Whenever I sit down to go through ideas for blog posts, I inevitably think of a few that sound great, only to realize hey, we already wrote that one. A lot of the things we wrote about last year are still relevant even now – maybe more so.

Looking back through our logs, it’s no surprise to find some content was more popular than others. After all, we’re still experimenting to find the sort of thing you, our readers, find most useful.

To make sure you didn’t miss any of the good ones from last year, here’s a short list of our most viewed posts from 2009.

Why Good Customer Service Is So Important

5 Reasons Not to Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession

Elements of Internet Marketing

Going Nuts? Don’t Cut your Marketing

Should You Put Video On Your Website?

Understanding Web Design

14 Practical Uses For Social Media

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Photo courtesy of kevinzim

Stuff You Liked From 2009 is a post from: RSA Blog

Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘whoa, that has got to be one of the worst jobs’.  Maybe you were walking down the street and had a little pity on the poor ‘jo’ that had to spend his day analyzing smells emanating from the local locker room.  This summer (it’s over – boo, hiss) we started working on a series of commercials for Western Dakota Tech based on the creative notion – what kind of jobs would you just hate to be stuck in? Steve B. from WDT and the RSA team had a great time coming up with outlandish jobs. We landed on a few that really seemed desperate and began production. Our goal was to encourage anyone who might want to improve their life to consider taking online courses through WDT for business management and marketing. Ever had one of these jobs?

1)  Human Pinata – How fun is it to go to parties, hang from a tree, and meet the power of 5-year-olds with BATS?

2) Professional Kiss-up – Yes sir, you’re a genius! Ever notice someone following an executive around and wonder…’what do they do all day?’ Well, maybe they have to kiss-up all day long… oh joy!

3) The Shredder Guy – Initially inspired by “The Office” – we wanted to show an over-worked, under-paid person working in a small office doing his overwhelmingly mundane work. Naturally, an ‘office accident’ is likely to occur.

4) Assistant on a Leash – Don’t ya hate it when the boss never gets your name right but always expects you to know everything and be at their beckoning call?  Not the greatest gig, admit it.

Production went on and we had a blast yanking, smacking, shredding and blowing hot air all over the place.  Turns out that all of our fun paid off and the commercials received Platinum & Gold MarCom Awards.

• A Platinum Award for the television campaign promoting the online degree program. The ads tell stories about people in terrible jobs – just as a human piñata – who choose WDT to improve their lives.
• A Gold Award for the radio campaign promoting the online degree program. The radio ads tell stories similar to the TV ads.

The MarCom Awards competition received over 5,000 entries from all over the world. The winners ranged from Advertising agency to Fortune 500 companies.

WDT is showing a 20% improvement in their enrollment this year, and they’re bursting at the seams. We continued into the fall producing more emotional based commercials that show specific values WDT has to offer a range of students – hands-on training, affordability, and one-on-one attention from professors.

It’s been great working with WDT over that past several years and it gets better as we go.  Congratulations guys!

The Worst Job Gets National Awards is a post from: RSA Blog

In the audio below, I cover some basic questions that you need to consider before making a decision about web video, and talk about the age-old question of costs.  While the discussion will continue in-depth in the weeks to come, this first clip should help you begin the decision-making process with some easy-to-understand fundamentals and historical perspective.

Give it a listen:

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Should You Put Video On Your Website? is a post from: RSA Blog

It’s often said that if a picture is worth a thousand words, video is worth a million, as it has to power to  relate emotional value that is unprecedented.

Recently, our video team had the opportunity to work with the Volunteers of America-Dakota to create a video that tells the ‘day in the life’ story of staff from this non-profit organization.

Video has the ability to translate raw emotion, capture rare moments, tell a story, see into the private lives of everyday people, and make indelible impressions.  Today, video is in the hands of the public every day via cell phones, handy cams, and web cams…taking advantage of this powerful tool, anyone can use video to help those in need.

Online video networks like Youtube, Hulu, and Viddler create giant stages for the world to tell their stories and even 3rd world countries are starting their own ’slumdog millionaire’ type productions.

In South Dakota there are multiple locations where those in need can find support like housing, food, clothes, toys, and medical resources for their families.  This support system is quite impressive and the degree of encouragement, hope, and education had quite an effect on us.

Volunteers of America-Dakota used the footage we shot in a fundraiser video to create a tangible understanding of how their financial support really does make a difference.

We were proud to be a part of capturing these stories – how these volunteers work with troubled teens, meet family necessities, and help people get back on the right path.

Be Bold Minded.

Video Helps Volunteers of America is a post from: RSA Blog

Remember watching VH1 back around 1996-2000 when they had ‘Pop-up’ video?  It was the biggest thing going for a little while.  Basically, VH1 would take music videos from all genres and play them with fun little pop-up cartoon bubbles that showed funny little comments like trivia, wardrobe style comments (or lack thereof), and mocking the plot of the video.  It was always very entertaining, sort of like a music video ‘roast’.

In June of 2008, Youtube started playing with the idea of Annotation, based on the same concept as pop-up bubbles except these are INTERACTIVE (if you want).  Users who uploaded videos have the ability add pop-up bubbles or invisible ‘hot spots’ to their youtube videos on their youtube channel. Why is this a big deal?  It’s INTERACTIVE!  Users can create hotlinks from their video to other videos in their archive or elsewhere on Youtube.This is awesome, especially for guys like Chad, Matt, and Rob who used the concept to make a ‘choose your own adventure’ movie.  At the end of every clip, you must choose the next destination for Chad, Matt, & Rob via clicking on a interactive bubble.  There’s lots of other ideas out there too.  Enjoy…  Annotations get even better NEXT…

NOW,

you can also invite the world to add annotations to your video or invite specific people too.  You have complete control. To learn how to use annotations… watch the video at the bottom of this blog.

The upside is that Google is doing a great job of pushing the envelope of idea’s and giving the creative control to the users, not limiting it.  The downside is that this little opportunity could possibly muck-up a lot of videos if they aren’t managed well.

As for me, I love it!  It’s a great new playground to enjoy and might even take me back to when I actually watched tv and VH1 pop-up videos (I can still here the jingle…Pop-up vid-eee-ohss…..lalalalla)

Be Bold Minded.

Youtube, Pop-up Video Annotations is a post from: RSA Blog

No. It is not so. *sighs of relief* The advertising world is changing, though – and rightly so.

Advertising is not dead; it just needs to be less of a one-sided conversation and become a more social dialogue with the consumer. (Sorry Kyle, I’ve got to say consumer to go along with her shirt.) As long as there is such a thing as competitive business, advertising and marketing will continue to live, ever flourishing in the perpetual evolutionary dance that is society…or something like that.

With the rise of social media, people truly are looking for more/needing more from us (advertisers), and from you as a business. Now, online social venues are excellent platforms to do the following:

• Know the consumer.
• Love the consumer.
• Feel the consumer.
• Engage the consumer.
• LISTEN to the consumer.
• INTERACT with the consumer.

But, online communities are not the only method of connecting with people (prospects, consumers, friends, etc.). You may also find that a live fleshy handshake, pat on the back or handwritten note will help to bring the love back and open the door for this much needed connection.

Making this connection will not negate the need for advertising (as you still need to stay on the top of people’s mind), but it will render your advertising more effective – helping you get the most out of your ad/marketing dollars.

The top video (“The Break Up”) is a comedic portrayal of a divorce that the Consumer files from the insensitive Advertiser. The bottom video (its sequel, and better half – “Inspiration, anyone?”), demonstrates how Advertiser comes around and finds inspiration to re-connect with Consumer.

In short, Advertiser needs Consumer, and (to a certain degree) Consumer needs Advertiser.

Today’s consumer doesn’t need yesterday’s advertiser, though, but a new and improved advertiser that is inspired by who the consumer is. Advertising is not dead, and will not die as long as it stays symbioticly in touch with those consuming it.

What are your thoughts? Please feel free to comment below!

Is advertising really dead? is a post from: RSA Blog

And the digital TV conversion saga continues. On Wednesday (Jan. 28), the House defeated the bill to delay the big switch. But the Associated Press states that the “battle over a delay may not be over, with some predicting the House will take up the measure again next week.” If you’re hungry for a complete update on the situation, check out the above referenced article.

(Original Post)

The Big Buzz in the TV world is that, come February 17th, all full-power broadcast stations in the United States are to stop transmitting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting in digital only.

www.dtv2009.gov

However, Senate voted yesterday, January 26th, to delay the big switch for nearly four months. The new deadline: June 12th.

So why the big delay? The answer, Digital Converter Boxes, or the lack there of. For awhile you couldn’t find them anywhere (not even in a back alley of New York). To multiply the problem, many of the government issued coupons expired while the consumer waited on more converter boxes to arrive. So now the consumers are yet again requesting coupons. Currently there are about 2.5 million Americans waiting on government issued coupons ($40) to offset the cost of converter boxes. The government ran out of them in early January.

Is the government to blame? Not necessarily. West Virginia Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller said delaying the digital switch was the right thing to do because the United States was not ready to make the transition yet. Rockefeller also said:

Senator Rockefeller

“The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process.”

My big question, why did the government put such a short expiration date on the coupon in the first place (90-day redemption window)? Their reason: to encourage the consumer to use their coupon promptly (must have been part of their economic stimulus program). Hindsight is 20/20, though. They should have used X-Box or Sony Playstation as a supply and demand example. How long were stores’ shelves empty of these high demand electronics?

The FCC is prepared to help with the digital transition by giving away coupons towards the purchase of Digital Converter Boxes. You can get more information on the FCC’s Converter Box Program here. So if your coupon expired, or you forgot to request one in the first place, you still have time… again.

Hold on to your Digital Converter Boxes! is a post from: RSA Blog

The Department of Tourism even stepped up this year with a blog about the tourism conference updated regularly.  They’ve even been experiment on social sites like Facebook too.  If you see them on twitter or other places, let me know.

Overall, I enjoyed the conference…it was a great working, learning, and playing experience with new and old friends like Johnny B. with Reptile Gardens, Dave Geisler with Pioneer Auto, and the Husteads from Wall Drug.  I hope that BBM studios continues to grow with the industry and continues to help each individual see the potential they have to make an impact to visitors in South Dakota.

…It’s interesting to note that there were more attendees to the Internet Marketing “Advanced” seminar than the “101 intro” seminar.  South Dakotan’s must be catching up!  Also, while having a side conversation with Mr. Bailey, I asked him “what web trend will reign supreme in 2009?”  He said “Video, without a doubt“.

We’re excited about tourism in South Dakota, we’re excited about bringing innovative ideas to our clients, and we’re excited about continuing to build South Dakota into a bigger icon than just four faces on a mountain!

Be Bold Minded

SD Tourism Conference: A Social Connection is a post from: RSA Blog

The tourism industry is the #1 industry in South Dakota…or #2 depending on who you talk too – I admit I’m a little biased because I grew up in this industry.  Finding new ways to keep tourism healthy, especially under the current economic conditions, is a primary concern.  My take on this?  We need to utilize the power of consumer internet searches and get involved with current and potential travelers to South Dakota by participating in online community-driven conversations through social media platforms.

This year the theme of the Governor’s Conference on Tourism is “Making the Connection”.  The State of SD takes this opportunity to bring in great speakers for educational seminars.  This year one of the highlights is Garrison Wynn from Wynn Solutions who gave a fantastic key note presentation – “Being the Best vs. Being Consistently Chosen”.  He shared some excellent insight on the value of relationships for business, which interestingly enough, is the whole objective of a social media campaign.

The first night of the conference always proves to be an interesting opportunity to meet new people and loosen up.  This years social was sponsored by the South Dakota Game Fish & Parks Department.  It was an exciting night of giant slideshows, buffalo chip throwing, photos with wildlife (stuffed! ; )), and video games for the hunters.  It was great time and I’m looking forward to another run of presentations today including tips & tricks for working with the internet (it will be interesting to hear what they say…), and how businesses are going green.

If you are looking to “make the connection” with Tourism in the state of South Dakota, the two main websites are:  www.travelsd.com and www.sdvisit.com.

Stay tuned!

2009 South Dakota Tourism – Make the Connection is a post from: RSA Blog

This is where the true beauty of  modern technology comes in…people begin talking, sharing what they see with other users and the video spreads…like a virus, hence the term ‘viral marketing’.

Here is the most watched video on youtube.  Guess how many times it’s been viewed…nope, higher.  Come’on…HIGHER…how about 111,124,422.  Over one hundred and eleven million views!

Let me give you a quick lowdown on how important online videos is in today’s world.  These statistics are from the January 5 press release from comScore.com showing video statistics from the month of November 2008.

- Internet users viewed 12.7 billion videos in Nov. 2008 (up 34% from 1 year ago) – YouTube has 40% of that market share.

- Out of the more than 146 million viewers, each of them watched an average of 87 videos – YouTube had 98 million of those users, about 2 out of 3 users.

Here’s some more useful stats from the report.

• 77% of the total U.S. Internet audience watched a video online
• The average online video viewer watched 273 minutes of video
• 97 million viewers watched 5.1 billion videos on YouTube.com (52.3 videos per viewer)
• 52.5 million viewers watched 371 million videos on MySpace.com (7.1 videos per viewer)
• The duration of the average online video was 3.1 minutes
• The duration of the average online video viewed at Hulu was 11.9 minutes, higher than any other video property in the top ten

Okay, so this is the deal.  Like every marketing strategy, you MUST know your customer.  Who they are and where they find their information.  The internet isn’t the only destination for information, but it is the number one destination.  That’s why its the information super highway.

smile!

Today’s marketing strategy is changing and it’s no longer based on what I, the marketer, wants to say about my product. It’s moving towards what the world is saying about my product.  The businesses and marketers learning how to distribute original content that encourages social interaction related to their product, and work towards building an emotional relationship between their product and the customer will have the leading edge. It’s  old-school friend/enemy making.  It’s like having a birthday party and inviting  your friends, except today, your friends can twitter, video, and blog about how good or bad it was.  Uncle Bernard isn’t the only one with a video camera now.

Video is a gigantic tool that is becoming easier to use, more accessible, and easier to share.  Every trend hunter out there is projecting a huge increase in the use of viral video for online marketing and user generator content.  If you want to see what BBM Studios is doing, keep and eye on our Youtube Channel.

The curtains are moving off to the side and every passerby now has the ability to take their cell phone camera, record a video, and post it to the world … and then ask opinions.  Now that’s viral marketing.

More posts on video to come including ‘how to’s’, new technology, and how to harness the power of this innovative tool.  Click on our RSS feed at the top of the blog and follow us to stay connected.

New Marketing Trends – Viral Videos is a post from: RSA Blog