Subject Matter Specialist

MELISSA G. SCHMIDT, “MISSY”
Subject Matter Specialist – Strategy Meets Execution

Delivering ROI. Building win-win relationships.

Focused on business development and entrepreneurship.

Breaking down sales and operational silos.

35+ years of experience in innovative leadership and organizational development, delivering on business plans through strategic planning and execution.

Motivating and managing diverse teams for greatest impact and effectiveness.

QUALIFICATIONS SUMMARY:
• Strategic Market Planning | New Business Development | Manufacturing & Distribution
• Strategic Communication | Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Data Analysis and Management
• Bleeding Edge Marketing Technologist | Brand Development | Product Development
• Customer Relationships | Key Stakeholder Management & Customer Retention
• Budgeting & Expense Control | Contract & Price Negotiation | Purchasing Management
• Government Contracting | Legislative Monitoring | Community Outreach & Public Affairs
• Manage Technology, Food Service, Automotive, Retail, Nonprofits (Trade and Human Services)

SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE

xTuple – World's #1 Open Source ERP, February 2012 – present
xTuple.com – xTupleUniversity.com
Vice President of Marketing: Driving revenue in collaboration with sales and operations teams. Member of management team responsible for strategic planning, company vision, leadership and execution. Tightly connected to arts, economic development, startup and entrepreneurial communities – both locally in southeastern Virginia and nationally.
• Direct buyer persona (target lifecycle development), lead generation, customer conversions
• Manage company's global user conference, all inbound and outbound communication, including sales campaigns, content creation and syndication, websites and external digital properties, social media, public relations and value-added reseller/ channel partnerships
• Interface and guide user experience (UX) development with application engineers
• Influence new business management software development for key customers in manufacturing and distribution, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) and business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce.

Hampton Roads Partnership, September 2008 – February 2012
(Nonprofit economic development trade association dissolved September 2013, assumed by Hampton Roads Community Foundation)
Vice President of Strategic Communication and Marketing: Moving key stakeholders and citizens to action. Pursuing competitiveness in a global economy by facilitating regional collaboration and action among business, academia, defense, nonprofit, government and citizens. Devise and implement comprehensive internal (membership) and external (public) communication strategy and outreach plan to extend the impact of regional programs. Develop regional Legislative Agenda. Develop public participation component of region’s first comprehensive economic development strategy, "Vision Hampton Roads" and create all communication for “Innovate Hampton Roads.” Archived at http://hrp.org/Site/programs/strategic-plans

Innovation Gardening, May 2007 – February 2012
Chief Innovation Officer/Marketing Ambassador: Award-winning sales and marketing, business development, communication and event planning. Networked within government, business and nonprofits supporting regional economic “gardening” efforts, i.e., economic growth from within local markets.
• Director of Communications and Marketing (contract) for CASE, LLC, part of Chenega Corporation; Develop government proposals, especially past performance reviews, all in support of Business Development
• Technology Hampton Roads “Pentagon South”: Website design and outbound communication for Defense and Homeland Security Consortium, a technology community initiative
• Grassroots video campaign: Hampton Roads Partnership’s “Beat The Gridlock” transportation initiative, including collaboration with Port of Virginia
• Hampton Roads Chapter of American Marketing Association: Website design HRAMA.org

Friendship Industries, Inc., September 2001 – June 2007
Director of Sales and Marketing: Human services organization empowering persons with disabilities with training and employment opportunities in integrated work environments. Built new position from existing base of customers.
• Coordinated feasibility and marketing studies to seek and grow new business opportunities
• Grew business from $1.5M to $4M, operating 90% of time as road warrior
• Contributed to and implemented Strategic Plan and created first Sales and Marketing Plan as part of Executive Management Team
• Managed customer relationships and trained and managed internal customer service
• Negotiated and maintained sales contracts, including estimating and pricing
• Added profitable new business divisions in Contract Manufacturing and Importing
• Achieved first government contract for U.S. Air Forc at $9M as sole source mandatory purchase with AbilityOne
• Developed and launched company's first interactive website: Friendship-Industries.com

ASC-Automatic Service Company, Edinburg/Lynchburg VA, Jan 1992 – Jun 2001
Divisional Company Manager, 1995-2001: Managed multi-million dollar Food Service Operation, including events, location development and design, sales/marketing, budget/forecast, personnel, purchasing, financials, cash handling; and directed staff of 90 employees and supervisors in over 50 client locations.
Virginia Sales and Marketing Manager, 1992 – 1995: Operated as sales, marketing and customer service force of one. Created and implemented sales plans, goals and objectives and designed all Business and Industrial (B&I) employee Food Services.
• Increased sales by $.5M in first year
• Added $2.0M in second year, more than doubling Edinburg Division’s size
• Created all collateral marketing materials, print and direct mail

Grubbs Chevrolet, Inc. (GrubbsChevrolet.com), Woodstock VA, Dec 1985 – Jan 1992
Sales and Marketing Manager: Developed first marketing calendar and budget, utilizing Chevrolet co-op available, emphasizing the family-ownership brand.
• Researched, established and operated first Rental/Leasing Department
• Researched, created and implemented first Credit & Collection Policies and Procedures
• Graduated Chevrolet’s Professional Sales School, earning recognition as #1 Sales Specialist


EDUCATION
• B.S. cum laude – Dept. of Home Economics – Merchandising and Marketing (now School of Business); Minor – Business Administration, James Madison University (JMU.edu), Harrisonburg VA


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Tidewater Community College CED Certificate – Navigating Business with the Federal Government, Virginia Beach VA, TCC.edu/wd/govseminar.htm
• General Services Administration (GSA) Expo Certificate-Selling to the Federal Government, Advertising and Integrated Marketing Solutions with GSA/Federal Supply Service GSA.gov
• NISH Business Development Certificate and JWOD University Graduate (Now AbilityOne)


SOFTWARE/HARDWARE QUALIFICATIONS
• MS Office Power User-Access, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, industry-specific software, Adobe Creative Suite, HTML, web-publishing, xTuple Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Corporate/Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software

NOTE-confidential and proprietary materials, such as solicitations and proposals, are not archived or available for review.


PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
• Startup Marketing or How to Market Your Venture with Little to No Money - HatchConf 2012
• American Planning Association (Virginia Chapter) Annual Conference – "Placemaking: Building a Regional Community of Communities," 2010 • Opportunity, Inc. Board of Directors – "Vision Hampton Roads, Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy," 2010
• Various city and county governments in Hampton Roads – "Presentation of the Hampton Roads Partnership Annual Impact," 2009
• Tidewater Community College’s Academy of Nonprofit Excellence – “Discovering and Navigating Niche Markets, Resources for the Nonprofit Marketer,” 2008
• Virginia Association of Community Rehabilitation Programs (vaACCSES) – “Building Brand Loyalty from the Inside Out – Creating Ambassadors Within Your Organization,” 2006
• American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Marketing & Membership Conference – “Creating Passion is an Inside Job — The Why and How of Building a Great Staff Culture for Your Organization’s Success,” 2006
• Small Business Development Center – “Direct Mail and Me or Mailing: By the Numbers: Direct Mail 101," 2005


PROFESSIONAL AWARDS
• 2007 NISH National Community Outreach Award for creative use of print materials, press releases, and other media to educate the community NISH.org
• 2007 USPS Professional Certificates–Nonprofit Mail and Targeted Mail Marketing USPS.com
• Numerous Employee of the Month Awards


PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
• American Advertising Federation's Hampton Roads VA Chapter, past AAFHR.org
• American Marketing Association’s Hampton Roads VA Chapter, past VP-Marketing/current member HRAMA.org
• ASAE, American Society of Association Executives, past Vendor Member ASAECenter.org
• Downtown Norfolk Council, board member DowntownNorfolk.org
• DMAW, Direct Marketing Association of Washington, past DMAW.org
• Technology Hampton Roads, past – Defense and Homeland Security Consortium, Marketing Sub-Committee Head, Website Admin PentagonSouth.org (now unpublished)
• National Speakers Association of Virginia, past NSAVirginia.org
• Public Relations Society of America, Hampton Roads VA Chapter, current member PRSAHR.org
• Tidewater Association of Service Contractors, past TASC-TGIC.org
• Town Point Club, Norfolk VA Town-Point.com
• UXPA Norfolk, user experience UXPANorfolk.com
• WHRO, Public Media for Hampton Roads, Leadership Circle Member WHRO.org

ROME wasn't built in a day, Return on Marketing Effectiveness (ROME), that is

In the process of strategic planning? Be sure to include Return on Marketing Effectiveness (ROME). As we drill down in focus to goals, objectives and appropriate measures, you'll need help from all departments.

I've seen some great 1-page, at-a-glance dashboards for tracking MARKETING OBJECTIVES, especially those objectives with specific goals which are part of an organization's STRATEGIC PLAN. I'd like to find a template to use, i.e. I'm looking for FORMATS to represent the results of GOALS & OBJECTIVES already established.

Anyone have Sample Dashboards - as related to Marketing Effectiveness - they'd be willing to share? Thanks.

Keep juggling 'cuz multi-channel marketing is the way to go

Multi-channel marketing is not only next "generation", it meets, no exceeds all the criteria required of marketing today: Reduced costs (outbound marketing is expensive with low response rates) ROI (estimates range from 10 to 40 times more profitable than outbound marketing) Increased revenues Great customer experiences (touch points know what customers want and need in real time and can meet or exceed those wants and needs) Improved brand image

Source: Bizsolutionsplus

Photo Credit: Mance

100 Blog/Podcast Topics I Hope You write

List from Scott, that guy with the name tag (click image above for his very cool website):

1 How I Use Facebook
2 Ways I Embrace My Audience
3 Should My Town Use Social Media?
4 A Community I Love
5 Technology That Empowers Me
6 How Flickr Did it Right
7 How Best to Comment on a Corporate Blog
8 Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Conference
9 How I Find Blogging Ideas
10 Somebody Has to Say It
11 My Children Will Do it Differently
12 How Schools Could Use Social Media
13 The Best Parts of Marketing
14 Presentation Skills for a New Conversation
15 How I Find Time to Make Media
16 Empower Your Best Customers
17 After the Event- Carrying the Conversation Forward
18 Just Jump Into Podcasting- Heres How
19 My Community and How You Can Engage It
20 Twitter Jaiku Pownce Facebook- And Then What
21 Making a Miniseries
22 If I Were an Advertiser Today
23 My Mother is On Facebook
24 Does a Big Brand Need You
25 Books I Want to Write
26 Serving the Deep Niches- How I Do It
27 How Women Use Social Media
28 A Hard Look at My Media Habits
29 If I Were a Television Producer
30 Social Media Marketing vs Traditional Marketing
31 Elements of a Marketing Campaign
32 Social Media Campaigns are NOT Traditional Campaigns
33 Idea Making and How I Make Something
34 What I Spend Money On
35 Do Rock Stars Need Social Media Strategies
36 How I Use My Website
37 Book Shopping- Buy These Books
38 MTV Changed the World in the 80s- Here is What Comes Next
39 How I Process Blogs and What I Do With All That Info
40 Ten Guilty Pleasures
41 The Internet Application I Havent Seen
42 If I Worked for a Venture Capital Firm
43 My Day Job Versus My Passion
44 The Difference Between Fark and Truemors
45 Fixing Conferences
46 Making Marketplaces for Media Makers
47 When I Feel Frustrated
48 Branding Strategies I Use
49 Your Ideas And My Ideas- How We Play Together
50 Friends I Cant Wait to Meet
51 The Art of Chaos
52 Telling My Boss About Social Media
53 Could I Quit My Day Job
54 When to Cut Back on Web Habits
55 Breaking Down My Favorite Blog
56 Explaining Social Media to Your Chamber of Commerce
57 Non-Internet Equivalents to Internet Tools I Use
58 Considering Media for the Rest of the Globe
59 Twitter is Too Simple- Twitter is Just Right
60 The Future of Podcasting
61 Video Made Simple
62 Facebook Applications I Love
63 You Are Here
64 Blogging Tactics- How to Keep it Fresh
65 I Want to Brag A Minute
66 Who Says What About Your Brand
67 Tools for Blogging
68 Wordpress Plugins I Use And Why
69 Media Topics That Need More Coverage
70 Comments versus Blog Posts
71 How I Drive Traffic to My Site
72 News- Is it Useful and How I Might Fix It
73 Which TV Network Gets Videoblogging and PodCasting
74 Franchising My Media
75 Handling Critics
76 My Audio Tricks
77 Ning Sites I Like and Why
78 Controlling My Brand
79 Sharing and Contributing
80 How Twitter Improved My Blog
81 Email After Twitter
82 Facebook Video Improved My Social Network
83 Letting Go
84 Downtime- What I Do Offline to Recharge
85 How I Went From Very Shy to Less Shy
86 The RIGHT Number to Track for Podcasting
87 PodCamp Has to Change
88 Shaking Things Up
89 Joining A Network- Things to Consider
90 Newspapers and How I Would Change Them
91 Interview With a Veteran
92 The Countries of My Social Media World
93 Giving it Away
94 Consulting Strategies for Social Media Experts
95 Turning Media into a Business Card
96 Podcasting on a Budget
97 For Every Excuse a New Strategy
98 Just When I Think I Am Done
99 Buying Gear- My Shopping Tips for Podcasters
100 When is Free Better- When Not


WOW! No one should run out of topics with a list like this!

What does it all mean?

Life is change, as is marketing. While job searching, I stumbled upon some compelling, and worrisome, market research* proving we live in exponential times:

• So, you’re “one in a million”? There are 1,300 people just like you in China; 1,100 in India.
• China and India have more honors kids than we have kids. 25% of the Chinese population with the highest IQ’s is greater than the total population of North America. In India, it’s the top 28%.
• China will soon become the largest English-speaking country in the world.
• If you took every single job in the U.S. today and shipped it to China, China would still have a labor surplus.
• The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs by the age of 38. 1 out of 4 workers today has been employed by the same company for less than one year; more than 1 out of 2 for less than five years.
• The top 10 jobs forecasted for 2010 didn’t exist in 2004. We’re preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist using technologies that haven’t been invented to solve problems we don’t know we have.
• The U.S. is 20th in the world in broadband Internet penetration. (Luxembourg just passed us.) The 100 million video streams watched DAILY on YouTube.com consume as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000!
• There are 2.7+ billion searches on Google each month. Who did we ask B.G. (Before Google)?
• More than 3,000 new books are published, DAILY.
• The amount of new technical information doubles every 2 years and will
  double every 72 hours by 2010.
• Predictions further out than 15 years are difficult. But, by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the human race.

What does it all mean . . . to marketers?

24/7, we’re emailing, texting, IMing, blogging, forum- and wiki-posting, multi-tasking, outsourcing, ignoring print for online news, reading e-magazines, becoming virtual employees and virtual people (Second Life). Our kids are virtual junkies (Webkinz, Club Penguin with 7 times the traffic of Second Life), shopping online, conducting e-commerce via our mobile devices.
We’re guerilla reporters and videographers. Our social networking is getting niche-ier.

Our work is moving into non-ad activities such as promotions and public relations with the intent to deliver more targeted audiences. Search engine algorithms have changed, including image and video. We’re ALL about “buzz”, viral, WOM marketing.

What does it all mean?

Employee surveys (and social networks) corroborate our basic human needs to: define and redefine ourselves; be recognized for our achievements; seek and provide help to others; find and connect with others "just like me"; validate what we say and do matters.

Marketing, and life, is gridlock, noise, chaos today. So much content (relevant or not), and so little time. I have “socialnetworkitis” (who needs that many MySpace friends, anyway?).

Engagement is key. The more technologically-advanced and fast-paced we become, the more the human race craves the “human touch”, virtually or actually. Marketers beware!


* "Shift Happens", by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, http://mgblankenship.blogspot.com/2007/12/shift-happens-did-you-know.html

So What Can a Nonprofit Do With Social Networking?

Social networking is one of the most popular ways constituents connect and meet people.

Nonprofits can parlay social networking into fundraising and awareness campaigns.

Ways nonprofits can use social networking and fulfill their missions.




1. Set up group pages and individual profile (more is better; be everywhere): develop a presence on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Link them to each other and link back to the nonprofit's website.

2. Use gadgets: such as a fundraising thermometer or the honor roll tracking tool, to create a visual representation of how well the organization is meeting its goal(s). Solicit supporters to post your gadgets themselves that create viral momentum.

3. Post bulletins: announce new tools available for use on personal webpages, such as promotional banners and news clippings. Againg, be sure reciprocal links are in place.

4. Recruit volunteers: to be social networking "ambassadors" so they can act as an additional hand reaching out to more people and enabling those people to reach out to even more potential supporters.

5. Promote: use social networking pages as another medium to communicate and promote the organization, events, campaigns, etc. and add ways that constituents can promote on their individual pages.

Consistency is key here. Share the same "face"(images, messages, etc.) in all online interactions.

Twitter, Ultimate Time-Waster or Great Tool?

Check out this Twitter presentation from http://twitter.com/chriswinfield of 10e20, an Internet marketing and web development company based in New York & Florida.

Please note: I have NO affiliation with 10e20 other than as a fellow marketer and inhabitant of planet Earth.

Here are my not-in-any-particular-order Top Ten fave responses (ok, really 11, but couldn't leave Pamela Anderson out!)

1. I agree with the sentiment of using it for something other than the day-to-day routine, but having some personal touch to Twitter isn't a bad thing until it overshadows the content. One thing I do dislike, and I will specifically use Dan's example, is a Twitter that is simply a Twitterfeed. Let's face it, I can get that same information in my RSS reader should I so choose. Sure, there's a new audience, but what do you give them to make them communicate. Twitter's about communication, not a broadcast. The reason I haven't started a general account for my station is because I don't want it to be just a feed, but the main people that would work on the account are nightsiders, which would leave my morning and midday tweets bare. Companies should use it to communicate with its customers (Zappos, JetBlue, etc.). News sites should use it to solicit story ideas, provide info the follower couldn't normally get AND serve as a way to feed information (Austin American-Statesman is my favorite). One of my best friends is a reporter at the AAS and I told her I was surprised that the paper's Web site linked to her Twitter from her work blog. She said it was because the paper WANTED the personal level with their reporters and readers. Granted, she doesn't post the entirely too-personal tweets she did before, but she still has some personal mixed-in, and she said it's helped her rapport with her readers when they suggest something or simply communicate with her. During Hurricane Ike, my station used Twitter to broadcast information as we received it (which got it out before I could attack the pile of mounting information) and used it to show pictures from the field. I set up a Twitpic feed to our Twitter and gave the e-mail address to our reporters and photogs out and about. It was very successful and ended up driving more traffic to my site in what turned out to be a great week for our analytics. If you think it's just about what coffee or sandwich you had, you're following the wrong Twitterers.
   Joe Ruiz
   
   
2. I have said it is a viable tool. Many large corporations have figured out how to use it and smaller ones too. I have seen recruiters use it, the key is they re-tweet the same message. I know people have increased traffic to their websites too. Here is a link for a story Business Week did on companies who use Twitter. This was posted by someone in my network and it is one of the tools of the future. I would guess from their results in customer service and building relationships--it is not a time waster. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0908_microblog/index.htm?technology%20slideshows
   Tracy Crossley
3. You're always as good as the people you surround yourself with, Twitter is no exception. Don't follow those you notice tweet more garbage than fact. I think Twitter is a great tool to keep up on breaking news/tools/sites or blast announcements about your business. It's also helpful in the research department. I've thrown questions to the masses and gotten terrific answers and sources in return. There are several ways to set up alerts to filter through the mundane and keep you from having to listen to everything coming through. Use their search feature to mine for keywords and people relevant to your interests.
   Debra Mastaler
   
   
4. I find twitter very useful. By selectively following others, I get info regarding my interests, my career (marketing) and have even found a few people that make me laugh at least once a day. How can you beat that? Sure, you'll get some mundane details in the mix but wouldn't you get that if you were networking at an industry event or lunch? In some ways, it gives you a level of detail about the person you are networking with that you wouldn't get from 'in person' networking. I also use it to share articles and blog posts related to those I am connected with via twitter. http://twitter.com/5691gerg
   Check the NY Times Magazine Clive Thomson Sept 5 article via link below....
   http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
   Greg Padley
   
   
5. Like so many communication tools and social media technologies today, the fundamental question isn't whether the medium is a great tool or waste of time, but whether the participant has set the right objectives. Without set objectives, Twitter is likely to be a waste of time. With set objectives, it's effectiveness in meeting those objectives will determine whether or not it is a great tool or waste of time.
   http://copywriteink.blogspot.com/2007/11/revisiting-metrics-social-media.html
   Richard Becker
6. I share the sentiments with those that find it useful (as with any of the social networking and microblogging sites). It's all about quality not quantity. You don't have to follow every person that follows you just like you don't have to accept every friend request via SN Sites. Don't sign up for social networking sites unless you have a purpose: i.e. be more personable with your clients (improve value add); create a network if you are a solopreneur or micro business looking to share resources, challenges, ideas and solutions; drive traffic to a blog, website, event or product release, otherwise you won't 'get it'. I use a few of the applications like tweetlater so that it autoposts my blog posts as i make them as well as tweetburner so I can track metrics of people who click my links and know what kind of stuff my target audience is most interested in and then post more things in that genre. I also like the functionality of tweetlater where you can create posts and schedule them for later which is great for reminders or if you have an event that requires registration and you have to send out something multiple times to insure it gets noticed. And if you haven't already guessed, I am sometimes a long winded person ;-) so it helps me to think of the bottom line and get to my point quickly. http://teenentrepreneurblog.com/
   Shonika Proctor
7. I would say that Twitter can be either a good marketing tool or a time-waster. It really depends on who is using it and how they are using it. For instance, I don't really need to know when people are getting up to go to the bathroom. On the other side, it can deliver information about current events faster than any news agency can. For instance, I wrote this article on my blog at http://www.spinfield.com/2008/05/13/twitter-up-to-the-second-news-as-it-happens-really/
   To summarize, it tells about how an individual was browsing around Twitter one evening when he started seeing all these Tweets from people in China about being in the middle of an earthquake. He was able to decipher information from them and break the story hours before CNN. Now that's powerful, and I bet CNN is now monitoring Twitter.
   Stephen Lamb
8. Twitter is a great tool. It gives companies the opportunity to see what their clients or users are saying about them. It also allows them to see what the latest trends are at the moment or what people are really no interested in. It can become a time waster if not used in the correct manner but if there is a strategy behind it a company can find it extremely useful especially for events.
   http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2008/02/analysis-of-our.html
   http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2007/12/do-you-get-it-y.html
   http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2007/10/the-twitter-eff.html
   Alexis Karlin Web Producer at Forrester Research
9. Twitter is only as good as the information you put in, and the folks you follow (and follow you). For instance, I only follow users that I know personally (local), or are part of the industry in which I work (media/newspapers). This allows me to filter the noise to tweets that provide context for my life and interests. For the record, I've used Twitter to fill job openings at Scripps, get freelance projects and find industry contacts for future opportunities and networking. I've also used Twitter as a means of boasting page views and SEO for entries published on my personal Web site/blog. I've found Twitter to be VERY effective in driving direct traffic to links posted in tweets (again, because of the targeted audience).
   Patrick Beeson
   
   
10. I'd echo Patrick's comment: "Twitter is only as good as the information you put in..." I've seen Twitter used in utterly meaningless and time wasting manners, under the guise of a community information tool. Nobody cares what kind of mocachino you had with lunch or how awesome you are at Rockband, they are just waiting for that once-in-a-blue-moon occasion when you actually post something about your product. Then there are the companies that actually use it well, and in those instances I think it can be a very useful tool. It serves as a clear and concise was way to condense a lot of news articles (possibly fed from a variety of websites) into one page. For those people who just can't get enough information about your product it is a great way to track what's going on. I'm not at all opposed to the personal touch when it comes to relating news on a community level, but when it becomes more about you than it does about your product it really is a waste of time. Example of a well utilized Twitter page below: http://twitter.com/cohnews
    In regards to Joe's comment on my example: I agree that adding a personal touch does make it a more rewarding experience to read. The example I gave was just to illustrate a content/product centered Twitter page, as opposed to the mundane spew that fills many. Thanks for the comment!
    Dan Gray
    
    
11. Pamela Anderson suggests this expert on this topic: Mark Mayhew of TwitterTutor.com, https://twitter.com/MarkMayhew
    Pamela Anderson

For all of the answers to this query, visit LinkedIn.

Understand History or doomed to repeat it?

The Hampton Roads Ad Club recently invited Jason Chambers to speak to our group in Norfolk.

Jason teaches advertising at U. of Illinois. He shared info from his book, Madison Avenue and the Color Line, specifically about black women in advertising through the years.

More importantly, he alerted us to the fact that despite Hampton Roads being the 43rd largest TV market (or 42nd, depending upon which report you read, we represent the 14th largest African-American market.

Marketers take note!

Ding, dong, SEO is Dead!

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is DEAD or, at least, as a stand-alone strategy!

Now we use SEM (Search Engine Marketing) which includes the following action-oriented tactics:

• Build links
• Add backlinks
  
• Write articles and distribute
• Write press releases and distribute
• Advertise using Pay Per Click (PPC)
• Employ social networking
• Blog and comment
• Be fresh and dynamic, updating frequently
  
• Create interactive tools and widgets
• Own your own unique keyword
• Add meta tags to your webpages
  
• Learn cutting (and bleeding) edge techniques as new ones arrive on the scene every day

Gone are the early days of the web where a static brochure-like website will work for your brand. "If you build it, they will come" is not a viable strategy for the web today.

Word of Mouth Marketing, whatssup?

FYI- generally accepted forms of word of mouth marketing:

Buzz Marketing: use high-profile celebs, entertainment or news to get people to talk about your brand.

Viral Marketing: create entertaining or informative messages designed to be passed along in an exponential fashion via social media or email.

Community Marketing: form or support niche communities with shared interests (such as user groups, fan clubs, message boards and discussion forums); provide tools, content, and information to support the "community".

Grassroots Marketing: organize and motivate volunteers to engage in outreach on a personal level.

Evangelist Marketing: cultivate evangelists, advocates, ambassadors or volunteers and encourage them to take the lead in actively spreading the word or your brand.am

Product Seeding or Seed Marketing: place the right product in the right hands at the right time, providing information or samples to influential individuals; with the right guidance, see "Evangelist Marketing" above.

Influential Marketing: identify key communities and opinion leaders who are likely to talk about products and have the ability to influence the opinions of others.

Cause Marketing: support social causes to earn respect and support from people who feel strongly about the cause which is usually akin or adjacent to your own brand.

Conversation Marketing: spread interesting or fun advertising, emails, catch phrases, entertainment, or promotions to start word of mouth activity.

Online Brand Marketing: create a blog(s) and participate with other bloggers, in the spirit of open, transparent communications to share information of value that the blog community may talk about.

Referral Marketing: create tools that enable others to refer their friends.

Cool Social Marketing and Media Web Tools

I e-met Cha Cha via Twitter and she has a social media blog. Click on the link above for her ever-updating list of cool tools for social networking sites.

Tell her I sent you!

Marketing Tactics with an Eye on Strategy

On my list of "things to do", key marketing tactics for success:

• Marketing Plan, keep it simple, listing purpose in marketing, key benefits, target audiences, marketing weapons, niche (value proposition), and identity.
  
  
• Marketing Calendar, for the next 12 months, including media, metric to measure and results.
  
  
• My "Name" or "Brand", something easy to spell, pronounce, remember, believe in and share.
  
  
• Value Proposition (niche), what makes me special, what do I stand for, what makes me different, what can I "own".
  
  
• Key Benefits, a simple list of all the benefits offered.
  
  
• Research, References, Referrals, what people say about me, what I've done in the past that shows my successes.
  
  
• Friendly Guerrillas, designate several friends, viral and otherwise, to share my brand.
  
  
• Competitive Advantages, listing why someone should come to me if I offer some of the same benefits as others.
  
  
• Networking, online and off.
  
  
• Elevator Speech, 30 seconds, 75 words (preferably less) that I use to into myself and makes others want to know more.
  
  
• Contacts Database, customers, prospects, suspects (prospective prospects) and friends.
  
  
• Vision, Values-define who I am by what my customers want me to be.
  
  
• Email Program, for higher response rates than USPS mail, less intrusive, eco-friendly, easy to "pay it forward".
  
  
• Money Back Guarantee, 'cuz I believe in me.
  
  
• Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up! On average 70% of business is lost is not due to poor service or bad quality, but because of apathy and lack of follow-up.
  
  
• It's All About the FREE! Start offering a free one-hour consultation to prove my expertise.
  
  
• Speaking at professional and trade organizational meetings, and for free (see above).

2008 Marketing Facts from AMA, MarketingPower.com, did you know?

Top 10 U.S. Sponsors for 2007:

1. Anheuser-Busch (#1 in 2006, too) – wonder what will happen with the InBev purchase?

2. PepsiCo (#2 in 2006, too)

3. Coca-Cola (up from #4 in 2006)

4. Nike (up from #4 in 2006)

5. GM (dropped from #3 in 2006) – and surely will drop even more?

6. Miller Brewing (same position as in 2006)

7. AT&T (didn’t even make the list in 2006)

8. Sprint Nextel (up from #9 in 2006)

9. Toyota-USA (didn’t even make the list in 2006)

10. Ford (dropped from #8 in 2006) – and surely will drop even more?

Extrapolating from 2007’s global online population brings us estimates through 2012 (that’s only 4 years away from now!) of well over 2 Billion. Yes, that’s with a B. Asia and the Pacific Rim are now and will continue to dominate with close to 45% of users on the world-wide web. North America trails with less than 15% of users. The biggest growth % seen will be in the Middle East/Africa by doubling their population of users.

What is the most local of all advertising media? Radio. Nearly 71% of the $21Billion spent in radio in 2007 was for local spots.

And how did all media ad spending fair? Comparing the same time period from 2006 to 2007, all ad spending was relatively flat. The biggest losers? TV and newspapers. Their losses were felt as gains in ad expenditures in magazines, radio, outdoor and the internet.

Newspapers overall have lost big numbers (nearly 8% overall) within national and retail ad spending; the biggest of all in classifieds (16.5% over 2006 numbers). Online newspaper ad spending helped make up some of the loss by growing 18.8%.

Who were the media spending winners over the last 5 years (2002-2007)? Alternative marketing with gains of 17.5% overall. Online and mobile (+31.4%) includes search and lead generation, online classified/display ads, e-media, online video and rich media, internet yellow pages, consumer-generated ads. Interactive marketing (+28.6% includes e-direct marketing, WOM (word of mouth) marketing and e-custom publishing. Entertainment and digital out-of-home advertising (+15%) includes local pay TV, VOD (video on demand), interactive TV (ITV) and digital video recorder (DVR) ads, videogame and home advertising and satellite radio advertising. Branded entertainment marketing (+13.4%) includes event sponsorship and marketing, paid product placement, advergaming and webisodes.

Where is the biggest advertising spending growth in format? Video and rich media (including sponsorships, lead generations/referrals and email embedded ads.

Online social network spending is the most explosive category by far logging a +163% gain over 2006, projected to “taper off”, and I use that term loosely) in the next 5 years to approximately $2.6Billion (again, with a B). Currently, MySpace leads the way with over ½ of all social network ad spending. Rival Facebook enjoys approx 18% of the ad market.

OUtdorr advertising increased 7% from 2006 to 2007 with eh biggest gains felt in catergories of Comunications (+35.7%), automotive “other” (+11.8%) and insurance/real estate (+9.2%).

Overall TV ad revenue dropped in the same time period at a rate of 4.4%, the biggest loss felt in local broadcast TV of 9.5%.

And, our good friends at Technorati tracked the staggering growth of the blogosphere over the last 5 years. Blogs have exploded from a modest 300,000 in Apr 03 to nearly 113 Million in Apr 08.

Consumer-facing companies in the webspace have connected with millions of consumers: social network Facebook, micro-blog communications tool Twitter, media voting site Digg and free community provider Ning. Not one can compare to the consumer interface created by Google, though.

Social Media Business Marketing Plan

1. What is the goal? Prioritizing the goal(s) will help determine the proper tool(s) and to help stay on track vice diluting efforts by jumping at every networking opportunity.
   
   
2. What is the budget? While most services are free, the professional time required to be successful, according to researchers, can be as much 10 hours per week. Time has a value and must have a real, measurable ROI.
   
   
3. What is the message? The objective, obviously, is to make connections and build relationships, but the key is to find that common bond.
   
   
4. What is the next step? Make it real. Time to lead the network into the real world. Figure out how to meet outside of the web. Coffee? Picnic? Happy Hour? Dinner? An event? Take it to the next level.
   

Branding By Word of Mouth or the Power of the Story

Belief in a brand is the most powerful influence of all, even to the point of altering our physical sensations, mixing our own personal experiences, and reducing all we know about a brand to an easily accessible impression or perception.

Humans are social creatures. We’ve flourished on earth because we take advantage of the power of groups. And, human survival has depended on passing information from those we trust. Word of mouth has been with us from the beginning and is a key influencer in every marketing study ever done.

The closer someone is to us, the more we tend to trust their opinion. And, the more enthusiastic the endorsement, the more value it has to us. If we get a lukewarm recommendation, we probably won't run right out and take action. Our “gut” immediately decides whether the word of mouth we receive is credible and whether or not to pay attention. Studies have also shown that we alter our own memories of a brand experience depending on the opinion of others.

Brand memories are not unalterable snapshots. They get changed every time we retrieve them, altering them to fit the opinions of others and saving this altered memory. Others have such a powerful influence on our brand loyalties.

Moving images

My Twitter "friend", John Dickerson, is Slate.com's Chief Political Correspondent. He recently tweeted his must-see playlist of past Presidential campaign ads.

Most interesting about the Tweet was learning about the Museum of the Moving Image in NYC (Astoria). Check out the "Web Projects" link for more web-accessible motion memorabilia.

I'd never heard of the museum and now MUST travel to NYC just to see it! The Museum of the Moving Image advances the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. It does so by collecting, preserving, and providing access to moving-image related artifacts; screening significant films and other moving-image works; presenting exhibitions of artifacts, artworks, and interactive experiences; and offering educational and interpretive programs to students, teachers, and the general public.

I wish we had something like this in Hampton Roads! Any takers?

Generations defined, the "Greatest", Boomers and beyond

The "Greatest Generation" refers to Americans who fought/lived in the era of World War II, preceded by the Lost Generation of the 20s and immediately followed by the Silent Generation of the 50s.

"Baby boomers" refers to the huge group of people born between 1946 and 1966.

One-third of American employees today are boomers. With many of us retiring within the next 5-10 years, there will be an equally huge gap in the economy: not enough qualified native workers available, for one. Companies are bound to employ immigrants and foreign workers. Trends such as part-time jobs, flex hours, telecommuting and outsourcing have been results of boomers.

What else will be strained? the tax system, retirement benefits, healthcare costs and insurance coverages as well as financial markets.

The labels for the generations following baby boomers are a bit muddied depending upon the source, but, in general, are as follows:

"Generation Jones", aka "Cusp Boomers", born between Baby Boomers and Generation X (between mid 1950s and mid 1960s), also referred to as Jonesers or as GenJonesers in the U.S., U.K., Western Europe, Australia and in New Zealand.


"Generation X", aka the 13th Generation or "Baby Busters", born between mid 1960s and 1980, are highly entrepreneurial and tech-savvy individuals, contributing to the growth of the web and social media such as -- the founders of Amazon, Dell, Google, MySpace, Wikipedia and Yahoo. (Gen Xers were featured in the movie, Reality Bites)

"XY Cusp Generation", aka the MTV Generation or the Doom Generation, born between mid-70s and mid-80s.

"Boomerang Generation", aka Generation ‘Why’, born between 1977 and 1989, usually prefer to return home to parents, while taking care to continue with their own social and professional lives, hence the term "boomerang".

Boomer parents are often referred to as "Helicopter Parents" for their constant hovering and participation in their children's lives, a distinct difference from Boomers own parents from the "Greatest Generation".

"Generation Y", aka Echo Boom, or Millennials, are born after Generation X, usually in the 80s and 90s.


"iGeneration", or the Internet generation, the sub-generation comprised of late born Gen Y (1991-1999) and early born Gen Z (2000-2005). Bet Apple is happy with this designation!


"Generation Z" is the youngest of all the generations so far.

Check http://www.blogger.com/www.BabyBoomCaretaker.com for more resources on generational trends. Good to know if you are marketing ANYTHING as each generation tends to have their own uniqueness to which you must adhere.

Hard knocks can be the best teacher

For marketing or communication management positions, I often wonder why organizations feel compelled to hire someone with background in the product or service versus hiring someone who is a professional marketer by trade.

Learning a new product/service is relatively easy. A marketing professional can bring an objective view of your product or service.

(If you’re just “preaching to the choir”, you may not need a marketer anyway. A marketer reinforces the choir's belief in you and coaches them as evangelists but, most importantly, brings those to your product or service who don’t already know and love you.)

Years of marketing and communications experience isn’t come by easily. It’s not something you can necessarily learn from a book. Sure, you can get the basics and the background, etc. But testing and real-world applications, i.e. the school of hard knocks, can be the best teacher.

My 2 cents.

The Hit Parade (media hits, that is)

John Guiniven, associate professor of corporate communication at my alma mater, James Madison University (JMU) and fellow PRSA member provided some insight into measuring PR recently in PRSA's "Tactics":

• tracking numbers of hits (media impressions) is only one part of any ROI measure of PR
• media hits don't mean much unless the right people are seeing them
• while large numbers of hits can be impressive, they're not an indicator of audience comprehension
• impact and planned outcomes are what matters and not just large quantities of output
• social media is impactful with even a few followers due to the multiplying power of this viral medium
  
• the "downwind" effect (a story starts in one media outlet and gets picked up by another and then another, etc.) should be thoroughly evaluated to determine patterns and should even be included in the PR planning process
• another important metric to include in PR measurement is how long a story stays in key media
• first impressions matter when they're lasting ones
  

How Do You Move From Print Advertising to Digital Advertising?

The following query was posed on LinkedIn by Mark Gordon, Webmaster at Prince William County Park Authority:

"We have a print magazine that we want to move to a digital format. Our current print magazine has advertisers that we would also like to take to the digital side. What steps would need to be taken to ensure that we charge a good price for this? We're not sure of the medium (pdf or other), but we would not be averse to having ads on our website (we currently only have google ads on our site. Is there something that speaks to the best way of doing this?"

My response to Mark:

First, and most importantly, you must ascertain if your target audience is READY for a move from the now-print version to a digital version of your magazine.

How? Ask them! You already have their attention with your print content, so develop a short survey and include it in your next edition. And, send the survey electronically, too. A great way to "test" your audience's acceptance of digital media. Sometimes the best information gleaned from a survey isn't related to a question and a response!

And, while you're at it, be sure to ask them HOW, if you should move to a digital format, they would want to receive it: via email with PDF of magazine attached, via email with link to website-archived magazine, via a reader like Zinio (with advertisers' interactive links), or a combination of media?

Be certain you have the email address of every current magazine recipient and reader. Again, ask for it and their opt-in in advance. (Think, too, about how will you reach readers that get an issue via pass-along.)

Don't push this one; you need to "pull" your audience along, providing what they want not what you want to give.

Plan to spend some money on obtaining email lists of prospective readers, too, in order to add/maintain value to your advertisers.

Making sure your audience WANTS a digital magazine is very, very important in today's social media frenzy. I can think of many magazines I currently read that I would unsubscribe in a heartbeat if they went digital-only. So proceed with caution to maintain readers AND advertisers. Depending upon your audience, perhaps you try to ADD a digital version to your current mix and test reaction/ readership. I've seen this done with great success. After you see your audience has not only accepted, but embraced, the new digital format, you can guarantee your advertisers with solid metrics and eliminate the print version (and all the related costs). And, for those few print-hangers on (and there will be a few), you have a solid reason for making the change, not just that YOU wanted to make the move.

As far as the pricing of online magazine advertising, you most definitely will be in a better position to maintain or even increase rates if you take some well-place steps FIRST to guarantee readership, stability AND growth.