03/18/16 Episode 4: R is for Relationships
Enjoy episode 4 of the radio broadcast, nike air max May the Best Brand Win with Scott Robertson on Entertalk Radio.
(AUDIO) Episode 9 of May the Best Brand Win. “Dialing in Your Perfect Marketing Mix”
It’s Episode 9 of May the Best Brand Win. Adidas NMD pour homme This one talks about dialing in your perfect marketing mix.
Courageous Creativity
Pssst wanna know a secret? You are probably pretty creative. I say “probably” because I don’t know you and it’s at least possible that you’re an accountant or an actuary. air max pas cher 🙂 But barring that, I’ll bet you’re more creative than you think. Defined as “the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work,” Adobe did a survey a few years back on creativity and here in the good ol’ USA, about 52 percent of respondents described themselves as “creative.” So about half of all people would label themselves in this way. Ok, I can buy that, especially if you think of creativity ONLY in this way. nike kwazi soldes nike air max 1 I’ll submit to you that any time someone is zigging when everyone else in their space is zagging, that is creativity. In the 1990s, Amazon had a different vision for the future of buying things based on the Web and much improved supply chain logistics. asics gel lyte 5 Not super sexy, but I’ll tell you that today, you can open your mobile device, buy just about anything on there and have it at your door the next day or even the same day. adidas pas cher It’s like The Jetsons! All from a different creative path. asics nimbus And I think it’s not just the spark of a creative idea, but the guts to implement it and the discipline to see it through. It takes all of that for true creativity to manifest itself in the marketplace. Creating something from nothing is really cool, but it’s nothing without those more “common” elements. nike air max 90 femme Adidas soldes And that’s why I think you are probably pretty creative.
(AUDIO) May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio. Episode 12: Ready, Set Launch!
http://entertalkradio.(AUDIO) May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio. chaussure nike cortez Episode 12: Ready,
(AUDIO) “May the Best Brand Win” on Entertalk Radio. Episode 24: Consumer Behavior
(AUDIO) “May the Best Brand Win” on Entertalk Radio. nike flyknit lunar Episode 24: Consumer Behavior.
RobertsonComm Now Working with Taylor Guitars
We’re very excited to be working with Taylor Guitars to provide public relations services. adidas x Taylor is one of the top brands in the music products industry with a rich history and fantastic track record of creating unique, Nike Roshe Run soldes great sounding instruments that highlight any player’s abilities. nike air max 1 pas cher Watch for more exciting news from Taylor coming soon from RobertsonComm! Right now,
Evil PR
Public Relations is an extremely powerful tool for influencing and shaping public opinion. Wikipedia defines it as “the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) and the public. Sounds pretty benign, right? And it can be. nike air max femme But let’s say you had the objective of convincing the world that America is experiencing vast racial tensions and thing are going badly here. First, you’d need some news events to feed the narrative. You’d amplify those to the extent of your budget via traditional and social media, and bring in sympathetic influencers to help you. You’d need celebrities to use major media platforms such as the ESPYs or other Award shows, concerts to reinforce the narrative. And pretty soon, everyone would just believe it despite there being no real data to support the conclusion. According the Washington Post for example, statistically speaking, police violence is a VERY small problem in the United States. adidas zx 750 pas cher It affects less than 1,000 people nationally in a population of more than 300 million. So that’s around .000003 percent of the population affected. ugg pas cher And re: race relations, more than half of those affected were Caucasian so African Americans aren’t even the majority of victims in police violence cases. Does racism still exist? Yep. Is it rampant in law enforcement, possibly. Are tens of thousands of African Americans being shot down by police as some believe? Not even close. Do you ever feel like we’re all being played for fools by someone or some entity with a hidden agenda via a large-scale mass market PR campaign of sorts? Perhaps some entity like George Soros (30th richest man in the world ) that wants us all to believe we cannot trust local law enforcement? Or that we’re all so different and against each other? Or that guns are dangerous and we should give them up voluntarily because only then we might feel safe? PR takes a few things to work. It needs a budget and a staff. News events don’t happen by themselves and the media don’t cover them without help from PR. I mention Soros because he’s given more than $33 million to Black Lives Matter in the past year. chaussure de tennis asics $33,000,000. PR needs a budget. I love PR and I’ve dedicated my life to helping companies and organizations use it to the max to reach their business goals. The return on investment is fantastic and I love getting great results! It works incredibly well. Unfortunately, when the goals and intentions aren’t honorable, the PR outcomes will be as well.
Ethical Marketing
Here’s one for you. Asics 2017 Do you think it’s ethical to persuade someone to do or buy something, even if it’s something they don’t want? Like so many things in marketing, I think the answer is a resounding “it depends.” I know, spoken like a true consultant. yeezy adidas …But hear me out. adidas x nike roshe run 2017 Ethics in marketing is really an area of applied ethics which deals with the moral principles (yes we have them, why do you ask?) behind the operation and regulation of marketing. Asics 2017 This area covers fun stuff like: invasion of privacy, stereotyping, targeting (and re-targeting) the vulnerable, excluding potential customers from the market and pricing ethics. When you think hard about how to persuade human beings you realize it’s not going to be easy. nike air max 2017 soldes Getting into and out of consumers’ heads is a very messy business because our brains most of the time resemble Times Square on New Years Eve. It’s lit-up, exciting and electric, but watch where you step. (gross). adidas pas cher The problem with the lion’s share of marketing approaches I see is they lack actual thought and are treated more like a to-do list of boxes to check rather than a series of steps that lead to the goal of persuasion. But it doesn’t have to be that way. adidas zx 500 pas cher A little thought, a little empathy and application of the The Golden Rule will get you quite far. Here’s a few tips —
- Understand from the beginning that your presence is neither requested nor welcomed. Your message is an interruption. ugg pas cher Now, with that in mind, earn your place in their minds and it better be great. (or don’t send it out).
- Always take long-term relationships over short-term sales
- Look for ways to attract people to your brand and not have to interrupt them so much.
- If it feels wrong to you, just don’t do it. Marketers were given this intuition for a reason.
- Listen to your consumers twice as much as you talk. Your insight about how to serve them will most likely come from them and the tools we have today allow you to listen like never before.
Dale Carnegie said, “a man convinced against his will, holds the same opinion still.” There’s a whole lotta truth right there for us marketers. Persuasion is the very subtle and gentle art of getting your audience to do and think the things that will benefit your brand. But there is an ethical and dare I say “respectful” way to do it that will get you what everyone really wants — strong long-term relationships leading to ongoing business and brand loyalty. nike air max command soldes Also, check out my latest episode of the May the Best Brand Win on this subject.
Being Different
You’re special, did you know that? Some (like probably your Mom) would say “unique” and no one sees or does things quite like you. bottes ugg bailey button pas cher In marketing & communications, our goal is almost always some sort of “differentiation” expressed as “how do we make our organizations and clients stand apart from competitors in the minds of those they are trying to reach?” …And it’s the million dollar question, baby. How indeed. You know, Donald J. Trump was a very different kind of presidential candidate. Just a few years ago, you could tune in and see him fire people on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice and now the American people have voted this outsider to the highest seat of power in the free world. adidas zx 850 Just FYI — the new host is Arnold Schwarzenegger so obviously we’re grooming our next world leader right there on NBC’s Sunday nights. nike air max 1 Apple is different than other technology companies mainly in that it never really considered itself a tech company — more a problem solver for people frustrated BY technology companies. ….And that reputation has made them the largest and most powerful company on planet Earth. So we could say that different is good, right? Not so fast. I think it is and it isn’t. Being perceived as different in the marketplace can be good when it creates a unique position (and thus fewer choices) in the consumer’s mind leading to a direct purchase. You want a LayBag inflatable couch thing for your pool in early 2016 — there’s only that one out there so you have that one choice. louboutin chaussures Of course, cheaper copycats will come a clawing for your business soon enough. air jordan 14 retro nike air max pas cher But being different is also difficult. Human beings as a whole resist the idea as demonstrated beautifully in the movie Dead Poets Society in the scene where the boys all started off walking in a circle with different strides and steps, but quickly began to march together and even clap in unison. Something about that just feels better to us. air max 90 femme And because of it, when you get what you’re finally after in marketing, it’s going to feel weird, too. Alone, apart and sometimes challenged and ridiculed by those not brave enough to stand apart. Getting your differentiation can be an uncomfortable position and it truly does take courage to withstand the scrutiny and be that way. So different is good, yet uncomfortable, but still good so we should do it? I’m going to give the consultant’s answer and say “it depends.” It really depends on you and your courage, which seems like an odd thing to mention in a marketing story, but I believe that it takes courage to do something truly great in this world. ugg noir Chaussure Asics Gel Noosa Tri 11 Something really different.
AUDIO: 04/08/16 Episode 7: Changing Communications
Tune in to the latest episode of “May the Best Brand Win” featuring RobertsonComm CEO Scott Robertson.
Living in a Twilight Zone World
“Suspended in time and space for a moment, your introduction to Mr. Adidas soldes Scott Robertson, who lives in a very private world of darkness…and confusion.” Ok, not quite, but looking at the world, I feel this way sometimes —and my writing often reflects it. I’m reminded of a great classic Twilight Zone episode “Eye of the Beholder” where Janet Tyler realizes that everything beautiful is ugly and vice versa in this twisted world where she finds herself. Yep, we can relate to that one, right? For example, the Web is blowing up about a story of a North Texas high school Valedictorian who had the courage to admit she was an undocumented immigrant. Martinez took 17 AP classes in high school and graduated with a 4.95 GPA. She is now looking forward to a full scholarship at Yale and hopes to one day become a neurosurgeon. asics duomax Excuse me, a Yale scholarship winner isn’t a citizen? What planet am I on, here? How can this be? And why aren’t people reading this story reacting in a more appropriate fashion? I don’t see her as “courageous,” I see her as not following the process that thousands of legal citizens of the USA are required to follow. I also don’t see speeders as “daring.” They pretty much just drive too fast. On a political note, President Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton for president this week. It’s expected of course, towing the party line and all. But in the video, he said these words, which still ring in my ears “I don’t think anyone has ever been so qualified to run for this office…” Huh? Even by today’s hype standards, that is an 11 and this is a person who caused the administration enough shame to remove her as Sec. of State. adidas sitemap (I’m sorry, thank her for her service and walk her to the exit). That’s what happened — with enough PR spin on it to choke a horse. nike air max 90 And it seems everyone has forgotten about it as they jump on the bandwagon for the first woman ever to be president (which also isn’t exactly true). This woman? Are we serious? How many scandals can we name? Man, it’s a Twilight Zone world out there and when the bandages are removed, I’m honestly more than a little afraid of what we might see or become. On the marketing/comms side of things, I truly do believe in a different approach devoid of “spin,” and being respectful of the audience, trusting them to take whatever action that works for them and building real brands in a world that is all-too ugly and fake.
Buzzwords and BS
Have you ever read a mission statement or company/product description and said to yourself, “what does that even mean?” If so, you’ve probably been “buzzed” by some industry buzzwords, jargon and marketing-type language and other BS. I like to call this stuff “the appearance of marketing” because it kinda sounds good for a second, but then you go, “…wait, I didn’t really get anything out of that.” It’s like the Chinese food of communications — leaves your mind hungry about 30 minutes later. Why do we create and use buzzwords? Well, I’m not a psychologist, but I think it’s because we want to include and also exclude people. nike air max 2017 goedkoop We all have those groups of friends where we share a lexicon of what things mean and more importantly what they mean to us. And in those circles, all of the inside references work really well and they help everyone feel included as a part of the group. But in corporate communications, where the objective to reach a larger audience, our “inside baseball” jargon works against us. nike pas cher 2017 It makes short sentences into longer ones and longer ones into impossibly long ones. I’m including a list of Inc. timberland femme Magazine’s Terrible Buzzwords that they’re seeing out there, but we all encounter and dislike not understanding what is going on. It makes us feel excluded and we move on from that message to another one — or a lost episode of SpongeBob Squarepants — a happy little sponge who uses zero buzzwords. Marketing people seem to love buzzwords and BS. Clever little uses of words with similar alliteration make us feel smarter. But we are not. Listen up. asics gel pas cher Marketing’s job is to get the message arrow from the sender to the receiver. Your “cleverness” could easily interrupt this. So follow these quick tips
- Say it in fewer words — always a great exercise
- Say it using active voice verbs — passive voice ones frighten and confuse people.
- Say it with no buzzwords. A good writer can ALWAYS get rid of those.
- Say it and dial back the hype knob. nike air max thea We know you’re excited, but please get it under control.
- Say it and test to make sure actual humans know what you said. If people can’t spit it back to you, try again.
I dream of a business world where we all have the emotional stability to move past buzzwords and toward actual marketing and communications.
(AUDIO) May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio: Episode 33: Storytelling
(AUDIO) May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio: Episode 33: Storytelling.
Influencers and Influence
You know they don’t really trust you, don’t you? You’re a marketer. (shudder). You’re trying to “sell” them something, interrupt their day, their programming and otherwise get what you want — and you will track them, profile them, bother them and do anything it takes because you’re a marketer. Including finding out who they WILL listen to and incentivize those poor souls in some way to take your message to your audience, hoping for that magic kitten-like feeling of trust. This latest sharp and shiny steel arrow in the marketing quiver is known as “influencer marketing” and while it can be used for good to supplement a program and build the right relationships, companies like Amazon are seeing it used in some less-than-honest ways. This week the aforementioned supply chain god announced that it is banning “incentivized” customer reviews on the site where the reviewer gets free stuff in exchange for posting a review. Well, no more. Here’s what they said: “Today, we updated the community guidelines to prohibit incentivized reviews unless they are facilitated through the Amazon Vine program. We launched Vine several years ago to carefully facilitate these kinds of reviews and have been happy with feedback from customers and vendors. Here’s how Vine works: Amazon – not the vendor or seller – identifies and invites trusted and helpful reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new and pre-release products; we do not incentivize positive star ratings, attempt to influence the content of reviews, or even require a review to be written; and we limit the total number of Vine reviews that we display for each product. Vine has important controls in place and has proven to be especially valuable for getting early reviews on new products that have not yet been able to generate enough sales to have significant numbers of organic reviews. We also have ideas for how to continue to make Vine an even more useful program going forward. Details on that as we have them.” So Amazon wants to be in greater control of which reviews are posted and who influences the sales of which products, etc. Watch for other e-commerce sites to join these efforts, too. They want influence too — and they want to keep it. nike pas cher For your reference, here are some “do’s” for your very own influencer marketing program: 1. nike requin Do identity influencers out there as PR agencies have done for the past 25 years or so. (at least). air max homme Yep, not a new idea. 2. Do approach them early (pre-launch) and get their feedback, possible support, etc. adidas homme 3. Do clearly disclose any payments of any kind pursuant to the FTC blogger guidelines or really just common sense 4. If you’re winning people over with your product/service, do promote/merchandise that coverage as much as possible within your own comms channels 5. nike air max 1 Do treat your influencers like your treat the press and industry analysts — extremely well. Remove any obstacles for them, help them do their job and be real in your communications with them in good times and bad. It continues to be tough sledding for marketers out there, but I would submit that you might want to change your mindset from interruption to one of attraction and work to create the most useful, best content out there, work closely with your press, analysts and even influencers from a position of cooperation and not “what’s it going to take to get you to do it.” Do all of these things and your marketing will be real…and it will be powerful.
AUDIO: Episode II of “May the Best Brand Win” on Entertalk Radio
Questions about branding? Check out Episode II: of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio where we dig into all the branding hits and misses in the music business.
Brand Journalism: Two Great Tastes That Taste Awful Together
Oh, the PR/marketing profession is at it again, ladies and gentlemen, taking your lovely pure news and communication that you enjoy so much and turning it into a Frankenstein’s monster of marketing. asics chaussures They call it “brand journalism” and in a recent article in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)’s member magazine, one energy company that does it says “like other companies before us, we are out to tell our own story in our own way without constantly relying on the traditional media to interpret and distribute our news.” How nice. Different than blogging, this new perversity is where companies create stories about their industry or related subject matter that “enlighten, inform and inspire.” (which I read as shoveling corporate spin and BS 24/7). nike internationalist Some (like Coca-Cola) even try to create separate news channels of their own. (Sigh) Here’s the problem. It’s not disclosed that these stories are being mutated and created with a marketing/branding purpose, not a journalistic one and thus, it’s basically a ruse designed to hook the consumer (the fish) before they realized they are being hooked. timberland homme People as it turns out, aren’t that stupid. We as a profession can and should do better than deception like this by working with actual journalists, also known as “earned media.” Earned media tastes better because: 1. They (traditional media) have a channel already — no need to build one, which can be costly and fragile 2. They are TRUSTED far more than you ever will be (check the Pew Research numbers on this) 3. They have journalistic training, lack of bias and access to more sources than you 4. adidas stan smith Pas Cher They can tell a negative story, you probably can’t. Your “sunshine and roses” feed will lose to actual negative news every day and twice on Sunday. (again, check the numbers) If you’re going to do “brand journalism” and expect it to have any impact out there, I urge you to fully disclose the connection to any brands upfront. Journalism (you know, our free press) is still pretty fantastic and branding is wonderful, emotion-filled and amazing, too. But two great tastes don’t always go together like a yummy Reese’s.
I Just Can’t Force Quit You
How hard does your company make it to break off communications if the target is so inclined? It’s an important thing to consider in our current “all-you-can-opt-in” world of comms, right? You know, how we disengage with a target customer is just as important as how we engage a new one. It really can say a lot of our brand. adidas yeezy boost The genius minds of Apple realize that sometimes just quitting an application doesn’t quite work and thus they created “force quit” which we’ve all probably used while we were about to have a “unforced fit.” Comms needs to have a force quit too — something the target audience can use to disengage right now without any further discussion about it (that means no surveys no matter how badly you want to). If you’re a good e-mail marketer, you realize that we’re required by law (CAN-SPAM Act) to have opt-outs that are not just there and clickable, but actually enforced in a reasonable time frame. bottes ugg But I’ll go a step further and say that compliance with the law isn’t the only reason you should pay very close attention to opt-outs. First of all, they are feedback about what you’re doing and who is and isn’t liking it. Second, if you are a secure, non-needy brand, then you can artfully disengage with a target audience member and still be friends. asics gel lyte 3 No one has to cut up pictures of the other party here — you’re out, and it’s perfectly cool with us and we hope you come on back sometime. nike air huarache soldes Breezy, not needy. P.S. adidas homme – that’s how you get them to come back by the way.
May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio, Episode 36: Learning About Relations
May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio.
04/01/16 Episode 6: April Fools and Regular Fools
Here’s the latest episode of the award-winning podcast on EnterTalk Radio, nike air max tn soldes ugg australia bailey button Sweaters “May the Best Brand Win” featuring RC’s own Scott Robertson.
I Think…
Powerful words right there and not used as often as you might think. Most of us have pretty strong opinions about everything from national politics to how LOST ended. nike pegasus But I’ve found that many of our fellow humans don’t really share what they really think about business decisions, especially in corporate environments. And this collective lack of thinking (or expressing same) leads to some awesome decisions like:
- Starbucks deciding to racially profile its customers and engage in casual discussions about race relations in its stores. (um…how about no.)
- Budweiser playing fast and loose with the subject of date rape and taking it’s “up for whatever” campaign into dangerous new territory. (up for dumb marketing ideas?)
- Bill Cosby thinking it might be fun to have social media networks “meme” him. nike internationalist Which of course led to fresh allegations and the consummate destruction of his entire career and legacy. (a classic example of social media gone wild)
And the list goes on and on… nike air presto In my experience, thinking doesn’t always happen. In fact, it rarely does. Most people are afraid to say what they think. Oh, they’ve been taught well from an early age to just shut it and get in line. asics france Those who don’t are punished in various ways. We as a society made up of people and organizations of those people continue to punish those who disagree, those who say the emperor has no clothes when the dude is clearly friggin’ naked. We’ve all been in those meetings. nike air max 1 Hell, you might be in one right this minute. And stop reading your phone during a meeting — it’s just rude! Happy to say that I do actually think and I do express my counsel to my clients on a regular basis in an attempt to help them avoid such massive blunders on my watch. I see thinking and expressing it as a duty to them and I don’t take those two words “I think” lightly. They are important because what comes after is going to be a recommendation from me, their trusted communications adviser. Am I always right? Nope. And no one is. Am I right this time? Probably. (But that only comes from seeing quite a lot and being wrong quite a lot before) More people need to stop and think before they just do marketing-related things. Thinking is powerful. And expressing what we’re thinking to our clients and to the world can be the first step to really changing things for the better.
AUDIO: May The Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio — Episode I: The Brand Awakens
http://entertalkradio.com/maythebestbrandwin/Here you go, nike air max command Episode I of RobertsonComm CEO Scott Robertson’s new radio show, adidas yeezy boost May the Best Brand Win.
May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio: Episode 32: Marketing Encouragement
May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio: Episode 32: Marketing Encouragement
RobertsonComm Makes the OC Biz Journal’s 2016 Top PR Firms List
All we can say is Yay!
Consumer Behavior
Why do we do this crazy little thing called marketing? Behavior. Specifically sales-driven behavior and it’s not a crime to admit that. To be really good at influencing consumer behavior, you must first understand it (…grasshopper). First question, why do all human people do anything?
Desire. (Feel free to pause and go listen to U2’s Desire with those sweet, sweet toms and driving beat.) Ok, back to business. People from the youngest of ages want things. Immediate things like a Whopperito (yes, a Whopper and burrito combined – thank you marketing) or long-term things like education, love, security and peace. Now, we are not always completely in touch with the parts of our brain that want things to ask it why and ponder, etc. We just want them. Yep, we’re simple creatures like that.
Do you want to know how many marketing approaches I see being used that don’t even approach a deeply resonating emotional brand message that plays to human desire? Far. Too. Many.
With that in mind, here are a few consumer behavior tips for you:
- Make your marketing messages (about your stuff) lock into the audience’s true desires (their stuff) — get emotional with that brand because Lord knows they are.
- Understand that you can’t always predict human behavior — We still have the ability to surprise scientists and ourselves and no one really understands why. But you can still be closer than not taking it into account at all.
- Remember that too many choices stop the action — We’ve all been there. If it gets too complicated or too many choices are involved we shut down like that girl when she learned you still live at home. Possibly faster. Study this area and don’t bombard people with too much.
- Invoking urgency can be effective but it can also backfire and make the brand seem too needy. Do we need to do the dating analogy again? Who gets the girl? That’s right.
- Play the devil’s advocate — None of us like to be “sold” and you can be sure the objections in their minds are piling up like a car crash on the show CHiPs from the 1970’s. So beat them to it and deal with the objections in your messaging. People have been known to sell themselves, so just let them.
You see, behind the tactics — the advertising, press releases, promotions, social media channels, podcasts, white papers, viral videos, speaking opportunities and everything else — there’s a behavior that we’re looking to drive.
Yes, there are always steps (awareness, consideration, preference) to getting there, but make no mistake that behavior is the most important goal and “the why” behind everything we do for our organizations and clients. So do it right and do it well. And always respect and trust your audience’s ability to find the behavior you’re looking for in your brand as long as you’ve made that easy for them.
(AUDIO) Episode 10 of May the Best Brand Win: Listening and Research
Here it is — enjoy!
Truly Understanding Social ME-dia
Nine times of out ten, when clients or prospects ask me to consult regarding social media, it goes like this. nike air max thea soldes “Scott, we have X to communicate. (pause) Now HOW would we best do that?” And now they are expecting “The Amazing Scottini” (patent pending), magician of all things communications to wave his magic wand (which chose the wizard) and somehow get that message to the target. But…. if you TRULY want to understand social media, I suggest twisting the prism just slightly to see the light. Ready? They (your intended audience) don’t care one bit about your message. They care…about…(wait for it)….themselves. And the crowd gasps. adidas superstar Can this be? But MY message is so good, so targeted, so darn appropriate. And SO WHAT? Specifically, they care about how anything they post or share contributes or detracts from the image of themselves they have in their amazingly toned, charitable, super smart, youthful-for-their-age little brains. nike cortez Because they, like us, probably are human beings, and we’re all just wired that way. asics chaussures air max homme I could show you the neuroscience if you’re deeply curious. Let’s look at some examples. adidas zx 750 pas cher If someone is liking, sharing or showcasing something someone else has said or posted, it means they are aligning themselves with it and specifically that they want others to see that they have aligned with it — why? Because in the poster’s mind, it makes THEM seem (insert whatever here). nike air max femme pas cher And again, the truth has no bearing here. This is about internal focused perception and specifically, achieving congruency in the poster’s mind and their own image of themselves. I think social media is very appropriately named — because it’s truly all about ME. For all of us, it’s our own little microcosm of a world where we let in who we want, when we want and control everything that happens in there (as much as one can.) The secret to becoming REALLY good at social media lies in human psychology. Understand that people want to share and like things that allow them to: Look cool to their friends (and of course this is all friends, family, acquaintances they’ve let in) Look smart to their friends Look charitable to their friends Look kind to their friends Look happy to their friends (sure, go ahead and sing it if you’re thinking it…) Look like good parents and adoring spouses to their friends Look like smart shoppers to their friends Look like good religious followers to their friends Look like plugged in “in the know” people to their friends Look like people who make good choices to their friends And there’s millions more of course. But the key is to twist your message they don’t care about at all into something that they will care about by making it appeal to what they REALLY want to do on social media. And again, remember it’s all about congruency with that mental picture. timberland pas cher That’s how you reach them. Move your message so that it can help someone achieve congruency and you will hit a friggin’ home run with it. (Ahem, ALS Bucket Challenge, anyone?) Now that you know this, take a look at most social media posts from organizations. It’s all about them and nothing for ME, which is ironic because they are trying to get into MY ME-dia channel. So let’s do a better job out there with our messages and together, we can make social media serve the truly self-centered purpose for which is was designed by people who are REALLY into themselves (and that’s all of us). If you want help with this, the door to the great Scottini’s magical castle (which I realize sounds like a one store fast food joint in a bad neighborhood) is always open.
Top 5 Marketing New Year’s Resolutions
As we rapidly approach the end of 2015, one thing is very clear to me — marketing is changing and needs to change even more. There are still far too many brand crisis situations caused by lack of thought, lack of trust and lack of respect of the target audience PRIOR to the communication taking place. Ready, fire…aim does not work in communications. Trust in all pillars of society (government, business, organized religion) is at an all time low and baby they’ve earned it through their consistent lies and trust-destroying ways. nike air presto soldes nike air max pas cher Trust in the media has fallen too, but there’s still some fire left there (which is why public relations still makes so much sense as a marketing tactic to reach an audience). adidas homme When you look closely at most marketing programs from companies you see a daily/weekly/monthly checklist of stuff that has to be done usually because someone else thought it would be a good idea and added it to the list. asics femme pas cher They are devoid of actual human thought and strategy…and it shows. So with that, I present my Top 5 Marketing New Year’s Resolutions
- Make your message mean something to them — Know your audience, know what they REALLY want and with any luck your message can tie in there. Resist the urge to just talk about yourself. chaussure timberland homme You can be assured that no one cares.
- Stop interrupting people with your meaningless marketing messages — People hate it and now…they hate your brand too. Way to go! Instead make your products, services and messages so damn cool and interesting that they rival whatever you were going to interrupt in the first place. nike air max 2017 zwart Note: Unless it’s a puppy-based video and then you have zero chance of being THAT interesting.
- Do less — communicate less, but make it count when you do. air max 90 pas cher Destroy your current marketing checklist and make everything on the new one earn its place there. Don’t just do. nike internationalist Think first. adidas zx flux femme Then do.
- Zig when everyone else zags — watch what you competitors are doing and look for ways to NOT do that stuff, but instead do your own, much better stuff.
- Work to build trust every day and treasure it like money. Because it is more valuable than money.
I dream of a world where marketing serves people, helps them get the things they want and need and is used responsibly and strategically by organizations. I’m an optimist and I think we can still save communications from marketing.
The Maddening World of Public Relations
Public relations is just like riding a bike.
Except, the bike is on fire. And you’re on fire. asics gel nimbus 18 soldes And the client is also on fire and you’re actually standing in one of Dante’s 9 Circles of Hell. …But it’s good work when you find it. 🙂 Recently, I was asked — “Why in the world, would you choose PR for message delivery over advertising, e-mail marketing, social media, direct mail and a myriad of other tactics? Why would you subject yourself and your clients to unending rejection, subjugation and manipulation at the hands of the (evil) news media when you could simply just control the message yourself.” Why, indeed. chaussures ugg femme A fine question, and from a certain point of view, I get it. We humans like control, even if it’s only an illusion that we create. nike air max thea We like to pay for things and get something back in return in a nice, safe, controlled environment. It makes us and our clients just feel good, right? The problem is that your controlled, feel-good marketing tactics are NOT trusted by 9 out of 10 of the people you’re trying to reach. So if you want the “appearance” of good marketing, then sure, advertise your booty off. asics gel lyte It will feel great. But if you want the arrow to make it through and strike the target with the possibility of a behavioral outcome (i.e. believing new stuff or buying stuff), then public relations (yes, the fifth circle) is your best bet. Quick and easy is a great way to bake a cake or clean a toilet, but in my experience, slow, arduous and sometimes quite painful is the way to actually reach people. And that’s the job, right? It’s not just a checklist of stuff to make us FEEL good about our marketing efforts. ugg australia It’s about getting the message there and having that message DO something amazing that benefits the sender and the receiver. That’s the point. And if your company has only created the “appearance” of decent marketing, then we should talk. I’m a fan of tuning up the message first (you know, the arrow needs to be sharp), then selecting the right mix of tactics (and I’m a huge fan of the fire and brimstone that is modern public relations) to make sure the message gets there and does something great.
Dancing with the Trolls
Ok, I admit it. As a pre-teen, I used to play Dungeons & Dragons. nike air max There I said it. And…I spent many a late night hour huddled around a piece of graph paper rolling multi-sided plastic dice in the hopes that maybe a girl might find me worthy and scoop me away from this sordid and depraved life. (And spoiler alert — that did happen..once I learned how to play the bass and sing in a high school rock band, but that is another story for another time.) Back to D&D. One of the most fearsome creatures of the entirely made-up D&D world is the troll. Ugly, mean as hell, and as I recall can really take a beating with a +10 broadsword before finally dying. These days, there are new trolls to battle in the social media world (which can be just as geeky) and wikipedia says we’re looking for a human person, “who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.” Yep. Trolls are bastards. But if you want to remain the hero of the story, there are some ways to manage trolls in this imaginary world. adidas nmd femme And they are: Start with the mindset that all opinions are welcome and valued. Even if someone is intentionally trying to sabotage your brand, a little digital respect goes a long way. nike air max 2016 soldes Have a sense of humor. No one can make you (or your brand) feel bad without your permission, right? I find that handling things with a little humor can be the difference between a four-alarm fire and a puff of smoke. Don’t block or delete your way to freedom. Yikes, please tell me you don’t seriously think this is a viable communications option. bottes ugg pas cher Have the courage and the security to allow a spirited debate to occur on your post or your site. Again, there isn’t just the one opinion. adidas messi 2017 Don’t react out of fear or any emotion. Respond with clarity and from a secure position.
It Only Beats You If You Haven’t Seen it Before
Mathematics. The very word sends shivers of fear down the spines of creatives in the marketing profession like when it’s date night and your wife wants to watch “House Hunters.” Yikes. On a side note, I didn’t like shopping for MY house so why would I intentionally watch other people do it? But back to math. nike air max 90 My 16-year-old son struggles with math, too. And I’m pretty sure if you trace the origins of the Robertson family back, you’ll find some great ancestor (probably with a beard) beating his head against a rock trying to do math. asics gel lyte 5 But…I’ve learned something recently that I passed on to my son and just may set him on the path of being the first Robertson to actually succeed at math. I learned that math only beats you if you haven’t seen it before. adidas zx flux femme If you know what’s coming and have done it (successfully) before, then math is easier. And you know, the same thing is true in football. When the defense correctly guesses the play that’s coming next (usually because they’ve seen it before on tape or live) then the offense has a much harder time getting yardage or scoring. Seeing something before (and being prepared for it) is a big deal in football. It’s also a big deal in business, specifically public relations. One of the reasons senior PR people are wanted by companies is the fact that they’ve seen and dealt with many difficult situations before. Often, we’ve made mistakes, learned from those mistakes and are armed and dangerous for the next time a particular scenario comes up. And there’s nothing wrong with taking less-than-successful or even failed scenario experience and applying it. adidas zx 850 If you know what’s coming the next time, you’ll be ready and have a much greater chance of success. It’s that way in business/marketing, in football and yes, even in math. Nothing can beat you when you’ve seen it before. Except maybe House Hunters. nike chaussure Hint: They almost never pick the third house.
Horton’s Guide to Corporate Apologies
In a world where people are sitting around just waiting to be offended by something, America’s CEOs are getting used to apologizing. After all, the “Buck Stops Here,” right? The captain must go down with his/her proverbial ship as well? Hmmmm. But what if (I’m and just spit-balling here) the CEO doesn’t REALLY mean it? Gasp. Horror. Looks of shock and surprise. I mean, what if he or she is, you know, acting for business purposes. (not a class they teach by the way although acting for non-majors is a real thing) (Yes, I took it at Mizzou and so did Brad Pitt a few years before me.) True story. But I digress. A new Harvard Business Review article tells us that for a corporate apology to work, the CEO must (and I swear to God this is in the story) “look sad.” So if you’re a CEO who likes to smile, you had better get that crap under control when you apologize to the world for whatever it was that your company did. adidas superstar aliexpress Hey, I have a suggestion for corporate America. Mean what you say and friggin say what you mean. One of the big reasons Donald Trump is LEADING in the GOP Polls is his absolute refusal to be politically correct. And ladies and gentlemen, the world is THRISTY for the actual truth. Not the “looking sad” truth, but the REAL, UNVARNISHED TRUTH. So say it. I say ignore this wildly stupid HBR article and this type of advice and BE REAL. It takes courage, but as you can see, the world is changing and the “make sure you look sad” playbook is woefully and laughably out of date. nike air max 2017 pas cher Be like Dr. Seuss’ Horton in Horton Hatches the Egg when he says, “I meant what I said and I said what I meant.” The world wants it. chaussure adidas zx flux The world needs it. louboutin pas cher Because everyone else is just full of it. Yes, I’m looking right at you Roger Goodell of the NFL. But that’s an egg hatching (or laying) story for another time.
Personal Branding is Made-Up Nonsense
Ok, I’ve had enough and it’s time to set some things straight. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but this “personal branding” nonsense has got to stop. It’s way past time for the truth. If you understand anything about branding, actual branding, you know, the fun little concept invented by good ‘ol Procter & Gamble, you know that it’s fundamentally about emotion. It is not fundamentally about which friggin’ outfit you choose to wear today (for God’s sake). air jordan 11 I believe “personal branding” was sorta manufactured and co-opted by the HR profession and someone who should’ve been stopped before they cleverly concluded that people could market themselves in the workplace just like brands. The logic goes — if you REALLY want a job or want to keep your job you should really think about “your brand.” L to the O to the L. This would be fine if it were anywhere close to facts or the truth. As my company preaches from every rooftop and conference room, real branding transfers emotion from human beings and human relationships to things that have no particular emotional attachment – say companies, logos and other man-made creations. So if you engage in “personal branding” what you are literally saying the to the world is: “as a person I lack the ability to connect with other human beings naturally and must invent some clever way to do it and transfer that emotion.” In the immortal words of Dr. Evil, “Um..How about NO!” Please stop it. You are not a brand and you never will be. Actually, you as a human being are already BETTER than a brand because you have this little thing called HUMANITY – a built-in-from-the-factory way for other human beings to connect to you. It’s like Wi-Fi only you don’t have to pair with anything or enter a password. No branding is necessary. nike air max flyknit Branding is actually a step-down from your natural state. nike air max 97 All the things you NATURALLY have are the things that BRANDS want to have transferred to them, not the other way around. If you are misusing the term “branding” to mean “the perception you want to create about yourself,” that is just flat-out wrong. A more accurate term is your “image”, your “identity” or just you know, “you.” Why make it more complicated and use anything other than “you.” Sheesh! So please good readers, the next time you hear anyone talk about “personal branding,” please send them this link and make them stop. It is completely contrived BS that continues to cloud the waters of actual branding and the work we do in this area every day. Branding is extremely difficult 24/365 work that requires the perfect recipe of creativity and discipline in order to get the desired emotional transference effect. air jordan 31 I’ve adapted a little children’s story to help. nike flyknit Feel free to share with your kids or anyone who needs it. If you give a mouse some personal branding advice…. Stop it.