The Old College Try

This guru journey – just as everything in life – is a rollercoaster ride. There are ups and downs, glory and gloom, success and failures. But you know what I’m learning most? It’s best to know I’ve tried, regardless of the outcome.

Several weeks back, I was at a networking event where I overheard someone talking about social media. This person wanted to give clients a workshop on how to incorporate social media into their businesses but didn’t know who to turn to for that knowledge. Thinking this was a great opportunity to make a connection, be helpful, and organize my first-ever workshop, I spoke up and asked if I could help.

I contacted this person the next day, and we set up lunch. We had lunch. We discussed social media and how the workshop would go. We parted ways. I sent some more materials and contacted to follow up…to no avail. It looks like I’m not the direction this workshop is going.

Although I initially felt like an awkward teen being stood up for the Spring Dance, I began to realize what a bold step I had taken. One year ago, I wouldn’t have approached that person. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have even been at that networking event. Putting myself out there and giving it the old college try was a major step in my professional growth. So what if it was a flop? At least I tried.

And in the words of Rosalind Russell, “Flops are a part of life’s menu, and I’ve never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses.” So let's be bold future gurus…go out and give it the old college try!

Need advice? Just ask.

I’m a new blogger, I’m fairly new to the marketing world…in a nut shell, I’m a newbie. Newbies like me can find it intimidating to start the trail towards guru status, but I’m realizing there are a slew of professionals out in the marketing world always happy to help our little group. All you have to do is ask.

I sent out a tweet asking about blogging tips. By the end of the day, I had been sent some great advice through others retweeting my cry for help. (By the way, Bobby Lehew had some fabulous points: always write with Purpose, Persistence, Patience, and an Iron Will of Perseverance!”) I was hoping to get more involved with the American Marketing Association, and Brian Blake of B2 Design made it happen. I thanked the networking genius known as Dr. Burt for his insight, and he wrote me a hand-written letter asking how he could help me in my marketing guru journey. Ok, he didn’t really call it the “marketing guru journey,” but you get my drift.

As it turns out, professionals are more than willing to help others if you express interest and start asking questions. You get answers. You get connections. You get to take a step closer to guru-hood! Whoever said we lack nice people in this world certainly didn’t work in marketing.

So if you’re a newbie like me, or if you’ve been in your field for quite some time and want to make a bigger impact, just ask for tips and advice from those around you. It’s amazing where it can take you.

Who??

I met up with some wonderful colleagues this morning for coffee (well for me, just the smell of coffee…can’t touch the stuff!). We all work in the A/E/C industry (Architecture, Engineering, Construction), but it was quite apparent they had been working in it longer. The companies they spoke about and the people mentioned are not on my radar. They should be.

Sometimes I trap myself inside the marketing bubble and don’t search out additional information on the people within the industry I’m marketing. I’m realizing I should know which architect is working on the big project downtown just as much as I know about who is organizing the next Chamber event. I need to know information on the engineering firm that’s discussed over lunch as much as I know about the author of the latest marketing book. I want to know which construction company goes after educational projects as much as I know about which marketing colleague to contact when I’m in need of blogging tips. (Thanks Brian!)

So many people and places, so little time! But I’m realizing more and more their importance, so I need to start making time. Off to do a little AEC research!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

I've got my first follower! (And that follower isn't a relative!)

My friend commented that a blog's first follower is similar to a business' first dollar made. So with that sentiment, here is my virtually framed bill.

In the words of Wycleaf Jean: "Dollar Dollar Bill Y'all!"

Twitter Tips from SmallBizTrends.com

Small Business Trends (www.smallbiztrends.com) asked its readers for their best Twitter Tips. The feedback must have been overwhelming, because the list ended up with a whopping 137 recommendations! If you don’t have time to read all of “137 Small Business Twitter Tips” 29 pages, no worries…read my Top Ten List!
Rachel, Baying Hound
Web: www.bayinghound.com
Twitter: @bayinghound
“Use linked in contacts or your business card collection to look up and follow people in your field: vendors, peers, and, importantly, competitors. Then, browse through who they are tweeting with and add those people. Join the conversations and tweet questions of your own.”
Heather Smith, MYOB Trainer
Twitter: @myobtrainer
“Alternate between something relevant to your business and something irrelevant. I work in the accounting world, so I tweet comments on the budget, tax season, an opportunity that clients may like etc. I then will tweet about something positive, upbeat, but irrelevant to my business…my passion fruits have come into season and they are yummy…”Joseph Manna, Infusionsoft
Web: www.infusionsoft.com
Twitter: @JoeManna
“Commit. Don’t just Tweet and neglect it, focus and commit yourself to at least a half-hour a day to discovering and Tweeting.”
Yiana, DIY SiteExpressWeb: www.diysiteexpress.com
“Always keep up with your business branding! This means creating a custom Twitter background that shows your brand. You can get tips and a free template in a recent blog article that I wrote “Brand Recognition: Creating a Custom Twitter Background” http://tiny.cc/NGWJA”
Paul Rosenfeld, Fanminder
Web: http://fanminder.com/
Twitter: @fanminder
“My favorite tip is how to use Twitter to find new customers. I first use Google and type “Twitter for ______” and fill in the blank with a vertical that might use Twitter - for example, restaurants. I typically get a few articles that are round-up articles of all restaurants in a given city using Twitter. Then I follow these restaurants and engage in conversations with them - we’ve gotten one customer so far this way and I expect we can generate many or even most of our new customers in the next six months this way.”

Jeannette McCreight
Twitter: @mccr8
“Don’t be all about business; share the human side of your company.”
Katasha Butler, K Sherrie and Company
Web: www.ksherrieco.com
Twitter: @ksherrieco
“Please do not use Twitter for one long commercial about your company. We don’t want to always hear about you, you, you: what you did, what your company is doing, and what your company wants to do. Be interactive, ask questions and be the mensch. Otherwise—you’re unfollowed!”
Tim Milburn
Web: http://studentlinc.typepad.com/
Twitter: @timage
“A quality “T.W.E.E.T. is: Timely, Worth-reading, Educational, Entertaining, and Tweople-connecting.”
Lisa Sonora Beam, CreativeEntrepreneur
Web: www.thecreativeentrepreneur.biz
Twitter: @LisaSonoraBeam
“Be sure to RT others first and often. What goes around...”
Lisa Picarille
Web: www.lisapicarille.com
Twitter: @lisap
“I recommend checking twitter first thing in the morning so you can respond to any questions or join in conversations. Then I typically wait about two hours and then limit my time to only 10 minutes. I do searches on keywords I care about and have some alerts already set up. I also look at my @ replies. I don’t usually look again until lunch time. And again, I limit my time to 10 minutes. I follow that about every two hours.”

Now go follow these Twitterific people! I’m off to do so as well.

Link to “137 Small Business Twitter Tips” from Small Business Trends:
http://smallbiztrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/smbiz-twitter-tips-2.pdf

Texting for Waffles

I was recently asked about my thoughts on mobile marketing, and quite honestly I didn’t have many of them. I’m not well versed in the topic, but with 3 billion mobile phones in circulation, I thought it’d be best to become more so. In the process, I discovered some mobile marketing stories that may peak your interest...

· Waffle House has launched its first two-way text campaign that has seen a 47% increase in opt-in subscribers from January to February. Consumers can text the keyword WH and their ZIP code or city and state to short code LOCATE (562283) to find the closet restaurant.

· In the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, the American Red Cross initiated a mobile marketing campaign run my mGive to accept donations in the form of text. In the three days following the disaster, the campaign contributions surpassed $8 million. Similar campaigns collected $400,000 total in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and $200,000 following the December 2004 Tsunami. The drastic difference in these numbers showcases the rise in the success of mobile marketing campaigns in the past five years.

· Nike launched an interactive billboard campaign in New York City in which passersby used their cell phone to interact with a 23-story Times Square billboard, customizing and directly purchasing their own Nike shoe. After designing a sneaker on screen, the user received a text message within seconds containing mobile phone wallpaper with the shoe and a link to the Nike iD site where they could buy it.

· Just this morning a local radio station was soliciting entries via text to win tickets to the Lady Gaga show at the Ford Center on July 20th. I’m a casual listener of the station, but with this contest, I will be keeping my dial set and my phone ready to win tickets! Perhaps this mobile marketing campaign will create a loyal listerner out of me.

Not only is mobile marketing a powerful, interactive communication tool, it also offers highly measurable results in profiling customers. And most importantly, your customers are choosing to hear from you. And what’s more valuable than an engaged consumer?

Oh – and again, that Waffle House locator code is 562283. Save it in your phone contacts for you next late-night craving.

MLB & Victoria's Secret?

This morning USAToday.com posted an article titled “MLB Partners with Victoria’s Secret to take swing at female fans.” I’m a female, and I’m a fan – of baseball and Vicki’s (my personal nickname for the store). And I’ll definitely be checking out this new collection.

However, I’m not sold into believing Victoria’s Secret’s core demographic, especially of its PINK brand, is the same as MLB’s female demographic that constitutes 40% of game attendance. The last game I attended was filled with more moms and toddlers than co-eds in PINK gear.

So is MLB’s targeting of such a group going to prove successful? My guess would be great success in clothing purchasing, but only time will tell if those retail sales translate into more women in the stands at the next Cubs game. But if your company is focusing on reaching the correct demographic, it’s important to remember the basic concept of quality versus quantity – ensuring you’re reaching the right consumers, not a lot of the wrong ones. Why pay for commercials on FX when your target consumer is watching Disney? Why stress brand awareness to a soccer mom when a retired golfer is mostly likely to purchase your products?

Here are some great tips on how to best target your demographic:

1. Find specific market segments through a third-party research services like Claritas and Nielsen/Net Ratings
2. Identify your real customer base – your “power customers”
3. Fit the message to that power customer where that power customer shops, eats, works, and plays
What are some other demographic targeting strategies your company practices?

Link to USAToday.com article:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2010-03-14-mlb-victorias-secret_N.htm

My Sister's Wedding!

Here are some pictures of my sister's wedding, held at the Conrad-Caldwell House in Louisville, Kentucky!

MIA...for good reason!

I admit I haven't been sticking to my initial pledge of posting a daily article synoposis...but for good reason! Last Thursday I went back home to Kentucky for my sister's wedding! I'll provide proof with pictures tomorrow (and I really just want to show off the beautiful wedding!).

Underdog Marketing

Today on NYTimes.com, there is an article titled “Pressed by Charters, Harlem Public Schools Turn to Marketing.” As a girl that grew up in a place where your school was simply determined by the location of your home, this entire where-will-I-send-my-child-to-school debate is somewhat foreign to me. But the marketing twist is definitely intriguing.

This seems to be the age old David-versus-Goliath situation, with public schools operating on $500 marketing budgets competing against the powerful marketing engine of charter schools like the Harlem Success Academy. A Google search for the two opposing websites makes the case in point: Harlem Success Academy has a polished, well-produced site offering a wealth of information. Harlem Public Schools doesn’t have one.

So how can the little guy make its case with restrictive resources? According to Paul Flowers, author of Underdog Advertising, forging your own path and avoiding copycat syndrome of your bigger competitors are key. He recommends following these ten core principles:

1. Think Outside the Box
2. Take Risks
3. Strategy before Execution
4. Be Contrary
5. Select Your Battlefield
6. Focus! Focus! Focus!
7. Be Consistent
8. Demonstrate Value
9. Speed & Surprise
10. Be Patient

What are some other effective ways for smaller budgeted operations to make their mark?

Link to NYTimes article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/education/10marketing.html?pagewanted=2&hpw

My Twitter Purpose

Twitter, tweet, twypo (ok, I made that one up)...bottom line, Twitter buzz words are everywhere. Most businesses know they should have a presence on Twitter, yet very few have a purpose. And until recently, I was operating under that same mindset, and my Twitter account was stagnant.

But I've now recognized my Twitter purpose, and I'm hoping to cross platforms with this blog, all in the attempt to broaden my reach and garner more knowledge on my ultimate quest. (Marketing Guru or Bust!...I like to chant it sometimes, to keep myself motivated.)

A few times a day I post links to informative and interesting marketing articles (at least in my opinion!) to my followers. However, in the rush of a busy work day, I'll admit I sometimes don't even read all the articles myself! The work in finding that information certainly isn't paying off, and I've recognized the need to be committed to learning more about current marketing trends.

So here is my pledge: for one article I post on my Twitter account per day, I will write on my blog a synopsis and hopefully add some additional insight and knowledge from other marketing professionals. Perhaps we can all add a little something to our marketing repertoire this way!

Recording Self-Indulgence or Self-Discovery?

Self-indulgence is my least favorite trait in a person. A Facebook status that screams "pay attention to me" or a Twitter feed that flaunts self-awesomeness makes me cringe. And last night, as I was reflecting on the creation of my first ever blog, I wondered if I suddenly became that self-indulgent flaunter. Why did I think anyone would be interested in what I have to say? Truth be told, I'm not sure anyone is...I am my only follower at this point!

But after arriving at work this morning, and I feel like the universe is telling me "it's ok to have a blog." Why? My daily tear-off-a-page desk calendar (The Word Origin Calendar...yep, I'm nerd) is giving me the history of the word "blog." If that's not a sign letting me know a blog is a-ok, I don't know what is. Of course, this could just be a total coincidence that I'm rationalizing into a sign, but I like the thought of the universe aligning to give me advice. (Yes, I realize that's a completely self-indulgent thought.)

So perhaps recording my trials and tribulations on the path to career discovery for the average late 20s girl isn't such a bad thing. I'm choosing to see it as a record of self-discovery. I guess only time will tell if that's correct...

And just in case you're curious (or a tidbit nerd like me), here's The Word Origin Calendar's thoughts on blog:
"In 1997, using a new technology that allowed him to make daily changes to his homepage on the World Wide Web, a journalist called Jorn Barger coined the term 'weblog,' on the model of a ship or airplane log. In 1999, Peter Merholz read the word as 'we blog' and abbreviated it as 'blog' on his own site. The word has proliferated, just as the thing itself."

Marketing Guru or Bust

When you're 12, you think life should be figured out by 20. Then you hit 25, and you realize you're still a baby in the world, you begin to understand nothing works out the way you think (sometimes for the better), and you wonder how everyone else has choosen a career path when you get dizzy just thinking about it.

I'm 27, on the verge of 28, and I've adjusted to the dizziness and think I know what I want to do with my professional life. Maybe. At least I've narrowed it down to the very focused area of marketing (sense the sarcasm here). At least that's a start, right?

So here goes my journey towards becoming a marketing guru. I hope to record my triumphs and sulk in my failures, while sharing some valuable lessons learned and marketing knowledge acquired. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I'll be figuring out exactly what I mean by marketing guru...