September 26, 2009 Like the other 300 million Facebook users, I’ll admit that I’m addicted to it. I check it each morning, during lunch and before I hit the bed each night.
Without my Facebook, I have no idea what I would do with my hours of free time!
Yet, lately I have been thinking more and more about the relevance of Facebook and as a result I have developed a series of "isms" for why it sometimes bugs the craps out of me.
Don’t get me wrong, Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with family, friends and colleagues. Plus, if you’re a business or non-profit it’s a win-win situation as it’s a free resource for engaging with your customers/audience.
Before reading any further, I feel like I need to include a disclaimer in this blog as I know certain folks are extremely passionate about Facebooking so here it is.
The list below of my top 10 "isms" don’t represent any sort of an attack, slander, view or representation of anyone in particular…just observations I have made over the years that I would like to share.
10. Guilt Factor
How many times how you gotten a friend request and you have to think, I mean really think for a couple of days before you finally make the final decision if you’re going to confirm or deny? This factor is so trivial! Instead of just ignoring and never making a decision I think if you're going to deny someone, you've have to send a note to that person explaining why you denied their friend request. Sounds crazy huh? But it’s a surefire way to get rid of that stalker from 3rd grade.
9. It’s boring…
Yes, I said it Facebook can be quite boring at times! You log in, read through you updates and within 2 minutes later you log back off. How about video feeds that are automatically catered to my interests "i.e. music, sports & news" which appear each time I log in? If Facebook developers and programmers could add some of these ‘interesting’ functionalities, heck I would even pay a monthly fee for my account.
8. OMG
Once a week my mouth will drop when I see an update or a photo that is so shocking I’m honestly surprised the individual who wrote /uploaded it didn’t think twice before he/she posted it. The way I look at it is it’s your account… so do what you want, but keep in mind that once you post something the world is going to see it and even though you might ‘delete’ it, the content still exists somewhere and it could haunt you later in life. Maybe a good solution to this would be that all Facebook users be required to attend a social networking etiquette class where you learn what’s appropriate and what’s not.
7. Pink Slip
This one should be a no-brainer, but being on Facebook IM all day during business hours will land you in hot water eventually. The whole purpose behind working a job is because someone felt you were able to solve their problems and they hired & pay you in return for your time to provide them with results. Think about it…how productive are you really when you’re on Facebook all day?
6. Advertisements
Unlike other folks, I don’t mind checking out an advertisement every now and then as I know it’s someone’s job to develop, create and report on them. Lately, I have noticed an influx of these ads and it’s starting to get pretty annoying. I mean come on, do I really need to know any more about the University of Phoenix, asking me if I’m going to see the latest SAW movie or how to make BIG money by working at home!
5. Privacy
In order to have a Facebook account you have to provide some basic information about yourself. I’m totally cool with providing this info, yet I’ve serious concerns & doubts on the manner of how this info will be shared. Facebook admits they share some of your info with third party vendors, but I’m waiting for the day for when Facebook gets severely hacked and the aftermath is billions of spam messages clogging in-boxes, countless number of identity theft/fraud cases reported by businesses and etc.
4. Customer Service
When I first joined Facebook, I had a couple of issues with my account. I followed the procedure/method for resolving the problem and within 24 hours it was fixed. The problem nowadays is Facebook has grown so popular it seems like they either can’t keep up with the number of new users or the overload of account issues has severely inundated them to the point where their customer service is horrible. Instead of providing the essential form of handling customer service "i.e. phone number" they’ve resorted to a forum or email system. Unfortunately both of which are quite useless and the simplest solution is admit fault & start providing better customer service!
3. Lack of Personal Relationships
Let’s face with text messaging, Twitter, email and Facebook we are slowly sliding down this funnel where personal human interaction is becoming almost non-existence. I personally feel horrible for the younger generation as they don’t remember the ‘old’ days before the advent of internet or cell phones. Plus reading some of the younger generation’s updates, I wonder if proper grammar & spelling is becoming something of the past too.
2. Gossip Center
Okay, I’ll admit I’m guilty of this sin of gossiping or venting on Facebook. We all have done it at least once or twice with other updates.. It’s perfectly acceptable at times, but do I really need to know who is dating who or who broke up with that person? Leave the gossip for the water cooler at work and keep your updates somewhat relevant is all I’m asking.
1. It’s a fad
Eventually all of the hype and activity around it is going to cease to exist. You want some prove? Think about the countless other forms of social networking that it has replaced (i.e. AOL forums, Friendster, MySpace and heck even LinkedIn). Sure these sites still get a decent amount of traffic, but compared to Facebook their numbers are minuscule. Sooner or later someone is going to create the next ‘big’ thing and Facebook will become a past memory.
August 12, 2009 As many of you know, I used to work for Circuit City on their website and email marketing programs until the company went under back in January 2009. In May 2009, Systemax bought the rights for Circuit City’s brand, trademark and e-commerce business. I wasn’t aware of the ‘new’ Circuit City until I started receiving emails from them and I was quite shocked when I received the first one.
Here’s a recent example of one of their emails.
To be honest, I’m on the fence on if I like their emails and creative marketing in general.
When I first looked at their emails, my initial thoughts were that the creative reminds me of one of those late night infomercials as the feel & vibe was too cheesy for me. Each time I open one, I actually scroll down and start looking for the little ‘As Seen on TV’ logo and my fingers are crossed that one day it will magically appear. I also at times dislike the overall lengths of their emails as they’re a tad bit too much for me to read.
However I do like their breakdown of products as it’s very informative and easy to review. They also get bonus points for including a sweepstakes, customers' feedback and a listing all of their social network links. The sweepstakes itself is a great initiative to generate email acquisition and create a buzz for folks to check out their site.
Yet, as a former Marketing Analyst for the “old” Circuit City, I can only envision what their marketing department sees each Monday morning when he or she has to submit the weekly opt-out report to upper management. I’m willing to bet their opt-out rates look like peaks and valleys as many folks are unsure if the emails are legit and the brand itself has lost tons of consumer confidence due to years of horrible customer service experiences.
The real challenge for the ‘new’ Circuit City is going to be the design & execution of their marketing strategy as they’re now without physical locations making it hard for consumers to actually see & feel the products and not having the ability to do in-store returns. Plus, I haven’t seen any of their traditional media campaigns such as print and broadcast which I’m figuring could be because they may be saving their dollars for the holidays.
They definitely have an uphill battle which I can sympathize with and I give them credit as they seem to be utilizing a great web strategy “i.e. email, banner, SEO and social” to convince consumers to shop on their website.
On a scale of one to ten, I’ve to give them a 6 on their emails. They’re good, but I feel they are still lacking something to convince me to convert to a shopper again.
Will it eventually happen? Who knows but I will say they’re off to a great start and time will only tell as the holiday shopping season is right around the corner.
If you have started receiving these emails as well, please drop me a line via the Contact tab and let me know what you think of their email campaigns as I’m just a little bit too bias and I would enjoy hearing different perspectives.
If you haven’t seen or heard the “United Break Guitars” song, then click here to watch this video on YouTube before reading any further.
The background story is the following…In the spring of 2008, Dave Carroll’s band Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour. At Chicago’s O’Hare airport, he witnessed his beloved Taylor guitar being thrown by an United Airlines baggage handler.
Shortly after, he discovered that his Taylor guitar which was valued at $3500 was severely damaged.
Like anyone in this situation, he immediately contacted the airline to file a claim to be reimbursed and if anything an explanation or apologize for what happened.
United Airlines didn’t deny that the incident occurred and for close to nine month, they played the 'pass the buck' game. Finally after the last person to deny his claim which was an unfortunate United Airlines employee “Ms. Irlweg”, he informed her that he would write and produce three songs about his experiences with United Airlines and would make videos for each to be viewed online by everyone in the world.
Well guess what the first song & video are pretty darn catchy and over 2.8 million folks have watched it on YouTube.
The end result so far at the time of this blog are the following: A) Taylor Guitar are giving him a free guitar, plus a huge discount on his next purchase B) Sons of Maxwell are gaining international exposure “i.e. I’m wondering when they’re going to land a record deal” C) United Airlines has offered compensation finally to Dave Carroll and he has requested the money be donated to a charity D) Taylor Guitar is benefiting big time from a nice plug from the video, click here to view their Youtube response E) Poor Ms. Irlweg’s good name is getting smeared everywhere online. F) United Airlines is now going to use the video for their internal customer service training
While some people might disagree with item E, you have to understand she is probably only following the protocol/manual that she has been instructed to follow. Plus, chances are at least everyone has experienced this at least one time in our careers and it's a terrible position to be in.
What I really think is utterly amazing about this video is that it’s a scenario that everyone can related to who has encountered pure hell after their luggage has been damaged by a major airlines. The real kicker for me is that David Carroll stayed true to his word and a lucky charity is going to benefit from United Airlines' mistake.
After I watched the video for the first time, my immediate thought was…Wow is Youtube going to become the new outlet for folks to unleash their creativity & frustration on corporations and their horrible customer service?
I’ll admit there are tons of videos, blogs, tweets and forums out there in which individuals and groups have voiced their anger, but is this video in particular going to spark a new social media movement that Corporate America is not prepared for?
I really hope so because I would love to make videos about my experiences in dealing with Delta from my wedding & honeymoon fiasco last month, the years of crappy customer service I have received from Verizon or better yet the hundred of hours I have spent on the phone with Kia.
The bottom line is this…I honestly feel this video is going to ignite a movement and I can’t wait for the influx of videos to hit Youtube. Stay tuned for more as it’s coming shortly and according to David Carroll, he has United Airlines Song 2 and 3 in the works.
June 2, 2009 A couple of quick updates for everyone. First being that I was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal regarding the Interview Angel’s sweepstakes. You can click here for the link to view the article.
Second, I was featured on the Contest Queen’s talk radio show. Click here for the link to listen to the interview and her website is a great resource for sweepstakes enthusiasts.
Lastly, don’t forget to enter the Interview Angel’s Extreme Interview Makeover Sweepstakes as it’s ending on June 9th so if you haven’t entered, please be sure to visit the website for your chance to win a great prize package.
May 29, 2009
I wanted to let everyone know that the Interview Angel’s Extreme Interview Makeover Sweepstakes is up and running.
This is an online sweepstakes that I put together and it’s a great one to enter especially if you’re a job seeker, thinking about making a career change or you’re looking for the perfect gift for a college graduate.
Here’s the link to the sweepstakes and listed below is more information regarding it:
Interview Angel is offering three grand prize winners a complete interview & resume package to land that job you have been looking for. Each Grand Prize winner will receive the following prize package:
- A copy of Interview Angel, your portable guide to getting hired
- A Resume Retool from Actum, Inc in creating a polished and professional copy of your resume
- A Job Search Strategy Consultation from Actum, Inc. in receiving a one-on-one consultant from a professional transition specialist (consists of a 1 hour initial consultation and then 15-30 minute weekly follow ups for a month).
May 21, 2009
If you want to have a successful online presence nowadays, you have to invest some funds into SEM “Search Engine Marketing” and if you’re a newbie to online advertising then the concept of SEM can be quite foreign so I wanted to provide some basics regarding.
There are two main forms of SEM, they are PPC “Pay Per Click” and SEO “Search Engine Optimization”.
PPC advertisements appear after a user’s keyword query matches an advertiser’s keyword list. The advertiser’s content typically appears as either a sponsored ad or link and every time a user clicks on the ad, a fee is billed to the advertiser.
SEO on the other hand is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a website via search engines.
Which one is better? Well to be honest, they both have their pros & cons.
PPC Pros
-No changes are required for your website versus SEO.
-You're only charged each time your advertisement is clicked.
-You have the ability to bid on specific keywords that are relevant to your website.
-You can target geographic areas.
-You have direct control of where users will end up on your website.
PPC Cons
-There's the risk of click fraud which could result in a complete waste of your funds.
-Once your budget for PPC is up, traffic is no longer driven to your website.
-You’re constantly bidding on keywords among other similar advertisers leading to high costs.
SEO Pros
-Users conducting a search will feel safer if your website appears on a results page.
-Costs can be significantly lower versus running a PPC campaign.
-Unlike PPC, traffic is constantly being driven to your site.
SEO Cons
-You have to alter numerous factors of your website “i.e. website content, external links and coding of a site”.
-Unlike PPC which provide immediate results, it could take a while before traffic is driven to your website.
I’d recommend if you have a website that has yet to be optimizatied or you’re looking for immediate results, then I would say invest in PPC. If you’re willing to take the time required for optimizations to be implemented on your website and you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, then I say go with SEO and run a PPC campaign until your website is ready to rock n’ roll.
May 10, 2009
A colleague recently gave me a good tip that I wanted to share with everyone.
Google has recently launched a new feature in which you can create a profile page about yourself or business and you can control the manner of how it will appear in a Google Search.
This is a great way to personally brand yourself or company as it is a quick & free way to establish a presence on the first page of Google results. The best part is it only takes a couple of minutes to create your own profile. Plus the more information you add to your profile, the higher your ranking will be.
Here’s the link in case you would like to learn more or create a profile. If you’re a job seeker like myself, this is a great tool as let’s say a recruiter uses Google to conduct a search on you, you can ensure the right information about yourself is visible.
On the subject of job searches, I was recently featured on the Examiner.com. They’re a Norfolk, VA based company that features news, classifies and entertainment on their site. Here’s the link to the interview/article that was conducted by Susan Ayers and she’s always looking for folks who are interested in being featured in her “Scenes from a Job Search” article.
April 30,2009
I was talking today with a fellow colleague about his business and he asked a great question, "What elements make a great website?"
Well there are a whole bunch of necessaries that each website should have and listed below are my personal recommendations.
Navigation
This is single handily the most important component of having a good website. The navigation of a website should be tailored to its users. A good tip is to always ask yourself “Does our navigation make sense if I was first-time user visiting our site.” Plus, adding a site map always helps users if they’re having any issues.
Look and Feel
Don’t go crazy or overboard with flash and etc, while it does up the cool factor keep in mind that users will have this same thought for a second and then will want to enter your site. Also, the crazier your site is, the longer it will take to load…meaning folks might get frustrated and just leave your site.
Content It’s the number one reason why users should or want to visit your website period. Keep your content and its layout simple with compelling information that will keep them engaged and coming back. A golden rule to follow is to always have your content geared towards its users, not your company.
Brower Compatibility/Internet Connection Before launching your website, make sure it’s compatible with several popular browsers “i.e. Internet Explorer 8, FireFox and etc.” There is nothing worse than trying to check out a website and finding out that the compatibility factor is horrible!
In addition, there are still folks who use dial-up or have a slow DSL connection…so when building your website keep this in the back of your mind. For example, even though my DSL connection is great, I have often visited a website that either took minutes or just wouldn’t load at all.
Blogs Blogs like any other marketing tools are only effective when they are utilized correctly, in this case be sure to keep your blogs both informational and personal. They can serve as a great channel to promote your brand/services and engage with your customers. My only gripe with some companies’ blogs is that they are never updated, so be sure to update your blog on a frequent basis so folks will be eager to read more
Contact Us Tab This should easily be a no brainer, but I have visited websites without this option. In the event a user or customer would like to reach you, make sure they can.
Preference Center & Privacy Policy Allow users the option of signing up for weekly newsletters or emails with special promotions. This is a must if your company’s goal is to establish an online-presence. By having a preference center, users can provide you with their email addresses and select the frequency of communications they would like to receive. If you do go this route, be sure to add a link to your privacy policy so users
will know exactly what your intentions are with storing and using their addresses.
These recommendations are just a couple that immediately came to mind. Two companies who I feel have great websites which utilize these elements are Dell and Kodak. Be sure to check out their websites to see these elements in person.
April 20,2009
I recently gave an interview to About.com regarding online/sweepstakes marketing. The interview was conducted by Sandra Grauschopf who runs the Contests & Sweepstakes portal of their website.
A Sponsor's Perspective on Sweepstakes-click here for the link
Tips about Promoting Your Business with Sweepstakes-click here for the link
Her portal/site is a great resource for those who are looking to enter sweepstakes or researching types of sweepstakes that
companies are running. I definitely recommend you check out her site and sign up for her weekly email newsletters.
April 15,2009
With today being the final day for taxes, I figured some advertisers would have specific email campaigns capitalizing on it and sure enough I was right.
Here's an email I received from Bluefly.
I like the feel, design and layout of this email as it is fairly simple versus the emails that Walmart sends out where they try to cram all of their deals into one email.
When checking my email, I like to be able to quickly scan them and if I stumble upon something that is appealing then I will click to learn more.
This email is a perfect example of how easy this can be. Plus, I also like the fact that they're promoting a sweepstakes and the rules are listed below so you can review. My only complaint is the subject line they used "Final Hours! Extra 10% Off Everything-Tax Relief Sale".
Speaking from experience, I realize it can be quite daunting for a copywriter to devise new & clever subject lines each week in a quest to convince someone to open an email.
Yet, I would have preferred to see a subject line along the lines of like "Done with you taxes? Now it's time to shop". Nevertheless it's a good email and a perfect example on how to capitalize on themes/holidays.
April 8, 2009
Happy Pre-Easter weekend to everyone!
I received a couple of emails from folks asking what projects I have been working on and what type of services I can offer.
I have recently completed a website for the non-profit group I work with here in Richmond. You can check out their site by clicking here and be sure to check out their blogs which I create and manage.
In addition, I have been retained by Interview Angel for a series of marketing initiatives that will be unveiling in May and I will be sure to keep everyone posted on the status.
In terms of consulting services, I can offer my expertise in the following areas: online/offline marketing, new business development, media buying/planning, branding/website development, email acquisition techniques, market/competitor research and sweepstakes marketing
I'm always up for a new challenge so feel free to contact me if you need any of my services.
April 1, 2009
Picture this…you take a week vacation and when you return and log into your email account, you notice you have received about 5-7 emails from the same company since the last time you have logged in.
Chances are that if you were checking your account on a daily basis during this time period, you wouldn’t have noticed the frequency of the email sends and just either read or delete them.
I recently begun to compile a list of companies who have broken the cardinal rule of only 2x email sends a week. As I was compiling my list I started to identify my rationale for why I provided my email address in the first place. It varied from the following reasons: A) Sweepstakes I have entered, B) Catalogs requests I made or C) Past online purchases.
What’s ironic is that before I enter or provide my email address for anything, I first take a look at the company’s privacy policy as I want to know what happens after I give them my email address. More than a couple of times, I have noticed that some companies wouldn’t guarantee that my address won’t be sold to a 3rd party “i.e. spam” or it will be shared with their ‘partners’. After reading something like this, I always move on to a different site.
A majority of times there’s always some generic language to the effect that they reserve the right to send me communications from time to time. I am perfectly content with receiving emails, but hitting me up on a daily basis with your emails is insane..plus sending me over 3x emails a week is pure overkill!
As a marketer, I know this type of frequency will kill your online marketing campaigns. Your opt-outs will skyrocket, open/click-thru rates will drop and you run the risk of ESPs flagging your emails as SPAM
Not to add too much insult to injury to those who chose to follow this type of frequency/behavior, but I only ask that you have a preference center or unsubscribe system that is easy to navigate and is reliable!
I often find myself searching an email for this option just so I can end the nightmare of getting junk in my account. I’m aware that it might take a couple of days in order for my email address to be removed from your database…but make sure it’s removed! There have been a couple of times when I had to request to remove myself multiple times with no results until I finally called customer service and demanded no more emails. After these calls, these companies officially join my “list of retailers that I will never will purchase or visit again” and trust me once you’re on this list you are never taken off of it.
For those companies or businesses that are unsure of what components should be featured in a preference center. I found a great link that will answer all of your questions, so in the event I have to visit your site to remove my account…I might think twice before opting out for good.
March 17, 2009 Happy St. Paddy's Day to everyone!
I'm in the process of creating a marketing campaign for a great company here in Richmond called Interview Angel.
They provide an excellent product for anyone who is either looking for a job or thinking about a career change. If you would like to learn more about them, here's the link to their site.
On a side note, I was checking out some sweepstakes today and stumbled upon the following one for Men.Style.Com.
Twenty-nine lucky winners will receive an iPod Touch. This is a great sweepstakes and I entered, but I noticed a couple of flaws.
First of all their entrant page for the sweepstakes was poorly designed. The entrant field backgrounds are yellow and when you type in your info, the font color is white. Get the picture, yellow and white it's hard to read. Second, I was checking out to see what kind of iPod they were giving away "i.e. 8GB or 16GB". After checking out the rules, I'm assuming it's the 8GB as according to the ARV its $219. Lastly, since it's an iPod touch...tell me more info on why this is such a great sweepstakes to enter! A majority of us are familiar with this product, but jazz up the creative so I'm excited to win.
March 12, 2009
I had the great opportunity of attending a WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) webinar earlier today.
The topic was how to integrate social media into your existing marketing plan.
It's common sense that folks aren't watching TV or reading newspapers like they used to, instead they're online and a majority of their time is spent on social networking sites.
Advertisers are noticing this change and are actively revamping their campaigns in hopes they can track you down. In my personal opinion, I have yet to notice one advertiser who has devised a great social networking campaign. So is that money & time wasted? Chances are yes as I'm positive I fit into someone's demographics.
Instead I have noticed an influx of folks creating great marketing campaigns for companies which are clever & funny by mistake and without any compensation!
For example, check out YouTube and type Diet Coke + Mentos. For those who haven't watched this great science experiment, I definitely recommend you check out the videos before reading any further.
The two guys who started this craze inadvertently plugged both of these mega-companies and it resulted in over 8.7 millions views on YouTube and the irony is this. Mentos were fine with it and they saw a lift in sales because of the videos, meanwhile Coke on the other hand sent them a Cease & Desist letter. Coke finally realized the errors of their ways and quickly changed their minds regarding the videos.
My point is this...maybe until advertisers and companies are able to 'fine-tune' their social marketing campaigns. They should either consult or let ordinary folks do their work.
Hey it's cheaper and more exciting if you ask me!