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Things We Love 4/8

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Debbie loves Twilert – It’s a Twitter application that allows me to track mentions in the twittersphere. For instance, I’ve been tracking mentions of Port City Java. Every day I get an email of tweets that mention Port City Java. You’d be amazed at how often people tweet about their coffee. It’s a great way to track what people are saying about your brand.

Holly loves Carolina basketball – I know this isn’t marketing/PR/advertising/social media related, but we just won a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP and I honestly can’t think of anything else more exciting to write about this week! I watched my alma-mater stomp Michigan State then proceeded to get a little teary-eyed as I ran to Franklin St. to celebrate with about 35,000 of my closest friends and Tar Heel fans. All I have left say is GO HEELS!

Kelly loves Advertising Age’s “Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn’t Tweet” – Despite the fact that celebrities, CEOs, and marketing mavens are twittering away doesn’t mean it’s the best marketing tool for everyone. According Ad Age, the top reasons a company should not tweet include using Twitter as a social-media strategy instead of a tactic, having to get approval from legal for every single tweet, and thinking it’s alright to use a “ghost tweeter” for the president of your company. Let’s face it, social media is a multi-faceted marketing tool that can very easily become overwhelming for those companies who don’t take the time to monitor what is being said about their brand before joining the Twitter conversation. Simply starting a Twitter account for the sake of being like everyone else is not a smart move. Check and see if you fit under their top ten reasons not to tweet.

Kirsty loves HootSuite.com – Not only does it help me schedule my tweets when I’m very busy (I think I’ve perfected my method), but I can tell which tweets people like the most from its statistics function. In March, links in my @kpiper tweets had 1,800 clicks and I learned that tweets about Jerry Seinfeld, bad PR pitches, Sacha Baron Cohen and LinkedIn are big winners!

Susan loves AT&T Wireless’ commercials – Being in marketing, I pay attention to commercials. Not just the product, but the quality, the script, the music, the actors. All of these components can make or break a spot. And I have to say that AT&T has done a great job lately of getting my attention in a good way. I can’t help but watch, and sing along to, “Sweet Pea” and “Backpackers” every time they come on.

Tags: Advertising, Social media, Social Media in Wilmington N.C., Things We Love
Posted in Marketing, Professional Development | Comments

Talk helps Azalea 5k get off to a running start

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Talk recently scored some ink for Wilmington Orthopaedic Group’s Azalea 5k race and an exciting new fitness class leading up to it. Designed for people interested in gradually becoming runners, the Walk-to-Run fitness class teaches novice runners how to set their pace and garner enough energy to finish the Azalea 5k on May 2. Sponsored by Wilmington Orthopaedic Group, the second annual Azalea 5k benefits the Girls on the Run program of the Wilmington Family YMCA. Participants can register through the race’s Facebook page or on Active.com.

Tags: Events
Posted in Marketing, Public Relations | Comments

How NOT to use a Facebook fan page

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

It’s hard to believe that Facebook is only 5 years old, especially when you consider that the site now serves over 200 million people across the globe. These numbers are shocking as I think of my first Facebook experience and how drastically things have changed since then. I created my Facebook profile in June 2005 after learning about the for-college-students-only site at my UNC-CH orientation. Since the early days, Facebook has been something unusually personal, where I can be myself and communicate with people who know me or want to know me.

Because Facebook has such a personal connotation to so many people, marketers and companies must be careful with how they approach potential and current consumers on the site. Facebook, despite having strict rules for advertising, has been fairly helpful to businesses by giving them options for speaking directly to their target audience through fan pages. These pages have undergone changes recently that help companies become more engaged with consumers, however some have taken these privileges overboard to become more of a nuisance than a welcomed friend. Here are a few things I advise NOT doing with a company fan page:

1.    Send promotional messages. – Some people use Facebook messaging like email. I honestly couldn’t tell you the email addresses of most of my college friends, but that doesn’t matter, because we have Facebook. Since these messages are like email to many of us, promotional messages give us the same icky feeling as spam. It is especially annoying, and inappropriate, when companies hire Facebook users to send these messages and pose as legitimate acquaintances.
2.    Give fans a daily update. – Facebook allows companies to send updates to their fans that appear on a users news feed just like friend requests, event invitations and wall notifications. These updates should be used to express big changes or events, not detail every little development. If the updates aren’t relevant or too frequent then it will be ignored and possibly blocked, so keep them to a minimum.
3.    Send invitations to random people. – The other day I received an invitation to be a fan of a park in another state that I had never been to and never heard of before. As someone who lives hundreds of miles away, I am clearly not in their target audience. Send invitations to users who fit the profile of a potential customer or have expressed interested in the company but might not have known about the fan page.
4.    Don’t update the company profile. – There is nothing worse than a company that creates a fan page, only to let it sit there for months and months without a hint of new content. The new fan pages offer a variety of applications that can link to a Twitter page, blog or newsroom as well as space to upload photos and videos. Taking a few minutes every week to add new content to the company page will help keep users engaged and encourage interaction.

Tags: Facebook, Marketing in a Recession
Posted in Marketing | Comments

How to choose the right words for the best copy

Monday, April 6th, 2009

One of the best ways to doom your company blog to fail is to fill your posts with the wrong words. While it might be hard to resist using “flashy” words to grab your readers’ attention, according to CopyBlogger.com, there is a difference between choosing the perfect word and choosing an agonizingly long word just for the sake of sounding important. The following steps will help you write copy that not only takes your readers on a journey, but appeals to their emotions, as well.

Create an image in their mind.
Instead of telling your readers how great your product is or how your company’s customer service is unsurpassable, choose words that create a vibrant picture in your readers’ imagination and help them feel what you’re trying to say. For example, the word “cozy” creates a warmer feeling than “small”, and “colossal” better describes size than the word “big”.

Grab their interest.
Another way to improve the quality of your copy is to always keep your readers interested. Sharing a personal story and providing key facts to support your post are great ways to grab your readers’ attention and ensure they come back for more. You would be surprised to learn how many people want to read blogs that share personal stories they can relate to.

Keep the tone easy-to-read.
Bloggers think they need to use fancy wording to appeal to their readers, however, according to CopyBlogger.com, choosing the right word or phrase for your copy shouldn’t overshadow the very thing you’re trying to promote. If you get carried away with elaborate wording that is beyond your readers’ understanding, chances are they won’t be inclined to tune in for any future posts. Keep the tone easy to understand and be straightforward-you’ll still be able to communicate your message just as easily.

Posted in Marketing | Comments

Things We Love 3/25/09

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Debbie loves handwritten notes. As a young girl, I used to write letters to my grandmother all the time. Then came the love letters in junior high. Followed by the long distance hellos when I lived far away from friends and family. Today, email has taken the place of many letters. But there is no substitute for a handwritten note from a friend or business acquaintance. It only takes a few moments and 42 cents to make someone’s day - and make a great impression. So put away the keyboard and pick up the pen. It’s great PR for your personal brand.

Holly loves FirstGiving.com – Not only is this site a great way for non-profit organizations to create donation pages, but it is also super simple and easily personalized. Talk’s First Giving page for the Walk For Those Who Can’t features custom branding like our logo and a personal message. The site also helps non-profits by hosting free webinars about ways to promote and maximize your fundraising efforts. Show some love to First Giving and a great non-profit by donating to Talk’s Walk page!

Kelly loves “The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media” by Paul Gillin. Exploring how and why social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and blogs have gained increasing popularity and credibility with consumers, this book is perfect for anyone looking to take their business to another level through social media. Gillin offers proven strategies for businesses and organizations to leverage new internet-based social media outlets as well as simple ways marketers can effectively benefit from these resources. If you want a better understanding of social media, but don’t know where to start, this book is perfect for you!

Shawn loves working with and for people who have a sense of humor. Bosses, clients, vendors, co-workers and even the occasional wrong number are all included. I’m a firm believer that you can do your job AND have a little fun. I would even argue that some lighthearted laughter here and there can make you a better employee. One of the great things about Twitter and other social media outlets is that you get to know someone’s personality or lack thereof. If you can make me laugh, you have got my attention. And keeping someone’s attention is one of the biggest hurdles. So lighten up and have a little fun.

Susan loves Evil Movie Megacorporation Rebranding – I’ve always wondered if logos created for movies were designed by a real designer or just one of the movie’s crew. Some logos are cool enough that I would want to be a customer, and others are so atrocious I wonder why the characters even trust the company. Now, the folks over at the blog SpaceSick have given facelifts to the brands of fictional evil corporations to make them more appealing. It’s amazing what a little creativity and color can do for a corporate image.

Tags: Graphic Design, Issues Management, Marketing, Project Pet Project, Social media
Posted in Graphic Design, Issues Management, Marketing | Comments

Walk for Talk

Friday, March 20th, 2009

On March 28, all of us here at Talk will be participating in the Walk for Those Who Can’t, a fundraising event benefiting Carolina Canines for Service, and we’ve got some pretty exciting things planned. We hope all of you out there in the blog-o-sphere will come out for the event, or possibly make donations to our team. CCFS has done some incredible things for our community and we look forward to helping them help others. Here are just a few highlights for this year’s Walk:

Talk’s Kissing Booth - It’s baaaaaaaaack! In case you missed last year’s Paw Jam, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by our larger-than-life kissing booth featuring one of Talk’s furry friends. This year the superstar kisser is none other than Winnie, my precious 6-month-old Dachshund-mix puppy. At a sturdy 11lbs, Winnie loves to show affection and treats each newcomer like her very best friend. Even though my little girl will gladly give out smooches for free, she kindly appreciates any size donation to Carolina Canines for her services.
The Loop - The 2.45-mile path around a public park and scenic marshes in Wrightsville Beach is a sight to be seen on any given sunny day. Lucky for our Walkers, the Loop serves as the location for the big event and participants can enjoy the scenery while helping a great cause. It really is a win-win!
Dogs, dogs and more dogs - As a fundraiser for Carolina Canines, the Walk invites any and all leashed dogs to join in the fun. Service dogs, therapy dogs, adopted dogs, big dogs and little dogs will gather at the Loop for hours of socializing and exercise. Talk’s top dog Camden will definitely be there for all the excitement as well as Kelly’s Gunner, Kirsty’s Peter and my Winnie.
Carolina Canines for Service - All of this wouldn’t be possible without CCFS. This organization has touched the lives of so many groups of people, from veterans to school children, and we are all lucky to have this non-profit and the people that run it in our community.

I can’t encourage all of you enough to come out for the Walk For Those Who Can’t on March 28 at the Loop in Wrightsville Beach beginning at 9 a.m. For more information, visit www.walkforthosewhocant.org. If you can’t make it to the Walk, donate to the Talk Team at www.firstgiving.com/talkinc.

Tags: Carolina Canines, Issues Management
Posted in Issues Management, Marketing | Comments

Can Twitter increase your business?

Friday, March 20th, 2009

If used properly, it certainly can! More than 5 million people across the globe currently use Twitter. With thousands signing up every day, it is one of the top tools you can employ to connect with consumers, build your brand, find new clients, generate story ideas, drive traffic to your website and get in front of high-profile people.

According to Jenny Cromie, editor of The Golden Pencil, “If you own a business of any size and still are not Twittering, you’re missing out on what amounts to a worldwide virtual chamber of commerce networking event that’s at your fingertips 24/7.”

Copyblogger.com recently posted an article, “How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business” and asked Duct Tape Marketing founder John Jantsch to identify the three greatest advantages of using Twitter. According to Jantsch, “(1) I get great insight when I ask questions, (2) let’s face it, I get traffic and (3) people on Twitter spread my thoughts to new places.”

Need to generate story ideas?
Get your creative juices flowing by tuning into conversations your followers are having on Twitter. Be sure to check out any links to their blogs and online articles, as well.

Looking to build your brand?
Twitter allows you to post links to your website, blog, e-books and online resume. Every time you post an article on your blog, broadcast it on Twitter with a link to each post. This will help build followers and educate them on who you are and what your company does.

Want to increase traffic to your website?
Every time you twitter about one of your blog posts, you drive people to your website. You can also increase traffic to your site by announcing new products, services and events on Twitter, asking for feedback and tracking buzz on competitor’s Twitter pages.

These are just a few of the many benefits a Twitter account can provide for your business. What are you waiting for?

Posted in Branding, Marketing | Comments

Ten ways to build your blog readership

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

So you’ve started a blog. Now what? Now the real work begins – you have to attract readers. Here are ten tips to help build your readership and turn your blog into a must-read.

• Write well and edit better. It’s no secret that good writing is key to getting readers. But you must also be able to edit your entries to make sure they are mistake-free and that make sense to the reader, not just to you.

• Back up your brand. Writing a blog does you no good if no one knows what company (or person) is blogging. Back up all your marketing and publicity efforts with a blog design that reflects your company’s brand – visual identity, core values, tone, etc.

• Content is King. Write content that your target audience will want to read. They must learn something to want to keep reading.

• Don’t Get Stale. If content is king, fresh content is queen. You have to produce fresh information to encourage readers to come back, and come back often. If you don’t care enough to update your blog, why should a reader care to read it?

• Keep Is Simple. Make it easy for readers to subscribe to your blog by including a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) subscription button. With one click they can get your content to come to them as soon as you update it.

• Be Direct. Don’t simply ask readers to subscribe, offer the RSS feed as e-mail so your posts go directly to their inbox. Use your email database to drive traffic to your blog, then use your RSS feed to capture additional emails to drive your e-marketing campaign.

• Harness the power of e-marketing. If you already have an e-newsletter, link those articles to your blog. If you don’t have an e-newsletter, start one! Then promote it on your blog and link the articles back to your blog.

• Tag You’re It. Use tags and categories to help boost your SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The more relevant your tags are, the better chance your blog has of coming up on a Google search.

• Be vocal. It’s not enough to simply write your blog. You must interact with other bloggers in your industry and community. Become a reader and commenter on others’ blogs to build a reputation for being knowledgeable and social.

• Don’t be an island. Make your blog part of the online community. Link to blogs similar to yours in both your posts and through a blog roll on your site. If you promote other worthy sites hopefully they will link back to you, encouraging their readers to become your readers too.

Tags: blogging, Graphic Design, Marketing, Social media
Posted in Graphic Design, Marketing | Comments

Things We Love 3/18

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Debbie loves Groundswell, a book by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research – This is one of the best books I’ve read yet about social media and its impact on marketing communications. Li and Bernoff define social media and detail methodologies for incorporating it into your marketing mix. They also provide a series of case studies that articulate how companies across the country have employed these methodologies with great success. It’s well written and will change the way you think about social media.

Holly loves GoToWebinar – After hours of researching websites with webinar capabilities, GoToWebinar has come out on top. The site offers great branding options for a personalized webinar experience as well as detailed post-webinar reports, polling and survey options and a simple, but efficiently designed program. See for yourself when Talk puts GoToWebinar to work on April 23 for Talk Therapy - How the Online Conversation Can Grow Your Business.

Kelly loves TweetLater – As someone who is slowly, but surely, getting used to the multi-faceted world of social media, I find TweetLater highly effective in helping me keep my Twitter account up-to-date and fresh. Through TweetLater, I am able to schedule tweets, follow those who follow me, send welcome direct messages to new followers and track replies I might have missed, due to a heavy workload. Sign up today at www.tweetlater.com.

Kirsty loves Greater Wilmington Business Journal Power Breakfast Series – The Business Journal in Wilmington manages to consistently get more than 500 of the community’s business leaders in one room for its panel discussions once a quarter. The event is not only informative, but hands down one of the best networking opportunities in the city. Debbie served on the panel discuss for this quarter’s breakfast on the “Power of the Internet.” It was great to see her and other Internet marketing geniuses in our community weigh in on the powerful trend.

Shawn loves Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug - Who would have thought a book about Web navigation and usability could actually be a good read. This book is a common sense approach to the layout and messaging of a Web site. It is a very comprehensive analysis of what to do and, more importantly, what not to do. Simple little things that most would overlook are brought to the forefront, analyzed and corrected. Krug’s approach is all about the visitor and what they will be thinking while visiting a Web site. Where am I? Where should I begin? Where did they put xyz? A truly informative read for anybody that has a hand in the Web site design process.

Susan loves Magic Cubes – These interactive promotional items provide a great way to capture your audiences’ attention. Not only do magic cubes offer a cool platform to state your message, they give us fidget-prone people something to mess with while we work. (After receiving a sample pack to demonstrate a cube sales kit concept to a client, I can’t stop playing with the 6 samples on our conference room table.)

Tags: Book Review, Marketing, Online Marketing, Social Media in Wilmington N.C.
Posted in Marketing | Comments