Direct Marketing Observations

JANUARY 12, 2018

Additionally and theoretically, by ‘owning it,’ you should now know by default the answers to the below questions that slightly resemble a SWOT analysis: What makes your company great? What makes your company and its products or services better or different? What does your company not do well?

B2B 276

B2B Influencer Conversation Social Media 276

Direct Marketing Observations

MAY 17, 2013

I was just reading about the social media meltdown of Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, if you’re not familiar with it, the restaurant was featured on Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares production that airs on the FOX Network. Doesn’t that mean you can go and bash any restaurant, anywhere? Seems like it to me. Help me to understand.

Flash Mob 219

Flash Mob Reddit Review Social Media 219

Direct Marketing Observations

DECEMBER 1, 2011

Invariably what I see when I walk into the largest of the large or the smallest of small companies, are companies struggling with 2 schools of thought: (1) That they must corral the social employee and (2) How do they control the social customer. Companies fear what they can’t control. This struggle is perpetuated by fear.

Organization 212

Organization Social Media Training Policies 212

Direct Marketing Observations

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

However, what Dr. Deming really said was that one of the seven deadly diseases of western management is “Running a company on visible figures alone.” In other words, know that though the numbers may say that you have a “successful” company, if everyone is miserable and everyone hates you? Is that success? Is that a visible figure?

Sentiment 196

Sentiment ROI Company Strategy 196

Direct Marketing Observations

JULY 8, 2010

Take the Fast Company Influence Project -talk about a sh@#! For the moment, brands like Fast Company need to think long and hard before redefining what influence means. So when I saw the first Tweets pass by about something called The Influence Project by Fast Company Magazine, I clicked immediately. I was wrong.- Cathy Brooks.

Influencer 138

Influencer Project Meme Metrics 138

Direct Marketing Observations

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

Social media is altering the how, the when, the why and the who in companies large and small. Shape your company’s influence and don’t be influenced by your company’s ignorance or naivete. Companies shouldn’t be forced into a proactive approach to anything. Does this sound like a plan?

Social Media 168

Social Media Reputation Policies Influencer 168

Direct Marketing Observations

JANUARY 21, 2019

To hear companies state that they are now, more than ever, going to start focusing on the customer, just baffles me. This is not a difficult thing. Sometimes I think that marketing stacks get so high that marketers and retailers can’t see the customer that’s standing behind them. When did this change and why did it ever?

Retail 186

Retail Meeting Resources Products 186

Direct Marketing Observations

JUNE 23, 2011

They fear the new found empowerment of an existing employee and the new hires that have expectations around the company being truly social and digital. Those companies are the ones that get it; but interestingly enough what you are never told about these companies, is that they too probably struggled early on, both internally and externally.

Social Media 200

Social Media Posterous Collaboration Course 200

Direct Marketing Observations

AUGUST 2, 2011

You see, there are thousands of companies out there right now that are wanting to tap into all that makes social business sexy right now-Finding new customers, tightening the relationships with existing ones, discovering new channels of business oh and making money. I shot back, “It’s the people not the platform”. Was it the right answer?

Platform 210

Platform Resources Social Media Company 210

Direct Marketing Observations

MAY 28, 2010

More importantly what struck me was that as much as I had done, in the grand scheme of things, a lot was predicated on how much the company I was working with embraced what I was doing. Increase awareness of and interaction with a company’s brand through brand mentions and participation in social networks. Create listening posts.

Social Media 203

Social Media Marketing Social Bookmarking Widget 203

Direct Marketing Observations

MARCH 18, 2015

It’s tailored to your company and it speaks to your audience. If I asked you to be the subject matter expert for your company, product and industry for the social media handles that you manage, could you do it? Can you hold your own, representing the company, in a space that YOUR company is supposed to own?

Social Media 100

Social Media Marketing Discount Engagement 100

Direct Marketing Observations

MARCH 16, 2011

Companies are obsessing over it. Even the really really big companies want to harness the promise of the prospect, the power of the existing customer and the potential of repeat business-All using social media. Yesterday, I was talking to a manager of one of those really really big companies. That sentiment is not on an island.

Sentiment 138

Sentiment Social Media Mobile Company 138

Direct Marketing Observations

OCTOBER 12, 2012

Though recent data says that the more social your executives are the better performing your company might be. Having resources to do all the things that these companies and individuals have read, heard and want to do in social and should be doing in social needs to be a priority but is easier said than done. That’s hurdle #1.

Social Media 187

Social Media Engagement B2B Small Business 187

Direct Marketing Observations

MARCH 16, 2015

It’s 2015 and companies left and right keep talking about their new mandate of delivering on a quality customer experience. You might want to say this out loud: “Companies just now, are starting to actually care and do something about me, the customer.” You can write 1000 words diatribes praising or bashing a company.

Compete 100

Compete Sample Samples Focus Group 100

Direct Marketing Observations

APRIL 12, 2011

Why do people hate you or your company? Why do people talk about your products and company ? Why do people buy your product? Why do you buy one product and not the other? Why do people love your product? Why do people quit using your product? Qualify the why and then you can begin to understand the motivation of intent.

Buy 175

Buy Products Company Social Media 175

Direct Marketing Observations

AUGUST 9, 2012

It’s what keeps companies and organizations in the public eye. You may get lucky and find someone who plays in the same space but it takes some vetting to find that company or person. Thus, the old adage or statement that “we’re going to create a viral video” is equal parts foolish and unattainable.

Content 207

Content Curation Smart Phone Yahoo 207

Direct Marketing Observations

MARCH 26, 2010

You might be either just getting started in social media as a consultant, as a marketer for your company, or perhaps, you are a more seasoned individual. Quality and value take on many forms, depending on the company and the client, but the bottom line is never short you, the client or the customer on either. But what about you?

Social Media 221

Social Media Consultant MySpace Authentication 221

Direct Marketing Observations

MAY 10, 2011

Sure we talk about employee empowerment and internal ideation at some cool sexy companies that are doing “that&# , but for most, the employee doesn’t get the type of play that it deserves. However, if companies were all about their employees, why would 84%% of all employees in the workforce be looking for a job right in 2011?

Badge 171

Badge Social Networking Foursquare Organization 171

Direct Marketing Observations

JULY 6, 2011

It’s sort of a corporate speak type of thing to essentially describe the capabilities of your company isn’t it? But really the dumbed down version of value drivers is a term to describe the competitive advantage(s) of your company. But what if we say you are a “social company”? What should they be?

Social Media 131

Social Media Organization Activities Company 131

Direct Marketing Observations

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

“Return on investment on social media activities has been challenging to most companies in 2009. Surveys show only 18% of companies say they saw meaningful return on investment from their social media activities while the other 72% report modest, no return or inability to measure the return on their investment in social media.

Data 197

Data Social Media Radian6 ROI 197

Direct Marketing Observations

JULY 2, 2010

If I’m a disgruntled customer, or just someone that is trying to get something resolved with a company I’m doing business with, chances are I’m going to go the traditional route; Phone, email, live chat, trouble ticket, phone again.It’s what I know-it’s how I am conditioned. What if I’m getting nowhere?

Social Media 159

Social Media Nielsen Company Issues 159

Direct Marketing Observations

MARCH 31, 2017

That’s what today’s consumers have done to media outlets, to publications, to entertainment companies and to anyone in the business of producing content. They struggle with being interesting and they struggle with staying interesting. We are forcing them to keep our attention. If we stray, they lose. If they stray, they lose.

Blogger 137

Blogger Eventful Questions Content 137

Direct Marketing Observations

JANUARY 26, 2011

Ironically we have said on many different occasions that consumers look to each other for product and company recommendations-they trust each other for their unfettered honesty. Consumers trust search results when doing research on a company and not social media. So what is happening? Now let’s look at slide #2. It surprised me.

Influencer 173

Influencer Research Social Media Company 173

Direct Marketing Observations

FEBRUARY 1, 2011

Just because we see them, doesn’t mean that those companies are “social&# , that they are engaged, fully engaged or partly engaged. Yet I know major companies that either go out and do nothing with their Twitter presence or worse, squat on their Twitter handle so that others don’t it. Specifically the Twitter and Facebook icons.

Twitter 223

Twitter Brands Engagement Strategy 223

Direct Marketing Observations

JUNE 18, 2010

Take for example the Forrester “social maturity&# survey which wants to know which companies are ahead of the curve in implementing social technologies for both external use (i.e., I had been thinking pretty hard lately that the more that I talk to various companies of various sizes one thing is becoming quite clear.

Buy 159

Buy Social Media Survey Social Networking 159

Direct Marketing Observations

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

1) Create a Social Media case study of who is talking about your company both in good & bad ways. 6) Encourage your employees to follow your company via social media tools and platforms like Twitter and retweet, post, etc. 7) Create a hashtag around your company, product, or industry and drive the conversations. Find them.

Social Media 177

Social Media Case Study Crowdsourcing Hashtag 177

Direct Marketing Observations

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Whether you’re a click and mortar or a web based only company, either or requires more than just a cursory amount of effort revolved around driving traffic. It’s why people go into business, it’s why companies sell stuff. Search for your own product or company the way they do. This has not changed.

Brands 176

Brands Discount Sites SEO 176

Direct Marketing Observations

MARCH 1, 2012

A lot of companies are going to transition to becoming a social business and fail horribly at it. Regardless of who built the site, the meta tags that lie underneath can tell you a lot about what a company thinks they are, of how they view themselves. Metas are your descriptors of you and your company. It starts there.

Adwords 138

Adwords Tumblr Reputation YouTube 138

Direct Marketing Observations

OCTOBER 27, 2011

How do other companies compete when Nike, Gatorade and AE give stuff away for free? I think part of the reason why case studies on organizations that do it differently are written is because the majority of marketers and companies do it the same way over and over with predictably average results. Do they just give away free stuff too?

Compete 162

Compete Case Study Social Networking Small Business 162

Direct Marketing Observations

APRIL 26, 2010

The majority of companies today are not set up to handle this new consumer. Decades of closed systems and legally approved content are getting in the way of companies trying to interact with the consumer. Even though consumers are changing their behaviors by the second, companies can not move that quickly.

Social Media 173

Social Media Radian6 Apple Marketing 173

Direct Marketing Observations

JANUARY 31, 2018

In that time, I’ve worked for some of the largest companies in the world and If you were to ask me what keeps me up at night it would vacillate between how can I do more with the tools and resources I have available to me and what am I missing? A home run in B2B social media from an engagement standpoint for some companies might be 1%.

Social Media 164

Social Media B2B Metrics Analytics 164

Direct Marketing Observations

DECEMBER 8, 2011

When Jason first called me, he was looking for ways to brand his previous company. 14) Businesses, brands and companies should incorporate tweetchats into their marketing mix. At the time, the Tweetchat, “ Journchat “, was on fire and that was our inspiration. 11) Every Tweetchat will be different. No two are the same.

Social Media 218

Social Media Hosting Hashtag Collaboration 218

Direct Marketing Observations

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

Either it’s your own personal site, or it’s your company’s. If it’s the company website, you probably have some type of responsibility or influence over it’s content. Assuming I know the audience that read this blog, chances are you have some type of input into your company website.

Mobile 159

Mobile Meeting Questions Sites 159

Direct Marketing Observations

OCTOBER 28, 2010

Take solace though in this- Some of the best companies fail and will fail at social media, and even more-so, some of the biggest and best brands as well will do nothing with social media out of that fear of failing or notion that social media doesn’t work. So which company would you like to be? It’s worth it.

Social Media 189

Social Media Consultant SEO Training 189

Direct Marketing Observations

JUNE 9, 2011

What’s more, let’s add the pressure of 3 concrete tenets in the digital space: Is what you’re doing making the company money? Is what you’re doing saving the company money? Is what you’re doing driving or building equity for the company?

Social Media Management 143

Social Media Management Metrics Company Organization 143

Direct Marketing Observations

OCTOBER 5, 2011

On the one hand I will tell a company that they are missing the boat because they are neither a social brand or a social business. On the other, I will flat out tell some people and some companies that they have no business playing in the social space. I got a standing ovation for that one. Why the flip-flop? So what happened?

Social Media 152

Social Media Aggregator Loyalty Social Networking 152

Direct Marketing Observations

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

Marketing departments and SEO companies understand this. Thus, they’ve been creating “landing pages&# buried inside corporate sites to hit all of the different possible combinations of keywords of a search query relating to their company/ industry. Large companies are catching on. The bigger part of the problem?

Content 162

Content Curation SEO Adwords 162