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 »

Thanks for coming back! We'd really like to hear what you think of this post, so don't be shy with the comments!

By Ken | November 5, 2009

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? …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | October 20, 2009

Is full transparency really a good idea?

Almost every “how-to” or list of tips on using social media includes some kind of advice on being authentic or transparent. I’m not convinced we all agree on what things like transparency and authenticity mean in this context.

Transparency
No one is really serious about full transparency. Full transparency would entail communication of every detail of your life. I don’t know about you, but I’m not too keen on the idea I should tell you when I use the bathroom or what my email password is. If I update a social app with the fact that I’ve left work, I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you where I’m going. Or who I’m meeting. Or what kind of drugs I’m buying. What?

Yes, the truth is there’s stuff I don’t want you to know about. Stuff you *shouldn’t* know. Not drugs, exactly – I’ve been clean for at least a few weeks. The point is “transparency” is sort of a misnomer – no one really means it. Translucent? The reality is probably more opaque. …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | October 15, 2009

I wrote the other day that you already “do” marketing by having a presence in the marketplace – your storefront. From there, all your business activity is, or should be, focused on bringing customers in the door.

Your website is the marketing hub

So unless you’re an online business, your brick-and-mortar store is the hub of your marketing efforts. Your website, then, should be the hub for your online marketing, and in turn, should point customers to your store.

If you sell products directly from your website, customers are already “at” your store. But even if you don’t have that e-commerce element, you’re still making a pitch of some sort to your web visitors, and trying to convince them to take an action. …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe | October 13, 2009

Everyone has goals.

If you own, manage or work in a business, you’re a marketer. Marketing may not be your specialty – that is, you may not be the one calling the shots when it comes to marketing plans and decisions, but you are still an integral part of that activity. You are a marketer, like it or not.

Don’t think so? Think clear back to a time when (generally) a “market” meant a place in town where booths, shops and carts were set up to sell meats, produce, and other goods. That’s marketing at its most basic: a presence in the marketplace.

Bear with me, now, as I try to connect some dots.

Humans, by their very nature, are goal-seeking. We can’t escape it. Since we have goals, we also have strategies. Without thinking we form strategies and implement tactics to achieve objectives. From our perspective it seems like we’re just washing dishes or running errands, but the processes behind these actions relate to our goals. It’s automatic. It’s human nature. …Read more »

By Jillian Anderson | October 8, 2009

"People are in social media to be socially active, not to be sold."

Earlier this week, I attended a Social Networking seminar at Western Dakota Tech, put on by the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce.  It was really quite interesting with approximately 85 people from local businesses in attendance.

I was particularly interested in what Adam Beshara (Marketing Specialist at Golden West Technologies) would share about Twitter and then how Realtor Lee Alley (with Prudential Kahler Realtors) would talk about Facebook for business.  Both of these presenters impressed me with their realistic take/talk about social media for business in general.  So much so, I want to share some of their key (form my perspective) points.

…Read more »

By Jillian Anderson and Coree Foster | 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 »

By Kyle McCabe | September 29, 2009

She's right...

What is “good” web design? Many people don’t understand what makes websites good or bad, and some are even surprised to learn that effective web design takes time, and isn’t cheap. Let me explain…

When you look at a website, you’re looking at an end product. Like a car, there’s really no indication of what went into the creation of the product. We can break it down into its individual parts – wheels, pistons, frame, gears – but we don’t know *why* they, specifically, were used in its construction, or how to acquire and assemble the right types of parts for another car.

Who decides what’s good?

Most of us probably don’t understand how cars are designed, and have only a basic understanding of how they work. But we do know how to use them. We call them “sweet” or “clunker,” seeing distinctions in quality based on various attributes, such as age, safety, power, or utility.

Let’s dwell on that for a second. The designers and engineers who build these complex machines understand them a gazillion times better than you or I, and yet *we* are the arbiters of automotive quality? How does that work? …Read more »

By Jillian Anderson | September 15, 2009

A couple of months ago, Kyle wrote an excellent post highlighting 5 Reasons Not to Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession.  His points being:

• Your reputation can suffer.
• When times are tough, people look for deals.
• If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.
• Marketing in a recession can give you a competitive advantage.
• Cut advertising, cut market share.

I want to take another look at the fourth point here, as marketing in a recession really does give you an advantage.  In truth, marketing ANY time gives you an advantage. But when the economy is down and a lot of businesses are cutting their marketing budgets, your dollars can go even further because there are fewer or weaker messages out there to compete with. …Read more »

By Kyle McCabe, Natalie and Jillian Anderson | September 11, 2009

Hey everyone, big thanks to those of you who attended our IM seminar over lunch on Wednesday. We had a blast, and hope you enjoyed it and found it helpful. Thanks to the Howard Johnson Inn & Suites in Rapid City for hosting the event.

We’ve embedded the slide deck below for your reference, and also included some key takeaways from what we talked about. As always, if you have any questions leave a comment or get in touch with us in whatever way you prefer. ;)

We’re also going to be posting some more related info in the coming weeks that should help clarify some things we discussed, so stay tuned for that. Go ahead and subscribe if you like, so you don’t have to remember to check back!  We are always open to suggestions for new blog posts.  If there is something you would like us to write about or if you have any questions, feel free to comment below.

…Read more »