July 2012
3 posts
6 tags
No More Fancy Pants Writing*
A tendency to think in “fancy” terms shouldn’t bleed onto the paper/screen/conversation and make it difficult for the audience—any audience—to understand.
If you need a dictionary to slog through content, it’s probably because the writer has serious room for improvement. After all, this makes it almost impossible to quickly and easily pull information from...
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WTF QR Codes
You can’t imagine how badly I wish I’d taken a picture last week of the bloody aftermath of a poorly placed QR code. Alas, I’m one of the 83 percent of smartphone users who don’t whip out their phones at a moment’s notice to snap a shot of something unsightly.
It’s bad enough that someone would want to hold up traffic just to dig through her comically oversized...
WTF QR Codes →
Yes.
June 2012
22 posts
3 tags
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! Chapter 1 Takeaways
Just starting in on this one - Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! A Guide to Creating Great Ads (2nd ed.) by Luke Sullivan.
It seems that every Half Price Books in the area has at least 3 copies of this one, so I was wary at first. At $2*, however, I felt I’d be a fool to leave it behind. So far? So-so. I have a weakness for any writer with a sarcastic streak, though, so onward.
At this point the...
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“”The most memorable, savored brands of the future will be those that...”
– Martin Lindstrom on the similarities between branding and spirituality, from Brand Sense: Sensory Secrets Behind the Stuff We Buy, p. 5
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Unmarketable Takeaways, Ch. 2 (Scene for Sale)
Excerpts from Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity by Anne Elizabeth Moore
Skewering the hell out of Lovemarks:
“Marketers wishing to stay competitive will connect with consumers emotionally, tapping directly into those snap decision-making skills and bypassing the need for product information.” - p. 26
“… iconic brands that...
Amazon.com: Asperger's on the Job: Must-have... →
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Facebook Fan Pages: Botching Engagement
I love perfume. Makeup. Sparkly things. Naturally, I like Company S. Not just literally, of course, but also in the social media sense of the word: I “Like” Company S on Facebook.
Or at least I did.
Then Company S underwent a change to a more aggressive/intrusive social media strategy that included seven posts per day on my Friends feed. It’s hard enough to sift through endless...
4 tags
Social Media Marketing Evaluation for Facebook
I used Google Docs to create a form that can be used to perform a basic evaluation on a Facebook business page. Enjoy.
Loading…
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DIT Facebook Analysis (6/4 to 6/18)
Most engaging content: photos (11 likes, 33 comments)
Majority of wall posts are one-time commenters
Most common inquiries focus on pricing and discount codes
Timely, professional responses from Administrator
Few negative comments, but few positive comments. Majority of comments are neutral.
Of course, these stats describe a limited time range. The rate of engagement for the photo post is...
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Using Analytics to Measure and Engage Audience...
Fan growth (Social Bakers)
Engagement Rate: (Likes + Comments)/Fans
Admin Response Rate
Most Engaging Content Types (text, link, image, etc.)
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“Average number of Likes and Comments / # of Fans : Does content actively...”
– How GoPro Measures Social Engagement | Inc.com - Brand Audience Rate of Engagement
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Idea Flight
Idea Flight allows you “the pilot” to remotely control up to 30 iPads “passengers” on a single network. Dropbox is integrated, allowing you to invite participants to download the app and join the presentation. Users can read along with the presenter (sync) and download the presentation for future reference.
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Fighting Crime With Jewelry | Inc.com →
Jessica Mindich, owner of Jewelry for a Cause, transforms guns obtained through a gun buyback program into beautiful jewelry. 20 percent of sales go to non-profits like DoSomething.org and the Alzheimer’s Association.
“Is creativity stifled? Or is it easier to be creative at a company that is...”
– Feedback from May 2012 Inc. = support for my “structured creativity” approach
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Doctors in Training - Required Reading
List of articles and information I’m using to prepare for an interview (Marketing Manager) with Doctors In Training next week. So interesting!
For links and abstracts, email me.
Medical Marketing
Selling Educational Events to Healthcare Professionals: Twelve Tips on the Design and Function of Trigger Leaflets
Best Use of Direct Marketing to Healthcare Professionals
Immune to Marketing?
...
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TEDTalks: Clay Shirky: How Social Media Can Make...
Social capital: tools are not socially interesting until they become technologically boring (when everyone is able to take it for granted).
Innovation is social anywhere people can take it for granted that we’re all in this together; moving from one spot to another.
Largest increase in expressive capability in human history
Only 4 periods where media changed enough to warrant this...
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Mobile Marketing
Annoying ringtones and texting-behind-the-wheel junkies aside, the adoration of mobile users may very well be the biggest and brightest thing on the marketing horizon. It’s fascinating to think of the opportunities that mobile marketing offers. Consider:
Well over 4 billion consumers are mobile subscribers.
Portability and the opportunity to connect with consumers in seconds – whenever,...
5 tags
Consumer Republic, Chapter 3 Takeaways
On how media ubiquity may threaten branded marketing: “One is the creative challenge of getting [consumers’] attention … The other is the impact of social media.” —p.57
On the changes affecting consumers’ relationships with media: ”… the relationship is becoming very uneconomical … with a hundred times as many ways to interact with media, but...
May 2012
1 post
5 tags
Consumer Republic, Chapter 2 Takeaways
On getting the most from collective consumerism: “Nothing stands in the way of enlightened consumerism more stubbornly than the belief that we are victims of marketing. Or, that other people are.” —p.36
On getting what you/we want from brands: “Now it’s more often true that those same marketers are asking us mice to help them design the traps.” —p.36
...
April 2012
2 posts
5 tags
““…people are repulsed by the idea that ‘image’ affects...”
– Bruce Philp, Consumer Republic chapter 1
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“… if a big company was willing to put their famous name on a product,...”
– Bruce Philp, Consumer Republic p. 19, describing why consumers are often willing to pay up to 20 percent more for branded products
March 2012
4 posts
5 tags
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Direct Marketing with Augmented Reality | Deliver... →
Interesting; probably not appropriate for marketing in a recession and certainly not capable of unseating direct mail. Maybe if they stopped leading off with comparisons to QR codes.
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Bookshelf: "Can't Buy My Love"
Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel by J. Kilbourne
First impression: Definitely of interest to anyone interested in women’s studies or gender influence in marketing. Should prove engaging if I can wade through page after page of angsty-girlhood-stories.
Psssst: Fund my college education and further your knowledge: Click the image to purchase this...
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Networking Tool: Meeteor →
Chris Lee, cofounder of Meeteor, simplifies networking by facilitating connections based on who you might like to connect—here’s the kicker—and why. Create your profile, then select from a list of skills or talents + industry, and Meeteor kicks in. The goal, Lee says, is to “remove as much friction as possible from the networking process.”
Three to Read for more on...
February 2012
2 posts
4 tags
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CueCat + QR Codes
Who remembers the CueCat, the somewhat phallic, cat-shaped handheld scanning device of 1999? Exactly. Those of us who can remember the CueCat attribute the ability to do so based solely upon the fact that it was, well, somewhat phallic and shaped like a cat. If you’re Computerworld, you remember it as a 2001 Media Arts and Entertainment Laureate. If you’re PC World magazine, you remember it as one...
December 2011
2 posts
2 tags
The Marketing Spot: Breadth vs. Depth
Being broad means being a source. Being deep means being a resource.
via Breadth vs. Depth | The Marketing Spot.
Well said.
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Website Uptime and Performance Monitoring
Website Uptime and Performance Monitoring:Site24x7.
I am a major fan of Zoho Writer/Show/Sheet/Notebook but have never explored Zoho’s other applications. Site 24×7 looks very promising and actually has an affordable pricing plan. It it not so high as to be prohibitive to small businesses and even individuals. Definitely considering it for future reference; it is almost certainly a useful...
November 2011
6 posts
4 tags
Censored: The Power of Proofreading Content
If you’ve kept up with me you know that I am absolutely incapable of entirely shutting my brain down, which leads me to indulge in my very favorite non-pastime: “Back Burner Activities”. BBAs are general points of interest that help me to identify learning opportunities without directly focusing on a single idea. See this post for reference.
I’d like to start my discussion with a caveat: I...
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Win-Win Situations
I enjoy learning new things, but sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated when I’m discovering just how many things I still have to learn. Writing articles and templates on mTurk has been a great way to pick up some interesting facts and information, and I enjoy it immensely. Anyhow, I was really excited to receive a link to this blog post by my favorite requester* in my inbox. Those are my...
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Post-Crisis Value Shifts in Consumers, pt. 1
I recently read an interesting article that examined the different ways that an economic crisis can fundamentally shape the way individuals react to and interact with different elements of their life– family life, in the workplace, in social settings, and so forth. In an extended crisis period, economic mindset can even start to mold an individual’s way of thinking about his or her own...
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Using Pinterest to Understand Your Online Shoppers
Let us discuss the marketing possibilities of Pinterest. It is definitely a valuable asset for small business owners who present and sell their wares through an online storefront. The popular site combines and intensifies the impact of appealing visual content with the power and ubiquity of social networking. Users download a bookmarklet to their internet browser toolbar, which is then used to...
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Laundry List
It’s frustrating to view a promising job posting and begin to immediately consider all its possibilities, only to discover that the basic requirements could for all practical purposes be written in Greek. That said, suck it up and look into the following:
FanAppz
Involver
CoTweet
GraphScience
Radian6
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Back Burner Activities #1
More often than not, I find myself looking for ways to soak up as much information as possible without actually making a conscious effort to do so. This leads me to something that I like to call my ‘back burner activities’. Back burner activities are a sort of thought process/means of amusement hybrid that I use to pick out information and ideas for later engagement.
One of my current back burner...
October 2011
6 posts
2 tags
Relationship Marketing & Social Networking
No groundbreaking revelations here, just reminders for myself:
1. Create online presence (Twitter, FaceBook, etc.) 2. Offer exclusive discounts and promos via ^ 3. Frequently update content. 4. Make use of all FB apps, including photo albums, information, links, etc. 5. Goal is to create and sustain positive relationships in the absence of physical proximity; may present challenge in building...
Dan Cobley: What Physics Taught Me About Marketing
“… if you think about the number of people who claim in surveys to regularly look for porn on the Web, it’s very few. Yet, at Google, we know it’s the number-one searched-for category. So luckily, the science — no, sorry — the marketing is getting easier. Luckily, with now better point-of-sale tracking, more digital media consumption, you can measure more what consumers actually do,...
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“’…you didn’t understand my question. I didn’t ask you where they were. I...”
– – Bob Middlemas, explaining boss John Nordstrom’s “no excuses” approach to customer service through inventory levels
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Note to Self - SEO
As I’m learning about SEO, it’s becoming clear that my competitors for search engine relevancy are not necessarily going to be the same competitors that I will face in the market.
Why did the marketing management course of study placed so little emphasis on online marketing concepts? I searched all of my saved notes and came up with only three instances of the term “SEO”. This strikes me as...
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“It’s hard to target a message to a generic 35-year-old middle-class working...”
– Elizabeth Gardner, internet retailer
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The Diamonds and Water Paradox
Diamond…water…what? While it sounds like it could be the next “It” drink of every undernourished and overpaid supermodel out there, the Diamond-Water Paradox is actually an offshoot of the musings of hallowed economist Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations.
Observe: The things which have the greatest value in use have frequently little or no value in exchange; on the contrary, those which have the...
February 2011
1 post
4 tags
TEDTalks: Evan Williams: Listening to Twitter...
2/2009
Jack Dorsey: Sending simple status updates + SMS = Twitter as a side project
Also launched Blogger as a side project
Share a moment in your life as it is happening (having a baby vs. dropping a phone in a toilet)
Evolved uses of Twitter - real time events (LA Times, fire dept. front page)
Originally designed as broadcast medium
Invented way to reply to specific person; @username is...
