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Marketing tip #57: Charitable dollars are marketing dollars

October 19, 2010

I believe that every business has a responsibility to give back. No matter where you practice your trade — there's a community that makes it possible.  To not share your time, talents and treasures is irresponsible and short-sighted.

I honestly think most companies share that belief and serve their communities well.

At MMG, that's why we started the Adopt a Charity program several years ago.  We also make cash donations, serve on boards and volunteer for the charities that matter to us.

That's not just because we're good people.  It's because it's smart business.  And here's the part of the message that makes people uncomfortable.

There's nothing wrong with a business benefiting from the good they do.  In fact…every charitable dollar you spend is actually a marketing dollar.

You wouldn't buy equipment that didn't help your business grow or spend money on computer software that didn't serve your clients better.  So why should your charitable gifts be any different?  

Every dollar or hour you donate is a business asset.  So spend them wisely.  If you're feeling charitable, make sure you get the maximum bang for each buck.  Here are some strategies to keep in mind.

It's better to give big to a few:  Don't get caught up in the "but we don't want to say no to anyone" trap.  If you give a little bit to everyone, you end up being one of 42 logos on the back of a 5K run t-shirt.  

It's far better to be the presenting sponsor or one of an elite group of sponsors.  You'll get a lot more exposure and you're giving enough money to actually make a difference.  Writing 100 checks for $25 is a waste of your efforts and isn't really impacting any of the non profits you support.

You won't get what you don't ask for:  When you're donating your money or your talents, don't be shy.  Ask for the recognition that will benefit your business.  

Want your logo on the greens at the charity golf tournament — ask for it.  Want to have your efforts recognized at the next board meeting — ask for it.  Want the celebrity host at the auction to appear at a private client only cocktail party before the event — ask for it.

Think about how you can leverage your donation.  What will cost the non-profit very little but provide your business with a boost?

Be creative in the perks:  There won't always be an opportunity to have your logo plastered on an event or get naming rights.  After all, you might not have $25K to donate. Even if your charitable gifts are modest — you can still enjoy some marketing benefit.

An introduction to an influential board member, a thank you from the podium, or four tickets to the fancy dinner/dance (two for you and two for your best client).  Don't think that only the big donations can garner a return on that investment.

Everyone of us should give back.  It's part of being a good neighbor, a good business and a good corporate citizen. But, there's no reason it can't be a win/win situation!

Want to network AND get smarter? Check out these conferences

October 17, 2010

There's no better way to learn than to mingle with smart people, learn from smart people and share your own smarts.

There are three excellent opportunities to do just that in November.  Check them out.

I Blog Conference — November 5-7 (Perry, IA)

The I Blog Conference was designed to educate and celebrate bloggers in the Midwest. Sessions are filled with useful information from the brightest minds in social media. Whether you're just beginning your journey into blogging and social media or you've been building your brand for years, the I Blog Conference has relevant information for everyone!

The I Blog conference takes at the historic Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa; just minutes from Des Moines. You'll be embraced by the charm and history of Perry as you check into one of the 40 tastefully themed rooms and enjoy specially prepared meals from the extraordinary chef at David's Milwaukee Diner. 

The Secret Service Summit — November 4 – 5 (Cleveland, OH)

The Secret Service Summit is a 2-day customer service learning experience where 10 speakers, authors and top brand executives from leading national brands, share HOW to evaluate, improve and become a 'World-Class Customer Service organization. Speakers include Dennis Snow from Disney, Amy Mendenhall from Hallmark and Aveda's CEO, among others.

The Senior Marketing Executive Conference by The Conference Board — November 9 -11 (NYC)

In 2009, The Senior Marketing Executive Conference was cited as the #1 Senior Marketing Venue Globally; this year’s 2010 conference promises to deliver. You will hear some of the greatest business marketing stories of our time—directly from the leaders. Speakers will include Steve Forbes, Tony Hsieh from Zappos, Shelly Lazarus from Olgilvy, Seth Goldman from Honest Tea and many others.

Day 1 you will hear the presenters focus on 7 focus areas like innovation and social media. Day two will be selected case studies and will wrap up with a panel discussing how to implement the 7 focus areas.

If you'd like a discount to this conference, please use the code DM1 and save $500!

Help bring clean water to the world’s children!

October 15, 2010

Today is Blog Action Day….and this year's focus is water.  Which fits perfectly with our efforts to drive Age of Conversation sales — all which benefit charity: water. Remember, 100% of the proceeds from the book sales goes directly to the non-profit's efforts.

The Age of Conversation Official Charity – charity: water

The first piece of news is to confirm that the charity that benefits from each and every sale of each and every book, is charity: water. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.

Amazingly, just $20 can give one person clean water for 20 years. An average water project costs $5,000 and can serve 250 people with clean, safe water – so purchasing a copy of the Age of Conversation 3 really can make a difference to someone’s life!

An AoC3 Bum Rush for Blog Action Day, October 15

Here's how you can 

The step-by-step is as follows:

1. Buy the Book and ask others buy the book. If you work in an agency or another business that gives books as gifts, get your company to purchase multiple copies and give them out as year end gifts. This is the #1 call to action, because this is where we want to see the most impact. NOTE: Please buy 1 copy at a time because Amazon counts bulk orders once, and please use these affiliate links, which will help us in tracking sales. Remember, all the proceeds from the book sales and referrals will go to charity water:
2. • Kindle Version
   • Paperback Version
   • Hardcover Version
3. Twitter Commentary – Join the AOC authors as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #aoc3 so that it can be picked up by What The Hashtag.
4. Trackback or Comment on the post that Gavin will leave here today, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.)
5. Digg the posts listed here and send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs.
6. Stumble the posts listed and tell friends to do the same.
7. Bookmark your posts on Del.icio.us
8. Don’t forget Facebook – Make sure to become a Fan of AoC3 and to contribute to our wall
9. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.

In advance — thanks for supporting Age of Conversation III and for allowing your dollars to provide clean water to some of the world's poorest communities.

How to drive Facebook likes

October 14, 2010

Corona Light has launched an interesting campaign — anyone who likes their Facebook fan page is invited to upload a photo of themselves…and they will appear on a 150-foot digital billboard in Times Square.

As you upload and size your photo, the fan page will show you how you'll look in the Big Apple's hottest spot.

The billboard (and fan photos) will be up from November 8th through December 5th.

If you click on the send me proof button — you are basically giving them permission to publish a digital photo of the board with your mug on it…on your Facebook wall.

I don't know how many fans they started with, but they're up to almost 57,000 likes as of today.

I can hear you now — cool idea Drew but I don't really have the Corona Light budget.  How does it apply to me?

Do you have an e-newsletter?  Why not spotlight some of your Facebook friends/fans there?  Run a contest to solicit "why I love company ABC" on your Facebook fan page…and publish the best answers, along with a little blurb about the winners.

Does your local community have a digital billboard?  Most do today.  Why not do a local version of this?

Have a website?  Could you spotlight some of your Facebook fans/likers there?

Uber local?  How about a fan/like only party?  Bring them together, buy them a beer and let them network.  

No matter what you do….be sure you build in these three components.

Shareable:  Nowhere is sharing more critical than Facebook.  Be sure your fans can share your content, your contest, their participation and their enthusiasm.

Easy:  Don't make me work to like you.  A couple clicks, an easy upload.  Good.  Writing an essay, doing a cyber scavenger hunt, or having to recruit a minimum number of my friends to be your friends… bad.

Emotional:  It can be fun, it can be heart-tugging, or it can make them mad.  But get them to feel something to get them to do something.

That's it — go get yourself some new fans/likes!

Have you updated your business model?

October 13, 2010

One of the uncomfortable truths about the last few years is that we're not going back to the old normal.  Perhaps it is a manifestation of the thought that Oliver Wendell Holmes expressed when he said:

"One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."

But…like our minds, our experiences and our expectations can't regain their original form, once they've been stretched (good or bad).  And boy, have the last few years stretched all of us!

Other factors have taken their toll as well.  Look at how our lives are different, simply because of the presence of:

• the internet
• mobile technology/phones
• the expectation of on demand products and services (Netflix on your Wii for example)

When I say to someone….imagine for a minute that you didn't have a cell phone — they are instantly thrown into a panic state (in varying degrees) at the image.  I can remember walking through an airport (20 years ago) and seeing a guy on a huge cell phone.  At the time, I couldn't fathom why anyone would need or want one.  Now…like most of us, I very rarely have it further than an arm's reach away.

We get it when we're the consumer.  Life has changed, our consumption has changed and we aren't going back.  But….have your business model and practices made the same shift?

As you know…the Age of Conversation series donates all of the proceeds to charity.  The first two books benefited Variety, the Children's Charity.  But this year, we wanted to partner with a new organization.

We polled the authors and Make-A-Wish was the first choice.  So I reached out to them, to invite them to be the recipient of our efforts.  Keep in mind that books I and II generated well over $20,000.  So we're not talking chump change here.

The folks at MAW were very nice, quick to respond and connect.  But when I explained what we wanted to do — their business model got in the way.  We had to be willing to guarantee that each and every author would reference MAW in a certain way and only use their approved language on any blog post, tweet, Facebook update etc.

We can barely get everyone to turn in their chapters, so we knew there was no way we could make that promise.  MAW stood firm and walked away from the opportunity.

In today's world — that business model is broken.  I am the first to advocate for managing your brand.  But you cannot control every voice and you cannot regulate every potential evangelist.

Our second choice was UNICEF.  Through a personal contact (thanks LinkedIn) I was able to get to one of their big dogs on the charitable gifts side.  She passed me onto someone in her department, who literally ignored my calls for almost a month.  I even called and spoke to his admin assistant to get his e-mail address.  But he couldn't be bothered…and UNICEF lost the opportunity.

In today's world — that business model is broken.  Gone are the days when you can take your sweet time to return a call or ignore a potential customer.  We don't tolerate long waits anymore.  We just move on.  But…as we move on, we typically share the story (as I am) about the disappointing behavior.

Our third choice was charity: water.  Through a contact Andy Sernovitz (thanks word of mouth), we connected with Director of Digital Engagement Paul Young.  In two quick e-mails….we were on board and charity: water will benefit from the worldwide effort.  

charity: water understood the crowdsourcing model we use for creating the books.  They have an attitude of "assume everyone is good and will do good if you invite them" rather than the old, protectionism model of the past.  They also understood that in today's world, business is conducted in minutes, not days.

As a result — with your help, we're going to make sure many children around the globe has clean water to drink.

How about you and your business?  Have you changed with the times?  Do you embrace today's expectations, possibilities and new fangled ways of doing things?  Or are you still behaving as though the past 10 years never happened?

Smart reads that will make you DO

October 10, 2010

I've read some really fantastic books lately and I want to share three of them with you.  Each one is very different but has one thing in common — they will make you want to try something new or do something different.

That's actually about as high a compliment as I can give a business book.  It inspires me to DO something in a better, smarter, more creative, more profitable, more giving way. 

That's what makes guys like Steve Farber, Joe Calloway and Harry Beckwith such brilliant business book authors.  They get us to DO.

I think you'll find these three books have the same effect.

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hasson (click on the title to buy the book)

These guys run a company called 37signals.  Their book is really about the whole of running a company — from marketing to hiring. 

It's all about simplifying for them.  They're about breaking the rules.  They are about defining success in a post recession sort of way.   because some of the things we have in our heads…is just plain wrong.  (often ego-driven wrong)

They are contrarians for sure.  But what makes this book so valuable is that they aren't contrarians in an abstract way.  Their company not only survived but thrived in this down economy.  And they want to share how they did it.

Here's one of my favorite quotes:

“When you let customers outgrow you, you’ll most likely wind out up with a product that’s basic….  Small simple needs are constant. There’s an endless supply of customers who need exactly that.”

You don't have to paint the Mona Lisa to pay your mortgage.  There are a lot of people who just want a pretty landscape to put over their sofa.  Do that well….and sell it to a lot of people.  Sure beats trying to hit the Mona Lisa homerun.

The book is the perfect model for this kind of thinking.The chapters are solid hits — short, to the point and very little window dressing.  They don't swing for the fence with every word…but they end up winning the game.

Note:  If you read their blog Signal vs. Noise — much of this will sound familiar.  Doesn't mean it isn't worth reading, just want to warn you.

Brains on Fire by Robbin Phillips, Greg Cordell, Geno Church and Spike Jones (click on the title to buy the book)

Brains on Fire is an agency in South Carolina that specializes in word of mouth marketing…but in a "create a movement" kind of way.  They argue (as you have heard me say many times) that marketing is about connecting and actually mattering to your customers.  How do you do that — by giving a rip about what they give a rip about. (and it's not your business or product!)

The book delves into 10 lessons that you can apply to your marketing efforts to go from talking at them…to mattering to them.

1. Movements Aren’t About the Product Conversation; They’re About the PassionConversation
2. Movements Start with the First Conversation
3. Movements Have Inspirational Leadership
4. Movements Have a Barrier of Entry
5. Movements Empower People with Knowledge
6. Movements Have Shared Ownership
7. Movements Have Powerful Identities
8. Movements Live Both Online and Offline
9. Movements Make Advocates Feel Like Rock Stars
10. Movements Get Result

Here's what makes this book so powerful.  It will infiltrate your brain and have you re-examining every marketing moment you create.  It will have you thinking beyond an ad or a campaign…and shift to thinking about creating a movement.

“A movement elevates and empowers people to unite a community around a common cause, passion, company, brand or organization.”

That sounds like recession-proof thinking to me.  Fair warning…this is not about social media.  Or any single tactic.  This is about being significant, however that might manifest itself.

That takes some bravery, so don't tread lightly.  Are you really ready to do something different?

Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan (click on title to buy the book)

Let me just say this right off the bat.  I've never been to a Grateful Dead concert and I could really care less about their music.  I don't dislike it…but it doesn't matter to me.

So when I started reading this book, I wondered if that would taint my experience with it.   I worried that non-Deadheads would find the references out of context or irrelevant.  It was completely a non-issue.  The book is fantastic.

One of the core messages in the book is that genuinely caring actually works.  In many cases, the band broke the rules because it was better for their fans.  Without having any idea they were doing it — the Dead created a living case study to sampling, niching, and loyalty programs.   They were word of mouth marketers….all by accident!

David and Brian do a good job of connecting the many Dead examples with more traditional business examples, if you need that literal translation.  Bu honestly you won't.  You'll be dog-earring pages so you can deadhead your marketing efforts!

Note:  I was sent all of these books by the publishers and the links are Amazon affiliate links.

Are you smart enough to know what they really want?

October 7, 2010

Sometimes I think we get in our own way.  Our heads over think and we don't just trust our instincts.  

Try this experiment.

Grab some paper and a pencil/pen.  Without any editing and within one minute — jot down the three reasons people buy from you.  

No censoring, no being politically correct, no company speak.  Just trust your gut.

Once you're done, take a look at the list.  Are those the benefits you talk about on your website, in your brochure and as you pitch a prospect?

I'm betting not.  You have "marketing speak" in all those places.  You aren't speaking from your customers' heart. 

What would you say if you were truly speaking in their voice…about what actually matters to them?

(The photo is a high end restaurant in Chicago.  I'm sure they have thick steaks, fresh flown in seafood and the best liquors and wines.  But check out what they promote in their middle window.)  

Marketing tip #63: Facebook should be a part of your video strategy

October 5, 2010

Are you creating and sharing video as a part of your marketing strategy?  No doubt you are uploading your work to YouTube as you should.  YouTube and parent company Google top the charts, in terms of online video views.

No surprise there.  

But what might surprise you is that Facebook is #2. Over  58.6 million Facebook users viewed at least one video in August 2010.  That group of people racked up 243 million viewing sessions among them.  That's a lot of eyeball time!

So, if video is part of your mix — don't stop at YouTube.  Be sure you're sharing and spotlighting your videos on your Fan page or through your newsfeed updates on Facebook too.  

One of the added benefits of sharing video on Facebook is how easy it is for your friends/fans to take that video viral.  With a simple click, they can like, share or comment on the video — instantly putting it on their newsfeed too.  (Assuming their privacy settings aren't incredibly stringent.)  

In some ways — that instant shareability (I know it doesn't exist but it's a good word!) trumps the volume that YouTube can give you.  The Word of Mouth reference is golden and sure beats 3 strangers stumbling onto your video.

Don't get me wrong — YouTube is still king but in terms of creating buzz, borrowing credibility from your friends/fans and generating some word of mouth chatter — Facebook is tough to beat.

I'm curious — are you more likely to watch a video that a friend has commented on or shared…or one that you you see referenced in a news article, blog post or some other third party mention?

Happy 4th blogiversary to me!

October 1, 2010

Yikes…

it was 4 years ago last week that I hit publish on my first blog post (Thanks to the nagging of my blog coach).  I had no idea that it would propel me on an adventure that would have me:

• co-editing 3 books with my now good friend Gavin Heaton
• co-creating an event called Blogger’s Social that would bring marketing professionals from around the globe together
• co-serving on many social media advisories, crews and teams

And…writing 1105 blog posts which generated over 10,000 comments.  (Do the math — we’re a chatty bunch!)

But as I look back on the adventure and my good fortune, I cannot help but see a common theme.  The prefix “co.”  I didn’t do any of this on my own — I did it with you — my readers, my friends and my peers.

Thanks for your collaboration.  I can’t wait to see what we cook up together in the coming year!

Think social media isn’t for B2B segment? Think again.

September 29, 2010

it seems like many of the social media examples that people use on a daily basis (Zappos, Dell, etc.) are B2C products which sometimes gives the false impression that you have to sell a "thing" for this social media stuff to work.

Hardly.

Check out this little video (done by the Earnest Agency out of London) that puts some very interesting stats on the table.  See if you recognize yourself in the video! (e-mail readers, click here to view video.)

So, what do you think?  What do the stats say to you?