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May 9 2011

Energy and The Economy – Inextricably Intertwined

May 9, 2011 – 11:56 pm

By Mike Mulvihill

Oil-Rig-1

Fortune magazine released its annual list of the nation’s 500 largest publicly traded companies last week and it speaks volumes about how hard it will be to move our economy away from fossil fuels. Of the top five companies, three were oil companies (Exxon #2, Chevron #3 and Conoco Phillips #4) and two more in the top 10 were transportation companies (GM #8 and Ford #9). Another, General Electric at #6, is arguably intertwined with energy production through its large unit that produces turbines used in electric generation.

The five companies cited above operate businesses completely linked to oil and, together, account for more than $1 trillion in annual revenues. That’s a lot of economic clout to apply to Main Street or the halls of Congress.

Meanwhile, during a May 3 House floor speech, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, (D-Va.), speaking on the recent rise in gasoline prices, pointed out that America owns less than 2 percent of the world’s oil but consumes 22 percent of the world’s oil resources. Yes, we are way too dependent on foreign oil sources. Enough so that despite the pale of the BP Gulf oil rig explosion and ensuing spill, the House of Representatives voted last week to pass a measure intended to jump start off shore oil drilling.

Separating our economic future from our dependence on fossil fuels for transportation and electricity is a tall order. Despite access to large amounts of venture capital, fledgling companies developing new alternative energy technologies are hard pressed to gain a foothold against these behemoth incumbent industries, save perhaps electric cars being developed by major car companies.

For these technologies and their creators to overcome, our government needs to handicap the game via funding and tax breaks. Meanwhile, we need energy policy that lasts longer than a single administration so private markets can bet on fledgling companies with some level of certainty that changes in the rules of engagement won’t eviscerate their investments.

This vision of government help does not include consumption based discounts that can’t be maintained, but rather production based funding. In this manner, we can bring the handful of technologies swirling around among hundreds of contenders in the primordial mist to commercial viability so we can harness solar, wind, wave and more at prices that will not put our economy into a deep freeze.

At best, this process will take up to decades to be successful, but in the end it can create an economy based on green energy manufacturing companies yet to be born. Perhaps 20 years from now, some of those will fill the Fortune magazine top 10 slots.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Mulvihill | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Small Business Marketing = A Lot of Smart Thinking. Mobile Can Help!

May 9, 2011 – 11:34 am

Celebrate National Small Business Week by Getting Your Mobile Game On!

By Priya Ramesh (@newpr)

small-business-insurance-montage

Next week (May 16th-20th) is National Small Business Week. It is a time to celebrate and thank the enormous contributions that small businesses make to keep America running. I started my career in corporate communications and PR with a small technology startup that we took public so I know first-hand the challenges that a small business faces in terms of limited resources and mounting competition. I must admit, you got to be severe type-A with a penchant for success to be a star in the small business arena. Working in a small business environment takes a lot more CREATIVITY and INNOVATIVE THINKING to truly distinguish you from a thousand others. I find the stats below quite fascinating in terms of how much we rely on our small business community to succeed so you and I can enjoy a good lifestyle.

How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

Small firms:

  • Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
  • Employ just over half of all private sector employees.
  • Pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
  • Have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years.
  • Hire 40 percent of high tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers).
  • Produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms; these patents are twice as likely as large firm patents to be among the one percent most cited.

Source: http://www.sba.gov/advocacy/7495/8420

In honor of all my friends (entrepreneurs, small business owners, marketers and PR pros working for small firms with limited budgets) who dared to start their own ventures, I would like to bring your attention to something that’s going to be very crucial for your success moving forward, MOBILE MARKETING. Don’t’ let these words scare you, instead just stay with me here for a few more minutes. Think about it, we are all becoming a generation of mobile addicts that simply can’t function without our cellphones. Thanks to the “smart” phone revolution, now we depend on our phones versus the desktop to “find” information. “Browsing” is passé. We are moving into the “find me now” marketing mode where it will be crucial for your customers to “find” you over their smartphones.

AdAge recently carried a story on how Americans are more and more becoming Mobile Shoppers titled, “Soon All Shoppers will be Mobile Shoppers.”  Quoting William Rosen, the author of this article, “The entire digital marketing world is quickly converging on mobile — and for good reason. But that reason will ultimately have less to do with avian projectiles and porcine targets, and more to do with mobile’s growing impact on how and why people buy what they buy. That’s because the mobile phone is quickly becoming Americans’ favorite shopping partner.”

So how and where do you get started?

Mobile Website is First but Don’t Just Stop with That: I know a lot of my peers and mobile marketing pundits argue that mobile website isn’t enough but I emphasize, that’s a good start. First, let’s make sure your website is mobile-friendly and that you show up on the mobile search results. One out of three mobile searches is to find a local business. Chances are if your website is NOT mobile-friendly, I am going to the next one, your competitor. A mobile website is easy to build and doesn’t take much to quickly re-purpose key information from your current website (products/services, contact info, pricing, discount offers) and make it mobile-friendly.

Augme-Constellation-Wines

Introduce QR Codes to Your Printed Collaterals: If you are spending a good chunk of your marketing dollars on print, make use of Quick Response (QR) Codes on that magazine ad. QR codes can redirect readers to your mobile website, a more engaging video or customer testimonial on your website or even offer a special discount on your products/services. Think of QR Codes as “engagement tools” that help your customers move beyond print to a more engaging venue. I like the example above of a wine retailer using QR Code combined with text messaging on a print ad.

Tread Cautiously with Mobile Apps:  According to a recent Pew Internet Study, 82% of U.S. adults are now active cellphone users, 43% now have apps on their phones, and more than two-thirds of them use those apps regularly. In other words, 24% of the U.S. adult population actively uses apps, the study estimates. But the most popular apps continue to revolve around gaming and social networking. Mobile apps can easily range between $50k-$65K depending on its value prop so unless you are sure that your app has high frequency of engagement, I recommend stay away from launching mobile apps that your customer is not going to use on a daily/weekly basis.

Start thinking MOBILE and definitely get started on a strategy that builds your presence on the mobile web but maintain a realistic approach to your mobile marketing plan. I normally wouldn’t promote a client’s event on our blog but this upcoming Livestream on Small Business Mobile Marketing is a good one for you if you have questions around Mobile Marketing in general. CRT/tanaka client, Network Solutions is bringing a really solid panel of speakers who understand the challenges of small business marketing and will share more with you on how to get started with Mobile. You can register here for the FREE live panel on May 17th from 1:30-2:30Pm (EST) http://smbmobile.eventbrite.com/.

In celebration of National Small Business Week next week, I would like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Steve Jobs that applies to every single one of you entrepreneurs out there that followed your dream to “think different”:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” 

Tell us more on how you plan to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to marketing your small business.

Image courtesy: http://www.insurance-for-small-business.com/ and www.mashable.com.  

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Priya Ramesh | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (5)
May 6 2011

Social Media: A Holy Trinity for Food Retailers

May 6, 2011 – 1:02 pm

by Brona Cosgrave @bronacos

Capture

Let’s get real for a minute; social media is no longer “new” though I suspect it will carry that moniker for some time to come as many businesses have shrugged it off as the stuff of teenagers and have been slow to embrace it. A survey from the Wall Street Journal shows that only 25% of business respondents claim to be active in social media and that a mere 40% of these intend to incorporate social media into their marketing plans this year.  These are surprisingly low numbers.  Those of us who work in the communications industry see numerous trend reports many of which suggest that Facebook will be become omnipresent and be the number one online “go-to” for consumer information, pushing Goggle down to second place.

Having a fantastic website with lots of great content and interactive bells and whistles no longer suffices; while quality contentSocial Media Tool Kit remains important, companies cannot expect customers to come to them; they need to reach to their customers where they live and shop online, be it Facebook, Google Places, Twitter or whatever is next!

It important to remember that social media and mobile technology are only additional tools in one’s marketing arsenal, not a strategy onto themselves and as such need to be integrated into a 360 degree communications plan, there’s no point in simply establishing a Facebook page or building an app just for the sake of it. At a seminar last month, Dan’l Mackey Almy, president/owner of DMW Solutions cautioned attendees that “There’s no cookie-cutter approach,” as with any marketing strategy you need to select and use the tools at your disposal to reach your target audience and meet your objectives. Utilized correctly, Web 2.0 tools such as social media channels, apps and mobile sites can serve three important marketing functions; drive promotions, offer excellent customer service and provide research data.

Promotions 

A well-established off-line tactic that can build brand awareness and drive sales can now be easily applied online cost-effectively and efficiently.  A recent IBM study found that a majority of consumers cite that getting discounts as among the top reasons they interact with retailer social sites. Facebook wants to become the next Amazon/eBay and forward-thinking brands have started selling products on the site. 

In addition to social networks, the food industry, especially retailers should be creating mobile websites so their customers can connect using mobile applications to get news on discounts and specials and make informed purchase decisions on the road and in real time. Nielsen reports that nearly 92 million consumers are now using mobile Internet. Think of the mom, sitting in the car waiting for her children to get out of school and wondering what to make for dinner that evening, with smartphone in hand it’s possible for her to browse recipe apps for inspiration, however if she could also get that inspiration based on specials available at the grocery store, all the better, even if it means taking a detour rather than drop into the local store that’s on the route home.

Social media check-ins like Foursquare or other services provide retailers with tremendous opportunities to entice and engage customers with special offers, as consumers become more tech-savvy they will expect more ‘cool’ online incentives to shop at stores. Add a culinary educational component like a simple “How to” video like or a family-fun factor like an entertainment tie-in and watch it go viral!

Customer Service

Customer ServiceUnlike traditional media where companies shared their information with their audiences, like a parent telling a child what to do with a “don’t answer me back” attitude, social media allows consumers not only talk back but actually set the framework for the dialogue. So with social media networks it’s critical that you engage in a two-way conversation and if you’re not listening to your customers you cannot participate in “their” conversation.

Social media offers the opportunity to connect with customers instantly; you can not only hear first-hand what your customers say about your product or service, but you can also respond in real time providing information and offering solutions. Most importantly it enables companies address concerns before they go viral and become a bigger issue. It is a powerful customer service tool that can positively impact your bottom line.  

Research

The added bonus is that your online interactive entities can also provide invaluable instant and propriety research data. It can take a lot of the guess work out of your marketing efforts. Retailers can glean insights on shopping behaviors and consumer attitudes, track the impact of their marketing messages and quickly adapt accordingly – all in real time.

While the time and costs to establish and maintain yet another online entity may seem overwhelming, the risk of not being an active online player, both mobile and interactive, far outweigh these factors.

The food retail industry has a great opportunity to monetize social media and many are getting smart about this and building a footprint in this space. With so very many choices in the world of apps and product pages each plugging a single brand or product, it is not easy for consumers to choose which to use, nor do they want to spend the time it takes to search through multiple apps and pages. Consumers want to feel empowered and feel that they are in control.  Both supermarkets and specialty stores that sell a broad spectrum of products are in an ideal position to provide time-saving solution in a single easy-access “one-stop” online resource  that gives them a promotional platform, a customer service center and a research tool – all in real time, now that’s what I’d call a “Holy Trinity”.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Brona Cosgrave | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)
May 5 2011

Three Steps to Innovative Social Media: Step 3, Do What’s Fun. To You.

May 5, 2011 – 3:42 pm

By April Sciacchitano (@aprilcs)

In The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin recommends doing what you loved when you were a child to find happiness. She also recommends looking at what you do in your free time to redefine your work.

Here’s how I evaluated myself.  In my extra time, I’m planning vacations that I may not go on in the foreseeable future.  (Croatia, anyone?)  As a six-year-old, I was sending new ideas to toy-makers.  Here’s a letter I wrote:

Dear Kenner,

I have some sugestions (sic) for the Littlest Pet Shop.  I think you should add things for boys too, maybe dinosaurs, dragons and bugs.

Farm animals might sell good too.

Sincerly,
April

 (Alas, the Littlest Pet Shop diversification project was underfunded).

So given those facts, what should I do to reenergize my social media work?  Write up a plan about how to reach a new audience through social media.  That probably sounds like a terrible, awful, no-fun activity to some of you. 

So what are you doing on a lazy Sunday that you can bring to your social media efforts?

Besides watching funny videos on YouTube.

Besides watching funny videos on YouTube.

This may feel silly, but it’s really important.  Unlike advertising or PR or any other tactic that sticks to messaging, YOU are the social media voice.  Even in a corporate environment, our personal motivation and engagement is what results in inspired social media.

And it’s a thing that happens or doesn’t happen every day.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By April Sciacchitano | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged | Comments (0)

Dodging Tornadoes? Sometimes You Want to Receive a Text Message While Driving.

May 5, 2011 – 7:00 am

By Jenn Riggle

f5-tornadobbIn a world where we’re constantly connected, sometimes you can get out of touch. I learned this first-hand when driving to Disney World in April.

We were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-95 in North Carolina, and my 12-year-old daughter was serving as the car’s deejay, playing different songs on my iPod. On a whim, she decided to turn on the radio. It was only then that we learned that we were driving through the largest outbreak of tornadoes in North Carolina’s history.

There were tornadoes behind us in Raleigh, ahead of us in Fayetteville and to the east and west. With tornadoes all around us, and the weather taking a turn for the worse, we got off at a Comfort Inn in Dunn, N.C., piled into the motel’s lobby with hundreds of others on their way South for spring break and waited until the weather cleared.

Stunned, I realized that if my daughter hadn’t turned on the radio, we wouldn’t have known about of the danger we were driving into.

With so many entertainment options available, fewer people are listening to the radio during long road trips. This means that they’re harder to reach with emergency information.

It got me thinking. News broke recently about how iPhone and Android phones are actually “spy phones” and track people’s whereabouts. While some may be concerned about how this violates their privacy, it makes me feel safer.

My GPS uses information is collected from people’s smartphones to alert me if there’s a traffic jam ahead. By the same token, emergency response services like 9-1-1 can track people’s location from their smartphone.

texting-while-driving-banSo why can’t the Emergency Alert System (formerly known as the Emergency Broadcast System) send me a text message alerting me that I’m driving into an area that’s under a major tornado watch and provide a link for more information? There’s a lot of states that are making it illegal to text and drive, this is an instance where receiving a text message while driving could improve your safety.

The Associated Press reported recently that the U.S. government is planning to revise its terror warning system. Instead of using its color-coding system, it plans to have just two warning levels – elevated and imminent – and will use Facebook and Twitter to share this information with the general public.

Dana Lewis (@danamlewis), creator and moderator of the Health Care Social Media TweetChat (#HCSM) and an Interactive Marketing Specialist for the Swedish Medical Center, wrote a Facebook post about her experience using texting and Twitter to alert family and close friends in Alabama on April 27, when as deadly tornadoes tore through the state. She served as a mini-Emergency Alert System and may have been instrumental in helping to protect the lives of her loved ones.

You already know where I am, so go ahead - send me information I can use.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jenn Riggle | Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)
May 4 2011

Three Steps to Innovative Social Media: Step 2, Advance an Idea

May 4, 2011 – 10:14 am

By April Sciacchitano (@aprilcs)

If you have sticky notes with ideas on them all over your desk, but can’t get to your next step, it’s time to do something different. Reclaim your social media inspiration by changing your setting and honing on in the best idea you’ve got.

Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy for acting on an idea was a team all-nighter.  These Hackathons, as featured in the movie The Social Network, put developers on lock-down together to create something new for Facebook.  The best idea would be implemented.  This is what brought your photos to Facebook. 

Including your exs vacation photos. Ugh.

Including your ex's vacation photos. Ugh.

If 2 a.m. isn’t your best thinking time, there are three things about his approach that are worth duplicating: 

  1. You compete.
  2. You hold each other accountable.
  3. You have a finite amount of time to finish.

Location also made a difference. Everyone was in the same room, creating the social pressure to keep working.  You probably already find ways to recreate this.  It’s why you work well in a coffee shop (Check out The Atlantic’s take on why we do our best work in coffee shops).

How can you change the norm or change your setting to bring that sticky note to life?

(Two decks of whatcanbe brainstorming cards left.  Make the #whatcanbe ask to @crttanaka!)

——

The Booze Bin is out today for Rioja’s Grand Tasting, but you can still get your Booze Bin fix.  Check out #riojabuzz this week for a play by play and check out tomorrow’s tasting live

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By April Sciacchitano | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged | Comments (0)
May 3 2011

Three Steps to Innovative Social Media: Step 1, Get Unstuck

May 3, 2011 – 10:49 am

By April Sciacchitano (@aprilcs)

The day-to-day of maintaining a social media account can take its toll on the manager - connecting with a fan isn’t as fun as it used to be, the idea of using Facebook in your free time no longer appeals, and tweet after tweet after tweet only add to your social media malaise. If this is you, it’s time to reclaim your zest for all things social.  Here is the first of three steps to revamp and revive social media efforts that have become lackluster.

Step 1: Get Unstuck
If it’s the same old, same old, turn the whole thing upside down.

In our whatcanbe sessions with clients, we ask the question “How would you solve this if you were someone else?” Oprah?  Abraham Lincoln?  Snooki and JWow? This challenges you try on another pair of shoes and see things you miss when you’re in the day-to-day.

You can also do this by eliminating your go-to excuses and problems:  Lack of resources, lack of time, potential legal run-ins and so on.  Facing these issues can mean getting stuck in them.  These problems are often ingrained in your organization, and end up more personally exhausting than productive. 

If you have had any role in bringing social media to your company, you know these brick walls well, and have hurdled over a few of them. 

Or perhaps you used one of these.

Or perhaps you used one of these.

Instead of conquering them one grueling problem at a time, avoid them altogether with bright spots problem solving. (See also, the serenity prayer.) 

Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath recommends “bright spots” problem solving as a means of overriding your institutionalized, brick-wall problems to make something happen despite them. Using bright spots means you find something that works and try to duplicate it. 

We’ll cover a bright spot worth duplicating tomorrow.

(If you’re ready to get thinking, we’re giving away a deck of Whatcanbe cards to the first 10 people who request them.  Tweet @crttanaka with your request, and tag it #whatcanbe)

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By April Sciacchitano | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
May 2 2011

PR Pros: Things to Keep in Mind with Bin Laden’s Death

May 2, 2011 – 11:23 am

By Priya Ramesh (@newpr)

US NEWS BINLADEN 17 ABA

As the world wakes up to Bin Laden’s death, the newsrooms across the globe will be working 48/7 to provide up-to-the minute coverage on new developments, analysis and reactions. A few things to keep in mind if you had major announcements to pitch to the media this week:

Set realistic client expectations for media coverage this week:  Unless what you pitch has a direct/indirect relation to Bin Laden’s death, forget about getting any attention from reporters and bloggers this week who are rightfully more focused on this historic moment than your new product announcement. Explain to your clients early on that the media coverage that you promised may not be possible this week unless you can somehow tie it to terrorism.

Advise your social media team to keep a closer eye on employee reactions on social media: So many of us have been personally affected by 9-11 that emotions are bound to be at an all-time high. When emotions are high, chances are your employees might tweet, comment on blog posts or Facebook that might come back to haunt you from a reputation perspective. It is one thing to celebrate America’s victory over terrorism but quite another if one of your employees engages in an anti-Muslim rant online. Twitter continues to be the hot medium where people worldwide are learning and reacting about Bin Laden’s death. Here’s a good post from Mashable on “Timeline: How News of Osama Bin Laden’s Death Unfolded on Twitter.” http://mashable.com/2011/05/02/osama-death-twitter/.

Commenting on Twitter’s role in breaking the news, The Atlantic’s Nicholas Jackson wrote:

“Twitter has once again proven its worth. It might not win wars or spark revolutions—that’s still being debated—but its value is clear to those of us who watched their feeds fill with news and notes over the past hour. Newspapers might be dead or dying, but traditional ink-on-paper reporters were able to share this story much faster than cable news outlets by adapting to this technology.”

Respect the news cycle and stay away from dis-alienating reporters and bloggers: If you don’t hear back from the reporter/blogger this week that expressed an interest in covering your story, don’t panic. Instead, send a nice note enquiring if there is anything you can do to help them with, especially if you have credible sources/data that can help them with the Bin Laden coverage. This gesture of understanding their priority and helping them with what they need is a good investment you will make to nurture your media relations efforts.

Create opportunities for Corporate Social Responsibility to help your community: If you have a charitable contributions budget, this is the time to open your company wallet and explore opportunities to make the upcoming Memorial Day and Flag Day even more special for your community. As a nation, our patriotic sentiments are bound to be naturally high. As we re-unite to celebrate justice being served to the thousands of people whose lives have been destroyed by terrorist organizations, we as PR pros should consider how our organizations can play a small part in celebrating this victory.

God Bless America!

Image courtesy: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/newsworldnation/917832-227/celebrations-erupt-throughout-nation.html

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Priya Ramesh | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)