Make Some Noise

By Chrissie VanWormer

Yesterday was July 4th. I stood out on my deck looking out at the woods that surround my house as I sipped my morning tea. Everything was so green, except for the grass which is brown and dry at this point; we really could use some rain. But I digress. Scanning the edge of the woods, I noticed the daisies, the purple wild flowers that the hummingbirds love, and the vines I am working on digging out of the ground, but mostly I notice the trees. They are so beautiful when covered in the green of summer glory. Such an amazing contrast from the starkness of the winter season. Then my eyes jumped back to an opening in the woods. And then I realized what had drawn my eyes back to that spot. There were three…yes three…very red/orange maple leaves. The color is beautiful and vibrant.

And then it struck me.

I noticed those three leaves because they are truly different from the other foliage in the area. Their color is bright, eye catching, vibrant and it made me take notice. In that setting, those three rogue leaves had made themselves clearly visible –sticking out from that sea of greenery saying 'look at me, here I am, look here!'

Nature has many lessons to teach us and this is just one more. Each one of us needs to find a unique way to stand out from the crowd, to find a way to be noticed, to draw attention to our business and product and/or service. Maybe it’s your stellar service that becomes known just through word of mouth; or maybe it’s a quirky name that draws attention. Maybe you’ll have an employee distribute fliers wearing a chicken costume or Superman cape. Maybe you’ll hire an airplane and have your message painted across the sky. Whatever it is you do, consider how it will make your business stand out from the rest; because as a friend of mine once told me, everyone has vanilla ice cream; what’s so special about yours? Find your voice and figure out what makes you stand out and shine.

Organic vs Advocate

By Michael Massey

A recent article in SFgate.com brought up an interesting point. It bore the question: What is the best way to advertise; organically or by advocate? Student Adnan Ebrahim was blogging about the car business alongside his collegiate studies when he caught the attention of luxury automakers. According to Ebrahim, “If you can demonstrate to Lamborghini or Ferrari that you can drive a million views to a video, they’re more than happy to lend you a car.” Bloggers and other social media mavens continue to build influence to drive traffic to websites, increasing potential purchases; and they tend to be rewarded with some fancy perks usually reserved for big players. In the past month Ebrahim has flown to Portugal to test drive the Toyota GT86 sports car, Austria for the Lexus GS and Germany to see the Mitsubishi Outlander. He never picked up a tab. And on the Portugal leg of the trip, they stopped for an olive oil tasting experience.

It’s a great gig if you can get it, but it does beg the question: how unbiased will the content be when the reviewer is whisked off in a private jet to drive vehicles through the mountains of Germany and Portugal? Melissa Ward of NewWard Development LLC notes the analogy to TV news reporting. “When it was just the news, it was reported. Now that it is sponsored, it sometimes gives the appearance that it isn't always presented free of any bias.”

If Porsche lent me a 911 Turbo S to test drive, then picked me up at the airport and asked me to spend a week driving the Autobahn, you can be sure I wouldn’t say no. The review would be ripe with all the details. I’m sure I would extoll the feel of the supple leather against my pants, the torque speed and the fluidity of the shifting experience to the way the top of the line entertainment system sounded bouncing off the mountains. I would have become an advocate.

Organic content provides a truly unbiased opinion, free of outside influence. With it you you'll be assured of getting a broad overview with likes and dislikes highlighted which is an important part of any buying process.

Advocates would mine much deeper and deliver content that speaks like a true fan.

As marketers struggle to have their message heard within the new media outlets, it’s definitely important to reach out to both sets of influencers. Using organic and advocate content will give your delivery balance.

Go Ahead…Don’t Be Afraid…Cut Your Losses

By Chrissie VanWormer

We all know them: the friend who is in a never ending crisis and wants to talk their story to death while you’re trying to finish a project with a strict deadline. Then there’s the friend who shows up with coffee on Saturday morning at 7:55 after you’ve already asked them not to come because you need to leave for a hair appointment at 8:00. Then you’re the one left feeling guilty because it was so nice of them to pick up your favorite flavor. And don’t forget about the friend who continually states they have your best interest at heart but it seems as if they have their own motives for interest in your life. A number of times over the years, I’ve taken stock of the group of people surrounding me who fall into these categories and here and there have decided to cut one or two of them loose. Just this past winter I got a very strange phone call from a woman who has called me friend for about four years. She fell into all the categories above and many times felt more like a chore to me than any kind of friend. When I picked up the phone that day, she blasted me because I hadn’t mailed her Christmas gift yet. I quietly reminded her that she’s Jewish. She hung up on me so I emailed her. When she responded with a nasty remark, I informed her I didn’t need friends like her and even went so far as to unfriend her from facebook. In short, I cut my losses.

In business it seems to be very much the same. Every so often we secure a client that after getting to know them and their work and communication style, we’re not sure we should keep. They might be the client who is a major time sucker keeping us on the phone for hours or the type who sends a myriad of emails every day without thinking anything through and then expecting immediate responses. Maybe they’re micromanagers who are checking to make sure every I is dotted and T is crossed at least half a dozen times and then decide they want to re-do everything that has already been approved with new I’s and T’s. Maybe they don’t respect the work we’re doing; that’s a big one. Or maybe they are constantly trying to get a break on the price that already has a thin margin and are looking for every little thing in an effort to make it seem like it’s a deserved price break. When we’re really busy, these are the types of clients that maybe we need to release…in other words, we need to cut our losses.

In most cases it’s a tough decision to make. Let’s face it; money is money and as small business people we work hard for what we get. But if we step back and really look at the situation, many times it’s only money in the short run. These are not the clients who stick around for the long term. They are not the clients that talk us up and refer us along. Many times they are the ones who are jumping from vendor to vendor leaving a wake of stressed out staff, over flowing email boxes and unpaid bills. Is this really the kind of client we want to hang on to?

Not on your life.

Sometimes we find we have to cut our losses because while we’re giving these clients the attention they are seeking, we are overlooking new possibilities for new revenue streams and better clients who appreciate our time and talents. A friend of mine once said that by hanging onto these bad situations, we are tripping over dollars to pick up pennies. I agree with statement wholeheartedly and have repeated it many times. Take a moment to think about that. Then take a look at your client list and talk to your staff. Is there a client who is driving everyone crazy with no real return? If so, maybe it’s time to really look at the business you’re doing with them. Is it fruitful? Do they pay their bills on time? Exactly how much are you making per hour when you really look at. Are they a client who has brought your more business by referring you on? If not, maybe now is a good time to let them go. Maybe now is a really good time to cut your losses.

Pinboards and Pictures The Future of Pinterest

By Michael Massey

Lifeboards. It’s not really a new concept. I’ve got one propped up on a book shelf now that I started and stopped working on several months ago because it became too much of a pain in the ass to cut out pictures and write in a diary everyday. I’m more of an immediate pleasure kind of guy that wants everyone to see what I’m doing 24/7.

Pinterest is great for egoists like me. It allows you to create multiple virtual lifeboards, share and post pictures and create inspiration for others and yourself.

Ben Silberman, CEO and co-founder says: “I realized that people were using it for projects that were important in their real lives.” Once Pinterest began growing, it didn’t stop. Since inception, the site has added an estimated 40% to 50% more subscribers each month.

The burning questions you should ask yourself:

1) What does the future hold for yet another social media application?

2) How can a business use it as part of their media mix?

What makes this unique is that you customize your boards and title them the way you like, reposting pictures is easy and requires no technical knowledge and it’s a snap to feed this into your Facebook and Twitter feed. As long as users continue to check out favorite travel places, fitness tips and chocolate cake recipes it has a future. Hell. It’s free to use.

And since it’s free to use, any small business can use it to build buzz through contests and stunning visuals that can position your enterprise any way you like. See what I mean. Makes you want to book a flight today, doesn’t it:

My passport and running gear are calling me (see above) so I’ll be pinning pics of a road race in Bali. What about you?

Changing It Up

By Chrissie VanWormer

Sometimes we get complacent. You know what I mean. You’ve got a good business, good clients, good cash flow and all is well with the world. That was my 2011. I was content for the first time in a while and had a bit of time to have some fun. I wasn’t thrilled with parts of what I was doing but I was finally making some decent money. Then…BAM…2012 came in like a lion. Let me just back up and say that I had set my intention for 2012 to really change it up. I put it out to the universe that I wanted to grow personally, grow my business, and finally find my life’s purpose. But I forgot to ask it the change would come with grace and ease. That was my mistake!

Shortly after the beginning of the year, we were notified that a very large account was being pulled back and away in another direction. My heart sank. My stomach sank. I felt a little sick, a slight bit depressed and maybe a tad bit angry if I will let myself admit that. We worked hard for that client and went above and beyond at all times. The change had nothing to do with what we did or didn’t do. It just happened. Life happened.

I needed time to think.

About two days later, as I sat eating a lunch time salad, I had an epiphany. The feeling came in like a lightning bolt and I was suddenly 100% aware that the change was nothing but good. Good for me, good for our business, maybe even good for the world. Well, I probably shouldn’t go that far but I’ll tell you one thing…the whole experience made me re-think and re-direct my thought processes. I had been buried in minutia for two years which didn’t make me happy but the money was good so I kept at it. We had been handed the opportunity to change it up.

The excellent part of all of this is that we are really being forced to think out of the box relative to finding new clients and a new direction. We’re even re-branding our business and becoming more of who we want to be as a business and individuals. A very wise friend of mine regularly says, “Whoa, wait a minute, let’s back up and look at that again.” I’ve never been keen on looking backward but I have to admit, hindsight really is 20/20. We’re looking at where we’ve been, looking at where we want to go and finding the path to get there. Is it scary? Darn right it is but it’s exhilarating. And anything that’s new and unfamiliar is a bit scary but growth doesn’t come from stagnation. Growth comes from shaking it up, moving out of the familiar, and changing it up.

Geeking Out With Media

By Michael Massey

Television is finally making programming fun again. I have waited for years in hopes that broadcast and cable would figure out a way to 1) develop a portable application and 2) reward the watcher for tuning in. I’m excited to share a few of my favorites:

I tested Hulu Plus since acquiring my IPad 2 several months ago but I had to abandon it for two reasons. Delivery on high speed Internet was ok at best and there were limited shows and movies. So, it is now hello HBOgo and goodbye bad TV. It's my new favorite indulgence and it's FREE to use as an HBO subscriber. They've also provided links to Facebook and Twitter so you can let your social stream know what you're doing every hour of every day.

Next up is Get Glue. Watch your favorite show, become a fan, get a sticker, friend other fans. Pretty low impact but it reaches out beyond your usual core social group. Connect and invite your Facebook and twitter followers and you can create your own fan base.

Lastly, there is Viggle for the iPad which is similar to Shazam. During any TV broadcast, log onto the app,click checkin and your device will 'listen' for the program and check you in. Each check in delivers points and makes offers to watch a trailer or a teaser for more points. Points can then be redeemed for personal products and gift cards. Great opportunity for a multi channel retail business to offer new product, sampling and redemption. Tie into your social stream to connect and comment.

These day the media business moves with lightening speed. It’s jump on the train or get left behind!

Frustration, The Mother of Invention

By Michael Massey

Frustration is truly the mother of invention. Humans are pretty good about being inventive when the frustration level becomes too much. And wit is just that kind of frustration that was the impetus for designing and launching the Your Ad Here media calculator which is now available as a mobile app on the Android Marketplace. Here’s the story on how it all started.

We are media strategists. It’s what we love. We couple it with creativity to achieve results for clients by placing billboards, digital, broadcast TV, cable and radio. In order to make that happen, we also have to be number crunchers. My business partner Chrissie and our employee Chris will tell anyone that I personally hate all the spreadsheets and formulas involved in getting the best placements for our clients. And in our business, these spreadsheets can be very, very confusing since each type of media uses a unique benchmark for qualitative results.

To plan outdoor (billboards, etc.), we use the DEC count. For digital placements we use Cost Per Thousand (CPM) or Cost Per Click (CPC). In television it’s all about CPP (cost per point). For radio we’re using Cume rating or average quarter hour (AQH). For print publications it’s about number of subscribers. Even thinking about all of this makes my head spin.

To make it worse, we’ve had no central place for formulas. Oh sure, we could use an online media calculator or scratch it out on a piece of paper, but there was never any portability and certainly no ease of use. Beyond that there was nothing for both buyers and sellers to use seamlessly. Frustrating.

One day we sat in a brainstorm session discussing this challenge. There had to be a way. Somebody must have thought of something to overcome this challenge. We tapped our pencils, scribbled notes scratched our head then suddenly, I think we heard the angels sing. The concept of the Your Ad Here Media Calculator was born that day.

The really nice thing about the calculator is that there is absolutely no need to be a media math wiz. You can download the $1.29 app to your Android device (the Itunes version coming soon) and you're in business. The screens prompt you to enter your starting data to get your final media number whether it’s Cost Per Point, Cost Per Thousand, Gross Impressions, Reach, or Frequency. Everything you need is there at your fingertips. And if you’re not quite sure you understand the terms I’m throwing around, you should really have a copy of our book, Your Ad Here: De-mystifying the Business of Media and Advertising. And we’re going to make it easy for you. We are offering both the book and the media calculator for $16.24. That’s a great discount. But please hurry; the offer expires on February 28, 2012.