charmin, Dr. Pepper Top Latest Product Placement And Hybrid Ad Recall, http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/charmin-dr-pepper-top-latest-product-placement-and-hybrid-ad-recall

High Recall Rates for Transit TV Advertising, http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/high-recall-rates-for-transit-tv-advertising-931

PQ Media, New PQ Media Report Finds US Branded Entertainment Spending on Consumer Events & Product Placement Dipped only 1.3% to $24.63 Billion in 2009 & on Pace to Grow 5.3% in 2010, Exceeding Most Advertising and Marketing Segments, http://www.pqmedia.com/about-press-20100629-gbem2010.html

Hester, J. Going Gaga Over Product Placement, NBC, http://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/music/Going-Gaga-Over-Product-Placement-88267802.html

Mandese, J., Internet Emerges As Fastest Growing Segment of Paid Product Placement, MediaPost News, http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=131054

PPN Staff, PQ Media Forecasts European Product Placement Spending Will Grow at Double-Digit Rates from 2010-2014, Driven by Relaxed Rules & Economic Recovery, http://www.pqmedia.com/brandedentertainmentforecast2010-read.html

PPN Staff, New PQ Media Report Finds U.S. Branded Entertainment Spending on Consumer Events & Product Placement Dipped Only 1.3% to $24.63 Billion in 2009 & on Pace to Grow 5.3% in 2010, Exceeding Most Advertising & Marketing Segments, http://productplacement.biz/201007072619/branded-entertainment/new-pq-media-report-finds-u-s-branded-entertainment-spending-on-consumer-events-product-placement-dipped-only-1-3-to-24-63-billion-in-2009-on-pace-to-grow-5-3-in-2010-exceeding-most-advertising.html

Steinberg, B. & Teinowitz, I., FCC to Weigh Requiring Disclosures for Product Placement, With In-show Integrations on the Rise, Groups Call for Changes to Sponsorship Identification Rules, http://adage.com/madisonandvine/article?article_id=128060

Barrett, K. & Hartman, B., Ads in TV Shows Come Up Under Microscope, FCC Announces New Plans to Examine Product Placement, ABC News Internet Ventures, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5263412&page=1

The Nielsen Company, Nielsen Says 43% More U.S. Viewers Recognize Brands Placed Within "Emotionally Engaging" TV Programs, Effect of Viewer Engagement Varies by Programming Genre, http://www.nielsen.com/global/en/press-room/2007/Nielsen_Says_43__More_U_S__Viewers_Recognize_Brands_Placed_Within__Emotionally_Engaging__TV_Programs_of_Media_Content_.html

http://www.placevine.com/marketers/product-placement-best-practices

Is Demand Generation Working For Your Business?

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:27:00 +0000

Guest Blogger - Jon Miller

How do you know if your demand generation is good enough or when it’s time to take your lead management processes to the next level? Here are 14 important questions that indicate whether or not you can benefit for more sophisticated marketing automation.

Ask these questions to yourself, your boss, your direct reports, your head of sales, and any other stakeholders in your demand generation process.

Lead Generation

Are you happy with the number of leads in your pipeline? Is your sales team?

How many more qualified sales leads could you generate if you had the ability to nurture relationships with qualified prospects and automatically identify when someone is ready to engage with sales?

Do you get a lot of leads that seem good but are not yet in an active buying cycles? What do you do with them today?

How many more sales-ready leads could you create if you had the ability to develop relevant and personalized relationships with early-stage prospects before passing them to sales?

Lead Follow-Up

Does sales follow-up on all your marketing leads today?

Do your leads ever get dropped on the floor? Are you confident that every lead gets appropriate and timely follow-up?

How much more effective would your lead generation be if you could ensure no lead got dropped and everyone got appropriate and timely follow-up?

How much more effective would your marketing programs be if sales followed up on twice as many leads as they do today?

Marketing Efficiency

How long does it take you to design and create a new campaign? How many people do you need to get involved?

Do you ever feel like you have too much to get done in a day? Do you ever feel like you get stuck in the weeks managing all the detail of your demand generation campaigns?

If you could design and create every aspect of a new campaign in just a few hours, how much could you improve your marketing results?

How much time could you save if you had a software tool that helped to automate the boring, manual aspects of campaigns? How much could you improve ROI if you could spend more time focusing on the strategic and creative aspects of campaigns?

Demonstrating Marketing ROI

Do you wish you could better understand and demonstrate how all your marketing activities impact pipeline and revenue?

How much could you improve the ROI of your marketing programs if you understood how each program is influencing pipeline and revenue, and could adjust budgets accordingly?

Interpreting the Results

Perhaps your current demand generation processes are just fine. If so, congratulations! If not, there is dramatic ROI to be gained from better lead management. According to Forrester Research, B2B marketers who make this shift are 2X more productive — plus companies with mature lead management processes are almost twice as likely as average to act on 75% or more marketing leads and are 230% more likely than average to follow-up within one day (Laura Ramos, B2B Marketers Lack Lead Management Maturity, October 2006).
Are you ready to take the next step?

Let the professionals at DIR Incorporated and Marketo take your business to the next level.

The first rule of social communications: Keep emotions at bay

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:33:00 +0000

Guest Blogger : Angela Conner

If you learn anything about communicating across social channels in 2011, let it be this:

Never write anything when you’re angry.

I’ll take it one step further and add that you should never respond to any comments that bring out emotions you feel you cannot control.

Here’s an example: You’re reading a highly critical comment about your company, yourself or one of your colleagues or employees. After the first few sentences you are fuming. You know it’s a lie and you cannot wait to rebut. That is when you have to walk away. You are in no position to respond.

Not yet.

I have seen this time and time again, and the people who would seemingly understand this concept, and the permanence of any content posted online, fall victim to their emotions.

One comment turns into two, unfinished thoughts morph into uncontrollable rants, and when the dust settles, they look like a fool.

Consider the tale of this back and forth on Twitter, as described by MG Siegler over on Techcrunch. This is just one case of bad judgement and it probably won’t have much fallout for those who participated, but it is chronicled on a popular blog, something they may not have expected.

When Scott Stratten (@unmarketing on Twitter)was in my area on his Unmarketing Book Tour last year, he shared several examples of comments posted by business owners on Twitter. A coffee shop owner posted a few unkind comments to a complaining customer, basically telling her not to return. Do you know why he did that?

He was emotional.

The customer posted something about the lack of seating in the shop and he essentially went on about customers taking advantage of free Wi-fi and setting up shop, spending no money at all.

He shouldn’t have done that, but that comment left him fuming. It hit him in the gut, and from his perspective, he had to go there.

But here’s the thing. You don’t have to go there.

Nothing good comes out of responding to comments or blog posts, or posting crazy messages on Twitter or forums and message boards when in an emotional state.

You will find yourself in a heated discussion and a bad situation.

I know this can be very disheartening, especially for those whose work is targeted on critical websites geared toward their specific industries or professions. Cafe Pharma and JobVent come to mind.

The point here is that anything you write goes on your permanent record, so you have to give your responses some serious thought. I’ve definitely walked away from comments. That’s what community managers do. When your words represent a company, you have to be careful.

I can recall receiving several that literally made my hands start shaking. I left my office, removing myself from the situation before my emotions got the best of me.

Upon my return, I was in a much better state and responded appropriately.

So my advice is simply, walk away. Step away from the computer if you cannot exercise restraint.

You’ll come back smarter, and can then post a response (if you decide that is the most appropriate action) that doesn’t tarnish your image, that of your company’s and doesn’t make you look like a fool.

Note:
Special Thanks to DIR Incorporated for the opportunity to Guest Blog on the Marketing Rule Breaker.

Step 6 of 13 - Toward New Customer Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:49:00 +0000

Guest Blogger - E-mail marketing Report

Step #6: e-Newsletter (Month 2)

Okay, now you are finally getting to the good stuff. Newsletter, specifically e-newsletters are golden to any successful brand marketing campaign.

If you want your newsletter to achieve that impact and influence, you need to think about the content you're delivering to your readers. More specifically, you need to focus on the value of that content.

Does your e-newsletter provide enough value to sustain reader interest and convince them that you - the publisher - are giving, rather than just taking?

Valuable content is useful content. It addresses a need or solves a problem. So ask yourself what problems or needs your readers have, and use that as a starting point for developing valuable content.

The thing here is not to be too constrained by what we typically think of as a need or problem. We're not just talking about practical, business or financial topics. People have a need to laugh and to learn, for example. Typically, useful content might:

- save time or money.

- entertain.

- inform or educate.

Don't forget the value behind the newsletter, too.

A great e-newsletter for building customer loyalty, for example, is pointless if the business behind the newsletter doesn't deserve that loyalty. A newsletter which does an excellent job at encouraging website visits is pointless if the website is awful at converting visitors to customers.

But useful content in itself isn't enough to create value. The content also has to be timely and relevant.

Imagine you've written a very useful article on barbecuing beef. Now consider the value of this tip if you send it out in deep midwinter. Or if you send it to an audience consisting mostly of vegetarians.

I have another criterion for you - uniqueness. Let's assume you have come up with content that is useful, timely and relevant to your audience. Now you have your valuable content, right? Well, maybe not. You've content that's valuable in absolute terms, but what about relative to the competition?

There's no denying that soccer fans will find match reports sent within minutes of the final whistle useful, timely and relevant. But if there are another 50 newsletters doing the same, then the relative value of your newsletter is rather low.

You can compensate for this problem through the other two elements of our "successful" newsletter - through professionalism and personality.

Nevertheless, it's worth adding "uniqueness" to our understanding of what makes a newsletter valuable to its readers.

Valuable content is useful, timely, relevant and unique.

Tools Needed
e-Newsletter System such Ratepoint get it today for up to 550 contacts for $100 per year

Need more help with your e-newsletter marketing?

Contact DIR Incorporated or if you have experience their great service, feel free to write a review: http://ratepoint.com/tellus/27363

Remove Your Ugly Photos - New Facebook Profile Coming!

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:44:00 +0000

Facebook is improving the look of its pages, along with confusing anyone who does not live on it.

That said, be sure to look into your profile photo album and remove any pictures you really don't want people to see.

Need a better explanation why? See this :44 second video.

Now, you understand don't you? Don't you! Of course you do.

Need help figuring this Facebook stuff out? Contact a Social Media Club near you, or call 347-855-7674 for live help from DIR Incorporated.

Marketing Focus for 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:09:00 +0000

For those of you who follow the Marketing Rule Breaker regularly, please note we will continue with our series of 13 Steps - Towards New Customer Growth, however, it is important that we inform you of where our marketing focus will be in the coming New Year of 2011 .... in fact, I can tell you in three words -

Social Mobility Campaigns.

We are going to share with you ways to take your offline marketing and turns it into interactive marketing materials that drive traffic and conversion to your social media platforms like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter, as well as, to your website via the power of mobile applications like QR codes and Semacodes.

Key differences between Semacode vs. QR Codes:

1) QR code is popular in Japan, while Semacode is popular outside Japan

2) QR code is open and can store more types of information, while Semacode is developed to store just URLs (Note: debated issue as URLs are pretty open too).

Here are some cool places you can go to have fun with QR codes:

To generate QR codes for URL, Text, Phone number or SMS, go to www.qrcode.kaywa.com/

To read QR codes on your iPhone, go to www.code.google.com/p/iphone-qrcode/

To read QR codes on your camera phone, download via www.reader.kaywa.com/phones

To learn how QR codes work, see www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code

The most common practice is as follows:

First, customize a Facebook Fanpage for using FBML, next create a FREE QR Code pointed at a specific URL. Set the domain name of the URL to forward to the custom Facebook Fanpage you created or had someone created. Place the QR codes on all standard literature and marketing mediums. People with QR scanners will now be directed straight to your sFacebook Fanpage pages.

Couponing will be huge too, as more people buy smartphones

By the way, if you are going to printed on flat marketing materials, please go to a specialty printer like Alphagrahics , if printing on marketing promotional materials go to an expert like D2 Squared. For billboard printing, I strongly recommend Burkhart.

If you have any ideas, or know of any other sources, please feel free to share. We will be adding Guest bloggers soon. Thanks again for reading...

Step 5 of 13 Towards New Customer Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:33:00 +0000

Step #5: Email Overview

I was at the Michiana Leaders In Business Networking event today at Villa Marci Ristorante in Granger, Indiana's Toscana Park. Near the conclusion of the event one of the leaders of the group announced, "I know the social media thing is big, but, there are still a lot of people that I know that don't engage with those tools. Please feel free to send me an email describing what you do and I'll forward it to my friends. You'll gain instead credibility because it is coming as a referral from me; someone they know and trust."

Ironically, step number 5 is about the power of e-mail when done properly. The purpose of email marketing is to stay connected and drive information to prospective customers. However, spam email can easily be blocked.

So, to make your email marketing effective you need several key components that allow you to connect with customers through the power of business reviews, customer communication and social media.

First, find an email marketing platform that allows you to begin collecting business reviews from your customers and promoting them across the web. Install testimonial seals on your website and "write a review" links on your emails, your receipts and invoices. Your online reviews can be displayed on your website, indexed by search engines, and shared on social media. As you collect and publish more reviews, you'll increase your visibility and be increase the level of comfort potential customers have in you.

Second, find an email marketing system that offers exceptional delivery. Anything with an industry deliverability rate of 98% or higher will do. Your goal is to make it right into the inbox. You do NOT want to risk being marked as spam or getting sent into a bulk mail folder?

Third, find an email marketing platform that provides you with a variety of newsletter and promotional tools, as well as, survey tools. A variety of survey question types, is important so you can collect survey responses in a way that is convenient for you. Choose from Yes/No, Single & Multiple Choice, Free-Form and Matrix-style. The survey needs to be easy to send and flexibility is important too. You want something that can be sent as a standalone, or as part of an email marketing campaign or newsletter.

Finally, understand that people are communicating with their outbox on computers and mobile devices.
People are learning about your business everywhere. Your customers are talking about it. On Email, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other forms of word of mouth. It's not just about forwarding to a friend anymore. It's about sharing with thousands in seconds. With the right tools you can help promote your business across the web with email easily and effectively.

Tools Needed
E-mail System with e-survey, e-newsletter, and Social Media integration capabilities (recommended Ratepoint)

Step 4 of 13 - Keys To Customer Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:15:00 +0000

Your hot lead is now softened up to the idea that you offer something and that you are reliable. However, it is going to take more than a few initial conversations and a series of postcards to get them to give you their business. After all, odds they are already working with someone else offering the same or a similar product or service.

When you get to Step #4, I am certain you will have surpassed the competition in the most important part of new customer growth...a high level of customer attention.

By now some prospects have called the number on the postcards from Step #3. Most have pitched all 3 postcard in the trash. The key here is to 1st focus on the ones who have responded positively. Pick-up the phone start with something like, "Good day! My name is Rob Rohena. I work for DIR Incorporated. I see you have scheduled an appointment with us. This entitles you to receive a FREE $5 gift card to StarBucks. Did I call at the right time to ask a few questions I need to enter into our system?" Your system could be a notebook and pen. So long as you have this vital information in their file everything will be okay.

Once permission is granted ask easy questions that get them comfortable, yet, allow you to understand their business position. " For example, "How long have you been in business?", "What is it about your current marketing that you don't like?", "How did you first hear about us?", etc.

Be sure to listen. Many people will tell you a lot of other things like "they are married, have kids, have pets, like ice cream, etc. This type of bonus information is golden.

Next, you how group #2. The prospects that have not responded to any of your clever marketing as of YET.

Call 1 out of every 25 you have per day. Call to invite them to a local event. For example, in Michiana we have Minority Business Networking event, Michiana Leaders in Business Events, and Social Media Club events. By inviting a prospect to an event you allow them to see the human size of you, versus the business person trying to make the sell. Enjoy the event with the prospect, but, do NOT make any service or product offerring. At the end of the event, or whenever you and/or the prospect are getting ready to "cut-out" be certain to go over and say "Hey Mary, it was great to see you. Hope the [mention someting personal that they have shared] work out...By the way, I was thinking you might want to check out this link on the DIR Incorporated website." Pull out a business cards, flip it over and start writing the link on the card as you add "it contains a special [ whitepaper, case study, video, etc. ] that I think you'll enjoy." Finally, let them know you'll get back to them in the near future.

Now, you are ready for Step #5 - The Email Overview

Tools Needed of Step #4:

Phone (recommended Redlink Mobile [runs on Pagepage Verizon Network] has an Unlimited plan for $44.95 taxes and fees included.)

A business card with a hand-written link on it. If you need a great deal on business cards contact Deb Adams at D Squared Promotions

Step 3 of 13 - New Customer Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:29:00 +0000

Step#3: Personalized Direct Mailing Campaign

Even though there’s a lot of talk about everybody being online today, there are still certain people you’re not going to reach unless you’re using highly targeted direct mail.

One of the greatest advantages of direct mail is the control they offer: You can’t control when someone’s going to write something positive about you in the newspaper, and you can’t always control if someone’s going to provide a business referral to you. But, if you have a new product or special promotion coming out, you can guarantee that a certain number of people are going to be shown your message on the exact date you want it to go out. That’s one thing people underestimate when it comes to the value of direct mail.

Now, the key to success for a direct mail campaign is "personalization". There’s no one formula to strive for, because it depends on so many factors, from what industry you’re in to what your objectives are. As you develop your lead generation plan, [ which is what people typically use direct mail for ], make sure you have advertising, public relations and systematic generation of referrals built into that plan.

Personalization and variable data options available today offer a tremendous opportunity to integrate the two and really engage prospects on a personal level — especially when you use mail to drive people online, like with a personalized landing page. Personalized URL technology is a fabulous use of direct mail because it allows you to not just put somebody’s name in the marketing piece, but also create a personalized landing page for that prospect that you can then use to move him or her to get more information or become more involved with your product or service. You can engage your customers with a video or whatever else you might put on there, but the starter was that you got their attention through that traditional mail channel.

For medium to large sized businesses this is a great opportunity to get people from their mail to your website, which will pull in their information, and automatically update them. Be sure to follow-up with a personalized postcard or letter.

For smaller businesses with smaller budgets here what you do:

1) Send out a personalized post card to your HOTTEST LEADS. Tell them to visit your site for more information about "HOW TO ... { fill-in the blank }".

2) 10 days later send any personalized post card to the same group. Tell them they have been selected to "WIN Starbucks $5 Gift Card". All they have to do is call to set-up a FREE CONSULTATION with you.

Have a list of questions ready to qualify these leads. The ones that are NOT ideal, send them the $5 card and thanks. Let them know that you have two more cards available. One of a qualified lead they could offer, and another as a reward for the qualified lead they suggest.

3) The HOTTEST LEADS... that are verified as qualified will receive a final postcard to confirm the appointment.

Tools Needed:

3 Branded Postcards

A Personalized URL System

2 of 13 Easy Steps Toward New Customer Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:32:00 +0000

Step #2: Phone Calls Round One

Okay so you followed Step #1 your Facebook page is inviting, and your online press release is out there. Now what... the answer might surprise you.

Focus 100% of your effort on existing customers for one solid month. Update your database, share news with them, call just to say "hello", do what whatever you can do, but, do NOT try to get a new customer.

After one month has past you will be hungrier, and your current clients will like you more. Now it is time to lean on a great tool called "the telephone".

While the internet is great it should NOT be your only marketing tool. Multi-channel marketing will allow you to reach your prospective customers faster, and it will help you funnel through the window shoppers versus those ready to build a long-term relationship.

You can now call your prospects to listen for their needs. At some point they will ask about what you do... it is then that you can respond with: "we [ fill-in the blank ]. In fact, if you go online and look for our company I am sure you'll find more information about us."

Remember the online PR from step #1 and that clean Facebook page? Well, because you waited 30 days the spiders and bots have had enough time to crawl them. The prospect should easily find these items. You should also suggest to the prospect that they call some of your current clients [who after a solid month of being catered to will have very nice things to say.]

Tools Needed:

Phone (recommended Redlink Mobile [runs on Pageplus Verizon Network] has an Unlimited plan for $45 taxes and fees included.) .

In step #3 I will introduce a direct marketing approach designed to maximize your impact.

As always, thanks for reading Marketing Rule Breaker. Feel free to share this with a friend and/or leave a comment.

1 of 13 Easy Steps Toward New Customer Growth In A Web 2.0 World

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 13:49:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I spoke about the importance of focusing on existing customer over chasing prospects.

This comment has generated a lot of feedback both positive and negative. The most relative comment came from one of our own clients via email. They stated that there are certain industries that cannot always sell an improved version of a product to an existing customer, because, the older version product might have come with a 10 year guarantee. Therefore, those businesses rely on finding new customers.

This can indeed be a problem, in response to this comment I am going to share 13 easy steps toward new customer growth using web 2.0 tools.

Step #1: Mass Exposure

A new customer typically has a problem and is in search of information and a solution on a search engine. This is where most internet marketer will tell you that your website needs to be optimized on a search engine.

However, I quasi-agree and disagree. Certainly if I am looking for a particular product finding your website selling this product is great, however, if I am looking for a service or not 100% certain as to what product I desire than I probably do not want to buy from the first person that tries to sell me something.

Instead, I want to be educated. Therefore, I want to find 3rd-party news, whitepapers, and case studies that answer my questions. The key is to make certain that this information and/or solution points back to your business. This process is known as "Search Engine Visibility".

Now, let's make it happen...

Tools Needed:

Online PR tool (recommended PRNews and/or PRLog)

You either want to share successes via an online PR tool, or you want a local news correspondent to share a story about your business within the community. Make certain that at a minimum the story has an email address where people can contact you with questions.

Branded Stationary

Whitepapers and case studies should always have your logo, contact information, website, and at least your Facebook and Twitter handles. These document should be stored as Google Docs and at least one other document sharing program that offers free embedding codes. Grab the embed code from Google Docs and place the document on your site on the page where the solution is offered. Grab the embed code from your second source and place it on a page within your site called "Resources". Be certain to share these documents on Facebook and Twitter at minimum.

Branded Facebook Page

If Facebook is going to be a part of your online marketing, ( and I don't know why it wouldn't be ), you want to make certain your Facebook page is customized. There are a ton of products and programs that can do this for you, but, I recommend you contact DIR Incorporated and tell them you read this blog, and they are likely to customize your Facebook page for FREE forever ...that's right no monthly payments.

The purpose of branding your Facebook page is that you can customize your message, make an unique offer, and instruct people to "Like" your page. Here's a sample of what a custom branded Facebook page looks like : Example - Flocis

All of these things mentioned thus far will allow prospective customers to know of you. And, that is a BIG first step. Doing it this way costs you zero to very little, whereas, commercials and ads can cost you your business.

Well, that's step 1 of 13. Stay tuned for 2 - 13 in the coming days... In fact, here's a sneak peak at Step #2:

Phone Calls Round #1

While the internet is great it should NOT be your only marketing tool. Multi-channel marketing will allow you to reach your prospective customers faster, and it will help you funnel through the window shoppers versus those ready to built a long-term relationship.

How To Get LinkedIn To Everyone Without The Upgrade Charges

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:19:00 +0000

By: Rob Rohena

The other day I received a call from a member of the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce's - Minority Business Development Network who wanted to know if there was a particular "protocol" for getting a friend to connect them to a friend of that friend via LinkedIn.

I felt that the question ,and better yet, my responce could greatly benefit others in Web 2.0 world, and thus this posting.

Let's get started!

Exhibit #1 - The Facts

Here is a view from my LinkedIn account while signed-in. The key elements are as follows:

1) On the upper left hand corner is an option to "Upgrade" to a PAID account.

2) On the LinkedIn toolbar there is an option to join "Groups" for FREE.

3) I can review my current contacts.

As I look at one of my contacts, Patrick from MWDWeb Design, I notice he has 62 connections. Since, I am in Indiana and he is now in Florida odds are that he has different contacts than I do. Also, notice we are both in the SAME industry, yet, are NOT competitors.

I sneak a peak at his connections and notice that there is someone in Baltimore I would love to make a business connection with due to the common interest we share. She is a Social Media Writer, and I am a Social Media Source for writers. She is in a ton of Minority Business Groups, and I am the Chair of the Michiana Minority Business Network.

So, what are the connection options?

The LinkedIn Option :

The LinkedIn options is to get Patrick to introduce us. But, in order for Patrick to do so, he will need to "Upgrade" his account.

Let's assume Patrick already has an upgraded account (see rates and benefits to the right) and introduces us...Now what. The contact and I only share in common that we BOTH use LinkedIN and that we BOTH know Patrick. Let's assume the relationship goes wry. Now, Patrick is in a funny situation and can potentially lose BOTH of us.

The Marketing Rule Breaker Solution :

As I look at the Baltimore contacts profile I notice she is involved in several FREE groups that I already participate in.

So, I go to the group page, conduct a search for the contact. And, introduce myself as having shared interest with that person and wanting to connect.

Upon getting the message the contact will see I am a friends of Patrick, and as a result agree to make a connection.

If the relationship goes wry. Patrick is NOT placed in an awkward situation, and the Group goes on with or without us.

I hope this blog helped, and remember if you have any Social Media questions ask. Your questions might help somebody else too.

Thanks to: Patrick, Tonya, and Linked Groups mentioned and depicted for participating.

Why Is Death So Expensive?

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:05:00 +0000

Here's a great example of a business using a video commercial to address the needs and emotions of its target audience.

UFO Spotted?!? Post To Blog Via Mobile.

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Post from anywhere!

When you send texts to BLOGGR (256447) or photos to go@blogger.com from your mobile device they're automatically posted to your new blog.

How it works

SMS

First send an SMS with the word 'REGISTER' to BLOGGR (256447).

We'll reply with the address of your new mobile blog, plus a claim code.

Post to your new mobile blog, or use the claim code to link your phone to a different blog.

To opt out of receiving SMS messages to your phone, text STOP to BLOGGR (256447)

To get help from your mobile device, text HELP to BLOGGR (256447)

To unlink your device from Blogger, text UNREGISTER to BLOGGR (256447).

Sending text messages to BLOGGR (256447) is currently available for US phone numbers only.

or use MMS

First send an MMS or email with the word 'REGISTER' to go@blogger.com.

We'll reply with the address of your new mobile blog, plus a claim code.

Post to your new mobile blog, or use the claim code to link your phone to a different blog.

To unlink your device from Blogger, send an MMS or email with word 'UNREGISTER' to go@blogger.com.

Need more insight? Visit: http://www.blogger.com/mobile-start.g

Is Social Media Marketing Dying?

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:04:00 +0000

By: Rob Rohena

Nothing in life is certain, however, one thing is - social media marketing is losing its magic for many businesses. Why you ask? It is because social media was designed to improve the way people kept in touch with their closest loved ones and friend, yet, it has sadly become just another marketing medium for sales pitches that try to convince you to sign up for another dreadful business product or service.

There is no opening or closing - simply raw advertisements that lack sincerity. Most of the people advertising their products / service don't seem to care about you or your general interests. They're too set on the idea that you're going to sign you up and make money.

Set Yourself Apart

Last I checked, word of mouth marketing is the most powerful form of marketing. If your business relies on Social Media Marketing than one thing is certain do NOT sell anything. Let your friends, fans, and followers do the selling for you.

Your advertisements should add real value - Don't sell something just because someone is willing to buy it. I have on more than one occassion turned a client away. One example that comes to mind is when one of our Social Media Management clients, Muscle Therapy and Acupuncture Center, wanted us the create a YouTube video. Our company does NOT make videos for YouTube. Certainly, we could have outsourced the job and made some extra cash, but, that would have only benefitted us. So instead, we recommended Seeger's Media.

Caring should be genuine - I personally spend time on discussion boards answering questions for FREE. I am listed on About.com's AllExperts volunteers and respond to specific business marketing inquiries, and on Facebook I received all types of private message questions from people asking me to help them with Static FBML (Facebook Mark-up language for custom pages), Ratepoint opt-in placement, and tips about marketing in general. I love helping them. I do NOT try to sell any of them. All I do is help them. The amazing result is that for helping them they reward me with business, feedback, reviews, and ratings. Not just that, they also provide me with referrals... Social Media Marketing is dying for those who do not understand what Social Media really is about.

Thanks for reading :

Marketing Rule Breaker!

Should you have any comments, questions, or topics you would like to see discussed, please use the comment form below, or, Google my name and pick the channel of communication you like to use best.

8 Steps For Engaging B2B Customers Via Social Media - Part #2

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:56:00 +0000

Yesterday, we talked about steps #1 - #4 for engaging B2B customers via Social Media. I mentioned that the key element to the whole process is focusing on existing customers. At the conclusion of today's post you will see how your existing customers will provide you with valuable leads to new prospective customers using Facebook.

Step #5: Share Your Results with Everyone.

Provide the results from step #4 via all the social media platforms you have used from step #1 - Step #4. Next, via an e-newsletter share results, recommendations taken action upon, improvements made to the prototype, and clearly state how the business will do business with you. Finally, create a blog and begin discussing the process you have undertaken to arrive to this new or improved product/service. I recommend two postings per step with at least three days, but, no more than 10 days in between them.

By the way, you should also make sure that you intregrate your blog feed with your social media sites.

Step #6: Reinforce Your Expertise..

Your customer are doing business with you for a reason, now it is time to remind them of the reason. Create at least three case studies on powerpoint and at least one whitepaper in pdf format. Make share active hyperlinks to your website exist on all these documents. Now, upload the powerpoints to Slideshare and activate the Slideshare add-on within LinkedIn. Next, upload the same Powerpoints to Authorstream, and convert it to video. Using Authorstream upload the Authorstream slideshow to your Youtube channel. Embed these videos on your website.

Next, upload your whitepaper(s) to Google Docs and set it to share. Finally, inform your database that these items are avaiable on your website. Since you are using an intregrated e-mail marketing system as discussion in "8 Steps for Engaging B2B Customer Via Social Media - Part #1" your social media platforms will at the push of a "share" button automatically report the news to all your social media loyalist.

Step #7: Close the Sale.

Since you have interlinked all your documents, it should be fairly easy to track whose looking and talking about your products. All you need to do is close the sale by offering a limited-time special offer on your website, and following up with a phone call to set-up an in-person visit. From time to time offer special promotions via the channels you discovered worked best [see Step #5].

Step #8: Ask for Reveiws and Referral.

One of the reasons I recommended Ratepoint back in step #3 is because it offers this great feature in which you can ask for reviews and feedback via email and social media. Plus, you can post your reviews on your website all this while getting them indexed on Google.

Any client that is willing to give you a great review deserves an opportunity to save money. That is when you ask them for social referrals.

First, create a customized Facebook fan page for them, and let them know that any NEW customers that contact you via this channel will earn them points toward cash rewards, discounts, and FREE product/service.

Next, keep your promise, and give this new customer an opportunity to value you too.

Should you have an questions about B2B Social Media, or thoughts about this blog, please feel free to share your comments below:

8 Steps For Engaging B2B Customers Via Social Media - Part #1

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Reese, Owner) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 21:58:00 +0000

I hear it all the time. "Social Media only works well with Business to Consumer ( B2C ) interactions". Yet, there are companies effectively using social media as a business to business (B2B) tool today; i.e. Cisco, Instrumedico, and Vendstar.

Today, I am going to show you the first four steps of a 8 step process that works for B2B everytime. The trick is to remember one thing.

In B2C social media interaction, marketers typically focus on getting new customers. However, this approach really make no sense, especially for B2B. If 80% of your business growth is dependent on the perceived value your current customers have of your business, why spend 80% of your effort on new customers.

The B2B social media processes that works understands the value of existing customers. That said, let us get started.

Step #1: Develop a product/service program wrapped with brand.

All this means is either create a totally new product/service, or simply improve a current product or service and make it really feel unique.

For example, "Since 1991, our Ultraheat Technology has been the standard for high quality heat panels within the RV, Automotive, and other industries requiring the best in tank heaters.

During this span of time we have received many suggestions regarding alternative applications for our product. It is thanks to our loyal customers that UHI Worldwide is are able to unveil a prototype of the NEW [Product Name ] capable of heating a space 10X faster while using 25% less energy. This is made possible by our third-party certified Ultraheat Technology".

Next, create a video [of no more than 3 minutes in length]; featuring the new product/service and its feature benefits. Post the video on Youtube, then use the Youtube link on Facebook and Twitter. Also, embed the video unto your website.

Step #2: Contact customer and gather feedback.

Now, you want to create an e-Newsletter announcing this NEW product/service to your entire customer database. Be sure you have a link to the Youtube video on the newsletter that reads: "Click Here - To Learn More About [Product Name].

Two days after sending the e-newsletter, you will need to check your inbox at Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to see if any of your customers have commented. Be sure to follow-up with them first. Then, go through your database and follow-up with each customer one by one asking what they think of the new product/service. Most will not have even opened the e-newletter, however, that is alright because your call has told them that you did, which is all part of the relationship building process. Others will have seen it and have an opinion. Take down notes for each call, tabulate information and share the most common comments in a report via Twitter & Facebook.

Be sure to use an email marketing system that can share news, gather survey insights, solicit feedback, is indexed by Google, and is capable of intregration with Facebook and Twitter. I recommend Ratepoint, but, you can use whichever system you think is best.

Step #3: Conduct Interactive Sampling.

Create a secure webpage where customers can go to apply for a FREE demo. Then, via email and/or text send an offer with a link to the secure page to your customers that reads something like; "You've heard about it. You've seen it. Now test it for FREE". Be certain to check your email tracking dashbord for any bounces or unsubscriptions. You'll want to contact these customers first, but, it costs you 7 times more money to replace a customer than to keep one.

Step #4: Survey Demo Testers.

Create a series of polls on LinkedIn and Facebook directly targeting the people who requested to sample your product/service. Next, send an e-survey via email to the testers. Tabulate the results via channel they came from so that you can truly understand what medium has the greatest marketing campaign potential. For example; if 252 people said the like it, how many of those were on Facebook versus LinkedIn versus Email.

That's all for today. Be sure to check in with Marketing Rule Breaker tommorrow for the conclusion of; "8 Steps For Engaging B2B Customers Via Social Media"

Should you have any questions direct questions for me you can find me on

Facebook / Twitter / DIR Incorporated