Archive for Business

Measuring Your Online Personal Brand

December 7, 2008 · Filed under Brand, Business, Marketing, New Media · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Ever Googled yourself? If you haven’t, don’t get all high and mighty, thinking that only narcissistic people would do such a thing. Today, you need to be aware of your online presence, and your ability to be found. I strongly suggest that everybody be highly aware of their personal brand, but things rings especially true if you have any interest in being a thought leader in your industry. When somebody searches for your name, what kind of information do they find first? That helps dictate your personal brand. When somebody searches for the kind of things you know about, will they find you? You should want them to.

Google is the best search engine to use when evaluating your ability to be found online. Why? They dominate the world of search. According to Hitwise, Google occupies approximately 72% of searches in the United States (although most stats I see put them in the 60-70% range). Yahoo is second with about 17%. There isn’t much else to go around after that. Google gets several hundred million searches each day. You need to have a presence.

We can talk a little bit more in another post/conversation about how to increase the chances you have of showing up on these Google search engine results (SERs), but it should be clear that your personal brand is affected by how you fare in Google SERs. 

Today, I was turned on to another evaluation tool (I know there are some people who abhor evaluation tools, but I see value in them, so deal with it). Phil Barrett wrote a post about the Online Identity Calculator – a tool that asks you a few questions (really only takes a few minutes) and then leverages Google to evaluate your online identity and measure it by placing you in one of four quadrants.

You know I like these kinds of evaluation tools – anything that you use to track/measure/evaluate your personal brand?

Here are the results of my Online Identity Calendar:

Mike McDowell's results - Digitally Distinct

Mike McDowell's results - Digitally Distinct

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Twitter for Business

December 1, 2008 · Filed under Business, Marketing, New Media · Tagged , , , , , ,

I have read a TON of articles about using Twitter for business. Most of them pretty good. I think it is a brilliant tool for the businesses that are willing to participate. That keyword needs to be repeated – PARTICIPATE. Use Twitter like it isn’t just another outlet for your promotional message. Are you the kind of tool who goes to a dinner party and tries to sell something to everybody you meet? That’s how some businesses use Twitter. BUT – the businesses that treat this like an opportunity to have a conversation and a relationship that is valuable to its followers, they WIN.

Below are the slides from an Ogilvy Twitter for Business presentation. Not brand new, but a good collection of tips for businesses that want to use Twitter to engage their end users and to listen to unfiltered conversations about their brands. 

Ogilvy Twitter for Business

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Know Your Target Audience

November 12, 2008 · Filed under Business, Marketing, New Media, Rants · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Hey dude, want some cute boots?

Hey dude, want some cute boots?

 

I received an e-mail offer from Famous Footwear this morning. Awful. Yes, I did sign up to be on their mailing list so I could get my 20% off at the counter one afternoon – that’s not the issue. Visually, it was on brand – that’s not the issue. It was the subject line and the content of the e-mail: it was about women’s shoes! Now, I’ll concede that probably most of Famous Footwear’s mailing list and clientele are female. But, this is e-mail marketing! You can easily segment your messages based on any number of things, including gender. There should have been a male-centric e-mail and a female-centric version of this e-mail. Tsk tsk!

Data collection and segmentation is becoming easier and easier (not to mention more and more necessary), and needs to be used appropriately. Hitting a customer by gender is just one example of e-mail marketing segmenting. You should be able to tell what kind of shoes I’ve purchased in the past, and customize a message based on that. Don’t you think I would be more inclined to make a purchase if there was an offer about something you know I like? 

As marketers, we have such a buffet of information at our fingertips about our clientele. New media allows us to collect even more data and learn how to better serve our end user – no matter whom that is. So, sit up and think about how you use the data you have. Are you still just sending out the same blind e-mails? Are you offering women’s boots to men? (For the record, my purchasing history includes NO female shoes or boots). You’ve been collecting the data – now analyze it and use it and give your company a great chance to make a transaction. 

As a final aside – I loathe that I opened up that e-mail, because it will be recorded as a successful e-mail, but I had to get that screen capture. See my post from Sunday – you get what you consume. Don’t want strategically crappy e-mails? Stop opening them! Ugh – my bad.

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Gary F’in Vaynerchuk Talks About the Future of Social Media

November 7, 2008 · Filed under Business, Marketing, New Media · Tagged , , , , ,

If you have never heard of Gary Vaynerchuk and you have anything to do with new or social media – get familiar with his work… fast. Also, if you are a fan of wine, the New York Jets, or foul language, you will REALLY like Gary. He has some kick-ass energy and I love the guy (but hey, I’m married, and I’m a Cowboys fan, so I don’t think it would work between the two of us. But I digress…)

REPOST from Mashable.com

The wine and web marketing expert Gary Vaynerchuk was canvassing on the streets of New York on Wednesday night: bringing the “Yes We Can” mantra to the web community.

The meetup, co-organized with Mashable, began as a cozy indoor networking affair. But with high volume levels inside, the group gleefully marched out to the street for an upbeat pep talk; a location much more suited to the themes of improvisation and resourcefulness.

Video: Staying Upbeat in a Down Market

The full video of the “sidewalk keynote” is posted below, courtesy of CenterNetworks. (Warning: contains strong language throughout.) Or skip to the “7 Points” below for our summary.

Gary’s 7 Points on a Social Media Upturn

1. “Hustle” – improvise, be resourceful, do whatever it takes to care for your community. Tough times require creative solutions.

2. “Next 24 months are the biggest opportunity for social media” – social media is mature. “It’s a baby. But it’s mature. It’s a baby with a mustache.”

3. “Large companies will cut social media because they don’t understand it” – the longer the big players stay away from new web technologies, the greater the opportunity for new entrants.

4. “The new barrier to building a brand is your time, not your pocketbook” – nobody can stop you from starting a global media brand from your house; all you need is time.

5. “Telling main street about Twitter is a waste of time” – keep it quiet; knowledge of new web technologies is your competitive advantage.

6. “Take Your Money” – go to Google, type in the keywords in your space. Look at the ads next to the results: these are people who pay to market in your niche. Call them. Convince them to spend those dollars on you instead.

7. “Anything that gets eyeballs is monetizable” – 2500 unique visitors a day should be enough to live on.


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People Must Really Want LinkedIn to Work

November 6, 2008 · Filed under Business, Marketing, New Media · Tagged , , , , , ,

LinkedIn

I guess people really want LinkedIn to not be another dead-end business network. I have a LinkedIn profile. Many people do. But, I don’t use it that much – do you? I have heard LinkedIn referred to as an “online Rolodex” more than a social network. While the debate about people using it remains, it has been growing rapidly – in fact, according to Nielsen Online, LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing social networks between 2007 and 2008, growing 187% (yes, that’s more than Facebook, which grew 77% from 07 to 08). I think last time I checked, LinkedIn was approaching 10 million unique visitors. Hard facts aside – anecdotally, I rarely find somebody who USES LinkedIn after they sign up and make some connections. It seems the only time people go back to LinkedIn is to accept a connection. 

So, is LinkedIn really going to take? Are people going to use it as a legitimate business and networking tool? In the past few days, I’ve gotten updates that LinkedIn is going app crazy. From ways to create projects and collaborate, share information or customize your profile. Here’s a short list (full disclosure – most of this section is LinkedIn’s wording). Maybe this will help?

Work collaboratively with your network:

Box on LinkedIn: Share files and collaborate with your network.

Huddle on LinkedIn: Private workspaces to collaborate with your network on projects.
Share information and keep up to date with your network.

Amazon on LinkedIn: Discover what your network is reading.

TripIt on LinkedIn: See where your network is traveling.

SixApart on LinkedIn: Stay up to date with your network’s latest blog posts.

Present yourself and your work in new ways:

Google Docs on LinkedIn: Embed a presentation on your profile.

SlideShare on LinkedIn: Share, view and comment on presentations from your network.

WordPress on LinkedIn: Promote your blog and latest posts.

Gain key insights that will make you more effective:

Company Buzz by LinkedIn: See what people are saying about your company.

How to Use LinkedIn

There’s also a blog dedicated to using LinkedIn (tough to say how deep the connection between the blogger and LinkedIn is). But, there are some decent tips there: The LinkedIn Personal Trainer – ways to use LinkedIn. There is actually a pretty interesting article about how people in the financial industry are using LinkedIn a LOT in the past several weeks.

The Future of LinkedIn?

What’s your take? How do you use LinkedIn? DO you use LinkedIn?

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Truth in Packaging

October 31, 2008 · Filed under advertising, Business, Marketing, Rants · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

OK, yes this is another post about me complaining about marketers. How many times have you watched a commercial for a big juicy burger – meat glistening, giant ripe tomatoes, big fluffy bun, melty cheese – so perfect you want to run out and grab it right then and there? However, you get to the restaurant and proudly order your new discovery only to be handed a soggy, limp little burger. How could this be? You saw it with your own eyes on TV. You feel betrayed! You’ve been bamboozled! What are you to do?

Wendy's Baconator

Wendy's Baconator (Ad vs Reality)

I don’t know, my friends. What can you do? The laws seem to be fairly loose around this kind of thing – but is it so wrong? I’ve been on the set of food shoots – it’s truly an art. There are professional food photographers who are very good at their job. They use all sorts of materials to get food to look good. They put gloss on the meat to make it look juicy. The use carefully calculated placement of sauces, applied by syringes. Next time you see a box of cereal, take a close look to see if there is a heaping spoonful of cereal in cold milk. Odds are, the milk is actually Elmer’s Glue. 

Should we be upset? Isn’t this just like a human model for clothes or sunglasses or makeup or something? Isn’t this just the same as seeing that shirt on a model, going to the store and buying it, only to see that you look like a turd in the exact same shirt? Kind of. The food has to be photographed to look appealing, I get it. Here’s the BIG QUESTION for the blog – how close should the actual product look in comparison to the commercial or the photo? 

Take a look at this next winner of a product lie. There’s supposedly six kids that can frolic around in this kiddie pool. Looks great – what an oasis of fun! You can go down the water slide while your friends chill in the pool. Perhaps you’d like to play basketball or ring toss? Sure – it’s all good, kids. Back to reality – I feel bad for the kids in this “reality” photo. While the two products are very similar, that is NOT the same product. The kids in the photo on the box are pixies or something. Seriously! Look at this photo and just shake your head in disbelief (well, that’s what I did). Is there no Truth-in-Packaging law? I couldn’t find one, but if somebody knows of it, please give me the details. Is this ethical?

Wow, not even close

Wow, not even close

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