I made my debut for Inside Indiana Business yesterday, writing about how your website should be a lead generating machine. You can check out the article on their site. What topic would you like to see me cover next? Please post in our comment section. We’re always looking for content ideas that you would like to know more about.
I’m excited to say Clay has been at work again. This time, his brilliance is taking shape in a new portfolio page. We’re adding in work you have yet to see! Even better, we talk about the marketing results each has had on our client’s business. We’re looking forward to sharing this new feature with you. Here’s a sneak peek!
There are lots of ways people make a difference: time, talent and money just happen to be three of the most common. I personally don’t have a lot of any of the three, but have spent, what some would say, is a considerable amount of at least time and talent in finding ways to give back. Sometimes I get involved in a charity project because it’s helping a cause that’s near to my own passion. More often than not, though, it’s because someone is building on an act that can help the greater good in a way that makes me want to get on board and help expand the reach. I have always been about the reach.
This is why I am so saddened we have lost one of our City’s most amazing women of reach – Ruth Lilly. I never met her, but man would I have loved to. I would have loved to sit for hours and hear about her personal life, her personal times, and would have probably annoyed her with my questions of her decision making process for helping so many so well. I would have sat in awe listening to each and every word.
In a time when many wealthy philanthropists are narrowing their scope and increasing their depth, I’m worried that seeing someone such as Ruth Lilly go is also a passage of her type of giving. I muse to myself that maybe she just gave to each and every place because, like me, she just liked a lot of stuff! She had many interests and wanted to cater to those that serve those worlds. Perfectly OK with that! Today, though, it’s not in style to give so much to so many. It’s probably odd coming from a marketing professional, but the narrow approach to giving, while it definitely has its perks, isn’t preferred by me. Now I can narrow my areas, or categories, if you will, but I find it perfectly OK to give in a dozen areas. Two dozen areas!
The timing of her passing is a reminder to me, as I’m finalizing my personal goals for this year, to continue my reach. I act on my gut, case-by-case, on where I can help the most. I told myself end of 2009 that maybe I should focus more; cut back. Do less, God forbid! Maybe another year down the road I will find it worthy to narrow my focus and make a large impact, but not now. Not when many need more.
Thank you Ruth Lilly. Thank you for all you have done in our community, in our region, in our nation, and in our world. I know your reach went far. I know your inspiration will continue in me. I know.
Jim Brown from EverEffect has outdone himself … again. The 2009 Masters of Business Online (#mbo09) was considered, by pretty much everyone I talked to, as a great success. You heard from some of the top ‘masters’ in the industry like Mark Hill as the keynoter (Collina Ventures), James Paden, Founder, Vibrant Solutions, Troy Burk, President of Right On Interactive, Jon Arnold, President of Tuitive, Kyle Lacy of Brandswag, Chris Rozzi, Usability Analyst, Apparatus, Chris Lucas from Formspring and Jeremy Dearringer, Co-Founder of Slingshot SEO.
I too had the pleasure of counting myself among these amazing online leaders and presented the Twitter Case for Business to a packed room. While Twitter’s growth has finally leveled off a bit, the desire to learn about it and from it continues to increase pace with curiosity. We handed out our Twitter Guide in our session and had a few people come up to me throughout the day asking for one.
Thanks to all of you who sent Tweets throughout the session – seems like the best sound bite came from Cassie Dull; her Tweet from my presentation: People want to know you, the real story and the real results. Don’t be afraid to be personal on social media. @silversquare #mbo09. Thank you to MacksMind, AKA Mack Earnhart, for taking this photo below.
If you’re not already one of our monthly newsletter subscribers, please consider joining our list (check out a past issue here, 7 Ways to Use LinkedIn for Business). We have a 97% open rate, so you know we don’t spam and we give lots of value each month. It arrives the first Thursday of each month. November’s topic will either be a video on the Twitter Case for Business – my top 10 reasons to market with Twitter, or, a how-to article on building your social media marketing strategy. I haven’t decided which just yet. Join our list!
Raquel presenting the second version of her Twitter Case for Business at the 2009 Masters of Business Online. Photo by Mack Earnhart.
We continue our series interviewing the experts of Masters of Business Online with James Paden of Vibrant Solutions.
SS: What will online business look like in 5 years?
JP: Obviously, more and more businesses are moving online. For the first time, what I am seeing is that the internet is getting really crowded. In search engine rankings, for example, Google has started putting greater emphasis on company’s with large establish brands and websites that have a long online history. Both of these elements reward businesses that started sooner. I see this trend continuing over the next five years. The internet will become increasingly crowded and busy. It will be harder for businesses to gain attention and attract traffic. Local-based websites and search will help, but within five years they will be just as crowded. NOW is the time businesses need to get online (actually, it was yesterday, but better now than tomorrow). I don’t believe any business can wait a single day to create a website and begin marketing online.
SS: Why do you think social media has become so popular?
JP: I think social media is simply an extension of what we do offline. It simultaneously gives marketers more influence/power and removes some risks (while adding others). However, I don’t believe social media is for every business. I think it’s a tool that will be extremely effective for some businesses, but not others.
SS: What website do you spend the most time at?
JP: Definitely Google, and not just for the searching. I spend a lot of time in Google Analytics. I moved all my e-mail into one Gmail account and started using Google Calendar and Tasks. I probably spend 40% of my online time on a Google-owned website.
SS: Who is doing things right online?
JP: My former employer, Affordable Style, is doing a great job marketing online. They market in every area from PPC, SEO, email, social media and even a little offline. Unlike most organizations, their focus is both wide and deep. They understand that online marketing is measurable and therefore are not afraid to experiment with new tactics and campaigns. Their ROI is relatively simple to calculate and if a new campaign isn’t work, they simply cancel it.
James Paden - Founder, Vibrant Solutions
Topic: Optimizing Your eCommerce Platform
read James’s MBO bio
Hungry for more? Register for MBO. Use the code silver109 to get a special discount.
We continue our series interviewing the experts of Masters of Business Online with Chris Lucas of FormSpring.
SS: Why should business owners worry about marketing online?
CL: One big reason is that it is a lower cost investment (usually) than traditional marketing. You can reach many more people online in a short amount of time for a much lower cost. Also, with online marketing you have the immediacy that you cannot get with other forms of marketing. You can quickly track and monitor if your online marketing is paying off by incorporating some simple and cheap tools. Finally online marketing is easy to test.The online space allows you to react quickly enhancing initiatives that work and stopping ones that are not. You don’t have to wait weeks and months to see results from certain online activities.
SS: What will online business look like in 5 years?
CL: We are already seeing a push from one-to-many to one-to-one marketing. I think we will see an even bigger emphasis on this… but we also have to be weary about all the data that will be available about our customers. We will have to walk a fine line of knowing what our customers want vs. not scaring them with all of that information. Marketers and companies who understand how to listen to customers, take in all the pertinent data, and use new online tools to connect and offer services or products that are relevant, will be effective in creating online advocates of their products.
SS: Why do you think social media has become so popular?
CL: Social media has become popular because of it’s ease of use. “Social Media” has been around for many years, but we are now seeing technology both infrastructure (wifi, broadband etc) and software, i.e web applications, meeting to make it very easy to share and consume information quickly. We’ve reached the proverbial “Tipping Point” from that perspective, and it allows people to interact with one another and share information that they find interesting with a low barrier to entry.
SS: What website do you spend the most time at?
CL: I spend a lot of time using/reading my RSS feeds which allows me to gather a ton of information quickly and read it when I want it. I spend time on Twitter, Facebook, and Smaller Indiana as well.
SS: Who is doing things right online?
CL: I think a lot of companies are doing things right online. I think the big takeaway is that you have to do what is right for your company and for your customers and that one size does not fit all! That being said, from companies that I follow, I would have to say Freshbooks. They are an online invoicing company. They have managed to build an incredible community of advocates and know how to take their online personality and translate it offline as well.
Chris Lucas - Marketing Specialist, FormSpring
Topic: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Online Forms
read Chris’s MBO bio
Hungry for more? Register for MBO. Use the code silver109 to get a special discount.
We continue our series interviewing the experts of Masters of Business Online with Jon DiGregory of Cantaloupe.
SS: Why should business owners worry about marketing online?
JD: Because that’s not only where the people are but where the relevant people are… It’s taken quite a long time for traditional marketers to realize that marketing is now not about doing a “once a year” super-big-and-expensive-impact-campaign but rather an ongoing long-term conversation that allows your prospects to buy from you once they are ready rather than when you are ready. Understand that end users online not only have complete control over what they see when they see it but are also very much an “I like this, but what do you have for me now?” type audience – much more like a magazine audience then those that like reading novels.
And where can I get a constant stream of free relevant continually changing content that engages with things that make sense to me? Now, a business marketers challenge is to provide interesting, ongoing, disposable content that makes it OK for the right people to participate with while ultimately at the same time leading them to the right call-to-action(s) over and over again.
Not to mention that my tweeting, facebooking, build-my-own movies and put them online thirteen-year-old will soon be your prospect.
SS: What will online business look like in 5 years?
JD: Not sure about business but have a hunch on business “marketing.” Much more sincere and transparent. If you agree that the first move most people make when they first hear of you is not to call you up and ask “I know nothing about you will you sell something to me?” but instead gravitate to your website where they shop you anonymously. What are they looking for? The answer is “the truth” and the companies that will win are the ones that focus more on their story of how they solve problems rather then trying to be perceived as a company that never experiences any will win.
SS: Why do you think social media has become so popular?
JD: Because it is extremely relevant, very disposable, and continually ongoing / changing content that can be interacted and participated with by all… for free. Now, the playing field is leveled where creative remarkable people can become significant without worrying about budgets.
SS: What website do you spend the most time at?
JD: I would have to say that it is now most likely Facebook. Especially since to date in ’09 I can attribute over six figures of contracted business by making relevant connections. Although I do have to admit that I could easily do without all the “what type of washing machine are you?” quizzes.
SS: Who is doing things right online?
JD: I have several but really it is anyone who figures out how to deliver entertaining / relevant content with the right marketing messages peppered in. Content that makes it “OK” for me to participate with while at the same time feels good when I pass it on to others I think will like it as well… The main reason for this is that the line between entertainment and business are quickly blurring (look at podcasts alone) which presents challenges for traditional marketers.
BMW Films was way ahead of its time by creating entertaining short movies that discretely featured their automobiles. Jib-Jab was brilliant in asking folks for their email address accompanying their first big “hit” This Land Is Your Land which created an audience of Millions. (By the way, Budweiser paid over $4 Million dollars for Jib-Jab to produce and deliver to Jib-Jab’s database a “Jib-Jab-esque” animation featuring the Budweiser Frogs. Why? Because they had the relevant willingly captured audience).
Jon DiGregory – Founder, Cantaloupe
Topic: Don’t Just ‘Do’ Video – USE Video
read Jon’s MBO bio
Hungry for more? Register for MBO. Use the code silver109 to get a special discount.
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