Say you get your organization to switch over to Google apps for all of it’s convenience, simplicity and security.  No more trying to figure out who’s computer has the latest version of the document you need to present at the upcoming meeting. Best of all, everything is safe and sound because it’s on the Google servers, you never have to worry about backing up your files, right? Not so fast.

The tech support people who spend their days answering phone calls from desperate people who can’t get their computers to do what they want them to have an acronym they employ for most of the calls: PICNIC. Problem In Chair Not In Computer. Backupify is one service that protects you from the problem in the chair. One more level of security for your WordPress, Facebook, twitter and Google apps.

A recent Advertising Age Article written by Pete Blackshaw is a must read for anyone interested in branding in the digital age.  In this provocative article Pete asks the question…. In the age of social media, do companies sill need a website? Along with addressing some of the most critical challenges facing your marketing team, he examines, in wonderful detail,  how to create a website that will fit the social media usage patterns of your customers and prospects.

As companies like Nike, Adidas and numerous others shift their marketing dollars from promoting their website to promoting their Facebook page, he argues brands are becoming decentralized. Companies will no longer have one “home” for their brand.  Instead the company brand will reside on various social networks he calls your “brand stands.” Your brand stands are the representations of your brand on-Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc.. He wraps up the article by walking you through how to use your website effectively to feed your “brand stands” and create an  integrated online marketing system. I strongly recommend this approach for my clients and Pete does a great job outlining what your system should look like.

2. Brands will be Built on Individuals Leveraging Personal Relationships to Make Buying Decisions.

Rich Kiley and I were discussing the importance of engagement and the crumbling of the traditional advertising model over coffee the other day.  He said, and I am paraphrasing here…”Beth the future is about people making buying decisions based on personal relationships.” I agreed with him, when a customer or client makes a buying decision they could care less about what an ad does or doesn’t say.  They want to read the review of the product on the internet. At that point Rich looked at me and said, “No, I am talking about one-on-one personal relationships. Not reviews, but a “direct ask.” If someone is about to make a buying decision, they’re not going to be interested in reviews written by strangers when social networks make asking a trusted friend an effortless process. They will just ask their network for a recommendation.

3. How to Play in the New World

1. Market Research

Your market research system needs to be interactive and digital:  Historically employing market research has meant a big hit to the bottom line, if a company could even afford it in the first place. The good news is, if you are using interactive media and social networks, market research becomes  infinitely  more affordable. Two great examples are Mystarbucksidea.com and the Gold Corp story.

2. Customer Service

Your customer service needs to be flawless. If your product or service is not up to snuff, word is going to spread quickly if not instantly. Your company is going to have to be paying attention and able to take action quickly.  The more nimble you are the better. Your competitors are going to be using the relationships they’re building on social networks to adapt quickly to customers needs, you can either join them or loose customers to them. For most companies this means a wholesale restructuring of their internal approval processes and internal communication system to leverage these new tools and create a new digital communication structure.

3. Your Product or service

The bottom line is that it’s going to become increasingly difficult to hide poor quality products or service and increasingly important to adjust your product or service offering to meet changing customer needs.

As Jeffrey Immelt said when he spoke here in Cincinnati in the spring, “Today the biggest challenge companies face, is the rapidly changing business environment.  Everyday it’s a new game.”

Start your branding engines!

Strategic Planning:

We started the project by meeting one-on-one and in small groups with a number of inspiring industry leaders and the  founders of the Digital Hub Non-Conference. (The event that brings the best and the brightest together for two jam-packed days of learning, sharing and exploring all aspects of Digital Marketing.)

These people included: Jack Streitmarter, Judy Thompson, Will Krieger, Dick Goehler, John Young, Rose Wesselman, Dave Knox, Krista Neher, Kevin Dugan and Jason Falls.

Based on these meetings, and a few weeks of industry and competition research, we came up with the following goals and objectives:

Goals & Objectives:

1. Engagement. Our overriding goal was to create a site that screamed engagement. Not only to the “techies” of the region but to those visitors who are just starting out in digital media.

2. Positioning. We wanted to create a site that actively positions this region as leading in digital advertising, design and marketing.

2. A  Year-Round Resource. Traditionally the website was used only during the Non-Conference. Our goal was to create an expanded resource that would be valuable to visitors throughout the year.

3. Increase Non-Conference Attendance. By incorporating a dynamic social media marketing plan into the launch of the new site, our goal was to help increase attendance at the September 23rd-24th Digital Non-Conference and, as a result, increase the number and value of Non-Conference sponsorships.

Design:

For the new site we wanted the content and design to be easy to navigate and most importantly, to scream engagement! Here are a few key features:

1. A Connect Page. Set up to appeal to both a technical and non-technical audience and to walk visitors through the different types of engagement opportunities: connect, share and subscribe, along with easy access to the Twitter hash tag and URL.

In addition, we added embed panels (“I’m Attending,” “I’m Sponsoring,” “I’m Speaking” and “I’m A Blogger for the Digital Non-Conference”) that others could use to promote themselves and help us spread the word.

View the actual connect page here

2. Digital Resource Page. We designed this to be a resource all year long for companies and individuals in need of a wide array of digital marketing services. The page allows users to sort by service and region and to search by individual company. (The resource page is scheduled to launch in July 2010.)

3. Events Page. The Digital Non-Conference will be a resource for meet-ups, conferences, programs, webinars, training, etc. Soon, it will  list digital marketing events taking place in the major cities throughout the region.

4. Digital Non-Conference Blog. Modeled after the Huffington Post Blog, the Digital Non-Conference Blog brings you insights from the brightest digital minds in the region, all in one spot! Subscribe to the blog and you’ll never miss a new tool, gadget or digital marketing tip again.

View the actual blog page here

All the programming for the site was graciously provided by Tim Burke at Electronic Art with the help of one of his amazing programmers, Chris McMahon. They have been a pleasure to partner with.

We are launching the site in phases and the first phase is already up, so take a look and let us know if you have any feedback!

Marketing should create an emotional connection, convey the true nature of your company, and most important it should be fun!

Freking & Betz’s Opening Day Card hits a home run on all three counts.

The Emotional Connection:

The firm loves baseball and while most of the year they are fighting for workers’ rights, they close the office every year on opening day to enjoy the excitement of the new baseball season.

The Card Conveys the True Nature of the Firm:

The folks at Freking & Betz are hard working attorneys who truly love baseball. (They held their Holiday Party at The Green Diamond Gallery in Montgomery, a fascinating baseball memorabilia museum.) The Opening Day card campaign, a planned communications tool we’ve been creating for them for four years, shares their love of the game with their clients and prospects.

It’s Fun:

What could be more fun than baseball in the spring? Tree buds are ready to burst, winter is behind us and cold beer and hot dogs await. But it’s not just about the fun of baseball. What makes this campaign work is that it’s unique.

When you’re ready to launch your next marketing initiative, take some time to create a real experience for your audience. Going that extra mile says a lot about your brand.

Another example from 2008 when Dusty Baker was named manager:

2008 Card (inside)

The landscape is different when you reach mid-life, each moment becomes more precious. If, like me, you have big things you want to accomplish, it behooves you to stop multitasking and instead develop a laser-like focus on the things that really matter. Here are several problems with multitasking you should consider:

1. Wasted Time. Every time you allow yourself to be interrupted you are flushing precious minutes down the drain, and the total cost can be considerable by the end of the day. Studies show that it can take several minutes to bring yourself back to the level of concentration needed to actually tackle a given task. I would argue, it actually takes more time than that, because you often forget the next step in the process and have to redo several steps to get yourself back to where you were. Even worse, you might completely forget that creative idea you were nurturing, an idea you may never get back.

2. Fewer Accomplishments. When you work on one task at a time and bring that task to completion, you are able to accomplish much more in one workday than if you multitask. It may feel exciting to be busy or you may feel like you are making a lot of things happen, but when you allow multiple interruptions throughout your day, the reality is actually the opposite. Big picture issues get pushed off your desk for a tomorrow that could be weeks, sometimes months, away.

3. Energy Focused on the Trivial. When you create an atmosphere of focus you accomplish the important tasks at the expense of the trivial. It’s poetic justice that the trivial issues you used to deal with all day long wind up resolving themselves or being resolved by someone else. Instead of spending your time solving other peoples unimportant but urgent problems, start letting time and other people handle the mundane, you stay focused on the big picture and the tasks that will really drive your business forward.

4. Feeling Overwhelmed. Overwhelm is a productivity killer, because it replaces mental focus with a sense that you can’t get it all done.  The feeling of overwhelm often causes people to procrastinate, and it winds up creating a work atmosphere where people work on a lot of little crises and nobody really moving the company forward. When you focus on getting the few really important items on your list completed, you start to build up a sense of momentum. This momentum excites your team and drives your motivation to tackle the next important task. At our company we have developed our “ROI and Action” template for moving meetings along quickly. When the chair of a committee has the opportunity to address the team they have 5 minutes to give the update that covers three things:

1. Accomplishments
2. Issues
3. Needs

We start with accomplishments because that is the primary focus of our company, if you start anyplace else, its easy to get caught up in excuses. Ending with needs gets the team focused on sharing exactly what they need to move the project forward. Keeping the time short forces the important issues to the top and the trivial out the door.

Finally, moving from a world of multi-tasking to one of focus is easy. The Pomodoro Technique is just one example of a free resource available on the internet that makes time management simple. Spend a couple minutes learning the pomodoro technique and then start using the focus booster app to keep yourself on track.

Gary Vaynerchuk: Teaches Basic Social Media Principles to CNN:

Gary is probably the best in the world at using these tools to grow his business. Will your social media plan be different from his? Yes, but the fundamentals are the same:

1. There has been a radical change in marketing communications. The structure, tools and the nature of business communication has changed.

2. The nature of business is changing. How your clients/customers define value, customer service and loyalty is very different today than it was two years ago. In order to keep up with the pace of change, you need to create the tools and establish the systems you company needs to engage and interact with your clients and customers.

Beth

http://bit.ly/aBGqBa

CINCINNATI, February 1, 2010—Cincinnati-based Robeson Marketing & Design (RMD) is currently accepting applications from local non-profits who are in need of strategic planning. The “Giving Back 2010” package includes marketing assessment, market research, trend analysis, onsite strategic GOALS^tm workshop and a three-five year marketing communications plan. “Giving Back 2010” is in honor of RMD’s ten-year anniversary.

“The most crucial element for determining the level of ROI from any marketing initiative is a solid strategic plan. Given the dramatic changes in the economy and in the new tools available for marketing communications, rethinking your strategy will be essential in 2010,” said Beth Robeson CEO at the firm. “RMD is excited to celebrate our ten-year anniversary by giving back to a non-profit organization in our community.“

RMD is currently accepting applications now through March 1, 2010 from any Cincinnati-based charitable organization.  They are specifically interested in submissions from organizations with a strong desire for growth over the next three-five years. The winner of the planning session and marketing plan will be announced March 31, 2010.

If you are interested in participating, please visit the RMD website and complete the “Giving Back 2010” form.  http://www.robesonmarketing.com/giving-back-2010

American Express

“In tough times your instinct is to hold back, but your competitors are going to be distracted. That’s the time to be aggressive and on the balls of your feet! …invest in your own success while others are afraid and burying their heads. As a result, your public relations program will stand out among your competitors … and give your organization a clear competitive advantage with sales, reputation growth and brand management.”

—American Express CEO Ken Chenault

Microsoft

“If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.”

—Bill Gates Microsoft

Seth Godin

“[This down turn] is the best thing that could ever happen to you because it makes it easier to be the winner when so many other companies are dropping out.”

—Seth Godin

Volkswagen

“When we invest in marketing, things happen. We think it’s important to stick to our roots and stick to our value message. We’re getting a higher percentage of the dwindling marketplace. And when this crazy situation comes straight side up again, we’ll be positioned to increase our share even further.”

And what does the research say about marketing in an economic downturn?

McGraw-Hill Research

“McGraw-Hill Research in a study of U.S. recessions showed that business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased advertising. By 1985, sales of companies that were aggressive recession advertisers had risen 256% over those that didn’t keep up their advertising.”

Kellogg School of Management

An article titled Innovation Through Recession by Andrew Razeghi examines the effects of increases in innovation and communication on business growth and illustrates example after example of why a recession is actually the best time for a business to invest more energy and resources in marketing, research and development.

Penn State

A  study by Penn State’s Smeal College of Business and the University of Texas, “Turning Adversity Into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off?” found that,  “For well-positioned companies, an economic recession should not prompt marketing cutbacks, but rather an aggressive increase in marketing spending to achieve superior business performance”

Do you have any great “marketing in a down economy” experiences you want to share? I’d love to hear about it. You can leave a comment or send me an e-mail: beth@robesonmarketing.com

This is a great little book by one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. It’s beautifully written, in easily digestible sections so you can read through the whole book [which I strongly recommend] or you can pick and choose based on the topics you are most interested in.

After reading this book you may not be able to handle your own Search Engine Optimization, but you will have the knowledge you need to make good decisions about the SEO tactics you want to employ and will ask the right questions of your SEO vendor to avoid some serious problems.

Rebecca covers everything from key word optimization, effective linking strategies, tagging, ranking and avoiding black hat tactics.

Some Key Insights:

- Your customers are searching and they will “either find you, or they find your competitors…”
- Google’s market share is close to 70%.
- 72% of all searchers use “organic search results.”
- The best key words are relevant, have a high search volume and low competition.
- The mobile Internet has reached 40million+ users.

This book not only covers what you should be doing in terms of great search tactics but Rebecca also gives dozens and dozens of specific action items that illustrate exactly how to achieve the best search levels for your company’s website.

I highly recommend this book!

To order The Truth about Search Engine Optimization or any of the other books highlighted in this review please visit our CEO Bookstore. All proceeds from the sale of these books benefit the charity selected for our free 2010 GOALs Strategic Planning Session.

When you use the average search tool such as Google to help you find timely and relevant information you are relying on the formulas developed by the folks at Google to decide, based on your search term, what you’re are looking for. The beauty of Social Bookmarking is that instead of Google’s search “Spiders” you are able to find information you are looking for based on what other people feel is relevant. Better yet you can choose the people you wish to rely on for a source of information.

Bookmarking Search Works Like This:

If you run a car part manufacturing company and want to keep up with the latest developments in the automotive industry you can use Social Bookmarking to find the latest industry information that has been recommended by a community of people you create yourself. Your community will be comprised of key people or news sources you trust to provide the right information and filter out the junk.

In addition, Social Bookmarking sites also give you the ability to:

Organize information

Access it quickly

Share information easily with others

Del.icio.us is one of the most popular bookmarking tools and a good starting point for the average web user. Delicious has a large following so you have access to an existing strong community and allows you to display bookmarks on your blog or website. It’s relatively easy to sign up and you can take your time learning the ropes and finding some great timely information.

StumbleUpon is one of my very favorite bookmarking sites because you can use it a little like a slot machine! You simply register for an account, select the topics you are interested in and click “Stumble.” Almost like magic you will find some great websites that you would never have found using one of the major search engines. If you are not interested in whatever comes up, simply click “Stumble” again and again until you find something on that topic that you find interesting. I have found many of my favorite sites this way.

Here is a list of other bookmarking sites to explore:

Yahoo’sMyWeb

Diigo

Gnoila