Some shared the news unknowingly, like an IT consultant:

@sohath ReallyVirtual

 Helicopter hovering above Abottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).

Other tweeters were in the know, such as Donald Rumsfeld’s former Chief of Staff:

@keithurbahn

So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn.

Intentional or not, these tweets show the power of this social media platform.

Amidst the bin Laden events, the Flint Group Writers were spending a month focused on Twitter, specifically looking to intricately understand the medium and harness its power for our clients and their goals. We found ways to share and enhance our personal and professional interests, from Macs to fringe music to games-in-progress sports action. We see Twitter as a good place to interact with other marketing communications professionals, including media outlets. We understand how Twitter can allow organizations to provide more attentive customer service. Several writers now turn to Twitter first for news, from local happenings in rural areas to major international developments that may affect our clients. Many writers now follow and interact with professionals who will boost Flint’s service to clients. A few are just looking to vent about their favorite sports teams. And all of us are on the prowl for opportunities in and around Twitter that will benefit our clients.

Do you tweet? Personally and/or professionally? What are your Twitter experiences? We always like to from you.

Today, humans are more powerful than ever. They can publish anything at any time online. From a brand management standpoint, it’s a beautifully scary thing.

Word of mouth remains the most powerful and trusted form of advertising. Simply put, friends trust friends. This is true of real-life friends, Facebook friends and blogger friends.  As more people continue to share their thoughts and opinions online, you can’t ignore word of mouse.

So how do you begin to navigate the vast blogosphere?

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt on Flickr

Recently I started reading The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the Craft. It brings to light one of the universal truths of advertising: everything depends on the big idea. Today, with such a fragmented media environment, those ideas matter more than ever. A sharp, strong, well-executed idea will cut through the noise and stay with you.

The first chapter of the book is an interview with William Bernbach, one of the founders of DDB. He makes many striking statements in just 14-pages, but this quote stays with me:

“We think we will never know as much about a product as a client. After all, he sleeps and breathes his product. He’s built it. He’s lived with it most of his life. We couldn’t possibly know as much about it as he does. By the same token, we firmly believe that he can’t know as much about advertising. Because we live and breathe that all day long.”

Here’s the tough part. To do good work, you’ve got to bind that client and agency knowledge together. Here’s something else from Bernbach:

“Your cleverness, your provocativeness and imagination and inventiveness must stem from knowledge of the product… And you must be as simple, and as swift, and as penetrating as possible. And it must stem from knowledge. And you must relate that knowledge to the consumer’s needs.”

Clients and agencies need each other. One must play off the other’s strength. That’s easy to understand. However, it’s hard to achieve this synthesis of knowledge and imagination, because there is no formula for achieving it.

But like any good copywriter, I’ve got some ideas.

At the risk of reducing creative professionals to a tankful of sea monkeys, here are some ways to feed them. These tips aren’t magic, but I think they’re helpful:

Figure out “the thing.”

One of my favorite things to do is listen to clients and wait for “the thing.”  Sometimes it’s a carefully crafted mission statement. Sometimes it’s an off-hand comment. Either way, it’s always something simple and unique. It sums up perfectly what  the business cares about and what its customers care about. When I hear it, my brain says, “That’s the thing!” Then I write it down, and our creative team can try to do something awesome with it.

You could also call this the differentiator. Figuring out what it is can be hard. Here are some places to start:

• Define why you do what you do. This won’t only help your marketing. It could give your company a new outlook and sense of purpose. Write down your beliefs, motivations and desires. Why do your employees come to work every day? Hint: it’s not just to build great products or deliver great service.
• Bring the creative team into your place of business. This is where you’re comfortable. If you feel like the expert you are, you will inevitably say something brilliant. Believe me. I’ve seen it happen.
• Ask your creative team to take a stab at it. As outsiders, they might have an easier time seeing what’s really different or appealing about your company. It’s not a perfect process, but the observations they make could surprise you (in a good way).

Tell them everything your products and services do… and I mean everything.

You’ve tackled the big, inspiring question of why!  Now, how about a bit about the product?  “It saves time and money” is good, but not good enough. Maybe your product is so easy to use that it makes you feel smarter than you really are. Does it give you an excuse to avoid doing something unpleasant? Perhaps it makes a noise that sounds like the guitar riff from Purple Haze. Maybe it just looks cool.

These  facts could build a great campaign, and they say a lot about who you are. Get it all down on paper – and hand it to your account executive, pronto.

Give them everything you’ve done before… and I mean everything.

Your website, old brochures, even user manuals can give creatives a sense of what you can do for a customer. But be careful. If your materials are hard to understand, outdated, incomplete or just plain wrong, your team will need some extra guidance.

Put your product in their hands.

Pictures and brochures are fine, but nothing compares to holding that thing in your hands, feeling it, smelling it, pushing the buttons, reading the instructions, hearing it and seeing what it can do. A client of ours, Bobcat, gives its communications vendors opportunities to operate its equipment. Besides being one of the highlights of the year (who doesn’t love playing in the dirt with a skid-steer loader?), it’s an inspiring experience. I learn a lot from trying things out on my own. Not only that, I generate a lot of ideas for when I return to my desk.

Set a comfortable deadline.

Bringing a creative idea to life can be ugly. Good ideas rise from false starts; dead ends; awkward, silent brainstorming sessions; gallons of coffee; and possibly some whining. It’s important to have enough time to get all that in!

It’s possible to send ideas in 24 hours, but it could still take a week to find the right idea. Creative ideas come out of nowhere, and usually after the subconscious mind has had a while to chew on it. If you’re like me, it might not happen until you start mowing the lawn.

“Comfortable” means you should be happy with the timing as well. Still, if you have the luxury of time, consider the difficulty of the task, and its impact on your brand, before setting the deadline.

That’s all for now. What types of activities and information feed your creative brain?

When people think about advertising their business, they tend to think of traditional forms of marketing. Television, print, billboards radio, heck, even social media come immediately to mind. However, one of the most cost-effective ways to get the word out is what everyone knows is the best form of advertising: word of mouth. When you get your information from sources you trust, it will increase the likelihood that you will follow their advice. So, that brings up the elusive question at the bottom of the pickle jar: how do you get people talking about your business?

Think about the time you found a trustworthy mechanic or a restaurant that blew your mind. I bet you were just itching to tell people about it. The key to get others to talk about your business is to create a customer experience that people can’t wait to tell others about. In the book Conversational Capital, the authors at Sid Lee in Montreal have come up with eight ways to get people talking and your accountant busy.

1. RITUAL: Create a repetitive experience that accentuates your brand, which customers can only equate to your business. Walmart is well known for its greeters at the front door. At some restaurants, you have to yell your order in order to receive it. What is unique about the experience at your business?

2. EXCLUSIVE PRODUCT OFFERING (EPO): This can be called over-delivery or even above-and–beyond customer service. EPO is where you personalize the customer experience to make them feel special. What can you do at your business to accomplish this?

3. MYTHS: This is a story that gets across the essence of your company. Many times, this is the story of why your business was created. There is the story about Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak building this thing called a computer in their garage. There are many stories about Richard Branson’s adventures that help create an image of his Virgin empire. Your business, too, has a story. How are you telling it?

4. RELEVANT SENSORY ODDITY (RSO): We have five senses. With RSO, you have the ability to tap into all five senses of your customers. When you walk into a business, you will notice music in the background. Many Las Vegas casinos pump in smells to make you feel like you are in a tropical location. What ways can you stimulate all five of your customers’ senses?

5. ICONS: While logos are icons, this goes well beyond logos. The Aerial Lift Bridge is an icon of Duluth. People can be icons. What visual elements and objects can you use to create a deeper meaning for your business?

6. TRIBALISM: This is where you create an experience that people can share to feel like they are part of a bigger unit. This is the reason many businesses have Facebook pages. It demonstrates that there are more people who equally care about your business. Kitchen supply retailers often hold cooking classes and wine tastings to get like-minded people to gather. What can you do to get your customers to band together?

7. ENDORSEMENT: This one is tricky. Endorsement is where you can get people of authority to vouch for your business. However, this has to be done unsolicited or it will not be believable. If your running enthusiast friend recommends a shoe, you are more likely to buy it. What are your business enthusiasts saying about you?

8. CONTINUITY: This is a big one. If a restaurant says they have the best steak in town and one day serves a pack of bad meat, its reputation is ruined. If you say something about your business, or if you are known for something, follow through. How are you making sure your quality is consistent?

All of these tips can be broken down to one statement. If you provide your product or service to the best of your ability with customer service that focuses on, well, the customer, that in itself will get people talking and your ears burning.

photo by mmlim on Flickr

Ah, the infamous “birds and the bees” speech. Yes, you know the one. It is quite possibly the most awkward moment in all of parenthood. One of the necessary evils to ensure you’ve provided both the education and direction to point your offspring down the virtuous path. Ok, I’m feeling awkward already.

What’s my point? After years of consulting, I’ve recently just realized that, unbeknownst to me, I’m giving a similar talk to my clients. Of course, I’m not talking about tips on how to get to first-base, but real prospect/customer relationship advice. As stages of a relationship evolve, so should your marketing messaging.

Common courtship and lifecycle marketing possess some uncanny parallels that I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of. Here’s what I mean:

“Playing the field”

Like in the dating world, your prospects are  doing research and figuring out the type of company, product or service they like to settle down with. They are  visiting competitor websites, speaking with sales reps, perhaps even getting product demonstrations (keep your mind out of the gutter here folks). As a marketer, it’s important to provide  messaging that is geared to getting your prospect’s attention. Make it personal. First impressions are everything. What makes you stand out? What about you will make their life more enjoyable?

“Wearing the letterman’s jacket”

They enjoyed their first date with you (i.e. direct mail piece, email, website, social media) and have decided to take it to the next level. As they continue down the sales cycle, this is your opportunity to grow the relationship by asking questions about their purchasing needs and then tailor your marketing messages to address those needs. If she likes Italian, don’t take her to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. Likewise, don’t take her to the same restaurant date after date. Too often, marketers don’t send targeted marketing collateral, or they use the same messaging in each interaction. She’s falling in love. Keep her interested with intriguing and fresh info about you.

“Down on one knee”

At some point, the courtship ends. You have to take a leap of faith and ask for the sale. But how will you ask? Will it be memorable? Will she be proud to tell her friends (ahem, business referral) about how you did it? As a marketer, think about your interactions through the sales process – is she the type of girl that would like a proposal on the jumbotron at hockey game? Or a single rose on a sandy beach? Learn from the courtship and use the sale as another chance to reinforce your brand. Remember, like a proposal, it’s about the right person, the right message, at the right time.

“Wedding bells”

They said yes! But this isn’t a time relax, she’s been dreaming of this day since she was a little girl. Ok, that might be a bit of a stretch when it comes to your product or service. However, marketers sometimes forget to reassure customers about their decision. You don’t want your prospect getting cold feet, and you don’t want a new customer getting buyer’s remorse. Remind them of all the reasons you are the right match. Use the purchasing transaction as a way to show them how attentive you are and how appreciative you will be for years to come.

“Happily ever after?”

The worst sin for marketers is to forget about existing customers. Are you communicating, or better yet, marketing to them on a regular basis? Are you introducing cross-sell and up-sell opportunities? It’s about giving them attention and continuing to evolve your relationship. Don’t forget anniversaries (renewals) and be prepared for fights (customer complaints). If they aren’t feeling the love, her eyes will begin to wander at the next business that’s been flirting with her online. Continue to show your passion or she might stray.

It’s a corny analogy, but it’s usually one that resonates  with clients. Take a good look at your customer lifecycle, and be sure to map your messaging accordingly. As for the real birds-and-bees speech? Well, you’re on your own there!

photo by tanakawho on Flickr

But the world went and changed. Communication technologies evolved and altered how we consume media. The next thing I knew, the marketing practices I fell in love with back in college had grown unsightly and questionably obsolete. But have no fear, marketers! Our old friend just needs a little nip-tuck, and she’ll be generating leads and building your brand just like the good ol’ days.

Here are five makeover trends meant to upgrade your marketing strategy.

1. Interruption to Engagement

“Psst. Hey you!  Stop what you are doing. Look over here, and listen to what we have to say!”  If our marketing efforts could talk, this is what they would be saying.

Our tactics and messages are typically about interrupting our audience in hope of gaining mind share. However, technology allows us to imbed our messages into our consumers’ lives without nearly as much disruption: emails read on smart phones, online pre-roll advertisements before watching your favorite sitcom on Hulu, and rich media banner ads that practically bring your website to your consumer without yanking them away from their current web page.  Be where your target audience consumes media. Make it seamless and easy for them to participate with your brand.

2. Awareness to Participation

Did someone say participate?  Previous marketing intellect prescribed a healthy dose of “attention grabbing,” taken with a full glass of “awareness building.” While both are still imperative, the latest studies show we need to take our marketing beyond simple awareness. Consumers don’t want to be talked to; they want to engage in a conversation.

Social media is about having a personal voice and sharing it with the world (or connections, friends and followers, depending on the social tool of choice).  Successful companies have found ways to transform customers into vocal consumer advocates via Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, YouTube and community blogs. Craft your message, provide a platform for discussion, and engage in a dialogue with your audience—they are dying to be heard.

3.    Marketer-Centric to Customer-Centric

Bad news. We’re marketers and we have two things going against us: time and subjectivity. First, most of us are strapped and burning the candle at both ends—so we send communications out to consumers when we find the time, or when it’s scheduled on the promotion calendar.

Secondly, we forget to be objective. We force-feed our customers the value prop we’ve defined for our product or service. The reality is, customers don’t care about how smothered your inbox is, and they don’t care about your functionality spec sheet. Customers are looking for relevant information when it’s convenient for them, not you.

Marketing automation technology allows for triggered direct mail, email, and mobile responses which deliver that instant gratification your customers demand. Optimization features in these tools will soon allow us to automatically test and improve results of marketing campaigns for each individual—including collection of time and behavior-based data that will forecast when your customers are most likely to view your marketing communications.

4.    Segments to Individuals

Did someone say individual? (I’m getting good at this transition thing).  A number of years back, we thought we got smart. We started communicating to our consumer base differently by segmenting them into groups using demographics, firmographics, and purchase history.

We just can’t seem to catch a break.  Today, by tracking web-based behavior (website activity, email click-throughs, web form submissions, and social media interaction), we harness the power to completely customize creative and copy for each communication, ensuring the right message is used to resonate with your customer.

Personalized direct mail, email, banner ads, mobile messages are all feasible or on the horizon.  It’s not just cool (and a little freaky I’ll admit), it will soon be an imperative in order to break through the “one size fits all” clutter.

5.    Business Gets Personal

Business used to be personal.  I’m talking small-town bakery personal.  Then, mass communication exploded.   Service had to scale, and the goal was to reach as many people as possible with a single message.

However, marketing is in a throwback trend.  Corporation executives are having interpersonal two-way conversations with their consumers while the world observes. Studies show people trust other people more than any other marketing medium.

Subsequently, organizations are starting to share stories of people impacted by their brand. People listen, people respond with their own story, more people listen and respond.  Soon everything becomes marketing. Organic, consumer-driven discussion trumps the carefully crafted corporate message.

photo by AMagill on Flickr

Oxford University Press recently named Facebook’s “unfriend” as word of the year. Time named “sexting” number one in its top 10 buzzwords for 2009. I keep my own list of corporate communication words – many that are buzzwords or related to trends. Topping my list for the second year in a row is transparency.

Organizations and businesses of all kinds keep talking about the need to be transparent and achieve open, honest communication. Google the phrase “transparency in healthcare,” and you’ll get deeply entangled in both sides of the year-long health care reform debate.

But true transparency is a hard concept for some organizations. It’s even harder for some management teams to embrace. True transparency goes beyond what the public relations team prepares, or how a spokesperson responds.

Social media has taken corporate (and personal) transparency to a heightened level. No longer is the “authorized spokesperson” representing a company, a product or an issue. Customers and employees are weighing in, telling us all what it’s really like to own a product, experience good or bad service, or work for an organization.

With all of this, the role of the communications professional has widened.  Listening – always a critical part of communications – is now the first step. Developing guidelines for social media usage is one way a company can adapt to the issues that come with being a transparent organization.

I predict transparency will still be at the top of my list next year. Are you ready for the opportunities that transparency will deliver? How are you adapting to the challenges?

It’s not that you’re trying to be rude, but these are the people who suck the energy right out of you. You ask them how they are, expecting a one or two word response and instead they launch into a 15-minute monologue about everything from their bunions to their incurable outbreak of warts.

You’re probably thinking, “Yeah, those people are annoying. I would never do that.” But have you ever stopped to think this might be how people feel about your blog?

Traci Feit Love addresses this issue in her recent Copyblogger article, “How to Get Lucky with Content Marketing.” We reviewed this article at our recent WestmorelandFlint Book Club meeting (yes, we actually have a book club, only it would be more accurate to call it an article club) and discussed its implications for WestmorelandFlint and our clients.

Based on Love’s article and our book club’s lively discussion, here’s our top five list on how to avoid the social outcast blog syndrome:

1. Stop talking to yourself. If you move to a new city and you’re looking to meet people with similar interests, you join clubs and organizations where you’ll find people like you, right? It’s no different with blogs. If you want to find new readers, you have to get out there and find them. Join in conversations on blogs with similar topics to yours and once people see how unbelievably smart and witty you are, they’ll start following your blog, too.
2. Listen before you talk. Find out about your readers’ interests and write about them instead of just blathering on about yourself or your business. Read other blogs with similar topics and find out what people are talking about.
3. Be yourself. Don’t try to be someone else. Don’t just repost other people’s content unless you can intelligently apply it to your market.
4. Be casual. There’s a reason formal dining rooms are becoming a thing of the past. People want to hang out in the kitchen where it’s comfortable and casual. So let people get to know you. Show a little of your personality and don’t be so stuffy!
5. Do something new. David Sadowski, WestmorelandFlint art director, shared that he has a personal goal to do something new every week. Last week he shot a gun for the first time. (Don’t worry, no one was injured.) What a great concept! Try new things and take some risks with your blog. Make every post new and fresh.

What are your ideas for transforming your blog into a social butterfly?

Bill. The Baby Boomer.

How many times have you secretly rolled your eyes at a co-worker? Or battled to get your point across to a room full of people unwilling to listen to your perspective? Do you hate feeling like you’re being micro-managed?

You’re not alone.

Go ahead and blame it on your parents because you’re a product of the generation you were born into!

For the first time in history, there are four generations in the work force. And these players are different than ever before. We have a workforce that is increasingly diverse in age, experience, work styles and backgrounds. This is why understanding generations and how they work is critical. Today’s 25-year-old Millennial worker is not the same as a 25-year-old Generation X worker was 10 years ago or a Baby Boomer 20 years ago. There are distinct differences that must be understood – and appreciated.

Check out where you fall into the generations, and see if some of the traits are characteristic of you.

Tradionalists
Birth Years: Pre-1945
Population Size: 75 million (25% are still in the workforce)
Traits: conservative, fiscally prudent, loyal, faith in institutions, sensitive to minority positions, masters of policy, committees and processes, trust credentialed experts.
Communication style: administrative, policy-oriented, letter of the law, masters of the expert opinion, think tanks.

Baby Boomer Debbie. True to her description.

Baby Boomers
Birth Years: 1946-1964
Population Size: 80 million
Traits: ambitious, idealistic, strong work ethic, highly competitive, multi-taskers, value vision and mission, believe in the importance of personal indulgence over institutional might.
Communication Style: megaphone, brilliant message crafters, good creators of content that aligns to purpose and values with appeal to higher purpose and meaning.

Generation Xers
Birth Years: 1965-1981
Population Size: 46 million
Traits: independent, resourceful, adaptable, value pragmatic, realistic approach to daily life, now-oriented, skeptical, distrust institutions.
Communication Style: independent, not connected to an organization, focused on micro-subjects and personal expression of style work, masters of the internet, blogging and publishing resources.

Alissa, a cusper, is quite tech savvy. She feels right at home between Generation X and Generation Y.

Millennial (Gen Y or GenNext)
Birth Years: 1982-2000
Population Size: 76 million
Traits: tech savvy, environmentally conscious, open minded and accepting of differences, socially conscious, value team, cohesiveness and their special mission as a generation.
Communication Style: upbeat, rally together, focused on the activity and approval of their peers, masters of mobile and hand-held devices.

I think the conclusion is clear, awareness is half the battle – understanding the unique traits of each generation and what makes us all different.  So, instead of rolling our eyes about the generation gaps let’s embrace the many benefits of our multi-generational workforce and work together to create a dynamic work environment – but that’s just our opinion as an entitled, lazy, tech savvy Millennials.

So which Generation are you a part of? And what generation dominates your work place?

The co-authors, Brooke and Andrea. Both Millennials.

*Learn more about the generational divide by reading When Generations Collide by Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman.

His question was this, “I intern for a local company who has a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account but we don’t have any fans or followers. How do we get more people interested and engaged in our social media efforts?”

Am I right? Do you find your company in this same predicament?

Take a step back

First off, why did you jump on Facebook or open a Twitter account? Do you have a strategy or was it because you heard all of the hype and thought you needed to be there? If it’s the latter, at the minimum you may want to think about and answer these questions…

What are your goals for your social media program? Is it to gain awareness? Increase sales? Or create loyalty? Do you know who your target audience is, what social media services they use and how they use them? Do you have a plan to engage, empower and connect your followers/friends? Or are you going to use it as a message board to talk about yourself or your company? If that’s the case, use your website.

Okay, I get it…but that still doesn’t get people to “follow”, “fan” or “friend” me.

When you open a new location or add a new service, do you just sit back and hope that customers will figure it out? No, you tell people right. The same is true about your social media efforts…if you don’t let people know where you are and what you’re doing, nobody will know or care.

How do you do this? Use your website, online media, signage in stores, and/or TV and radio commercials, basically any and all different forms of media will work. The important thing is to give them a reason to join – what added value are they going to get from joining your social media program?

What companies do you connect with in social media? How did you learn about/find them? How active are you? What benefits do you receive for being a part of their social media community?

Photo courtesy of Justin Brockie.