The 2 Types of Social Media Clients
March 30, 2010 No Comments »Different sized businesses have different needs when it comes to Social Media. While some needs overlap, there isn’t a one size fits all plan.
The first type of client would be a big business or a large corporation. This is a company with an established name and identity that needs to remain consistent throughout their social media presence. They are seeking brand reputation and to start a conversation with its customers and interested parties. Their need is to turn their product value into a social value. They are looking for a relationship with the customer because they have more to offer than just their quality product. Corporate companies are focused more on reputation. They have a perspective on their brand and they are looking to enhance an image.
The second type is the small business that might have a local following or locally established name, but basically hasn’t built their brand yet. They want to use social media for establishing their name and growing their market to a larger area. When working with a small company, it’s about developing brand recognition and trust as well as make people aware that the brand exists and that it offers value.
I love to help companies find the conversation, it’s like exploring the world for that client. Find out who your potential customers are, how they behave and how you, as a new brand can become of value to these potential customers.
Online Video's are worth a second look.
March 23, 2010 1 Comment »I’ve believed and practiced this myself for awhile so when an actual study came out confirming it, I can’t say I was surprised.
Forrester published an article stating that in a Google search, “any given video in the index stands about a 50 times better chance of appearing on the first page of results than any given text page in the index.”
An optimized video has more clout with Google searches than an optimized web page. So what does that mean? It means that video’s are coming up on the first page in a SERP or Search Engine Results Page more than actual web pages.
So take action! Borrow a video camera or buy a Flip and make a video for your web site today. Start with a 30 second commercial pitching your business. Then move on to other aspects of your business. Be sure to follow Matt Ballek’s tips to optimize your video, upload it to YouTube, Vimeo or Viddler and you’re well on your way.
Branding Personality and Political Campaigns
March 8, 2010 No Comments »
Last week we talked about how stimulating it can be when different clients approach us for their online marketing strategies as well as how important it is to be up to date with lots of industries. This week I would like to focus on another campaign we are currently working on. This is the campaign for Joe Symmon who is running for Governor of California. Anna is a political science major at Chapman University in Orange and she is a key contributor for this account. I sat down with her to discuss how she spearheaded this project.
Marieke Hensel: How familiar are you with political campaigns?
Anna: I follow national campaigns pretty closely, but I have to admit I am not as knowledgeable about local campaigns. I am personally very interested in studying what shapes the way people vote, such as religion, socioeconomic status, gender, or level of political interest. I am excited to see if the conventional wisdom for a national campaign works locally.
MH: What did you do to get more information?
AF: The internet is my primary resource for information about campaigns. I read various articles from the Drudge Report, Huffington Post, Daily Kos and others.
MH: How do you stay informed on current political hot topics?
AF: My primary source of news is podcasts. I know people aren’t really familiar with them, but they’re amazing. Podcasts are like radio shows that you can download as a file and put on your iPod or MP3 player. You can listen to them whenever you want, usually commercial free. You can pause, rewind, fast-forward, everything. And what’s great is you can ‘subscribe’ to podcasts and the new shows will automatically download into your iTunes. I listen to podcasts from CNN, NBC, NPR, and independent news and commentary organizations like The Young Turks. I usually listen to one or two hours of political news and analysis every day, but if I listened to all of it I could be spending four to five hours getting all the news I want.
MH: If you could have lunch with any political figure, dead or alive, who would it be? Why?
AF: It is almost impossible to just pick one political figure to chat with, but the one that comes to my mind first is President Lyndon Johnson. When he was president in the 1960′s, there was a big progressive push in the country, and LBJ was able to capitalize on that energy and pass a huge amount of legislation that our country loves to this day. Programs like medicare, medicaid, food stamps, work-study programs, and others are very popular today, though they faced harsh opposition when they were first passed. I would love to talk to LBJ about President Obama’s current problems with health care legislation, hyper-partisanship, and the War on Terror. I think President Johnson could have some sound advice for the 21st century.
MH: What’s the hardest part about this job?
AF: The hardest part about this job is educating myself and the campaign about the issues voters care about. The issues Californians face are very complex, and I firmly believe that everyone who wants to run for office should be extremely educated about the issues. There is a lot to learn, but I am eager to learn alongside the other people on the campaign team.
Do the thing that is never boring to you
May 23, 2008 1 Comment »Let me first tell you a little bit about my personal brand.
I am not the easiest person to figure out what I am and how I want to be portrayed on the web.
OK. I get it.
You aren’t either. You are worse than I?
I know. Figuring out your own personal brand is the hardest part.
You have seen yourself as the center of the universe since you are a baby. You know there are more people in this world. And you are definitely aware that there people who are very talented in all different fields – and you are not talented in all those fields.
Well, you are not in this world, just to fill up a space.
You are here to do something.
And the only way to figure out what you are to do is, do something.
You will learn from internal feedback (you love it, you hate it) or external feedback (thank you’s and compliments) that you are on the right path. But most of all, it should be something that helps you wake up in the morning and never gets you bored.
What can you do every day that is never boring to you?
Do it
And do something else that will help you sharpen (not find!) your personal brand. Because you are never there. Life is evolving and what you are all about is evolving as well.
Do Something Else.
