Archive for the 'Buzz' Category
Friday, January 26th, 2007
You’ve created your new marketing piece, but is it unique or does it? It can be seen everywhere, marketing and advertising ad nauseam. Every cliche you can think of being thrown into an ad. Bigger! Better! As seen on TV! Everyone using the same action words and phrases, designs, and claims as the next guy, becoming a forgettable, uninspired mess. It is one thing to use techniques you learned from marketing classes, but it is another to set yourself apart from the rest of the ones out there sing the same techniques.
What is one to do? Think outside of the box. It is okay to step out of the norm and experiment with different forms of advertising, advocating, or design. The easiest way to think of this is to not limit your self to your same tools. Think of anything and everything as a potential marketing tool. Rid yourself of standards for what a certain product has to look like, or be. Take for example, Seth Godin’s book, The Big Moo, which was done as a milk carton for promotion. Definitely not what one would expect to find a marketing book in, and it definitely got people talking. Advertising moments have been expanded in all kinds of interesting ways such as selling forehead ad space. This was definitely a unique idea that created an immense amount of buzz for him (and a nice profit).
Set yourself apart from the rest of the clutter by being original. The best place to start is by ridding yourself of what defines advertising. Tying yourself to too many boundaries can put you into a rut of average marketing. It’s time to be remarkable and choose marketing that creates a buzz heard all around.
[tags]marketing, buzz, innovation[/tags]
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Thursday, January 18th, 2007
I was reading through some blogs yesterday and was trying to contact one fellow blogger directly. There was one problem, though: No contact information was listed! I searched high and low, checking for what I thought were obvious locations for contact information. After searching for quite a while, I gave up. I didn’t contact them, and I left disappointed.
If you are trying to generate some buzz and make new contacts having your contact information is vital. The most obvious place to put it is on your About page or even your footer. If you have a profile listed on your sidebar then definitely take advantage of the space to give people a way to connect to you. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they are to say hi.
Just one simple sentence can make a difference from meeting an interesting person, to no one at all. Ron McDaniel told his story of how it worked for him with Buzzoodle. The question is, then, are you making it easy for your readers to reach out to you?
[tags]buzz, contact[/tags]
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Monday, January 15th, 2007
Do you work at a desk job? If you are like me and work behind a computer then you may have noticed your body crying out for some mobility.
If you work full time, this means at least 8 hours of your day is spent sitting down. Remaining inactive for so long can be a detriment to your health and productivity. It is important that we keep blood circulating throughout the body. This will not only work well for the body, it will also increase blood flow to the brain so you can keep on task.
How do you do it, then? Here are some simple things you can do while at work:
- Stand up and stretch! This is important to get things circulating. I stretch every morning. I do more than these, but they are still good to get you started.
- You can start simply by reaching down and touching your toes.
- For your arms, you can bring one arm up, and behind your head, like a chicken wing.
- For your back and arms, stand up and point both arms to the sky with your palms up. Push towards the ceiling and exhale. Stand straight during this and let the stretch elongate the spine.
- Go for a walk during lunch and breaks. This has been especially good for me after lunch, and provides me with a great second wind to tackle the second half of the work place.
- Rotate your shoulders and neck. This is a good one to relieve tension. It is also very simple and can be done at your desk.
- If your workplace has a gym, use it! Doing a few reps when you can really gives you a boost and some extra motivation to keep going.
It is very important to do something outside of work as well. It doesn’t have to be anything too demanding. You can start off with just a half hour of exercise a day and build from there as you feel comfortable. Jogging, bicycling, and walking are simple things to do. There are many groups that you can join as well. For example, twice a week I attend a martial arts class to learn more and practice each day.
Staying in shape is a commitment, and a rewarding one as well. Keeping in shape provides you with the motivation, energy, and spirit to keep going. From another prospective it also keeps your health care costs lower for you and your workplace. A client of ours, Dr. Tom Gilliam stresses the importance of a healthy work force with his book, Move it. Lose it. Live Healthy. He understands why it is important to stay in shape. Shouldn’t we all?
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Friday, December 22nd, 2006
It’s that time of year again. The holiday season is coming to a close. I will be away from computers this weekend (something pretty alien to me). I will be back and blogging after that, though. So here is wishing everyone a fantastic holiday weekend!
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Friday, December 15th, 2006
Internet Marketers will agree, it’s great to have someone find your site, but what are you doing to pull them back in? Keeping in contact with them is a great way to not only provide a brand reminder, it also serves to pull the reader back to your website.
How do you keep in touch, you ask? One simple way is through email. You could publish an eNewsletter and send it out weekly, monthly, quarterly, or whenever you want. this will provide the reader with lots of useful information, and should always include links back to the site with more content. Outstanda provides services to create and manage your own eNewsletter with no software to install. Feel free to contact us for more information on it.
Also key: Content is king! Provide the reader with substance that keeps them coming back. If you have good content that is updated frequently you give readers a reason to come back and explore your page. That content will also help your SEO, an added bonus!
So when working on your website always remember to keep your audience coming back. Keep in touch. It’s a nice way of saying, “I’m still here.”
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Wednesday, December 6th, 2006
I once heard that if “average people” start investing in the stock market, professionals knew it was time to get out. I am not sure if that is still true today as it is so much easier, but it probably was true 10 years ago.
If you enjoy creating buzz online, you have to be cutting edge. If everyone knows a product creates buzz, there is probably a good chance that its usefulness as a tool to create buzz is on the downturn. Maybe not, but often this is the case. It just gets too crowded and people stop paying attention.
So what can you do to be cutting edge and know about buzz tools before they become mainstream? Here are some ideas for you.
- Read technology magazines and business magazines
- Sign up to be a beta tester before products are out
- Meet other people who are cutting edge and build a friendship with them
- Educate yourself on what to look for. Don’t sign up for the newest sp @ m tool or other shady technologies
- Help products you like, grow, by referring friends to it
- Blog about new things. Chances are you will get a lot of hits if the new technology is building more buzz
Once you start doing these things, other people will email you when they find something new that may interest you. It gets easier to find new things when this happens.
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Friday, November 24th, 2006
Does your company talk to each other? How many times have you been in an organization where you’ve been told to do something, produce the work for them, only for them to tell you something different upon completion? What is it missing? Communication! Departmental duties fall apart when people don’t talk to each other. What can you hope to do?
- Talk. Make sure you make all of your ideas clear to someone. Always keep perception in mind. Your idea of thorough may be different from someone else’s
- Document things, and send them out to others. If there is something important and detailed, make sure it is in writing and give it to all pertinent persons involved.
- Hold meetings. Weekly meetings are always a great idea to keep everyone in the loop. Be sure to let everyone in the meeting have a chance to speak their minds.
- Newsletters. Having a quarterly, or monthly, or weekly newsletter is a good way to keep everyone informed about major changes in their workplace.
Remember, communication is the key to any organization. Only with good communication can you hope to achieve the goals you desire.
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Monday, November 13th, 2006
Ron McDaniel just released his new book, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing on the web recently. I had a chance to read his book and came away with some interesting new techniques for creating buzz. 57 different challenges are listed here for people to create buzz everyday, and although some may already be aware of, there are some other ideas I wouldn’t have normally been aware of. The key is to remain positive and sincere when creating buzz.
Many of these are simple challenges that anyone can do, takes minimal effort, and can create great results. Check it out. |
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Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) has recently made a draft of their 10 Principles of Ethical Contact by Marketers public for comment. You can take a look at them at WOMMA’s website. Just click on the guidelines link below for the full list. There are some interesting guidelines listed here, most seem like common ethical practice, although another regarding disclosing your full identity online, may make some reluctant due to its departure from confidentiality. If you are truly trying to create buzz online, though, making yourself publicly known on other blogs is a good thing. Keep in mind that WOMMA did not set these as an authoritative rule, only principles they hope others will follow. Also, this is not a how to blog guide, mearly just guidelines to follow when communicating with other bloggers. Check it out and leave a comment. Feedback is most definitely welcome.
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