1. Work
Box Scores, Mar. 1-7 – “Deadheads, Rebrands & Buckets”
Well ladies and gentlemen, after a busy week and weekend at the Deep Bench office (including our Head Coach and President Hugh Weber preparing for and hosting the 44th Annual South Dakota AdFed Awards), we’re ready to kick off another great Monday with Box Scores. We hope you’re as excited as we are for these stellar posts from the blogosphere’s best.
P.S. – Being at the historical Orpheum Theater for the Addys reminds us – if you haven’t gotten your OTA Sessions ticket yet, you really, REALLY should consider doing so. Time is running short, it’s going to rock, and you really don’t want to be the only guy or gal who completely underestimated how awesome it would be, do you? Didn’t think so.
Moving on, here’s Arik Hanson on a change that affects one of our favorite out-of-office offices…
-“Your brand: Much more than just a logo”
Caribou Coffee, a brand near and dear to Arik Hanson’s heart, recently went through a re-brand, leaving its previous woodsy feel for a more contemporary design and look. Although the change itself is debatable, Arik brings up an interesting angle (as all great PR pros are wont to do). As he puts it, “Organizations need to do a better job of sharing the stories and experiences that make up their brands. Yes, the logo and visual identity are key pieces of the brand puzzle–but they’re just one of the elements.” A good point. Read Arik’s full post to hear what else he has to say.
-“4 Things the Grateful Dead Can Teach You About Social Business”
Some great bands in this world have built fan followings that would (and should) make most business owners and brands insanely jealous. Fans that do whatever they can to make it to a band’s show, buy a new album, wear a t-shirt, or simply blast their music in the car on a Saturday afternoon. Shannon Paul talks about how one such band, The Grateful Dead, managed to build one of the most loyal followings in existence (and why companies could learn a thing or two from their “business model.” Take note, companies, and see why building your own base of “Deadheads” might be a good decision.
-“Why Entrepreneurs Should Eat Their Young”
The post’s title seems harsh, and Jonathan Fields doesn’t disappoint with the content. While there is no literal eating involved, Mr. Fields mentions that the eating of ideas can be just as necessary in the business world as animals eating their young can be in nature. As he puts it, “Entrepreneurs often get so emotionally-wed to their babies, they lose the ability to make good decisions.” Do you get so attached to your ideas that you fail to see potential pratfalls or opportunities for improvement? If so, this post is for you.
*Bonus Jonathan Fields post! “Would You Fall Asleep Reading Your Life’s Story?”
This is pretty much just worth reading for the sake of some Monday morning inspiration. Jonathan asks a tough question that you should seriously answer for yourself. In the post, Jonathan discusses, “what story I want told about me when my time comes,” and his thoughts on why it matters to him. If it doesn’t matter to you, it should. Read his post to see why.
-“Are you keeping an eye on your bucket?”
Just to keep the positive inspiration flowing, here’s a solid post from Drew McLellan on “keeping yourself physically, mentally and emotionally replenished.” Drew really represents the “Work. Play. Do Good.” mindset we strive to encourage as he discusses the importance of serving others, “creating an oasis,” and more ways to keep your bucket full. So, is your bucket empty? Maybe Drew’s post will help you fill it up a bit.
We really hope this mix encouraged you to hit this week with intensity. The world is expecting to see fantastic things from you, so please try not to let the world down. Tap into that creative intensity and do something that changes the whole landscape. We’d certainly love to see it. In fact, tell us about it in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
Also, if you are trying to figure out how to get inspired, be at the OTA Sessions on March 25-26. OTA just might be the creative kick in the caboose to get you in a game-changing mood, so don’t pass it up. We can’t wait to see you there.
Photo (“Catch A Falling Star…”) c/o Paul Sapiano. Thanks Paul!
Box Scores, Feb. 22-28 – “Tiger Woods, Going Viral & Mr. Rogers”
We’re sorry folks, but chaos has ensued and Box Scores are, in fact, one day late. We apologize profusely, but the good thing is that they are here now and they are full of wisdom and insight from around the blogosphere last week. So read up and enjoy what your peers and thought leaders have to say.
And don’t forget, we are less than a month out from the OTA Sessions, so don’t forget to buy your tickets now before the earlybird special is gone. You won’t regret it. We promise. First things first, some solid advice from Drew McClellan.
-“A marketing tip from Tiger Woods”
Drew McClellan uses this great post to point out why an apology should be more than just the words “I’m sorry.” You may or may not have heard about Tiger Woods’…incident…in November of 2009 (if you didn’t, here’s what Wikipedia had to say), but the important thing isn’t what he did. It’s what we can learn from his apology after. Read Drew’s post to see why an apology that says more than I’m sorry might be one of the most productive things you can do for your business. Assuming you have something to apologize for.
-“Think Traditional Media Is On The Ropes? Think Again.”
Jason Falls posts some interesting stats that show the difference between traditional online news outlet website traffic and niche news blog online traffic. For all the hype and hubbub (yes, hubbub) over the death of traditional media, you might be surprised at these stats. While most of us in the online world praise social media and citizen journalism are becoming the be all end all, Jason has a slightly different (and very much worth remembering) mindset. As he puts it, “social media is an emerging and relevant channel to which public relations professionals should pitch stories and brands should connect with audiences. But the rest of the world is outside the bubble. Forget about them at your own peril.
-“What does tomorrow’s PR pro look like?”
Although this Arik Hanson post is a recap of a presentation he gave to a group of college students, the points he covers should be read by every professional in the PR industry. On top of that, the presentation is actually a sweet Prezi presentation, which is just fun. But seriously, from advising folks to “Hone your traditional PR skills” to making sure you stay “indispensable to your employer,” Arik’s points could be used by everyone in our realm, not just students. Plus, we’re in PR. We’re never too old to learn more.
-“The Mr. Rogers Guide To Blogging From The Heart”
If there is one thing Copyblogger does well, there are 400 things Copyblogger does well. But one of those things is writing content aimed at one niche, but applicable to every niche. In this case, Karl Staib compares blogging to Mr. Rogers. His points are so well-made, however, that you can probably apply them to any field you may work in. And that, my friends, is why this post is worth reading. Trust us, neighbor.
-“The Five Elements of Viral Calls to Action”
Although it’s pretty well known that it takes more than a video and a formula to make something “go viral,” there are plenty of ways to facilitate the potential spread. With these great tips from Dan Zarrella and a little bit (or a lot) of luck, you just might have the next viral hit on your hands. Or you might have an unintentionally, semi-viral hit that, for the most part, just creeps people out.
Anyway, we are sorry that Box Scores arrived a bit later than usual. Things have been crazy here at Deep Bench as we are getting closer and closer to the OTA Sessions, but we’ll make sure to have things back on our regular schedule come Monday, so be ready for more Box Scores then.
Oh, and don’t forget to let us know whether you agree with our posts or have a few to share of your own by leaving a comment below. Thanks, and have a great rest of the week!
Photo (“Tiger Woods“) c/o Cliff. Thanks Cliff!
Box Scores, Feb. 15-21 – “Copycats, Pitching & Minority Report”
Well, as you’ve probably come to expect, we’re back this fine Monday with your favorite Monday morning…expectation… That’s right, it’s Box Score time, and we’ve picked some great posts from the past week to show you what brilliant insight the blogosphere had to offer.
Also, we’d be remiss not to mention our favorite upcoming, creativity-fostering, mind-expanding mind-blowing OTA Sessions conference happening March 25-26. What’s that? You want to know more? Oh, well check it out right here. And when you’re done with that, read up on this week’s Box Scores below. First up, the wise Jim Connolly…
-“Why copycat marketing can hurt your business!”
It’s easy to look over at another brand or agency’s marketing strategy or efforts and think, “Well hey, if they’re doing it, we should be doing it too!” And because it’s easy to do that, we will occasionally just straight up copy them. Want to know why it’s a bad idea? Here’s an intro thought from Jim Connolly; “Amateur marketers will copy what they see others doing, wrongly assuming that it must be working.” See…wrongly assuming. Go read why it’s wrong. You’ll be glad you did.
-“Minority Report In Your Living Room: Gestural Interface Computers “Five Years” Away”
This is just a bit of tech awesomeness from Read Write Web that we thought you guys would find interesting. Mostly because we thought it was awesome. According to the post, “John Underkoffler, a science consultant for Minority Report, has worked for the last decade with his company, Oblong Industries, to take the gesture-activated interface from the screen to, well, the screen.” To see the screenshots (which are worth taking a look at), check out the full post over at Read Write Web.
So you want to pitch a blogger. Maybe you need to pitch a blogger. If you want to do it in a way that works out well for everyone, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check out some tips on doing it right. Getting your tips from a guy like C.C. Chapman – who has pitched plenty of bloggers and, more importantly, consistently receives TONS of pitches from others – is a good decision. Here’s a lesson in pitching. Take it to heart.
-“Don’t Forget The Little Side Streets”
As usual, Chris Brogan goes beyond pointing out something worth noticing. He points it out, tells you why he pointed it out, and gives you a checklist to make sure you get as much value from his out-pointing as you can get. Because that’s what he does. So, read up on why you shouldn’t forget the little side streets and then hit up his checklist so that you don’t have any excuses for not visiting the little side streets more consistently. You’re welcome.
-“Do You Really Need An Hour?”
This Advertising Age post from Darryl Ohrt brings up a question that we know numerous companies and agencies should be asking: Do meetings REALLY need to take as long as they do? One of the best points Darryl makes is this: “If our fantastical creative solution to a client’s problem can’t be conveyed within 20 minutes, perhaps it’s time to do a little refining.” Good point. So, do your meetings really need to last a full hour? If not, you just might find yourself (or your employees) an extra 40 minutes an hour to get work done. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Boom. There you have it. Great thoughts from great thinkers (one of whom – Chris Brogan – will be presenting at the OTA Sessions-sponsored Trust Summit on March 26th) to open up your mind a bit this Monday morning. Let us know what you thought of this week’s Box Scores by leaving a comment below or dropping us a note on our Facebook page.
And, if you liked what you read here, just think about the thought-provoking insight you’ll get from the OTA Sessions. It may sound like we’re selling it hard, and we are, but we’re only pushing it so hard because we want EVERYONE to get the value out of it that we think they could get. We know it sounds cheesy, but we promise, we’re doing it for you.
Have a great week!
Photo (“minority-report-1″) c/o eyeliam. Thanks eyeliam!
Box Scores, Feb. 8-14: “Valentines, Dabblers & Albert Einstein”
First things first, we hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day. Actually, first things first, we hope you remembered Valentine’s Day. That said, we had a fantastic week and so did the blogosphere. Don’t believe us? Check out this week’s Box Scores to see some of the blogosphere’s best offerings. Consider it a late Valentine’s gift from us to you.
Oh, and one more gift from us to you. If you haven’t signed up for the OTA Sessions yet, here’s your chance. There are still some tickets left and you REALLY don’t want to be the one who missed out on such a stellar event. Just hit up the site and see what the OTA Sessions have to offer. You’ll be glad you did.
-“Frightened, clueless or uninformed?”
According to Seth Godin (who seems to know a thing or two about marketing), there are three types of people: frightened, clueless, and uninformed. Seth’s advice is to “comfort the frightened, coach the clueless and teach the uninformed.” Anyone who wants solid advice on reaching their customers and clients would be wise to read this post.
Are you a dabbler? Not sure what that means? This Christopher S. Penn post might be able to explain it. It matters, and if you’re dabbling, odds are you might be giving up too soon and failing too fast. The important thing, according to Christopher, is that “there are goals which are intimately tied into methods. How you get there is part of getting there.” So…are you getting there by dabbling, or by following through on your goals and methods?
-“Is Reading Blog Posts Worth Your Time?”
Seems like blasphemy that we’d include this Copyblogger post on whether blog posts are worth your time, but the question is a good one. There’s a difference between reading a blog post and learning from it and taking action from it. James Chartrand gives some great advice on how to make that happen. If you really want to get some value out of reading through your blog posts every morning, this is the post for you. So read it and get smarter. You’ll be glad you did.
-“The Albert Einstein Guide to Social Media”
This post is just straight up worth reading. Amber Naslund comes with some awesomesauce as she uses quotes and thoughts from Albert Einstein in relation to social media. Amber’s ability to take Einstein’s brilliant thoughts like “Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted” and “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” and relate them to social media just might be the fresh perspective you need to open up your mind a bit more.
-“The 3 Benefits We Care About”
Christopher S. Penn is back for more in this post on what we care about. More specifically three questions decision-makers in business want answers to: How can I save more money? How can I save more time? How can I save more money? If you can answer these questions for decision-makers, you’ll probably be in a good place. You can thank us (and Christopher) later.
And there you have it. A Box Score offering full of delicious wisdom and insight for you. We hope you got as much out of them as we did. If so, drop us a line in the comments below and let us know what you thought. Or, jump over to the Facebook page and let us know there. We’d be happy to hear your input.
Oh. And don’t forget the OTA Sessions. You’ll be very sad if you do.
Photo (“Albert_Einstein_Imagination”) c/o WalkingGeek. Thanks WalkingGeek!
Box Scores, Feb. 1-7 – “Showing, Listening, Speaking & Super Bowls”
Now that the Super Bowl excitement is over, we should probably provide some Box Scores for you on this fine, post-Super Bowl XLIV Monday. That’s right, football excitement aside, the blogosphere provided plenty of wisdom and insight for your mental consumption. Don’t pass it up. Get smarter while you recover from your food hangover and read these posts.
Jonathan Fields has rock solid post on the importance of using visuals to illustrate a point. Words are lovely (in fact, I, Mike, make a living off of them), but sometimes imagery is what it takes for someone’s brain to truly understand an important fact or two. This post on the Apple iPad’s inability to display Flash technology should help you understand what Jonathan means.
Sometimes I wish we could just feed the Brains On Fire RSS feed into Box Scores, but that would be unethical and all that junk. Instead, we try to diversify the Box Scores as much as possible, but Spike Jones just seems to catch our eye on a consistent basis. Here’s a two sentence summary on why the rest of this post is absolutely worth reading: “Don’t monitor the conversation, learn from it beyond what your competition is learning from it. Listen in a way that will help you reframe how what you do and why you’re doing it.”
-“6 Great Approaches to Public Speaking”
This is just a solid collection of public speaking tips/posts from ReadWriteWeb. Interested in improving your public speaking skills? If you’re not, maybe you should be. Check out this post, hit up their links, and let your next presentation (and every presentation after that) be your best. Once you start to notice fewer “ums” and “uhs” and a little less nervous sweating, you’ll be glad you did.
-“What Have You Been Putting Off and What’s Holding You Back?”
Two great questions in one great post from Darren Rowse at Problogger. Ask yourself these two questions, and then see if your answers resemble Darren’s initial response: “Why didn’t I do it? Was it laziness…. or busyness….? If I’m honest about it I’m sure it’d be a bit of both of those things – however I suspect it was also partly fear that held me back.” Now, if you want to get over your fear, do what you’ve been putting off, and feel good about it, check out Darren’s post. You definitely won’t regret it.
-“Content Needs to Get Most of Your Attention”
Valeria Maltoni comes in with a sick combination of thorough but easily digestible content on her Conversation Agent blog discussing…well…the importance of great content and a great content strategy. From the importance of design to key elements like reciprocity, Valeria’s post is worth reading to see how you can improve your blogs content (and consequently improve your blog). Enjoy.
There you have it. Some great posts from the past week, brought here together in a convenient set of Box Scores just for you. Hope you get as much out of them as we did. If you have any to add that we might have missed, leave us a comment below or drop us a line on our Facebook page.
Also, if you want to see all of this year’s Super Bowl ads, Advertising Age online has a good collection for you. Let us know what you think!
Photo (“Southern Tier Youth Football Conference”) c/o Jim Danvers. Thanks Jim!
Box Scores, Jan. 25-31: “Fun, Courting Clients and Emotional Truth”
It’s another exciting Monday morning, which means we’ve got another exciting set of Box Scores to help you get this week started off right. The best posts from the blogosphere gathered right here for your reading and learning enjoyment. So read up, tell us what you think, and let us know what we missed. We’re here for you.
Oh, and don’t forget to take a look at the OTA Sessions site when you get a chance. If you haven’t registered yet, you’re gonna want to do that. Anyway, on to Box Scores!
Bottom line? The post is worth reading. The action steps recommended are worth taking. Immediately after you finish reading the post. So read up on Drew McLellan’s insight and advice and then get in touch with your clients or potential clients, whether that’s to say hello, to drop them a quick recommendation, or simply to make sure you don’t miss out on some business. You’ll be glad you did.
-“How Well Do You Know Your Audience?”
As Jason Falls puts things over on his Social Media Explorer blog, “It’s easy to assume we know our audiences.” It’s true. Assuming we know our audiences is easier than doing the research it takes to know for sure. This is a friendly reminder to make sure you really know your audience. Read the full post to see what we mean.
Because Mike is Mike, it’s hard for him to go more than a few weeks without including some link or post involving Marvel Comics. This great post comes from Vice President, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort. The post centers on getting past the flash and flare of action and focusing on what’s more important in telling a story: emotional truth. As Tom puts it, “that’s my 2010 goal: push back towards the fundamentals of striving to find the emotional truth of the stories and the characters…” How many companies could take a page from this thought process to tell their stories (or their clients’ stories)? It’s not the tools, it’s the people behind them that matter.
-“20 Ways to Up Your Blogging Fun Quota”
This Problogger guest post from Christie Burnett doesn’t just apply to blogging. It actually can apply to a lot of our daily business functions. Part of the “Work. Play. Do Good.” Deep Bench philosophy involves play. Whether it’s advice like “Draw: Put pencil to paper or pen to tablet and say something with illustrations, instead of words” or “Inspire: Source relevant inspirational quotes to share with readers,” Christie’s thoughts show that, beyond blogging, businesses could use creative ways to approach problems and ideas.
-“Dating Rules for Courting Your Clients”
This post is very applicable to the very folks that make up our beloved “deep bench”: freelancers and other small agencies. The folks at Men With Pens help point out how to choose the right clients and not fall into the “temptation to work for demanding or low-paying clients because [you] need the money or are afraid [you] won’t get better clients.” They have plenty more good advice in this post, so read up and be sure you’re making the right decision when you take on your next client.
We’ve tried to cover quite a few areas in this week’s Box Scores. From knowing your audience to comics to taking on clients, we tried to give a good mix of great posts from the past week. We hope you got as much out of these posts as we did, and we’d love to hear what else you have to offer. If you’ve got another post to share or just want to compliment us on a job well done, leave a comment below or drop us a line over on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you.
And one last thing: we won’t call it a shameless plug because we don’t feel there’s any shame in it to begin with, but we will drop you a prideful plug one last time to check out the OTA Sessions. You seriously, seriously won’t regret it.
Photo (“Audience of the Open Ocean”) c/o David Goehring. Thanks David!
Box Scores, Jan. 18-24 – “Loving the Competition, Cardboard Pizza & More”
Well, in a week where we conducted our usual Deep Bench business and also managed to launch a website for a conference we couldn’t be more excited about (the OTA Sessions, if you haven’t seen it yet), things got pretty hectic. But hectic usually equals fun as far as we’re concerned. And, to prove that it wasn’t too hectic, we managed to pull together some great posts from last week into today’s Box Scores. Read up, get smarter, and get excited. It’s a great day to be alive.
-“Four Reasons to Love Your Competition”
The folks from Men With Pens come at us first with a post to get you revved up for success this week. Although the post is intended for bloggers, a good business owner could (and should) put all of these concepts to good use. Before you complain about your competition or get mad when they seem to copy a new strategy or idea, think about these thoughts from Men With Pens and remember that competition isn’t always a bad thing.
Future OTA Sessions speaker Spike Jones drops some insight on us courtesy of the Brains On Fire blog. The point is to know what you do or don’t do as a company and then do (or don’t do) those things well. As Spike puts it, “‘Like’ is not a Brains on Fire word. We want people to love you or hate you. Those are powerful emotions. ‘Like’ is a deathtrap.” (his emphasis…with good reason). The question is, does who you are NOT inspire love or hate? If not, maybe it should.
-“Getting Started: Brands and Cause Marketing”
Lauren Fernandez is the kind of bright, young individual you read about in dozens of posts about talented, up-and-coming professionals. Oh wait. She’s not “that kind” of person. She is that person. This post from her blog emphasizes a point that, though important in marketing, seems to be a rare point of discussion in the blogosphere. Cause marketing is important. Brands can use it so well if they just know what they’re doing. Here’s her much-needed insight on how you can start to know what you’re doing with cause marketing (and why it will help your brand).
-“Can Dominos Turn Around Their Cardboard Reputation?”
Rohit Bhargava takes a good look at Dominos Pizza’s recent (and very drastic) pizza recipe reformation and the marketing/PR efforts that have gone along with this revamp. From a poignant and sincere video describing the change and what it’s meant to the Domino’s team to a microsite featuring Twitter updates that include good AND bad reviews of the new pizza formula, Rohit praises the effort Domino’s is putting forward. Read the post and see why their effort goes far beyond a simple pizza recipe change (and why it might help your brand to REALLY listen to consumers).
And with that, we wrap up another week of Deep Bench Box Scores. While we feel these are some great posts from the past week, we’re also all about hearing from you, the reader. So drop us a line in the comments below to let us know what you think, and, while you’re at it, you can add a link or two for posts YOU found particularly helpful or insightful last week. Or, drop us a line over on our Facebook page and we can talk with you there.
Hope you enjoyed Box Scores! Check back next week for more (or subscribe to our RSS feed here for all of our Deep Bench content) and don’t forget to check out the OTA Sessions site for more info on that event. You won’t regret it.
Photo (“Experimental Pizza Delivery Car”) via John Lloyd. Thanks John!
Box Scores, Jan. 11-17 – “Surprises, Entourage & Rockstars”
That’s right, it’s Monday morning and we’ve got some gems for you in our weekly Box Scores. To clear the air, you may recall that I mentioned a little something about a big OTA Sessions announcement last week. Well, while that announcement has yet to come, the good news is that we actually will be revealing some huge news within the next 48 hours. And that’s a fact, Jack! So, start off your week by reading these great posts from the blogosphere last week. Then get ready for…OTA.
There’s a reason Julien Smith has co-written a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Because he’s good. And this advice from him to you follows suit. If you want to succeed, you have to find success in places that others won’t. As he so eloquently puts it, “This quote, by the Spanish poet Antonio Machado, punched me in the face when I heard it: ‘Traveler, there is no path. Paths are made by walking.’”
Every once in awhile you go to a concert and you walk away more anxious to buy the opening band’s album than the closing band’s. Is it what you expected? Of course not. Is it usually a pleasant (and sometimes BIG) surprise? Yes. Well according to Narciso over at Method + Moxie, part of that surprise comes because the band is willing to go all out and leave everything on stage. So…do you do that in your life every day? As Narciso puts it, “We’ve got so many things that get in the way of our own true strengths.” So stop that. Go surprise someone. Today. Now.
-“What Entourage Can Teach You About Successful Freelancing”
If you’ve never seen HBO’s Entourage, chances are you’ve dreamed about it. One man rises to fame and fortune and brings his best friends along for the ride. Sounds like a blast, right? Well Copyblogger’s Julie Roads realized how similar Entourage is to freelancing, and her points are well-made. If you’re already an Entourage fan, you’ll enjoy this quite a bit. If you’ve never seen Entourage, you just might want to after checking out this stellar post.
-“What makes your advocates feel like rockstars?”
Spike Jones knows a thing or two about building community and igniting movements. It’s sort of why he gets paid. Rather than writing another worn-out “how to be a rockstar” post, Spike takes a different (and probably more important) approach to the rockstar concept – making your supporters feel like rockstars. If you don’t quite understand what “Empower with responsibility” means, you should read this. You’ll be glad you did.
-“My language is just grating!”
This post from Drew McLellan is a two-step reminder not to fall into a rut with your creative language and writing as far as content goes. The first step is the reminder not to do it. The second step is a fun and challenging exercise to help you make sure you’re not doing it. A point to ponder from Drew: “Whether you are a copywriter day in and day out, a business owner who crafts an occasional flier or an exec who writes 10 e-mails and memos a day…your audience deserves your best words.” Truth. Do you give them yours?
And so ends another week of Deep Bench Box Scores. Hopefully you got as much out of these insightful posts as we did. Let us know what you thought by leaving a comment below or tell us if we missed any posts worth including by leaving a link or telling us over on our Facebook page. We collect Box Scores each week for you and would love to hear what you have to say.
Oh, don’t forget…we’ve got exciting news coming very, VERY soon, so get pumped and be ready to buy your OTA Sessions ticket. One glance at the concept (and a second glance at the speaker list) might cause more excitement than you’re prepared for. Be ready, and we’ll be ready for you. See you soon!
Photo (“Rockstar”) by N1NJ4. Thanks N1NJ4!
How To Make A True Community…Graphic.ly
If you’re a part of the marketing/advertising/PR/social media industry, it’s possible and likely that you read 1-7 posts a day on “being real” and “building community.” These posts are written and, presumably, read by you and many other people in this industry.
So why, when I ask for a beta invite to some “social media” app or program, do the informational emails read as follows:
“Hey Mike,
Welcome to ______, a super awesome, well-rounded, and all-powerful social media app that literally does EVERYTHING you want it to do. That’s right. It runs Twitter. And Facebook integration is COMING SOON [Ed. note: This means it does not, in fact, do everything.]. And we’re doing 10 million things to make it better in the next week so that it totally rocks your face off and you love us and we’re awesome and la da da da da….
Thanks for joining our “community,” Mike. We love you and we’re your best friends forever now! P.S. – Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for a bunch of updates we’ll be emailing you anyway. Hooray social media!
-The ______ Team”
I’ll be honest. These emails almost make my brain explode. And not in a “this is so awesome, I’ll brainsplode from the awesomeness” sort of way. More of a “did they just copy and paste this from the last ‘Generic Social Media App Team’ email I received?” brainsplosion.
And then the always honest, always open Micah Baldwin blew those stereotypical emails away with his beta invite to Graphic.ly. While I’d love to discuss Graphic.ly in detail (seeing as it’s a digital comics platform and I love comics like NBC execs love being stupid), I’m going to focus on something important:
The “Welcome to Graphic.ly” email that Micah sent.
First, after sending the email from HIS actual account (not no-reply@randomapp.com or support@fakeapp.com, but a legitimate, to-Micah’s-inbox email address), Micah says this [with a few parts clipped a little bit]:
“The Graphic.ly Baby Beta is unique in that we are truly giving you a product before it has matured. IT WILL SUCK BADLY….
We decided to give you the Baby Beta because we know that you care about building a really kick ass product, and we know that we must crawl before we can walk. If we dont get you involved now, the end product will just, well, suck badly.
You will be disappointed. A lot, and I mean A LOT, of features are not working yet. We have included only 2 books (all free), which I bet you have read. But the plan was not to wow you with catalog (we have hundreds and hundreds of books and merchandise to upload), but to let you understand what we will be when we are all grown up. We want, when you finally see the final product, to see your fingerprints on it. To be able to tell your friends, “I built that.”
He eventually goes on to explain what beta testers will find, what they’ll think (which is that it will need work, according to Micah) and what we beta testers will do to make it better. He does NOT just go on to say that Graphic.ly is the greatest app/program/whatever ever and will only get better and better and better. He’s REALISTIC about things. Which is so refreshing.
Of course, he’s not done there. Micah then gets super crazy on us and shares not only his personal email address, but also throws out his IM name, his Gtalk name, and his phone number. All of those things.
Granted, it’s not as if the Graphic.ly community is loaded up with spammers that are going to bombard him with annoying messages/thoughts, but I can’t tell you how many apps I’ve received beta invites for and I can’t even name one person who works for them. Typically, a robot sends an email, I glance at it, disregard it and move on. The fact that, if I really wanted to, I could contact Micah himself to discuss improvements to Graphic.ly is so much more real and tangible than any invites I’ve received thus far.
Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe I just haven’t been a part of the “right” communities and programs. But I checked my inbox on about the last six I’ve received, and Micah’s Graphic.ly email was the only one that compelled me to do more than read it and disregard it.
So, if you’re looking for a lesson on being real and authentically engaging with your community, I’m throwing this out as a prime example. The fact of the matter is that I’m already spending time on Graphic.ly and I’m looking for ways to improve it. Does it help that I’m a fan of comics and do pretty much anything I can to support Marvel Comics (a partner in this effort)? Of course.
But does it matter more that Micah and the Graphic.ly folks made me feel like I’m a true, genuine part of this team? Definitely.
Good work, Micah. I look forward to contributing to this effort and improving it. Hopefully more companies trying to “build community” look at what you and your team at Graphic.ly are doing and try to improve their efforts as well.
It could be a spectacular change for everyone.
What do you think? Does stuff like Micah’s email really even matter? Is it more of a formality no matter how “personal” it feels? Are there other great examples we’ve missed out on? Share your thoughts in the comments below or join the discussion over on our Facebook page. And, to subscribe to the Deep Bench RSS feed and have our content delivered right to you, click here.
Box Scores, Jan. 4-10 – “Living Social, Dynamite & Groucho Marx”
Well folks, it’s Monday, January 4th, and it’s been a very busy week for us here at Deep Bench. Today marks the day that we will announce the speaking lineup for the OTA Sessions, which should be exciting on more levels than we even know how to count. But, before all of that insanity is unleashed, we can’t kick off a Monday without our traditional Box Scores, so here you go. The blogosphere offered up some great posts last week, so here’s a chance to see what you might have missed. We’ll start with the wise and always enjoyable David Armano.
The “who controls social media” debate has been a much-discussed issue in the online world. David Armano wrote this post up for Harvard Business (yeah…that Harvard) and his thoughts are worth reading. One of his most interesting points is this: “If you’re not genuinely, honestly engaged in the social network, you’re not going to get far with those who are.” Maybe you’ve heard that before, but it never hurts to hear good advice more than once.
-“The 7 keys to social branding”
Sometimes a good guest post rocks just as hard as the usual blogger’s regular content. Tamsen McMahon demonstrates this phenomenon to perfection with her guest post on Valeria Maltoni’s “Conversation Age” blog. Although the points may seem simple (“Clarity – Speak your messages in their languages”), it’s the explanation behind each that makes this post so valuable. So read up on what Tamsen has to say and see if you agree with her 7 keys to social branding.
-“What every mass marketer needs to learn from Groucho Marx”
In honor of Seth Godin, we’ll keep the description of his post short by quoting him: “If Wal-Mart or some cultural shift has turned what you do into a commodity, don’t argue. Find a new place before the competition does.” The way he connects it to Groucho Marx is just frosting on the cake.
-“Project Management and the Dynamite Philosophy”
Amber Naslund comes correct with some awesome advice on project management and how she manages to get as much done as she does. Amber starts with the tools (her tools, as she wisely points out that everyone is different), how she uses them, and then the big boom for a finisher. Literally. Her closing advice is “Blow Things Up.” After you read the post, you’ll see why it really is the Dynamite Philosophy. (Ok, I couldn’t resist…and boom goes the dynamite…)
-“What Vegas Can Teach You About Marketing”
Tips like “Know what you can afford to give away” and “Only reward behavior you care about” don’t make perfect sense upon first read. Luckily, Rohit Bhargava is able to completely justify them, all along with the fun and excitement of Sin City itself, Las Vegas. So if you want to learn a bit from Vegas (and from Rohit) read up and let us know what you think.
-“NBA Jam to Make a Comeback on Nintendo Wii”
This pretty much just makes Mike happy. Since it was on Mashable, we figured we could post it here too. Boomshakalaka!
And those great posts make up this week’s Box Scores. Hopefully the advice and wisdom from all of the bloggers helps kick off your work week with some productivity and some general awesomeness. If you feel we forgot any great posts or that you have a post or two worth adding, let us know in the comments below or by leaving a link on our Facebook page. And if you want more Deep Bench content delivered weekly, subscribe to our RSS feed by clicking here.
By the way, we weren’t kidding about that OTA Sessions announcement. We’ve got a video coming from Hugh in a few hours, and we just hope it gets you as excited as it gets us. We have a feeling it will. You’ll be hearing from us soon…
Photo (“Fireworks barge explosion close-up”) c/o Shiny Things. Thanks Shiny Things!
Box Scores, Dec. 28-Jan. 3 – “The Future, Blogger Outreach & Conviction”
Well, everyone, the future is here. Yep. It’s 2010. So…we’ll all be traveling via teleporters and robots will be cleaning our kitchens. Oh wait? We’re not at that point yet? Well I guess we’ll have to stick with what we do have. And what we have for you here to start off your first work week of 2010 is a collection of great blog posts from the past seven days. Here are your Deep Bench Box Scores for the week, so read up, get smarter, and enjoy your start to twenty-ten.
Amber Naslund will help us kick off Box Scores this week with a post full of conviction. While the opening sentence may help set the tone as Amber writes, “When you’re about to build or launch a project, doing so with conviction matters an awful lot,” the rest of the post’s content is where you’ll get the most value. Heading into 2010, take her up on her advice. Work and present with conviction. You’ll be more successful as a result.
-“Blogger Outreach: From the Blogger’s Eyes”
We’ll keep the great posts rolling with this guest post from David Spinks on Valeria Maltoni’s “Conversation Agent” blog. David gives some great and easy-to-follow advice on how to reach out to bloggers and how not to look dumb doing blogger outreach for your campaign or project. His tips include things to consider when approaching the blogger and strategies to make it all go smoothly. If you didn’t already know, David knows what he’s doing. Don’t pass this one up.
Copyblogger knows about writing. Copyblogger also knows about other things related to marketing and online communities. Therefore, this collection of posts from the past year for Copyblogger is worth checking out. You know, if you like getting better at what you do and you like getting better at life in general. Because whether it’s “The Winnie the Pooh Guide to Blogging” or “On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas,” these posts will inspire you and improve you. That makes for a pretty solid collection if you ask us.
-“Ten for 10 in 2010 – Blog Marketing”
Danny Brown throws out one of the better “Things to do/change in 2010” posts we’ve seen here at Deep Bench with this post full of ideas for the new year. From common sense tips like “Update Your Signatures, Digital and Otherwise” to more in-depth ideas like “Share the Wealth,” Danny’s ideas and explanations should be absorbed and utilized as we head into the future.
-“Welcome to the frustration decade (and the decade of change)”
Seth Godin shares his “picks for the two most important trends of the decade we’re just starting” and they are simple concepts steeped in Seth’s ever-insightful wisdom. The first is “change.” The second is “frustration.” Both seem simple and are certainly more than that. His point? “Just about everyone gets to pick which of these two alternatives they want to spend their time on.” After reading his post, let us know which one you’ll be picking.
That’s it. As the wise and visionary musician Steve Miller once said, “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’ slippin’ into the future.” It’s 2010. The future is here. Now let’s do something about it. Let us know what you plan to do in 2010 by leaving a comment below or hitting us up on our Facebook page. And, if you like what you’re reading, subscribe via RSS here and get our Deep Bench content delivered straight to your RSS feeds.
Hope you enjoy your robot maid in 2010!
Photo (“Hello, I’m A Robot”) c/o Jeff Keyzer. Thanks Jeff!
Head Coach Hugh Weber has a New Year’s message for you!
We’ve got one last 2009 surprise for you…our own Head Coach Hugh Weber rallies the troops as we head into the new year. Watch the video, get inspired, and let’s kick some major butt in 2010!
See YOU In 2010, Friends!
Well, as the year comes to an end, it’s probably time for us to drop a year-end post on you guys. We thought about listing ways to achieve your goals in 2010. Then we thought of posting some stuff on what we thought was great about 2009. Ultimately, we just decided to say this…
We hope you had a good 2009. A lot of people did. Also, a lot of people didn’t. Ours was up and down at times here at Deep Bench. But either way, 2009 is done and gone, and it’s time to rock and roll in 2010. We intend to do some crazy things in this next year, and we’ll be excited to share them with you along the way.
From Hugh (seen here) getting in shape for the 2010 Tour de Kota here in Sioux Falls to Mike actually needing to not be awful at video content (no link provided), Deep Bench has plenty of reasons to step its game up. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to do so, and we hope you guys are as excited as we are to head into 2010 with new expectations and an inspired passion.
See you in the new millenn…wait, nevermind. That was 10 years ago. See you in 2010, friends!
“New Year’s Ball, Times Square” photo c/o berk2804.
Box Scores, Dec. 21-27 – “Objectives, Mothers & Gangs With Axes”
Well, we’re midway through the “holidays” portion of “Happy Holidays” and we here at the Deep Bench office have a special holiday gift for you to help celebrate. That’s right, it’s Monday morning, it’s the start of a fresh, new week and we’ve got Box Scores wrapped up in a nice little post (and if we could add an internet bow, we probably would). Also, our condolences go out to any/all who were subjected to the #snowmaggedon over the past few days. We know how you feel. Anyway, onward and upward!
-“How To Create Measurable Objectives”
Amber Naslund has shown that she’s got the chops to keep making the Box Scores cut, and this post on creating measurable objectives certainly fits what we look for in Box Scores. Discussing goals, objectives, strategies and tactics, Amber presents some complex information in an easy-to-understand format, which means that everyone can learn from it. Don’t be one of the folks who misses out.
-“On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting For Your Ideas”
Deep is probably an understatement on this one. So is powerful. And inspiring. The point is that you should read it, and soak in every heartfelt word that Copyblogger’s Jon Morrow put into this post. There’s a reason Jon fights for everything in his life. Part of that reason is because he has no choice. Part of it is because his mother fought so hard for him. And part of it…well…as he puts it, “If my mother could ignore a doctor who would condemn me to death, then I can ignore my inner demons who tell me I’ll never make it as a writer.” Read it. Be inspired.
-“It’s about the journey – NOT the money!”
While we’re on the subject of inspiring and personal posts, check out this hit from Jim Connolly on the importance of why your life journey is what matters, not the money you make along the way. And if you weren’t interested in the post before, here’s this: “By the time I was just 10 years old, I had witnessed 3 murders and at age 17, I was left for dead after being attacked by a gang armed with axes!” So…yeah…there’s that. It’s worth a read.
-“Pepsi to Skip Super Bowl Ads in Favor of $20M Social Media Campaign”
A few months ago, The Onion did what it does best and wrote a (fake) news article on Pepsi ceasing all advertising. Consequently, we at Deep Bench wrote a blog post questioning what that would or wouldn’t mean for Pepsi in the long run if it ever happened. Then, this story from Mashable came along and mentioned that Pepsi will be skipping its Super Bowl ads for a social media campaign instead. We’d like to hear your thoughts on this one, so drop a comment in the comments section below and say what’s on your mind. Is this a good call from Pepsi? A groundbreaking effort? A stupid decision? Let us know.
-“Forbes: A Year In Review: 2009 Social Marketing Trends”
This is just a great recap of…well…social marketing trends. Jeremiah Owyang wrote this post for Forbes, and it’s full of all the intelligence and insight you’d expect from Mr. Owyang. Whether discussing companies that slashed print and TV budgets to focus on social media or discussing his key point that “This year, consumers are more connected, and moving faster than brands,” Jeremiah brings up some great points in this article that organizations should make note of as they head into 2010.
On that note, we’ll close out the final Box Scores of 2009. It’s been a great year here at Deep Bench and we hope you’ve gotten as much out of reading Box Scores as we’ve gotten out of researching and sharing the posts we include. For that matter, we hope you just had a fantastic 2009 regardless, and we look forward to sharing more with you and learning more from you in the upcoming year. Make your New Year’s a good one and we’ll hope to see you on the interwebs sometime soon.
Thanks for everything this year. It’s been a blast.
-The Deep Bench Team
P.S. – If you’d like to share your thoughts on any/all of these Box Scores, drop us a line in the comments below or hit us up over on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear what you have to say. Also, if you’d like to head into 2010 by automatically getting our Deep Bench blog posts delivered right to your RSS reader, go ahead and subscribe here. Happy Holidays!
Photo (“winter wonderland”) c/o planetlight. Thank you much, planet light!
Box Scores, Dec. 14-20 – “Loyalty, Magic & More Time”
Well folks, the holidays are in full swing and that makes for some exciting news. We’re giving you the gift of our weekly Box Score updates to provide some insight and knowledge from the blogosphere’s best. That’s right, last week led to some great content and we figured we’d stick with the holiday giving spirit by passing these posts along. So read up, learn a little bit, and enjoy the rest of your holidays.
-“Frequency Does Not Necessarily Equal Loyalty”
Coming to you first is Spike Jones on the Brains on Fire blog with a short and to-the-point post that is as beneficial to businesses and corporations as it is to the marketing/advertising/PR community. As Spike puts it, “…This is just a simple reminder that if your customers are frequent purchasers of your product or service, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have their undying loyalty.” His post gives a crystal clear demonstration of why that’s the case. We suggest you read it.
-“Twitter Reveals Most Discussed Topics of 2009”
For those folks who thoroughly enjoy stats and information, Mashable has pulled together Twitter’s most discussed topics of 2009. Conveniently placed in categories like “movies,” “tech,” and “TV shows” (Harry Potter, Google Wave, and American Idol, respectively), the results are definitely interesting and are worth reading through. Any topics you were surprised to see make the cut? Any that you expected to see but didn’t? Let us know in the comments section below.
-“Accentuate Your Differentiation Point”
Adam Singer gives some great advice on how to stand out and distinguishing yourself with your blogging. From “Don’t write about Twitter” to “Don’t sound like a white paper,” Adam gives some solid advice that’s worth reading if you’re blogging or thinking about starting a blog. And really, the point of the post is pretty much applicable to life in general, not only blogging. Just so you know.
-“The magic of keeping in touch”
Jim Connolly’s blog efforts are full of intelligent and actionable content, and this recent post certainly follows that pattern. Jim gives advice not only on WHY it’s important to keep in touch with customers and clients, but also HOW you can do it (and do it well). So listen to his advice – including tidbits like “it’s called a newsletter and not a salesletter” – and make sure you do some work to keep in touch with your clients heading into the new year.
-“How to Be A More Productive Blogger [And Add 37 Minutes to Every Hour!]
There’s a reason Darren Rowse is known as the Problogger. He’s good. Courtesy of Darren, here’s a simple way to increase your blogging (or work) productivity by cutting just a few minutes’ worth of bad habits from your day. The result? Adding 37 minutes to an hour. That’s a lot of minutes. Definitely, definitely worth the read. Trust us.
So there we have it. Some great posts from some great bloggers as we head into this great holiday week. Hopefully you get as much from these posts as we got, and we hope that you get a chance to enjoy at least one or two relaxing days (or in the case of some of our Deep Bench crew, one or two chaotic days) with friends and family. Either way, we’ll be back next week with more Box Scores for you, as always. Happy holidays!
Like what this week had to offer? Are there any posts that you feel should have been included? Care to share your holiday plans with us? Leave a note in the comments section below or drop us a line on our Facebook page. We’d be happy to hear what you have to say!
Photo (“Distinctively Red”) c/o pshutterbug. Thanks Prabhu!
When Seeing the Big Picture, Don’t Overlook the Small Details
Have you ever worn glasses? If you’re not a nerd like me, maybe you’ve worn sunglasses a time or two (so much cooler). If you have, it’s possible you’ve made the same observation I’ve made on numerous occasions…
When you’ve got a bit of dust on your lenses, you really don’t notice it all that much. You manage to look past the dust that’s literally RIGHT in front of your face (note the proper use of literally there, by the way). You see the big picture because the little specks of dust and dirt don’t block your big vision.
This is a mistake we make in the marketing world. One way it happens is that we get so caught up in our brilliant idea and “big vision” that we let the dusty little details pile up on our glasses and we never notice them until one of those specks or smudges is so big…so noticeable…that we have no choice but to take off our glasses, wipe them down, and start back over. Whether it’s a detail that exceeds the budget or a guerilla effort that you neglected to fit into the timetable, those smudges suddenly become impossible to ignore and can hinder the progress of an otherwise stellar campaign. And you (and probably your boss) are left wondering why you didn’t see them sooner?
Another way it can happen is with client work. When you first land that new client, your passion and excitement radiate throughout the team or agency. You’ve got a fresh, straight-out-of-the-case pair of glasses and a crystal clear vision of where you want to go with your new client. But, as months and years go by, the dust piles up. Meetings are “postponed” without ever being rescheduled. Instead of brainstorming the next phase of the campaign, you’re told to “just run the January ad again this month.” But none of those specks are big enough to totally impair your vision, so you never really notice them.
Until your client fires off a 10 bullet point email citing your shortcomings and unmet expectations throughout their campaign. Or, in a (usually) worse case, you lose the whole account. It’s only then that you take off the glasses and see the amount of dust you’ve let pile up over the months and years.
This is just a friendly reminder to take off your glasses (or sunglasses), give them a good wipedown, and make sure you’re giving your clients a clean, dust-free effort.
You just may be shocked at how clearly you see things after you do.
How about you? Have you lost sight of the details during a campaign by being too focused on the “big vision?” Do you have clients that deserve a wipedown of your marketing glasses? Have you lost clients because you failed to notice the dust building up on their account? Enlighten us with your thoughts in the comments below or drop us a line on our Facebook page.
Photo (“Through glasses”) c/o Rob Pongsajapan. Thanks Rob!
Box Scores, Dec. 7-13 – “Condiments, Sleep & Hooking Readers”
As usual, Sunday has led to Monday, and that means it’s time for your weekly Deep Bench Box Scores. We read some great posts last week in the blogosphere and we wanted to make sure we shared them with you, so we’ve collected them right here in our Box Scores. Read up on the recap and make sure you check out the full posts. Then leave us a comment below and tell us what you think.
Talk about an inspiring way to kick off Box Scores. The always-entertaining and forward-thinking Mark Cuban brings his two great passions in life (sports and business) together for this rock solid post on his love for the challenge that is business. As he puts it, “The sport of business isn’t divided into games. It’s not defined by practices. It doesn’t have set rules that everyone plays by.” So how do you win the game? Read his post and see what he has to say about it.
-“Sealy Admits Reality: No One Gets 8 Hours of Sleep”
This post from Rohit Bhargava is interesting because he points out an important bit of information: sometimes, no matter what convention and tradition might say, you just need to go with the simple truth (like the fact that humans don’t usually get the “8 hours” of sleep they supposedly should get). Sealy recognized this fact and has put it to use in their latest marketing campaign. Check out Rohit’s full post to see why he thinks Sealy made the right decision in doing so.
-“Social Media Is Not A Condiment”
Sometimes social media is included as an afterthought or a bonus in a campaign. Lisa Braziel points out that social media isn’t a condiment in this thoughtful post on the Ignite Social Media blog. Dispelling myths like this one – “Myth #4: The more social media the better” – Lisa points out why social media shouldn’t be considered an add-on for your campaign efforts.
-“Are Your Facebook Fans Truly Engaged?”
Valeria Maltoni presents some interesting research on how to keep fans engaged on Facebook fan pages. Although the post is short and the tips may seem simple or obvious, chances are you either haven’t put them into action or even thought of them yet. Check out Valeria’s post over on Conversation Agent to see 5 ways “to keep your Facebook pages working for you.” It’s worth it.
-“What a Bestselling Author Can Teach You About Hooking Your Readers”
One of the writers in our Deep Bench office is a huge Steven Pressfield fan (Mike). Consequently, Mike was excited to see that this great Copyblogger post on hooking readers featured Mr. Pressfield himself. And, in true Copyblogger fashion, the post goes far beyond the basic “see what this author’s good at” content and delivers plenty of guidance from Steven and the post’s author, Jeff Saxton, on ways to suck readers into a story so quickly that they won’t even realize how hooked they are. Because if you’re able to do that, you definitely win.
So there you go folks. Some great posts from the blogosphere that will hopefully give you some guidance and inspiration in the following week. As always, if you feel we missed a great post or you just want to tell us how much you liked this week’s Box Scores, leave us a comment below and let us know. You can also drop us a line over on our Facebook page if you’d like.
On a final note, if you can’t get enough Box Scores and the rest of our Deep Bench blog content, subscribe to our RSS feed by clicking here so you never miss a post.
Photo (“Red Hook”) c/o Ludovic Bertron. Thanks Ludovic!
Show Me Some Personality (Or Forget-Me-Now)
Last week I spent an evening with a five people I didn’t know at all and one person I sort of knew. Having moved frequently growing up, I wasn’t as intimidated as others might be, but it’s still not all that fun to be the “new guy” in a group.
Luckily, early on, something fantastic happened. One of the guys in the group quoted part of a line from Arrested Development. On cue, I followed up with the second half of the quote and everyone in the room who had seen Arrested had a good laugh. For the rest of the night, my fellow AD fan and I got along like we’d known each other for months. Or at least weeks.
Here’s the important thing for online marketers to realize: EVERY DAY, your brand has a chance to make a similar connection with potential fans or customers or your target audiences or whatever cliché marketing term you want to use.
Whether you’re the “new guy” in your industry or just want to establish that “we’ve been friends forever” feel with your organization’s customers or fan base, social media and online efforts are a fantastic way to create that connection.
Of course, it won’t just happen magically. You have to show that your organization has a personality, and the best way to show that is by connecting in places beyond the cash register or check out cart. Can you imagine how loyal I’d be to a brand that responded to me on Twitter with the missing half of an Arrested Development (or Seinfeld/Dumb & Dumber/Anchorman) quote? Much, much more loyal than some company that jumped into my Twitter stream with “Great deals on _____ (usually teeth whitening), Click here!!!” Britney spam-bot style.
Obviously, online media and marketing must have a sales focus. But, as far as I’m concerned, you won’t make it to the “sale” part of the relationship with me until I have a reason to trust you and like you. What better way to earn my trust than becoming my friend right out of the gate?
As a kid that’s moved around my entire life, I know that some of the most lasting connections and friendships start with a shared experience or an icebreaking laugh. Why not take the time to build out similar connections between your consumers/fans and your organization or brand?
I’m fiercely loyal to a few individuals and organizations (bloggers, Marvel Comics, certain musicians, etc.) because they’ve reached out to me and connected with personalities, not sales pitches. I’ve discarded just as many (in fact, probably way more) companies that have tried to assault me with ads or selfish interests. It’s safe to say that the groups with personality, for the most part, have won out in the long run.
Because if you connect with me as a person and not just a consumer, it will have a much longer lasting affect than your 50% off coupon or your humorous – but easily forgettable – commercial.
Really, it’s the difference between being my friend and slipping me a Forget-Me-Now.
-Mike
What do you think? Does an organization need a personality to connect with you or are companies too focused on finding their “online voice” and not focused enough on pushing business? Which companies do you think do a good job of engaging online? Which companies would you like to see more from? Let us know by sharing your thoughts in the comments below or by dropping us a line on our Facebook page.
Photo (“George Oscar Bluth”) c/o LDRBRS.
Guest Post on Kareem Ahmed’s “Social Media, SEO & Online Marketing Strategy” Blog
Our own Offensive Coordinator Mike Billeter got a chance to guest post over on Kareem Ahmed’s blog on insider language in the online marketing world (and why it should be avoided), so go check out Mike’s post and share your thoughts over there.
Just so you know, Kareem is an Interactive Marketing Specialist and Account Executive at Risdall Marketing Group in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. He’s generally awesome and does a solid job of integrating his work life with his personal life online. He’s definitely worth connecting with, so hit him up on Twitter and check out the rest of his blog when you’re done reading Mike’s guest post on his site.
Also, thanks to Kareem (from Mike) for featuring the post.
Photo (“Guest spot”) c/o Stephen Cummings. Thanks Stephen!
Box Scores, Nov. 30-Dec. 6: “A Mensa Crisis, Timing & Sharks!”
With our esteemed Head Coach and President Hugh Weber out last week in L.A. for the Ford Fiesta Movement wrap-up party (more to come on that later), the Deep Bench office was a busy one. There’s no such thing as a vacation here, so we worked hard to rustle up some great posts to include in this week’s Box Scores just for you. Read up, learn a bit, and let us know what you think when you’re finished.
-“Socialized Media: The Powerful Effects of Online Brand Interaction”
Recently voted PRNews’s PR Blogger of the Year, Brian Solis came correct early last week with this post on brand interaction and its impact on sales. In the post, Brian points out “why monitoring, establishing and cultivating a strategic presence and inspiring meaningful engagement is so critical in social media. It impacts the bottom line.” Worth the read if you weren’t sure before.
-“Stay Cool in a Communications Crisis: How American Mensa Handled It”
Up-and-coming online rock star Lauren Fernandez presents an interesting perspective on handling communications crises in her first published magazine article for Associations Now Magazine. Her breakdown of a crisis situation (and resolution) with Mensa serves as an excellent example of how to handle a crisis and why you should always be prepared for one. Even if you may not ever think you’ll need a crisis communication plan, you might. Read Lauren’s article to see why.
-“6 Marketing Tips – Good Timing!”
Jim Connolly brings some great insight in a not-often-discussed-enough topic – timing. From common sense planning like making sure you aren’t planning an event during a major event (like the World Cup Finals) to more complex stuff like avoiding wasting major chunks of time on minor things, Jim’s post is full of insight and is worth keeping in mind (and opening back up) the next time you’re planning for an event.
-“Making Your Corporate Blog More Social”
This Jason Falls post gives simple ways to help your blog with social media. While his tips aren’t in-depth or earth-shattering, they are easy to utilize. From making your comments section social media savvy to adding a “share on Facebook” button, Jason’s tips are helpful for those looking to share their content as far and wide as possible.
-“Mashable’s Social Media Guide for Small Businesses”
This is simply a huge, link-laden and extremely beneficial post from Mashable to help small businesses take advantage of social media. Countless links ranging from social media tips to video use and PR/marketing to statistics and analytics (and plenty more) makes this a must-read for both small businesses looking to use social media as well as large businesses looking for ways to improve their own social media use. Probably star/bookmark/favorite this one while you’re at it.
-Like Shark Week? You may like this then…
While it’s not exactly an “ad,” we’d love to hear your thoughts on this Shark Week effort. After you’ve experienced it, of course…
And those are some of the best posts from this past week. If we missed a few, pass us a link in the comments below and tell us why it should be included. Perfectly content with these? Tell us below. Feedback rocks our world. If it’s easier, drop us a line on Facebook and tell us over there on our fan page.
(Oh, and if you want to make sure you don’t miss out on future Box Scores or other Deep Bench blog posts, click here to subscribe to our RSS feed.)
Photo c/o StormyDog (Allan Lee). Thanks Allan!
Box Scores, Nov. 23-29 – “SM Purists, Conversations & Serendipity”
Well after a thankful week full of Thanksgiving thankfulness (and a weekend spent learning about ice fishing for/from one of our awesome clients), the Deep Bench crew is pleased to bring you this week’s edition of Box Scores. We’ve got some stellar posts from some top notch pros, so read up on their wisdom and give thanks that, even after Thanksgiving is over, people are still providing fantastic content we can all learn from.
-“Why Social Media Purists Won’t Last”
A great start to Box Scores comes from Jason Falls at his blog, Social Media Explorer. Jason shares his thoughts on the increasingly-popular “social media’s great, but you need to make money too” mindset. In his words, “Conversations do not ring the cash register.” The good thing is he supports his point with solid logic and a pretty “kick-in-the-butt” inspiring attitude. Read up. Your profits-driven bosses will be happier, and you just might be too.
-“Are You Getting Off Track With Your Readers”
This one is for our fellow writers (both copywriters and blog writers) and comes from the ever-informative Copyblogger blog. James Chartrand explains why keeping your readers engaged with a tight focus can really make a difference for them and for you. Read up if you want to make sure you aren’t losing your readers with rambling paragraphs and seemingly-innocent (or “funny”) tangents.
Drifiting Creatives have a pretty fantastic story that’s worth reading up on when you have the time if you haven’t heard it yet. For now, however, we’ll share this post with you and let you do the background research on your own. As creatives, they’ve got a tough task of connecting with clients quickly and easily. Questions do this, but as they put it, “Asking questions is pretty easy, but asking the right questions can be freakin’ hard.” Then they share how they overcome that hurdle. Which begs the question… do you ask the right questions?
-“Careful what you share, it just may start a conversation”
Having seen the topic of this post unfold live on Twitter, this Communications Conversations blog post from Arik Hanson was a fun one. It may or may not involve an individual who brought a massive Mac desktop into a Caribou coffee shop, but more importantly is this fact that Arik points out: “You never know what’s going to interest your community or spark a conversation.” He then lists some great ways to spark conversation with YOUR community. Read them and, in the tradition of last week, be thankful.
-“Why Serendipity Shouldn’t Matter”
You know any post that starts off with “I’ll be contrarian to my good friend Chris Brogan” better be a good one with the fierce loyalty Broganites show. Luckily, Christopher S. Penn brings up some great points in this post on serendipity and how much of our “luck” we truly do control. His concept he presents is a cool one and, as he puts it, “More than a few spirits perked up as they [people doing a certain exercise] realized just how much of a hand they had in their “luck.” Your luck starts with you and the efforts you take on to make luck happen. Read Christopher’s post, remember that fact and then make yourself lucky.
And with that, we cap off this week’s Box Scores. Hopefully you enjoyed the mix of inspiration, insight, and introspection. More importantly, we hope you had a great Thanksgiving and we hope you’re as ready as we are to rock some socks off and change the world this week. Nothing like coming off a break well-rested and prepared to make a difference.
Make sure you let us know what you think of this week’s posts by leaving a note in the comments section or speaking up on our Facebook page. And just in case we missed any great posts you feel are worth being included, let our community know by sharing a link below or on Facebook. We certainly appreciate your input.
Photo (“Give thanks!”) c/o KevinDooley. Thanks Kevin!
Box Scores, Nov. 16-22 – “Risks, Twitter Sins & The Year Of Nothing”
Time flies when you’re having fun, and we’ve been having a blast at the Deep Bench office this week, so Box Scores crept up on us before we even knew what happened. Fortunately, getting to recap some of the week’s best blog posts is always an enjoyable duty. We just hope you get as much out of these great posts as we did.
-“15 Ways PR Agencies Can Help Companies With Social Media”
We’ll kick things off with this great Dave Fleet post that pretty much tells you exactly what the headline suggests. It’s also conveniently broken down into four sections: Getting Started, Strategic Planning, Execution, Full-service. Read the post for the full flavor of the title’s 15 ways.
Joseph Jaffe comes with his latest Adweek column and it’s certainly an encouraging read. The post’s subtitle is “How do you plan to make sure next year is better than this one” and it’s a good question. Mr. Jaffe’s breakdown of ’09 and advice heading into 2010 are worth your consideration. Read up and see why Joseph thinks 2010 could be our “Year of Something.”
-“Over-Delivering For Your Client Starts With These 5 Questions”
A solid 5 questions from AJ Vaynerchuk on the Vaynermedia blog. We agree that all five questions are worth asking, and #5 might be the best of all: “What Can’t We Do? Knowing what you ‘can’ do is actually limiting and a waste of time. Believe it or not, knowing what you can’t do gives you creative freedom.” Smart answer and a solid post overall.
-“Agencies: 15 Risks You Can’t Afford Not to Take”
Our second list of 15, this AdAge post comes from Tim Williams and it’s worth your read. Rather than give all his tips away, we’ll let you read the post for yourself. Just know that it’s worth your time if you’re part of an agency looking to move forward rather than stay stagnant in the current marketing/advertising environment.
The writer in me likes this post. A lot. This is simply a quick guide to writing better paragraphs and, consequently, writing better in general. Plus, sub-headings like “Is it a two-headed baby?” and “Are there on ramps and off ramps?” keep things interesting while you’re reading. Read up, write better, and thank Jon Morrow at Copyblogger for the bit of paragraphic insight.
We’ll end this week’s Box Scores with a Scott Stratten Un-Marketing post. This is a fun one that points out some of the “sins” people commit on Twitter. Not much need for explanation, but seeing his explanation of how people display “Greed” and “Sloth” on Twitter is worth your read.
And that wraps up Box Scores. Quite a few this week, but all of them are solid. The internets do wonderful things to make us smarter. Our advice is that you take advantage of the blogosphere’s generous offering and get some wisdom from the folks who write these fantastic posts. That’s why we collect the Box Scores in the first place. Just make sure you tell us what you think about the posts by leaving a comment below or filling us in on our Facebook fan page.
Oh, and if you like what you’re reading, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed and get all of our content delivered straight to your RSS reader. Booyah.
Photo c/o spettacolopuro. Thanks Andrea!
What A Rapper Can Teach You About ‘Joining The Conversation’
I’ve read dozens of posts in the past few months discussing how companies and brands can build loyalty by “joining the conversation.” Raise your hand if you’ve heard this analogy before: “You don’t want to be the guy at the party who shows up and just starts talking about how great you are.”
Do you know why you’ve heard that analogy before? Because it’s true and extremely accurate. The problem is that it’s easier said than done. Or so it seems.
Add-2 is a rapper from Chicago. It’s possible you’ve never heard of him. I hadn’t either 8 months ago. But, due to a Twitter conversation I had with a different rapper, Add-2 (@ADD2theMC) apparently thought I was someone worth following and I decided to follow him back.
Now (sadly), I have a MySpace account. I’ve received the dozens of “HEy cheCk oUt my **NEW Album** over at myspace.com/GenERicRapperNAMe” messages you get when you’re “MySpace friends” with actually-talented musicians. But Add didn’t do that. He just listened (or read, I guess) and then he responded – with a REAL personality – to some my tweets. So I checked him out and clicked the link to his MySpace page in his Twitter bio.
Needless to say, I was impressed. Very impressed. Impressed enough to download his (free) mixtape, “A Tale of Two’s City: Volume 2.” And then I was more impressed after I listened to that. So I told other people to download his music (which he, smartly, shares for free…but that’s a whole different post to come in the future).
I’ve communicated with Add-2 pretty frequently online, but here’s the important thing: if he’d jumped into my Twitter stream with “DOWNLOAD MY MIXTAPE” tweets, I’d have unfollowed him after the 2nd 1st one of them. Instead, he cultivated an online conversation and let me discover his talent for myself.
Needless to say, I’ll be buying his first album whenever he does get signed by a record label (which is an opportunity I firmly believe he’ll have someday). I’ll pay the $9.99 or $12.99 or whatever it is when it comes out. And I’ll tell all my friends to do it too. All because Add-2 joined the conversation and developed a relationship that led to me becoming an evangelist for his music.
In the marketing/PR/social media world, we call that *BUZZWORD ALERT* brand loyalty. And brand loyalty is what takes your product or service (or your client’s product or service) from commodity to necessity in someone’s life. Don’t waste an opportunity to build that base of evangelists by trying to force your message into people’s heads. That won’t work. Let it develop naturally.
Add-2 never asked me to support him. And here I am, on my (work) blog, using him as an example of the proverbial “build a relationship” mantra that we espouse in social media. If you do things right, your product (or your client’s product) could build a loyal base of supporters in the exact same way.
And then you and your clients win.
How about you? Have you experienced a similar process with a company’s product or service? Do you think Add-2 could’ve done something differently as a musical artist in order to engage new fans or do you think he went about it the right way? Share your comments below or tell us your thoughts over on our Facebook fan page.
Oh, and I’ll go ahead and embed one of the many displays of Add’s talent here while I’m at it…
Box Scores, Nov. 9-15: “Being Connected, Experts & The Future”
It’s been a busy, busy week here at the Deep Bench office, but that doesn’t mean we’ll make you wait for your beloved Box Scores. That’s right, it’s Monday morning and no amount of excitement at the Deep Bench office (even something as exciting as a killer website redesign) will keep us from sharing some of the blogosphere’s best posts from last week. So read up, learn a bit, and pass the knowledge along.
First up, one of the week’s highlights from Todd Defren at PR-Squared on…well the title really speaks for itself.
Todd’s predictions on the future of marketing manage to stay both reasonable and insightful. What’s his prediction? I won’t spoil it here, but check out the post and see for yourself. And while you’re at it, let us know if you agree or disagree with his predictions by sharing your thoughts over on our Facebook page.
-“Don’t Hire Me Because I’m An Expert”
This post, a very smart one from Tom Martin over on Advertising Age, discusses an important distinction between “experts” and explorers. His point is this: “By definition, experts are always looking backwards…the problem with experts is that they can only really tell you how it has always been done.” Explorers take a different route, and it’s worth checking out the full post for the details of Tom’s logic.
-“Discussing the PR Revolution”
This Box Score from over at the Top Rank Blog isn’t so much a blog post as it is a PRSA panel discussion recap featuring some solid PR pros and their thoughts on the industry. From questions like “what’s next in the realm of online and how will it impact PR” to “What kind of skills do the new PR professional needs to be the new architect and move away from the tactical role,” folks like Brian Solis and Joseph Jaffe share some great wisdom with their answers. It’s a lengthy but informative read, to say the least.
-“5 ways to promote internal training and events”
This is a short but thoughtful post from Drew McLellan on how to overcome the cliché “email and flier” approach to getting the attention of your employees. With tips like “Catch it on camera” and “Let them eavesdrop” as well as clarification/details on how to do those things, this post will make any manager trying to promote internal events a happier person (and a much “cooler” manager).
The ever-insightful Valeria Maltoni shares her thoughts on being connected and what that really means in the online world. One bit of insight? “Reach is to conversation like connection is to conversion.” Reaching out to someone isn’t necessarily all it takes, so read her post to see why taking it to the next level could make a big difference for you or your organization.
-“7 Visualization Groups On Flickr to Find Inspiration”
Technically this should have been included last week, but seeing as designers need some love from Box Scores too, we’ll share it anyway. This post from Flowing Data shares some Flickr groups worth checking out if you’re looking for visualization inspiration. Check out what they have to offer and see how you can take potentially boring information and make it into to deliciously informative eye candy.
And, once again, we’ve come to the end of another great set of Box Scores. From the future to “experts” to good looking visuals, Box Scores covered a wide array of information and insight this week. The question is, do you agree? Did we miss any posts that should’ve been included? Did you particularly enjoy one of these posts specifically? Share your thoughts in the comments below or over on our Facebook page and tell us what you think.
Photo (“Connected!”) c/o visulogik. Thanks Hans!