Caffeinated Marketing

Gettting through all the noise, one cup at a time

Leadership Styles September 21, 2010

Filed under: People that are smarter than me — jenharris @ 6:51 pm
Tags: ,

I had a few beers tonight with Derek Ellis of Tsuvo Social. We talked a lot about leadership styles and in some cases the lack there of. And as I sit here thinking about these styles that I have been exposed to in the past five years, I wonder who or what style I want to work for in my next endeavor.
I honestly can’t sit here and quote leadership styles. But it’s kind of like pornography at this point…I know it when I see it.
So yes, I could Google and read up on different styles and types, but I want to know from you…where have you been the most productive and the happiest…and how did you use that to further develop who you are as a working, contributing human being?
Xoxo
-jen

 

Publishing Your Blog with a Plan February 24, 2010

Filed under: Free Ideas,social media — jenharris @ 11:17 pm

Because of this social media frenzie we are all experiencing, there seems to be a flood of info out there – if you and I were editors of a magazine, we might be fired for our disorganization and lack of flow from page to page.

I admit, I don’t have a personal social media plan (other than getting hired somewhere) but if you are a business and have publishing rights (blog, FaceBook, Twitter, yadda yadda yadda) you should know what is going to be published and where it’s going to be published (because it doesn’t belong everywhere) for the next two to three months.
Here is how I have done it for multiple clients:

I do a POST strategy that solely belongs to the authors of Groundswell: Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff.

It takes about 2 hours and my clients have come out with blog topics for 2-3 times a week for about 8-10 weeks.

After you have organized your blog posts that correlate with your industry, put them where it is appropriate.  Please, please, please: don’t put it everywhere – it doesn’t belong everywhere.  If you haven’t figured out WHERE you belong or WHERE your customers are at – I can help with that too.

How do you come up with your blog posts? If you had a schedule, would it be easier?

 

Attract People On FaceBook, Don’t Annoy Them February 8, 2010

Filed under: Tip of the Day — jenharris @ 11:16 am

I am sure you have heard: “Don’t Try to Attract People, Go Where The People Are” (aka: get your tail on FaceBook etc)

I complained recently that there are certain individuals out there who are sub-contracted by businesses to RUN their FaceBook & Twitter accounts.  From our similar “circles of influence” I have heard people complain that his one person’s followers are getting pretty annoyed of getting a Fan Request from every new client of theirs.  Kudos to the businesses for trying something new – boooo for letting someone “do it” for you. Would you let this same person represent you at a meeting with the press or your board of directors?  Nuf said.

So the question for the person that doesn’t know and/or understand these social marketing ways is: If I “go” where the people are at, how do I attract them with-out annoying a bunch of people?

Here is what I would do if I were a business owner and wanting to get on FaceBook and Twitter (of course I have done a strategy to decide if these are the right outlets for my customers):

1.  Make sure that my current customer lists are up to date and include all the vitals:

  • Name, Physical Address, Phone Number of Choice, eMail, FaceBook, Twitter Handle

2.  How do I make sure I have ALL THIS before I start on the social sites? ASK.  Have a conversation with your customers in person or via email and tell them you have a plan to be on FB etc in the next month & you want to make sure that you have all info ready to better serve the customers with support,  promotions, contests, stories etc.  (which of course they will have the option to opt-out of being sent info via FB)

3.  Have a plan: strategy (includes Who, Why, What you want to accomplish, Who else is on board (can you use co-op dollars?) What kind of response time will you have, How will you deal with negative comments?)

4.  Now share this plan with your customers via your updated email list.  Let them be part of the process, let them Opt-Out!, Ask them what they want to see from you (and don’t see…because we have all seen and received crap from being a “fan” of someones business that sends you 2 messages a day).

5.  After you have refined your plan (set a timeline for feedback/ideas), set up your accounts.  Have a reason for people to “fan” you (contest, feedback, discount etc)

6.  If you have a personal FaceBook account, don’t invite everyone (this would be the ANNOYING part) but do post a note and a link saying “I now have a fan page for my business where my goal is X, if you would like to become a fan, thank you – if not, I totally respect that!”  You get the idea…treat people the way you want to be treated.  Unless you are an arrogant jerk with a chip on your shoulder thinking that the world owes you something…and everything YOU post anywhere is relevant – ummm, never mind.

Good luck and don’t be afraid to ask questions to those that are doing a good job – learn from others mistakes and successes!

 

Social Media Etiquette February 6, 2010

Filed under: social media,Tip of the Day — jenharris @ 11:55 am
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My husband is always giving me a hard time about how many friend requests on FaceBook that I just let sit.  I have been giving these  “friends” a chance to interact before I let them into my life,  but it just doesn’t happen…so NO MORE!

Twice I have posted on FaceBook that if you are not family, a current or past-life friend or someone that I just met In Real Life – I expect a note from you explaining who you are, why you want to be “friends” and where we might have met if my little brain forgot (coffee doesn’t cure all people!).

If you were to go to a real life networking event and went around slipping your business card into people’s back pocket – would you expect them to call or interact with you? So why is it ok online? It’s NOT! Please reach out to the people you want to befriend – it’s quality over quantity.

A quick note would go something like this:

“Hi Jen! We haven’t met before, but so-and-so said you were super funny and a rockin’ Mom so I thought we could get to know each other better.  Happy Tuesday!”

This goes for LinkedIn as well – it’s just plain common courtesy!

Another tip: write a note BACK to the person who wants to be your friend – again, think “what would I do in real life?”

 

Social Media Snake Oil January 11, 2010

Filed under: Free Ideas,Tip of the Day — jenharris @ 8:41 pm
Tags:

Dear Mr and Mrs business owner,

If someone comes to your business and tells you that they can get you involved in social media and pitches FaceBook and Twitter juuuuuust a little bit too much….
Do this: just say No!

If they tell you that they themselves have a large “following” that can help you…
Do this: just say No!

If they tell you that they can run these accounts for you…
Do this: just say No!

Please don’t be intimidated by these new online tools. They really are not that difficult to understand ONCE you have gone through a STRATEGY that outlines what they can help you with, what the potential ROI is and why you belong there (if at all!!!!!). Don’t be bullied, do your homework and ask around about this persons reputation and ROI with other clients.

And I will say it again, DO NOT outsource this to someone that you would not want to represent YOU in a board meeting with investors and/or potential clients.

Good luck.

 

Promotion Of A Friend: Brad Shaw January 3, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — jenharris @ 10:51 am

I was just looking at my email signature & had to giggle in this new year about it.  Everything is “jenHarris09”.  When I started labeling myself, “JenHarris” was taken (she is a California photographer) so I added my college volleyball number to the end.  After being laid off at MPC & the eventual closing of the computer manufacture, a friend of mine that I worked with decided to finally get on twitter (more to shut me up more than anything else).  When he first appeared (Christmas of ’08) I urged him to change his handle to his real name (which was taken) with an added number to it.  So being the funny man he is….he added “09” to the end.  Of course I thought it was a pretty funny-smart-arsh-clever way to, again, shut me up…but his reason was:

“I figure that ’09 is, and has to be, better than ’08”

So with that looooooooonnnnnnnnngggggg background story, here is why I want you to check him out: he is an AMAZING artist!  He use to doodle in meetings the most amazing vines, lines, stripes and designs that took my breath away.  He does these family trees (see to the left) that make me tear up almost every time I look at mine.  Everyone in our family has one & it has been a huge conversation piece when we have friends over.

I have no reason in writing this except that I love his artwork and I want you to check it out.

Brad Shaw is on FaceBook.
Brad Shaw is on Twitter.
Brad Shaw has a website.

Enjoy & here’s to making twenty ten SO MUCH better than “09”
xoxo
-jen

 

Jen’s New Marketing Plan December 14, 2009

Filed under: Cool News (to me),Free Ideas — jenharris @ 10:59 am
Tags: ,

Dear Santa:
All I want for Christmas (in my chosen *crazy* profession of course) is a job.  Maybe start out part-time, 2 or 3 days a week (M-W-F or T-Th is best for the twins, so that they can be enrolled at Challenger…you know, to start their brilliance) and do for a company “that social media thing”.  Strategy, implementation and education is what I am good at and I know if I could just get my foot in the door, I can and will make a difference.
All My Love,
-jen
@jenharris09

This wish got me thinking…why can’t I be the Santa that grants wishes?  And here is where Jen’s New Marketing Plan could be filled with pixie dust or flat-out brilliance.

I am giving it away.

I have no desire at this point in my life to run my own business.  I have no desire to stress over the tax man.  I do have the desire to help others – so I am just going to do that & believe that Karma will take care of things.  No need to buy the cow, the milk is now free.

Here is how it will work:
You need to know how this “social media stuff” works beyond how to get on FaceBook and Twitter.  An actual social media strategy with goals & objectives that go beyond getting tons of  people to be your friend – I can help you.
You want to start a blog (or have the capability to do so) but have writers block – I can help you.
You need to know WHY you should be creating content over buying ads & offering coupons (or why/how to integrate that into a…..STRATEGY!) – I can help you.
You need to know where all these customers are “at” and how to get them engaged with your company – I can help you.
You just need the basics of how to work the tools – I can help you.

How I get P-A-I-D
Buy me coffee, lunch for myself and the twins and possible admission to Rafiki.  Another good location is The Merc at Hidden Springs.  Since I am turning over my knowledge to you for caffeine and chicken nuggets, I am guessing an occasional interruption from a 3-year-old will be worth it.  Let’s plan on 2-3 hours.

What’s in it for Jen?
Karma my friend.  That and a good recommendation or two or three or ten.  My goal is to get that job with-in a marketing department of a larger company that understands a social media marketing person is just as important as the media buyer.
I am enjoying being a mom-at-home with the kids, but I miss “it”- I miss being in the thick of things.  If this Karma job doesn’t come around for a year, so be it…but if I can help people in the meantime (and get me some free coffee) I will be satisfied and I will quit having marketing dreams about your business.

Be my Santa…give me a call, leave a message here, send smoke signals…just get a hold of me – I can help you.
xoxo
-jen

 

Getting High On Marketing December 2, 2009

Filed under: Uncategorized — jenharris @ 10:57 pm

I just had a LinkedIn aquantance ask me to give him some tips on Twitter & I banged the following out in 10 minutes:

Hey there- What is your handle? I am JenHarris09.
1. See if you can land JoeBob as a handle or Joe_Bob or JoeBob09 (09 used as example of some number…or as a friend of mine did it just to mock me!-funny!)
1A. Make sure your profile is completely filled out. Where you are at (boise) at your URL, a bio that makes you human – not a sales guy.
2. Find locals through lists (you can look on my account and either follow that list and/or (and is best) follow Boise area people).
3. Find locals through http://wefollow.com/. “register” yourself under three tags. Boise or Idaho is best then your profession as well. Then follow all those in the tags that intrigue you for your biz.
4. Tweet that you are in the process of starting your account, you are eager to go to your first TweetUp (@Boise_TweetUp) and wanting to help them with their cell phone woes.
5. Listen/search & set up RSS for those people having woes: go to search.twitter.com (this search can also be done through your twitter home page – but search.twitter.com is better. The search.twitter is just like google-type this in – near:boise “cell phone” . it will search in the boise, idaho area for the words “cell phone”. so whatever words you put in, it will search for & update – you can then get a feed for that (rss) and plunk that into your reader…google reader is best. if you don’t have a reader, just keep checking back to search.twitter.com
6. Listen/search & engage in OTHER conversations more.
7. Listen/search, engage and solve.
8. Listen/search, engage and share.
9. Local Twitter Cell Phone rock star you will be! 🙂
10. Be honest, don’t pitch, be personal (twitter is not your personal billboard) and again, don’t pitch. Think of Twitter as a big room of people where you are getting to know them. You don’t shove your biz card in their hand and walk away, don’t do that on Twitter (or any SM site). There is a reason why they call it “social” marketing! 🙂 Good luck – hope that wasn’t overload.
Just get on & get going!
-jen
PS: Great site for Twitter apps that will give you a bit of overload: http://oneforty.com/

I am currently feeling a bit high.  I LOVE helping people discover,  learn and understand why Social Media is so vital to business.
Dear People, someone please hire me…you will NOT be sorry!
xoxo
-jen

 

Your Referral Should Not Be A Bribe November 26, 2009

Filed under: Uncategorized — jenharris @ 12:10 pm

A reward for a referral should be an element of surprise, not a bribe.  If your business is good enough, there will be natural recommendations – if you have to bribe your customers & make the process more than one step…you loose the credibility in which good recommendations are given.

I am not saying that your customers shouldn’t be aware that there are perks when friends take you up on your recommendations, just don’t make it more steps than “did anyone recommend you to visit us today sir?”

Example 1:
We have all seen the DirecTV ads that your friends are worth $100 each when you give your account info to your friend, your friend is then suppsed to tell the person on the other end of the phone that they were recommended by Dick & Jane who then are rewarded the cash.  Ick.  Who does that? Who solicits their friends like that?
Why doesn’t DirecTV just ask the new customer if anyone recommended them and THEN DirecTV rewards the person with a credit and a thank you note on their bill.  I don’t know what the success rate of DTV’s new campaign is, but I can tell you that their reputation for antiquated marketing ideas is being noticed in my circles (when it comes to making their current customers feel “special”…and yes, I expect to feel special as your customer).
And just a side note, I am in L-O-V-E with my DirecTV.  They have taken care of me more than once via Twitter & I spread the love to anyone who asks if we are happy.

Example 2:
My dentist – Dr. Higginson at Lighthouse Dental in Eagle.  I love this guy…he has a nickname in our house…Dr. Happy.  He makes you feel so good about having a root canal!  They sent out in the mail a really nice newsletter that had some great information on it as to what they were up to in the office & outside in their personal lives as well, I really enjoyed it (of course my head was spinning…this should be a blog too!).  They enclosed a referral card that I have to sign (you can print one as well from their website) and then give to a friend who has to be responsible for giving it to the front when signing in.
Again, why can’t you just ask the question: “Did anyone refer you today sir?”  This actually happened to me a few years back.  On a follow up root canal visit, Dr. Higginson made a point to tell me that he had at least 4 people come in from my work & volunteer that they heard Lighthouse Dental was the place to go.  He adjusted my bill right then & there and said “Thank you so much, it means a lot to us.”  I didn’t need the incentive of a movie or dinner to give the recommendation, I did it because he is good and I wanted to tell people about it.

ROI?:
Can this be tracked just by asking and not having official cards? I am not a programmer, but my guess is that there is referral software out there that would keep track of how referred who & when.  Or I think Excel would work just fine.

Lesson Learned:
Don’t beg and don’t make your customers beg to others. You have a great business, great customer service, great people and something  I don’t want to live with out.  Reward with surprise and not expected outcomes.

 

Top 5 FaceBook Marketing Do’s October 19, 2009

Filed under: social media,Tip of the Day — jenharris @ 2:26 pm

1.  Do think outside of your “well, this is what I would do with traditional promotions…it has to work the same on FaceBook, right?” box.  Don’t be a one hit wonder with the SAME PROMO over & over & over.  Branch out my friend, how ELSE can you interact (meaning more than ONE way) with your current & potential clients?

2.  Do send a thank you (and a coupon or customer of the day award or business spotlight) when you receive a friend request…they friended YOU, not the other way around…don’t you think that should be treated with a bit more special sauce?

3.  Do think.  If you are a daycare, don’t talk to people (as the daycare) about the type of drinks you had and how wasted you were the night before.  Come on…really?

4.  Do Interact, interact, interact.  That’s why it is called “social” networking…not “billboard” networking. (see a funny blog from Lisa D Jenkins here that states the ugly truth).

5.  Do have a reader that has a file of all your “friends” blogs.  What a great way to promote your clients and introduce them to others?

6-10.  What do you do on FaceBook as a business that helps promote others or your own business that is not icky and intrusive?

xoxo
-jen