Posts Tagged ‘deepbench’
Why “Above and Beyond” Should Be Your Standard
Our company spends a lot of time in coffee shops. This is mostly because we don’t have an office, and also because we aren’t as productive when we fall asleep on our keyboards.
Fortunately, many coffee shops provide for our needs with an office-like setting featuring comfy seats, wi-fi and, thankfully, the almighty slaughterer of sleep – Caffeine. (Yes…capital “C.”)
Something I’ve noticed as we’ve traveled around Sioux Falls – in order to avoid wearing out our welcome at any particular place - is the fact that some coffee shops go above and beyond the call of duty for visiting customers.
And some of them don’t.
That’s the problem. If we spend a day at Coffea or Queen City Bakery in Sioux Falls, the employees go out of their way to check in with us as the day progresses. Offering to get us new items, bringing water refills and generally just making it a point to see how they can help us.
But yesterday, we went to a place (we’ll call it Genericafe) where, after we purchased our drinks, we were completely ignored for almost 4 straight hours.
Here’s the thing: they weren’t wrong. In normal life, the experience we got at Genericafe is the expected experience. Yet, after the treatment we’ve received at the hands of zealous Coffea or QCB employees, the expected experience at Genericafe becomes, in essence, a letdown.
Now…as a marketer, PR person or online media strategist, which experience do you provide? Do you go above and beyond what the typical client expects and work hard to keep them satisfied (at all times), or do you simply do enough to cover your bases and move on to whatever other projects you have on your plate?
If it’s the latter, you may want to rethink your approach. Because once your client (the one you’re giving the “typical” agency experience to) comes across that new agency whose effort takes things to a whole ‘nother level…it might be hard to win them back.
It’s where Genericafe loses. It’s where you’ll lose too.
Don’t be Genericafe.
Let us know if you’ve had any similar experiences (or if we’re just talkin’ crazy talk) by sharing your thoughts in the Comments section below, dropping us a tweet on Twitter at @deepbench, or by visiting our Facebook fan page at facebook.com/deepbench.
Photo by Mykl Roventine
Why I Can’t Stand “A Case of the Mondays”
If you’ve ever worked one single Monday in your life, it’s possible (and probable) that you’ve heard – or used – the expression “a case of the Mondays” to explain a bad mood on a Monday morning.
I can’t stand that.
Call me crazy, call me closed-minded, call me unsympathetic (or just call me reasonable), but it drives me insane to think that people let something as completely intangible as a certain day of the week determine their mood and attitude for 24 hours.
I’ll admit there’s a difference between having a bad day that is coincidentally on a Monday and an actual “case of the Mondays.” That’s understandable. But am I the only person that goes crazy when a conversation with a person on Monday morning transpires like this? –
Me: “Hey, how’s it going today?”
Person: “Eh, it’s Monday…”
Me: (While internally shaking my head and repressing near-violent anger) “Alright, well…I hope it gets better for you.”
Person: “Oh, it’s just a case of the Mondays. Things should be better tomorrow.”
Wait, what?!
You’re going to spend an entire day being in a bad mood based on the logic that it’s the first day to your work week? Seriously? Is EVERY weekend you spend that magnificent that it makes you dread your entire first day back to work? You’re going to let one day bring a depressing and dreary attitude into the workplace, to infect everyone with your negative, “my environment controls my attitude” outlook on life?
Uh-uh. No way. Leave that garbage at home. That’s what I say. You have a chance to make every Monday an exciting and opportunistic day for you if you choose to make it happen. Mondays are a fresh chance to kick off a great week and spread an “I plan to enjoy my day (and make it productive)” approach to everyone in your office. Why pass up that opportunity only to replace it with negativity? If you can give me one good reason, I just might retract this post and apologize for my errors. And maybe shave my head or something crazy.
Bottom line: This post was inspired by a Twitter offer from a coffee shop in Sioux Falls (which has been very, very good to the Deep Bench crew) called Coffea: “50% off drinks today for anyone with a ‘case of the Mondays.’” the tweet read. I love their approach. I love that they are using Twitter to create a tribal experience (Seth Godin-style) of insider information. Like a secret password or handshake that actually provides value to customers. I love that.
But I don’t love “cases of the Mondays.” So I walked in, and asked if I “could still have a discount, even if I consider a case of the Mondays to be a good thing.” The response? “You know, if you think Mondays are a good thing, then I think you definitely deserve a 50% discount.”
I’ll say this: I respect and appreciate Coffea’s attempt to make everybody’s Monday a little bit better with a 50% discount (and I respect them even more for doing it with a social media approach). In fact, I’d even say that falls into Deep Bench’s “Do Good” aspect of our organization’s “Work. Play. Do Good.” mantra.
I just wish the rest of the world would try to approach Monday’s with a slightly more optimistic outlook. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I think wishful thinking is the small push that helps start turning the gears of change. So, from now on, I’m going to try to spread my “Positive Case of the Mondays” approach by sharing some positive thoughts, concepts, and probably music on Mondays just to add a little optimism to the mix and maybe create a little change.
Because really, why would you want to let an outside force like the day of the week affect your chance to enjoy an entire day’s worth of opportunities for success?
It’s that kind of attitude that almost…almost gives me a case of the Mondays.
If you agree or disagree with Mike’s mindset or his analysis on cases of the Mondays, let us know in the comments below or drop us a line on Twitter at @deepbench. Although it’s unlikely, it’s possible he’s wrong, so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with us.
Box Scores: June 29-July 5 – Monday Motivation (and lots of it)
Hopefully you folks enjoyed the 4th of July this weekend in some form or fashion. Nothing like some burgers and fireworks to show off our true American spirit, and if that doesn’t make for a good weekend, we don’t know what does (as a side note, to our countless readers in other parts of the world, we hope you enjoyed your weekends, U.S. Independence Day or not). That said, we’ve got Box Scores to help you get back into the swing of your work week. So read up and see what the best of the blogosphere had to offer us last week.
A great way to kick off this week, this post from Valeria Maltoni at Conversation Agent is inspiring and motivational without sounding like it was written by a cheesy motivational speaker (not to be confused with an awesome motivational speaker). Referring to how much passion we bring to projects we work on, Valeria points out that “It turns out that social media is but a reflection of life, just like public relations, marketing, and everything else with them – we get out of it what we put in.” Truth. Are you putting in what you expect to get out of each project you undertake? Think about it…
It’s easy to do what everyone else does. Act the same way every other person around you does. Follow the industry norms and get in where you fit in. But that’s also not as fun. And, really, it’s not the way to innovate. Luckily for us, Jonathan Morrow over at Copyblogger has realized this and eloquently expresses why it’s worth it to be a little different. As he puts it, “The people we pay attention to aren’t the masters of doing what’s “right;” they’re the misfits who have the courage to be wrong. They take whatever everyone else is doing in their industry and turn it inside out.” So…do you have the courage to be wrong?
The folks at PR-Squared have had some recent good fortune and success. And according to one of their more recent posts, that doesn’t give them any time to rest. Why? Because, in their words, “They (you!) scare me. They (you!) can beat me. If I can win what I’m winning, they (you!) can win what I’m winning.” They realize that, while they’re doing some big and exciting things (and doing them well), there will always be the next group or team ready to do big and exciting things too. So…are you working hard enough to stay on top when that time comes? If not, you might want to consider being a little bit more scared (and work a little bit harder as a result), because there are plenty of up-and-coming teams ready to do just that…
-“8 First Step SEO Tips for Bloggers”
Every once in awhile, people just need some good and beneficial information in a nice, easy-to-follow summary. Luckily for all of us, Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger has provided some great first-step tips on SEO to his readers and we wanted to be sure they were passed along to you. After sharing these solid SEO tips, Darren discusses his opinions on the role of SEO for bloggers. His thoughts, as usual, are worth the read. Hopefully you get as much from these 8 tips (and subsequent analysis) as we did.
-“Become A Beacon On The Digital Landscape”
Adam Singer once again posts a typically-insightful post on his blog, The Future Buzz, regarding our role as thought leaders and why it’s important to stand out as a light of information and wisdom to our followers and blog readers. As he puts it, “You must become a beacon or you are essentially at the whim of others who point attention at their own discretion, perhaps shining the light on you for fleeting moments…if you’re lucky.” Why wait for someone to shine their light on you if you’re capable to turn up the power and light the way yourself?… Not sure? That’s what we thought. Don’t be afraid to step up and “become a beacon on the digital landscape.” Because, in the long run, it’s either you or your competitors who will be willing to shine.
Talk about motivation in this week’s Box Scores. From waking up passionate about your work to courageously risking being wrong to shining brightly as a beacon on the digital landscape, the Box Scores mix was full of some great posts from last week encouraging us to work hard and do good things (or, as we like to say at Deep Bench, “Work. Play. Do Good.”). Hopefully you’re as inspired by these posts as we were. If you were, or if there’s any other great stuff you feel should’ve been included in this week’s Box Scores, let us know in the comments section or by hitting us up on Twitter at @deepbench.
Photo by Z||Q|Y -zaq.
Box Scores: June 22-28 “Trust, dominoes and pick-up basketball”
We’re back in action on this fine Monday morning and we’ve got quite the edition of Box Scores coming your way this week. We’ve loaded Box Scores with more posts than usual, but that’s just because the blogosphere had so much great content to choose from and we wanted to pass it along. Hopefully you get as much out of these posts as we did, so let us know what you think by leaving a comment below or tweeting us at @deepbench (or, join our Facebook fan page while the gettin’s good by clicking here).
Kicking things off, we’ve got a great (and very informative) post from Valeria Maltoni. Enjoy…
-“Blogging at Work if You Don’t Have a Blog”
While her blog at Conversation Agent is typically full of good stuff, Valeria outdoes herself with this insightful look at “blogging without a blog.” There are great tips for all kinds of people (whether you do or don’t have a blog) and it’s worth reading all the way through. As she puts it, “Participation is content because it is what will activate your content in the context of the conversation.” Are you participating by sharing content? If not, you might want to think about it.
It’s Seth Godin, so you know it’s going to be good. His thoughts on going out and getting business are worth the read (especially if you’re a smaller business like we are here at Deep Bench). As Seth explains, “…if you line up all the dominos one by one, in the right order, you may just have enough energy to push over the first one.” What’s your strategy? Are you shooting for the big domino right out of the gate or building that momentum with smaller dominos that will help you take down the big one when you get to it?
-“PR Popping Out with Mask Characterization”
Certainly a more unique post by Narciso over at the Method + Moxie blog, the post discusses the connection between an interesting (and boundary-pushing) college theatre class and Narciso’s current work in the PR and social media realm. The connection he creates is one that makes perfect sense, and since it’s connected to a very unique story, we figured it would be worthwhile to recommend it to you guys. Sometimes it helps to gain some insight from concepts that don’t fit into the “typical” social media blog post. Enjoy.
-“How to Make Social Media FAIL for You”
Jeremy Griffin brings a funny and realistic viewpoint of how to “do” a social media campaign (the wrong way). Or more specifically, what your agency (who just might be “doing” social media the wrong way) is telling you to do. For example, in his viral video section, Jeremy writes, “It doesn’t matter if your video does anything for your brand, just so long as it is FUNNY! Can’t think of anything good? NO PROBLEM! Just take something already popular from the Internet and replicate it with your own product!” The post had us laughing, so read up and see if you’re making social media “FAIL” for you.
-“How to Write an Email that Stands Out”
Still MORE from Valeria Maltoni (not a surprise, seeing as she’s usually brilliant and on point), this is a pretty straightforward post explaining why putting in more time and effort than most people think is necessary is one way to stand out (for all the right reasons). Even for something as simple as an email, that extra touch can go a long way.
-“Don’t learn social media at the expense of your client”
Although it’s the talk of the town (or Twitterverse), not everyone is utilizing social media. So when your clients ask you if you “do” social media, you can either answer yes or no. For some people, the more appropriate answer is “no.” But sometimes those same people say “yes.” As Marc Meyer at Direct Marketing Observation puts it, “You have earned their trust. Trust is gold.” The choice to break that trust can backfire. So make sure you’re doing the right thing before you hastily tell your clients that you can “do” social media. They’ll probably thank you for it.
-“What Would Make You Buy My Product One More Time Per Year?”
According to Adam Singer at The Future Buzz, that question is the WRONG question to be asking your customers or clients. The better question to consider is how to build long-term relationships with them rather than looking for a short fix. In his words, “Ask yourself, how does what I am doing to market my clients/business/products/website/blog truly build something special and lasting.” Lots of posts on trust this week in Box Scores…probably something to keep in mind the next time you consider going for a quick fix or short-term gain.
-“Brands: You can’t hide and then expect to participate in social media”
We’re back with a second Marc Meyer post. This one’s on pick-up basketball games. Well, it’s actually about brands that suddenly want to engage in social media (and why simply engaging at some point along the way will make the full-scale transition much more quick and painless), but he uses an excellent analogy based on games of pick-up basketball. And, seeing as we like sports here at Deep Bench, we thought it fit quite nicely to round out this week’s Box Scores. Let us know if you agree (or disagree).
And once again Box Scores come to a close for the week. Hopefully you got some insight from this mix of fantastic bloggers and marketing talents. If there are any great posts from the week we should’ve included, let us know in the comments section below or drop us a link to the post on Twitter at @deepbench and we’ll check it out. Or, you’re more than welcome to just let us know that we’re doing a great job with Box Scores. Either way, we’d love to hear from you. We’ll see you back next week, same time, same place.
The Shaq Effect: Just how influential is the Big Cactus?
So…the Oprah Effect. You’ve heard of it. How much she – and other celebrities - are affecting the social media realm. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing can be discussed in other places, but one thing’s for sure…it’s definitely a “thing” and it should not be ignored.
Take, for example, “The Shaq Effect.” The argument could be made, in fact, that the Shaq Effect served as the precursor to the Oprah Effect. His engagement with fans via Twitter and his Facebook Fan Page led to all kinds of buzz and excitement as his follower numbers skyrocketed and he enjoyed interacting with his adoring public.
But how can you really measure something like The Shaq Effect? Sure you could use detailed metrics of Twitter number increases and Fan Page fan statistics, but that’s way too boring and scientific. We’re going to go with something way cooler and more fun: screen shots and videos. Hooray!
Here’s the situation: At 10:40 p.m. CT, on the night of Tuesday, June 23rd, Shaq tweeted this:
The video he’s tweeting about can be seen below. As the screen shot shows, it had about 340 views at the time of the tweet. That’s not bad. (Screenshot first, then video below that)
(Here’s the video itself…)
Being the studious and curious thinker I am, I made a point to check back in at exactly 10:40 this morning. Here’s the number of views, exactly 12 hours after Shaq’s tweet:
And now, as of the time that this post was created, the view numbers are almost 35,000.
So…did the numbers spike so rapidly due to the video itself simply being awesome, or is it the fact that Shaq’s network of 1,372,200 people (at the time) rushed to view a video that inspired Shaq to want to play a guy in a game of horse for $1,000 (many of whom probably then shared it with THEIR networks)? Bearing in mind that the video had been posted since June 11 and only had 340 views in almost 2 weeks, I’m guessing Shaq had a bit to do with the view number increase of over 5,000% in a 12-hour span. Obviously there’s more to this equation than page view numbers in the bottom corner of a YouTube screen, but this was simply meant to be an observation that happened to morph into a blog post.
Our question is this – Could any Twitter celebrity have made that happen or is it the sheer numbers behind the army of Shaq Twitter followers that made it happen? If Gary Vaynerchuk had thrown it out there to his 566,000+ followers, would the video views still have jumped to 20,000? If Chris Brogan had shared it with his almost 80,000 followers would his followers (and their networks) have gotten the video 20,000 views? On the flip side, would Ellen DeGeneres’s network of 2,100,000+ followers have taken the video to 40,000 views?
Or would simply landing on the front page of Digg have been all it needed to get there? Are you at all surprised that Shaq’s network didn’t get the video MORE than 20,000 views?
All of these many questions are questions that we’re currently debating in the office, so we figured we’d see what you have to say. We’d love to hear your thoughts, so fill us in on your views in the comments section below or on Twitter at @deepbench.
P.S. – We’d love to hear your favorite Shaqalicious nickname while you’re at it, so let us know. Big Cactus, Big Diesel, Big Jabberwocky, Big Aristotle (my personal favorite) or one of the dozens of others?
UPDATE: As of a few hours after we posted this highly detailed analysis (around 6:00 on June 24th), it appears Shaq has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to TechCrunch, it’s possible he found out about this trade via Twitter. On a side note, it is this writer’s fear that, when Shaq gets to Cleveland, the potential combination of his HUGE personality combined with LeBron James’ equally outgoing personality could cause the entire city of Cleveland to explode from a fun, passion, and excitement overload. Things could get crazy, folks.
“Listening, honesty and how you’re screwing up” – Box Scores: June 15-21
First and foremost, we hope those of you who celebrate Father’s Day had a great Father’s Day. Whether that meant a day off, a day of activities, or a solid combination of the two, we here at Deep Bench hope it was what you fathers (and children of fathers) were looking for. Also, I’d just like to give a special shout-out to our own Head Coach Hugh Weber, who is celebrating his first Father’s Day as a dad this year. Congrats, Hugh.
Moving along, we’ve got some great posts from the blogosphere collected into this week’s Box Scores, so read up and enjoy the insight of the talented bloggers sharing their wisdom on this new-fangled Internet thing. And then let us know what you think by sharing your thoughts below or tweeting us on Twitter at @deepbench. First up – a great post on listening from Drew McLellan…
Drew McLellan asks a simple question with a not-so-simple answer. Are you truly listening to your customers and audience, or do you just act like you’re listening? As he puts it, “I think this happens to every one of us — each and every day. Clients make a casual comment or an aside…and in our rush to get the work done or the information we need, we rush right by it.” His advice: take a minute or two to listen…really and truly listen. Our guess is that, after reading this post, you might be a little more inclined to give it a try.
-“13 Tips for Marketing Your Business With Your Blog”
This Problogger post shares some great ideas on how to best use your blog to promote your business. Ranging from fairly common sense concepts like “Be Useful” (“Consider what channel/s of your business your blog is going to help strengthen, what goals you want to achieve with it and what it will and won’t aim to do.”) to slightly more in-depth ideas such as “Integrate Your Blog with Your Website,” Darren Rowse serves up some great ideas to keep in mind if you own a business and intend to start a company blog to help market it.
-“Augment your social media marketing efforts with honesty”
Marc Meyer makes his way into Box Scores yet again with his post on doing what’s best for your client (even if it doesn’t seem like the right “business” approach). As he puts it, “At the end of the day, it’s not about bangin’ the client for as much as you can get, or getting the project at any cost, or saying what they want to hear. It’s about you being honest and seeing the challenges of running a business from the perspective of the business owner.” It’s a mindset we here at Deep Bench firmly believe, and it’s always good to see when other people have success with the same approach.
-“7 Ways You’re Screwing Up Relationship Marketing”
This is just a flat-out awesome post from Naomi Dunford at Copyblogger discussing – and even contradicting – some of the current standards and clichés of relationship marketing. For example, “Relationship marketing is not about connection. Just because Steve Jobs doesn’t know your kid’s name doesn’t mean you’re going to buy a Dell next time… Relationship marketing is not about equality. The only thing that’s equal about you being my ‘fan’ and me begging you for money is that we’re equally codependent.” The post’s overall point? “Relationship marketing is about marketing.” Read the post to see where Naomi is coming from. Then, let us know if you agree or disagree by leaving us a comment or a tweet.
-“Tune Up Your Personal Message”
Chris Brogan shares some great wisdom on how to make sure you present yourself well (and keep the audience engaged) during speeches and presentations. Via common sense thoughts like this – “If your stories are about how amazing you are, they get old fast.” – Chris gets to the overall purpose of his post, which is this: “My intentions with this piece are to have you think about yourself and how what you’re saying might impact how people are perceiving you.” If that’s not something you’ve considered, you probably should. This post is a great place to start.
(UPDATE: Forgot to include this Box Score upon originally posting this week’s batch, but leaving this post out from Box Scores would simply be a mistake…)
Interesting thoughts from Matt Jones over at Advertising Age regarding social media and why he’s not necessarily a fan. While he acknowledges that saying he “hates social media” is probably marketing heresy, he goes ahead and says it anyway. Of course, his heretical points are probably worth noting. For example, as he puts it: “What if we stopped getting all hot and heavy over the latest new media success stories du jour, and starting realizing that the real triumph of, say, the Obama campaign was the product and the story, not the channel used for storytelling?” Hmm…good question (if you ask us). And there’s more where that came from.
And with that, we’ve done our job of passing along this past week’s Box Scores. Now it’s your job to read the posts and utilize them in whichever way you feel like utilizing them. Hopefully you get as much out of them as we did. And if we missed a great post or two (or you just want to share your thoughts on Box Scores in general), leave us a comment below or let us know on Twitter at @deepbench.
Making history with Facebook & Twitter: Why Clay Shirky’s TED talk affects YOU
Although pretty much every TED Talk is worth listening to, this presentation from Clay Shirky discussing “How Cellphones, Twitter, Facebook can make history” is full of insight and wisdom. After you watch (or listen to) the video below, check out our thoughts on the presentation and let us know what you think.
As he talks about the impact today’s current technology provides to the world, he shares some insight that online marketers should keep in mind when considering which media they want to craft their message and communicate with their audience. As Clay puts it, “These tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring. It isn’t when the shining new tools show up that their uses start permeating society…it’s when everybody is able to take them for granted.”
Many of us in the online media and marketing industry could be considered early adopters (or something relatively close to that). That doesn’t, however, mean that all of our target audience members think the same way we do.
I think, in this sense, we need to keep in mind that traditional marketing practices should always be considered and implemented in marketing plans. Sure you can set up a Twitter account, but if your product is Cliffs Notes and you’re targeting the lazy resourceful high school English students across the country (with 12-17 year olds only making up around 5% of Twitter users worldwide according to statistics in this PR-2.0 report), you’d probably be better served investing your time into a Facebook fan page or other, more relevant manner of reaching your audience of resourceful teens.
Keep in mind that, while Clay states that “the moment we’re living through is the largest increase in expressive capability in human history,” we still need to remember who will be providing that expressive capability (i.e. the target audience/market) by taking each effort on a project-by-project, campaign-by-campaign basis and ensuring a positive experience for everyone involved.
The point of Clay’s talk is this: Today, right now, in 2009, we have plenty of opportunities to connect with those we want to reach out to and they have plenty of opportunities to exponentially magnify that connection.
The point of this post is this: As marketers, it’s our job to make sure we’re using the right medium, and the right strategy, to make that connection.
So what do you think? Did you feel Clay hit the nail on the head with his TED talk? Do you feel there was an element missing or something you would change? Do you agree with our analysis of the presentation? Let us know in the Comments section below or drop us a line on Twitter at @deepbench.
Social Media vs. Search, Email & Online Advertising: Which wins?
Are social media efforts more beneficial than search, email, and online advertising?
- Image credit: websuccessdiva
According to research conducted by agency:2, that appears to be the case. Based on the information presented in a recent report, “Statistics shows that social media has an average click through rate of 7% (CTR 7%) which is twice as effective as email (CTR 3.9%) and 35 times more effective than banners (CTR 0.2%).”
Beyond the statistics, agency:2 also presents some thoughts on why the numbers are what they are. While we suggest giving the entire piece a read by clicking here, here are a few of the highlights we thought stood out.
1. “Brands can find customers when they are actively looking for support, advice & solutions.”
This may seem a bit like common sense, but it’s common sense for a reason and if you aren’t keeping it in mind, you’re making a mistake. In the past, you were simply casting a net and hoping to snag a [target market] fish or two. Now, you have an opportunity to zone in on each and every fish, hook it, and reel it in. Seems logical to us.
2. “Brands can interact with their target audience”
Ok…so if you’re going to interact with your target audience, you probably don’t want to treat them as fish. However, this still common sense sentiment should be recognized and considered when conducting your online presence. If you’re interacting with your target audience, you are able to show them the most important side of your organization…YOU. Rather than an impersonal banner ad that shouts “CLICK ME! CLICK ME! CLICK ME!”, you’re able to truly connect and, as the statistics show, build a relationship and get results.
3. “We are social beings and we like sharing ideas!”
As they put it, “recommendations from like-minded people lead to higher interaction.” So true, and very much worth emphasizing. As more and more people are engaged and their trust/appreciation of the brand grow, they will share their positive feelings with others and, lo and behold, that interest can (hopefully) be converted to clicks and connections. On the flip side, how often have you heard people rant and rave about their favorite newfound banner ad or mass email? We’re guessing not often at all.
Clearly we aren’t shocked by the results agency:2 presented in their study. What do you think? Are social media efforts more beneficial than search, email, and online advertising? Are you surprised by the numbers they’ve shared or the thoughts they’ve imparted? Do you have examples where the opposite of what we’re saying is true?
For more of the details surrounding their study, go ahead and click here to read up. And if these results leave you wondering how you can begin creating a social media strategy to accompany your current online marketing efforts, drop us a line. We’d be happy to chat with you on the subject. If so, let us know in the Comments section below or drop us a tweet on Twitter at @deepbench.
Image credit: websuccessdiva
Box Scores: June 8-14 – “Lemmings, trial lawyers and radio Twitter”
Image c/o Shoshanah
Good news, folks. We’re back on this wonderful Monday morning with some Box Scores to kick off your week. Although last week’s Box Scores were a little late, we wanted to get right back on schedule this week with some of the best posts the blogosphere had to offer. So read up and tell us what you think by leaving us a comment below or dropping us a line on Twitter at @deepbench.
-“23 Essential Elements of Sharable Blog Posts”
A great list with fantastic advice, Chris Brogan brings his typical personal and professional touch to this very useful post. If you’ve ever needed a bit of advice when it comes to creating appealing blog content, Chris covers this base with a concise list of tips and ideas to make it happen. Read it, learn from it, bookmark it and share it.
-“Five Ways to Persuade Like a Silver-Tongued Trial Lawyer”
This post comes from Brian Clark over at Copyblogger and, while it may not sound like the way you want to conduct yourself in the business world, the post isn’t as evil as it sounds. In fact, it’s makes quite a bit of sense. As Brian puts it, “…in an attention-starved world where everyone is constantly bombarded with competing information, your message must be designed to slip into the mind of your prospect as effortlessly as possible. In that regard, you might want to think like a trial attorney when ‘making your case’ with your copy.” Makes sense to us. Read up and let us know if you agree/disagree.
-“Jumping Off The Social Media Cliff”
Lee Odden of the Online Marketing Blog makes an appearance on Box Scores with this post emphasizing the difference between using social media tools and creating a social media strategy that utilizes certain tools. As far as the question he presents in the post’s title, he looks at it this way, “For many companies, kicking off a social media effort is like jumping off a cliff. The question to consider…is whether your company is jumping as a base jumper or a Lemming?” Do you know the answer to that question for your own company?
-“13 Lessons (& Tips) Learned from Launching an eBook”
If you have any intentions of launching an eBook, this post from Darren Rowse at Problogger is a solid resource for viewing the process in a personal (rather than a mechanical) way. Darren shares his experience in the eBook launching process as if he’s having a conversation rather than writing a step-by-step instructional guide for the process. The result? Though not a “hold you by the hand” guide, this post serves to show some of the positives and negatives of launching a eBook, as well as what to consider if you decide to do it.
-“Graduate school for unemployed college students”
Seth Godin is a wise man and he doesn’t fail to live up to that description in this post on what to do if you are unemployed and tired of sitting on the couch expecting good things to happen. From industry-related ideas like “Write three detailed business plans for projects in the industry you care about” to (seemingly) less business-oriented advice like “Volunteer to coach or assistant coach a kids sports team,” Seth shares what currently-unemployed graduates could be doing to not only stay productive during their unemployment, but also to help better-situate them for employment later on down the line. Pretty sound advice if you ask us…
-“UnitedHealthcare Signs Master Service Agreement with Spyder Trap Online Marketing”
While not a traditional Box Scores blog post, this release from Spyder Trap Online Marketing brings up a great point in how business can develop with clients. The gist is this: Starting with a small piece of a large business and doing fantastic work with that slice opens the door for you to get your hands on the rest of the pie. To read Mike’s full thoughts on the subject, check out his post from last Thursday here.
-“Is Twitter like a radio or more like a plaza?”
An interesting post from Roberto Mazzoni at Commodore Black, the question debates how frequently Twitter users should re-post or re-share content they feel is worth sharing. Using some common sense statistics to help prove his point, Roberto’s insight will help you realize that it’s not a crime to post your content more than once a day (as well as why it might benefit you to post it up to 4-5 times per day). After you check out the post, let us know what you think. Is more than once or twice a Twitter sin or is it reasonable? Let us know what you think.
And with that, we conclude yet another week of Deep Bench Box Scores. Hopefully you learned a thing or two from these awesome posts. And while we’re at it, are there any posts you feel like we missed? If so, let us know in the Comments section and we’ll give them a look. We’re happy to hear your thoughts, so share them below or drop us a tweet at @deepbench. Enjoy your Monday, and we’ll be back with more soon.
Image courtesy of Shoshanah via Flickr Creative Commons.
How starting small can bring you BIG success…
Press releases aren’t typically known for thought-provoking and idea-inspiring content. Typically, they give basic information in order to alert people of something interesting coming up for a company (often more interesting for the company writing it than for the public in general). You know this.
However, after coming across Spyder Trap Online Marketing’s latest press release about signing a Master Service Agreement with UnitedHealthcare, I was struck (stricken?) by a specific statement from a VP at UnitedHealthcare within the release regarding the two companies’ opportunity to “greatly expand their existing relationship”:
“We have worked with Spyder Trap Online Marketing on some challenging projects recently,” said Bud Flagstad, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for UnitedHealthcare. “Their knowledge of the online space along with their work ethic and dedication really provide value to our staff and have elevated the online marketing initiatives on which we’ve collaborated.”
What I took from that statement is this: Spyder Trap had worked with UnitedHealthcare on smaller-scale projects in the past. As a result of handling those smaller-scale projects professionally and efficiently, they clearly impressed the organization and consequently won a much larger scale of business from UnitedHealthcare than ever.
So what’s the point? Although I’m lifting it from my comment on their blog, I think it’s applicable so I’ll share it here as well. (I’m pretty sure it’s legal to do that…right?)
“That’s a great example for the agencies and firms looking for new business and assuming the mindset of ‘We need to land the _______ account.’ It’s not entirely necessary to land a whole big account. Sometimes, all it takes is a sample for the client to want more.”
So the next time you’re fully focused on landing some huge client, consider whether or not you’re more likely to find success doing good work for them in areas where you can efficiently make that happen. If you do things the right way starting small, it’ll be much easier for them to trust bigger work to you down the line.
It clearly worked for Spyder Trap and it’s something to keep in mind when working with clients in the future.
What do you think? Do you have similar examples of this situation you can share? Are you more of a “Go big or go home” type of person when it comes to client work? Share your thoughts with us below in the Comments section or drop us a tweet on Twitter at @deepbench. We’d love to hear your opinion.
Belated Box Scores: June 1-7 – PR’s future, more cowbell and smart people
Box Scores have traditionally been waiting for you bright and early every Monday morning in order to help you start your week off right with some of the previous week’s best blog posts. Unfortunately, due to a substantial amount of travel (Virginia Beach and back in 6 days…but that’s a different post for a different day), we couldn’t get you this week’s Box Scores until Thursday (today). Nevertheless, we hope you can learn from them and would love to hear your thoughts/advice/criticism in the Comments section below or on Twitter at @deepbench. For now, enjoy our belated Box Scores…
This is an unbelievable (and not necessarily in the positive sense) post from Drew Olanoff. The story is both heartbreaking and EXTREMELY inspiring, and you’ll definitely see the value in social media both to spread a message and to help a person on his journey along a rough road ahead. Also, if you’re on Twitter, it’s possible you’ve seen the hashtag “#blamedrewscancer” used for people complaining about something. Well, here’s why they’re doing it. And once you’re finished reading, you just might find yourself using it every once in awhile.
Some Chris Brogan insight on falling, flying, and why both apply to business communications. Short, sweet, and simply written on a subject that could be written about for pages and pages. This post is an example of NOT falling, so give it a read and see if it inspires your decisions (even today).
Ever wanted a reason to apply Will Ferrel’s classic “More cowbell!” SNL skit to your business? Well Narciso over at Method + Moxie did just that in this post encouraging people to put their best effort into every project they pursue. As he puts it, “When was the last time you completely followed through with your idea or vision? …this kind of ‘cowbell fervor’ can be used when you write a press release or develop a marketing plan. Why just go through the motions?”
-“Social Media and Personal Privacy”
Many of us share as much of our lives as possible online. Whether you mention taking a trip to Las Vegas or you are live-tweeting and 12Seconds sharing the birth of your daughter (as Deep Bench Head Coach Hugh Weber did about two months ago), it’s easy to share a little bit of ourselves at every opportunity that we can. This post, from Jim Tobin over at Ignite Social Media covers why you might want to be slightly more careful with the personal information you share on the web. It’s worth giving a read, especially if you’re as open as we are here at Deep Bench.
-“The Next 50 Years of Public Relations”
Sounds like a subject that would necessitate a lengthy post from the crew over at PR-Squared. Of course, that would be easy, so instead they managed to keep the post very short and VERY insightful. Here’s a snippet of their insight on the future of PR: “When people talk about the “Death of Public Relations,” it doesn’t bother me at all. I know what they are talking about. They are talking about the death of MEDIA RELATIONS.” If you want to know the difference, we suggest you read up on the post.
-“When smart people are hard to understand”
Once again, Seth Godin keeps his insight short, sweet, and brilliant. Utilizing his advice in this post, you could end up sounding like one of the smarter people in the room (even if that room is full of smart people). Read up to see what we mean. He offers two constructive paths to solve your dilemma, and both will come in handy for you at a future business meeting.
Chris Brogan hits the Box Scores twice in one post with this question from his blog: Do you have an audience or a community? Not sure? Here’s how you can tell, according to him: “The difference between an audience and a community is which direction the chairs are pointing.” If that still doesn’t make it clear for you yet, read the post and it will.
So there are this week’s Box Scores. We’re sorry they’re late, but the open road was calling our name and we heeded her call. Hopefully you get as much insight and wisdom from these as we got, so let us know if you did by leaving a note in the Comments section below or by hitting us up on Twitter at @deepbench.
Are YouTube videos the website of the future?
As firm believers in an innovation-focused approach when it comes to projects and campaigns, we were thoroughly impressed when we stumbled across the new BooneOakley website. Why? Because they are clearly bold enough to take a game-changing approach as far as corporate websites go. For the record, by website, we mean, YouTube video…website…thing. If you want to see what we’re talking about, take a look at
the embedded video below and then read up on what this means for the future of websites and interactively engaging your audience.
It’s not easy to be one of the first to embrace a new effort. But based on some of their ad campaigns, it’s obvious that BooneOakley lives in the realm of telling stories through video. So why not embrace that medium with a website dedicated to telling a story through video? It’s a prime example of understanding where your talents lie and taking them to the next level.
Although there will definitely be people who A) Don’t understand this “website” and B) Don’t like this “website,” we definitely expect to see more and more of this type of effort in the future from other companies and agencies.
According to our Head Coach Hugh Weber, “You can go through a hundred agency sites and see 99 of them that are exactly the same. It’s another unique approach to ‘What is a website?’ A website doesn’t have to be static HTML, it’s whatever you want it to be. I love that level of interactivity.”
Our question is this: what are your thoughts? Were you impressed with this new approach to an interactive “website?” Did you find it to be confusing or too different from the norm, or did you really enjoy it the same way we did? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench.
For Your Viewing Pleasure… The Twitterverse
Image by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas (Click to see full size)
This image of the Twitterverse comes from Brian Solis over at PR 2.0 and features quite the array of important Twitter tools and applications. The question we have for you is this – Based on this interpretation of the Twitterverse, is there something missing that you’d add in (whether it currently exists or not)? What would you like to see from the Twitterverse in the future? Better tools in specific areas? A tool that encompasses most of (if not all of) these various components? Share your thoughts in the comments section below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench to let us know what you think.
Introducing Deep Bench’s first pick in the 2009 Talent Draft…
Ladies and gentlemen…we have an announcement to make.
Every so often, in the course of human events, a talent comes along that is simply too dynamic to pass up (think LeBron James in the 2003 NBA Draft). Realizing this, Deep Bench has taken the opportunity to recruit a player with both raw ability and a dedication to improvement that will soon make him the MVP of the creative community worldwide. With that in mind, Deep Bench is proud to announce its latest signee in the 2009 Talent Draft.
We’d like to welcome Andrew Brynjulson, soon-to-be graduate of Augustana College and born and bred Sioux Fallsian, to the Deep Bench team.
Andrew (or @BrenniFresh as many of his fervent fans and supporters refer to him), combines a passion for design with a college education in Communications and Public Relations to hit the ground running with an unstoppable one-two combo of creative power.
The result: A Number One pick in this year’s 2009 Talent Draft. (If you’d like to see just a few of the many pieces Andrew’s created, check them out here at Graphic Content…)
Although Mr. Brynjulson’s efforts will be sparse until he can finish his last semester at Augie, that just gives you all plenty of time to prepare for the pure, unadulterated awesomeness that he will be unleashing on the world come June.
Of course, the rest of Deep Bench will certainly be adding some flavor of its own to the mix before it’s all said and done, so we’re excited for what the future has to offer. To keep up with all of the funsanity, follow us on Twitter at @deepbench (or individually as @brennifresh, @hughweber, and @mikebilleter).
[4-8-09 Update: If you were curious about the rest of Deep Bench's crew, check us out here…)
The Fundamentals: SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
What’s SEO? Why would we need to worry about engine searching? How can words “optimize” our company online?
If those questions have gone unanswered in your office for the past few weeks, months, or years, then it’s probably about time you looked into Search Engine Optimization a little bit more closely. And that’s an understatement.
SEO is key if you plan to keep your brand’s name afloat and above the tides of keyword searches on Google’s search results page. Bottom line: if you don’t have SEO, you’re drowning. You’re drowning in irrelevant search results, or worse, search results that display your competitors’ links much higher up on the page than your own.
The good thing is, no matter how long you’ve been treading water, it’s never too late to jump into a life raft and get yourself back to dry land. There are two great ways to understand more about SEO and put it to work for you and your company.
One way is to learn about SEO through online resources. A great start to understanding SEO’s importance can be found in Shannon Paul’s Very Official Blog post on “Why communicators should get to know SEO.”
Another way is to look into an SEO firm that can help you immediately dive into improving your brand’s Search Engine Optimization abilities. Whether it’s a local firm in your area that can help you get started or a Minneapolis powerhouse like Top Rank Results, there are plenty of organizations that can help take your business to the next level by helping people find your brand or product quickly, efficiently, and effectively.
Now, if you’d like to work with a team that can help you create a solid strategic marketing game plan (which includes SEO) across your entire organization, there’s a strategy firm known as Deep Bench that we highly, highly recommend.
Have more questions? Ask them in the comments section below. We want to do everything we can to help you, so don’t be afraid to ask.
Why, Conan, Why?
In his opening monologue Wednesday night, late night host Conan
O’Brien ended nearly 16 years of friendly relations with the Dakota
Territory. His unprovoked tirade is sure to strain relations with the
estimated 1,445,675 residents of the region.
If you weren’t one of the 11 people watching…the transcript of the
comedic blindside follows (NSFW):
“Today, in one of his first official acts as President, Barack Obama
had an emergency meeting with his top economic advisors to find out
just, you know, what the situation is. And apparently it didn’t go
well because after the meeting Obama sold North and South Dakota. Good
news is no one will notice.”
After watching Conan tonight, several residents reminisced about the
much friendlier treatment they had received from David Letterman back
in 1997.
We await your apologies, Mr. O’Brien.