If you build or repair anything, you know the value of having just the right tool. And while having a fancy specialty tool is cool, there is simply no replacement for the requisite hammer, saw and wrench. It's the same with marketing. We love the cool tools but there are some things that no company can do without.

Have a look ...

1. A logo. Whether it is basic text such as in Sears, Home Depot or Microsoft, or designed symbol such as in Nike, Starbucks or Volkswagen, you simply must have a logo. In creating the logo, please - for our sake and the sake of the world at large - make it high contrast, easy-to-read in two seconds or less and reasonably uncomplicated. Once you've created it, leave it alone for a very long time so the market can actually begin to associate the logo with you and what you do. Finally, use it consistently and persistently in everything you do.

2. A website. Whether it's a single page or whether it allows the world to know everything there is to know about you, you simply must have a website. And while we understand that a website is a very techie-feeling thing, please do not seek out an IT person or company to build or maintain it. With apologies to our technical friends, a website should be open and easy for you to manage. After all, the user could care less about Java script or CSS. They really just want to hear from and about you. Content is what they care about, not technology.

3. Email. You simply have to have one. And please use your web address (called a domain) rather than [email protected] or [email protected]. Sure they work, but they just aren't as professional as using your own name. By not communicating using your own domain, you give up the opportunity to keep your name in front of people. Keep in mind, however, that a domain and a website, while related, are two separate processes.

4. Business cards.  Once you have your logo, your website and your email using your own domain, get some business cards. And avoid cheesy at all cost. As with any design, less is more. Don't cram the card with every possible bit of information. Make your logo dominant, add your name, possibly your title, definitely your office phone number and even your cell phone number, your email address and your website address. Unless it's critical information, you can often leave off the address and the fax number. Get at least 100 cards and give them away at every opportunity.

5. A basic brochure. Avoid writing a book. Give enough information for the reader to understand what you do but set it up so they call you or go to your website to get the details. Make it visually strong with great images and minimal text. Please stay away from tri-folds. They are so ordinary and boring and are easily hidden in the average stack of mail. We love oversize pieces, custom cuts or custom folds.  Even a double-sided, non-folding brochure can be effective. Give it a try.

Convert marketing tools into emergency response tools.

Website - if you have one of our content management based websites, use the News/Announcement tool to post updates on whether you are open, services you may have relating to the emergency, etc.  

If you have a secure section of one of our sites, use it to post employee advisories, whether to report to work, special assignments, etc

If you use Constant Contact, use it to post advisories and updates and be sure to re post to your web and to Facebook. 

Call us if you need help on any of these techniques

Everyone loves a pretty picture. The same is true with websites. Everyone loves a web that moves and rotates and does interesting things when the mouse hovers over something on the site. Sites in this category typically are built with a technology called Flash. Flash sites are especially popular with creative types like bands and photographers where image is everything. And while they are very pretty, we never recommend a total Flash site for any serious business application of a website. Here's why...

Flash is essentially a picture, not text. Why should you care? The reasons are many but the primary ones are these: indexing or the ability of search engines to find your site, the need to have Flash player installed on the computer that is viewing the site, troubles rendering the site where the viewer has slow bandwidth and the technical expertise required to update a Flash site. Let’s take each one in turn.

Building a site is one thing. Having your site found and viewed is another matter entirely. Other than someone knowing your exact website URL, most people who are looking for something on the web will Google a name or keyword to find what they are looking for. What this means is that if you are ever to be found by a keyword search, you must have – get ready for it – WORDS on your site. Flash, you’ll recall, is not words but a picture and while there are ways to add captions and tags to a picture, you are creating a barrier to viewers who are trying to find you by creating a picture-based website.

Also, if you’ve ever been to a site and been greeted with a blank page but for a message such as “download Flash plugin” or something similar, what you are seeing is evidence that Flash requires that something be installed on the viewer’s computer. While most up-to-date PCs will have it already installed, that is not always the case. Downloading the plugin is easy and free but in our opinion, why create one more barrier between you and your clients and prospects?

Another rub with Flash is the inherent issue of pictures requiring more internet bandwidth and computing horsepower to view than text. Again, many current configurations of internet and PCs blow right through this to allow nearly any size image to be viewed, but this is not always the case. Also, if the viewer is in a business setting, the company may prohibit images from coming through their firewalls or create other barriers to the images being rendered.

The final trick of Flash is that in order for you to update a Flash-based site, you must own and know how to use Adobe Flash – not the freeware reader but the actual fully-licensed program. Not that it’s impossible to learn, but just to let you know that we have college-trained professionals using Flash and they spend a good deal of time keeping up with the changes and evolution of the product. Again, one more layer of complexity that really does not have to exist.

Are we saying don’t build a Flash-based site? Absolutely not. What we are saying is consider deeply the purpose of creating your website. For most of us, our websites are places where we encourage interaction with our markets. They are places where information is ideally updated frequently. The more barriers and risks we build into our sites, the less likely it is that they will yield good things for our companies.

So before you expose yourself to flashing your customers, consider all that is involved.

This week's marketing minute goes out to all of the big shots - you know who you are - who have pretty much written off this social media thing as a passing fad, not worthy of their attention, the realm of their teenage daughter whose main focus is growing virtual crops and creating polls about which "Twilight" vampire she's most like. But alas, oh Great Ones, be cautious in your judgments since the truth is that social media, in the right hands, is a very powerful and relevant business tool that even grownups like yourself can learn to use.

We made the statement in last week’s Marketing Minute that success in social media is all about quality content. So the question becomes then, from whence doth quality content come? To answer that question, let’s visualize a scenario that we think will make the point.

Let’s all go to an imaginary meeting of some board of directors. In your mind’s eye, scan the boardroom table and who do you see? Is it the administrative assistants? No. (Even though we all know that without the AAs no one at the table could have found anything they needed to get ready for the meeting.) Is it the delivery drivers? No. (They’re out making money for the company right now.) It’s the big cheeses, the CEO, top managers, key investors, owners and founders of the company, and so on. And why, we playfully ask, are these particular people at the table? It’s because it is these people who have the insights and knowledge that is most relevant to the company, and, by extension, to the market in which they operate. Stated differently, it is these people who are the owners of QUALITY CONTENT.

These people are also often the public face of your company, and are the persons customers most want a relationship with. Why not consider giving them a voice through a company blog? A blog that is written with true personality makes readers feel like they know and trust you. It is, after all, these people who are assumed to have the greatest knowledge and the credibility. For example, when you get sick, whose advice do you seek, the doctor or the receptionist?

But don't just assign the blog to the secretary or the student intern. In many cases it should be the CEO writing the blog. Yes, we know the CEO's time is valuable, but so is that of your readers so don't waste it with insights that are just veneer. An enthusiastic and personable CEO bursting with insights into your industry is better advertising than you can buy.

When the CEO Shouldn't Blog
Not every CEO should have a blog. A good blog is based on candor, urgency, timeliness, pithiness and controversy. If your CEO can't commit to regular blogs that include at least four of those items, try another medium or choose another employee, or, better yet, hire an insightful and innovative PR firm. (We just happen to know of a great one right here in town.) The point is casual interaction with customers/readers, so your blog must be written in your voice and not in that of a press release or annual report!

There has always been somewhat of a golden rule when it comes to marketing: “Go Where the People Are.” Now, I never officially heard that anywhere, but isn’t it true?!

Although I am young, there seems to have been a plain site evolution of where the big-time marketing took place. At one time newspaper and radio were the biggest and greatest forms of advertising. The next in line was television. Television became the best and most well-known form of advertising. Now, we are seeing the major shift of advertising going to the internet. All others are still around, for now J, but the trend of marketing has greatly shifted into the online spaces.

Internet advertising is so much more diverse than any other form, but it is the way to the masses. Not just to the masses, but you can narrow down to specific people and demographics. There are websites, search marketing, PPC, banner/link ads, social media, mobile, etc., etc., blah, blah. You get the point!

One of the largest segments in online marketing, and the one most talked about lately, is in the field of Social Media and Facebook. Everyone and their Momma has a Facebook account or AT LEAST knows what Facebook is. Facebook currently has over 400 MILLION people on its platform, and HALF of them get on EVERY DAY!! That is a whole lot of people in one place!

If you are in business, you must have also heard about Facebook Fan Pages. They are profiles for brands, organizations, and high profiles individuals. The problem is, so many business owners simply don’t understand what it is, how to start one, don’t have time, and most importantly… don’t know WHAT to do with it once they have one.

Another problem I am seeing is that people are asking, “What is my Return On Investment?” Maybe people were asking what their ROI was when first thinking about purchasing a phone system… but for some reason, I don’t think they were. They just knew it was an easy way to communicate, everyone has a phone, and it is easy to operate. Heeeyyy… that sounds exactly like a Facebook Fan Page can be for your business. Like I said earlier, everyone has a Facebook, it is an easy way to communicate with your customers, and it is easy to operate. PLUS as an extra bonus… IT IS FREE! Just costs your time, which you should SCHEDULE to manage so you don’t waste your valuable time on Facebook.

If you have been thinking about getting a Fan Page… Just Get One Already! Don’t make it more complex than it is! Stop asking so many questions and just DO IT! You can learn EVERYTHING about Fan Pages online. Learn how to set it up, brand it, add cool features, and market it to your clients and customers! Just follow the golden rule: “Go Where the People Are!” Communicate with your current and potential customers, ask them questions, answer their questions, communicate with them, become their resource in your field of expertise.

Do you know that BestBuy launched something called “Twelpforce” that they said was only 80% finished when they started?! BESTBUY! A huge brand like that jumped in with a little plan and took things in stride. Social Media is flexible and ever-changing. There is no PERFECT time to start. The perfect time was YESTERDAY.

However, if you feel that all of this is overwhelming and you don’t have the time, we at The W.L. Gennuine Company can create a strategy, implement your branding, and assist you with your Facebook Fan Page. Just let us know your ideas and we will give you ours. Let us help you get your Facebook Fan Page already!

In this week's Marketing Minute, we are going to break from our normal focus on you to a momentary focus on us. We almost never talk about ourselves but we just have to share with you some very exciting news! 

As you may know, our firm is a certified partner with Constant Contact, one of the original email marketing companies in the world and an undisputed leader in that industry. We use Constant Contact to create the Marketing Minute you are now reading.

Well, apparently someone up there noticed what we have been doing on behalf of our clients with Constant Contact and awarded us their prestigious All Star Award. It’s not like we won the Oscars of email marketing or anything like that but in the field of consistently adhering to best practices in email marketing to get tangible results for clients, we stand pretty tall.

Here's what they said about us...

Kudos to you! As a Constant Contact Business Partner, you helped your clients do email marketing the way it's supposed to be done in 2009. You helped them stay in touch with their customers or members with regular email communications. You made sure their contact list was up to date and that everyone on it gave permission to receive emails. Finally, you helped them deliver engaging information that their audience was eager to receive, open, and read.

It goes without saying that we are both proud and excited to have been recognized with this award. What's really important, however, is not that we received the award but rather that we received a solid affirmation that what we are doing with email marketing is effective for our clients.

So, congratulations to us, but more importantly, congratulations to the 50-plus companies that we’ve helped tie into the affordable and effective world of email marketing with Constant Contact.

Whoohooo!

To get this week’s Marketing Minute off to a rockin’ start, please click here to enjoy the intro to one of the most fun songs ever recorded, "Rockin' Robin," performed by Bobby Day. (You might want to turn down the volume or plug in the headset if the boss is around.)
What a great song. It's also a great lead in to this week’s Marketing Minute as we delve into the question on the minds of many businesses, “What is this Twitter thing all about and why should I care?”

The answer lies in a single word: “engagement,” or the process of drawing your customers into a relationship built around a conversation. That’s what social media is all about, really – engaging in a conversation with your customers. Okay, so if engagement is the key, let’s think now about the more traditional opportunities for engaging your customer. Mostly there is a physical element to it. They have to come in, call, encounter you at a business meeting and so on. Even if you were to do the engagement thing all the time – something no one has the time to do – there will always be people you never get to engage simply due to limitations of time and space.

Ah … now is it becoming clearer? Twitter and other social media outlets allow you to engage your audience on an ongoing, persistent basis without the limits of time or space. It even allows the conversation to go viral (as we say) by having what you said “re-Tweeted” to other people you probably don’t even know. Arguably, among the various social media tools available, none is as purely conversational as Twitter with its fairly informal exchange of ideas and perspectives that mimic a live conversation.

The key word here is conversation. Ever get into a pointless and deadly dull conversation? Typically it’s the ones where the topic is “Me, me, me. I, I, I.” While we may suffer through it, we definitely are not going to feel engaged and we will probably do everything we can to avoid, not engage, that person in the future. By contrast, good conversationalists focus not on what is interesting to them, but what is interesting to you. It’s called quality content, and in the world of successful social media, success is ALL about quality content. It’s also about listening.

In next week’s Marketing Minute, we’ll go into the details of what quality content is, and where you should go within your organization to produce it.

So until next week we say, “Blow Rockin’ Robin ‘cause we’re really gonna rock tonight! Tweet! Tweet!”

Are the Saints the new America's Team?  Some say they are. And it’s more than just a title; it’s potentially the greatest windfall of attention and focus ever to blow into our state. With their fame comes an almost irresistible urge for businesses to find some way to associate themselves with the Saints' success. 

In this issue of the Marketing Minute, we take a look at the question of should you, can you, and if so, how do you “be in that number”?

In the weeks between the AFC Championship game and the Super Bowl, there was quite the controversy as the NFL sought to flex its licensing muscle to claim the rights to, and hence the money from, the use of the phrase, “Who Dat.” Under extreme pressure from everyone from Congress to Tom Benson, the NFL attorney-types finally backed off and let the licensing rights issue fade quietly away, but for you, chances are pretty good that they won’t be quite as generous.

So what’s an enterprising, Saints-minded business to do? One option is to employ the roll-the-dice method. Black and gold, that’s pretty straight forward. Fleur de lis stencils – easy cheesy. All you need now is a coat hanger and a street corner. But wait…is it worth it?

Basically, here’s the deal: The NFL and the Saints actually WANT you to sell things using their name. They encourage it. They want their name on pretty much everything. The thing is, they just want you to PAY for it first. It’s something called a trademark and guess what, the Saints identity, in all of its forms, is trademarked by the Saints and by extension, the NFL. So if you want a Saints association with your company, you can either buy all of the already officially NFL-licensed items you can handle, or you can approach the NFL for permission to have your products licensed. It’s not easy but if you really want to give it a shot, here’s where to start: https://www.nfl.info/NFLConsProd/Welcome/index.html. Sorry, sometimes it really is all about the money.

Since I have this vision of a disappointed groan after reading this, let me end with a little hope brought on by a couple of ideas of marketing finesse. Try this: While you probably can’t lay claim to a Drew Brees endorsement of your company, you can perhaps remind the market how the leadership, hard work and perseverance needed to win a National Champion has been a part of your business since <<Insert Date>>. You can also lay claim to being from the state that produced the Super Bowl Champions, which by association, makes you a part of a winning team. You get the idea.

So with full acceptance of the risks of violating NFL trademarks, we join with you all as we shout out loud, “Who Dat?! Who Dat?! Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints?! Who Dat?!”

In marketing and communications, alot has changed from the golden days of marketing where some slick message, crafted by some high-powered ad agency was fed to the mass market via television, radio and print. While this still is a big part of getting the message out, more common now is information posted by the market who have a real one-on-one experience with the product or service. This phenomenon is made possible by the democratizaton of the message through technology. With blogs, text message, Google and the I Phone, there is not much that cannot be found out about nearly any product, service, company or individual.

So what's a company to do in crafting a message to promote?

The answer is simple. Participate. By participate we mean first of all get your information out into the world wide web. If you cannot be found online you are missing the best opportunity out there to tell your story and get found. Be careful though. Having an online presence is important but it is equally as important to have a web presence that is well organized, clear and of value to those who find it. This takes a bit of thought in how you organize and display information. Less is better and clarity is a stronger draw than a bunch of spinning icons. Keep it clear and keep it simple to have any hope of keeping anyone's attention. More later...