By Tarah Heupel | August 5, 2010

As self-professed social media junkies, we have a pretty robust obsession with keeping tabs on what’s happening right now in all facets of the marketing world. We constantly have our eyes peeled for info about emerging technologies, new platforms, and most importantly, innovative campaigns that mix it up in new ways.

Take, for example, some of the inspiring (or at least creative) work we’ve been passing around the office this week: …Read more »

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By Kyle McCabe | July 7, 2010

A while ago I wrote about the idea of being “transparent” or “authentic” in the social web. My theory is that full transparency is actually over-disclosure (and therefore undesirable), and authenticity just means don’t be fake (rather than meaning “show yourself without any sort of filter,” as the word might imply).

This theory applies to social business (use of social media for an organization) as well.

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Transparency in Business

No single person is obligated to tell anyone anything (outside the legal sphere), but good communication demands a certain level of honesty. …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | July 1, 2010

?

The Black Hills Home Builders Association recently help a seminar for its members and invited RSA to come speak to them about social media for business. It was a great time with a small, intimate group, and we fielded quite a few questions. Here are a few of those questions, including our answers.

What is Twitter?
I’ve written about Twitter here a couple times. In short, it’s a networking tool, a way to engage in conversation with people around the globe. It may be new technology, but it’s still just people talking. Sign up for an account and post, 140 characters at a time, about things that matter to you and the people you wish to interact with, whether they be customers, prospects, colleagues or friends.

Try using Twitter’s search feature to find people talking about topics of interest, and begin to engage them. Keep in mind every “tweet” is an invitation to engage – people want to hear from you! …Read more »

By Aubrey Watts | May 18, 2010

Kashi Company...On a mission to keep their branding consistent

Still jealous of our fearless leader’s trip to Florida while we suffered through a mid-spring wintery mess, we cornered Robert into giving us another lesson he took away from the Alliance of Marketing Communications Agencies conference in West Palm Beach.

Takeaway #2: Branding is not just a logo, it’s a means to success

For any new company, success is the ultimate goal – to come out above competitors – but many small businesses often find themselves falling short. One of the biggest mistakes made is failing to understand what a brand is. Establishing a brand is the first crucial step towards true success. Not only is a brand important to the success of your business, it also allows for the opportunity to share what your company is about, who you are and what your business have to offer. …Read more »

By Tarah Heupel | May 13, 2010

Last week, as Rapid City was pounded with rain, snow, and blistering winds (in early May, no less), our fearless leader ventured south to attend the Alliance of Marketing Communications Agencies conference in West Palm Beach.

Lady Gaga recycles...and uses genius product placement.

While Robert didn’t bring back sunshine or “I swam with dolphins” t-shirts for the worker bees, he did gift us with some conference nuggets that we’d love to share.

Takeaway #1: kids are smart.

Today’s tweens have grown up in the world of 24/7 advertising, where everything from their underpants to their morning cereal is a blatant advertisement for a movie superhero, cartoon character, or up-and-coming pop star. Tweens are exposed to so many messages in any given day that they’ve learned to tune out the noise, skipping commercials and ignoring movie previews altogether. So what’s a marketer to do? …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | January 26, 2010

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In an economic drought, good customer service is digging for water. You have to work at it and be smart about it, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are a few things you can do right now to improve your customer service.

1. Listen to your customers
Listen to their complaints. Listen to their problems and their solutions. Listen to their successes and failures, their goals and plans, hopes and dreams; their boring and crazy stories. But don’t just be passive. Ask your customers to talk!

These are the people you need, and who need you. They are the lifeblood of your business, and they are your community. Get to know them, build relationships. Build trust. It starts with listening. Share their excitement, but be quick to root out and squash the causes of their frustrations. …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | January 19, 2010

Blogging is a waste of time?

Seriously, why bother? Isn’t this kind of a waste of time? It’s not like blogs really matter – it’s just throwaway content, after all. What really matters is the website.

False.

Look, the web is about two things: content and search. Content because that’s what you’ve come for, and search because that’s how you find the content. Nothing else matters.

In light of this, a blog can be the most important tool you employ for two reasons: …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | December 22, 2009

Don't get robbed.

I don’t know anything about rockets or surgery. If I wanted to find a good rocket surgeon, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to start. I’m not at all confident I could find the right person for the job; someone who won’t rip me off or do a half-baked job (hey, no disrespect to rocket surgeons, but some of you are kind of shady).

If you feel that way about finding a good web designer*, I may be able to help (yeah, some of you are shady, too).

There are key values, practices or qualifications in any profession that can help you judge its practitioners. So you might proceed in your search with greater confidence, I’ve outlined below some key things to look for in a good web designer (Surprisingly, little of it has to do with actual ‘design’ skill).

1. A good web designer listens.
It’s incredibly difficult to solve a design problem without knowing what that problem is. …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | November 10, 2009

Twitter overload...

I was reluctant – VERY reluctant – to write this post. Do we really need another post about Twitter? I’ve run across some Twitter users (for biz) lately that tells me perhaps we do. After all, some people are just now signing up, and may not have read any of the twizillion “Twitter 101″ posts available.

So… here we are. How to set up and use Twitter for business.

1. Use your real name.
When you sign up your account, include your real name. It can be your username or not, but include it in the “name” field at the least.

If you don’t want people to know who you are, social media probably isn’t for you. …Read more »

By Jillian Anderson | October 5, 2009

Are you ready for the holidays?   Well, it is now October – Rapid City’s first snow has fallen.  Yes, it is long-due time to start thinking about the holidays – and holiday advertising (see tips below).

With a well crafted message, promotion and placement, holiday advertising can be incredibly effective.  Whether your business is retail or service oriented and regardless of your product’s gifting nature, the holidays are an opportune time to connect with people.

Reasons for holiday advertising:

• People are in the buying/giving spirit and feeling nostalgic.
• Your competition is surely advertising.  If they’re not, you have a huge advantage!
• TOMA (top of mind awareness). During the holidays, people have a number of things on their minds.  Even if you’re not selling gifts, you don’t want them to forget about you.
• People are looking for deals and gift ideas – paying attention to ads.
• Increased sales numbers. We’ve seen clients experience a 50% sales increase (or more) from a holiday ad campaign!
• There are plenty more.  What are your reasons for advertising, or not, during the holidays?
  

Ok, but why so soon?

Honestly, the sooner the better – many companies even start planning in the summer. Locally, it is best to have your holiday campaigns planned and placed (or at least started) by mid-October! …Read more »