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Book Review: The Impact Equation

I love to read. I love to read books that challenge my thought, make my brain hurt and question my inhibitions. Last night I finished up ‘The Impact Equation’ by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, which details a formula that is said to help readers create more valuable, sustainable content. This is not a social networking book, it even says so in bold letters on the first page. It’s a book about people, how they react, why they react and how to get them to react to you. The actual Impact Equation is formed from the acronym CREATE, as shown below:

C- Contrast

How is your product (or at least its presentation) unique from the competition? Brogan and Smith delve into the importance of human emotion, and how to leverage that for the betterment of your brand. The Dollar Shave Club is an easy example of this: “Are our blades any good? No. Our blades are f**king GREAT.” Regular, boring razor blades marketed in a way that is absurdly different from their competition.

R- Reach

They said it themselves, the focus of Reach is to be a “little less ‘sniper rifle’ and a little more ‘giant freaking laser beam.’ Here, they offer up a dialogue that gives the reader a host of strategies on how to build your reach, as well as examples of brands who have done it successfully. They also speak on the importance of platform and the channels in your brand chooses to operate in.

E- Exposure

First of all, what is exposure? And how is it different from reach? How do you gain exposure, and how do you go about doing it without making an ass out of yourself?

A- Articulation

“Tell it to me like I’m six years old.” Chris and Julien hit on the importance of brevity, simplicity and creating ideas with longevity.

T- Trust

One of the meatiest parts of the book, but also provides a handful of tactical breakdowns of how to build trust, credibility and reliability. The big hitter here is C * R * I / S = TRUST model, described at length in The Trusted Advisor. Basically, trust requires Credibility, Reliability, Intimacy and Self-Interest. Trust is the core of any campaign, and likewise is the core of the Impact Equation.

E- Echo

So you’ve created some great content, reached the right people, articulated yourself clearly and build some level of trust among your audience. The next step is to really resonate your message with your community by relating yourself to them on some humanistic level. This section also profiles Adele, MC Hammer and Dead Mau5 to show how they’ve established an Echo with their following.

So to give an idea of the book, that (above) is the Impact Equation. Chris and Julien obviously go into a lot more detail on this, as well as bring in a ton of real world examples for every topic. The real beauty of the Impact Equation is that while it may seem specific, it can be translated to virtually any business imaginable, including branding yourself. If you had any light bulbs going off in your head while you read my outline, I highly recommend you pick this book up and give it a chance. At the very least,  download a sample on your Kindle/Nook, and see what the first 30 pages are about.

Check out the authors on Twitter, or follow their blogs for more freshly pressed content.

@ChrisBrogan - Blog

@Julien - Blog

Buy The Impact Equation

I hope you guys enjoyed my review, I plan on doing more of them in the future. Like I said, I read a lot of marketing/advertising books, but I won’t be reviewing every single one. I won’t waste your time posting about books I didn’t enjoy, but every once in a while expect to see book review of something that really sparked my imagination.

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10 Stats for your Holiday Marketing Campaign

With the holiday season already in full swing, it’s important to step back from the glitz and glam and take a look at the facts. The merry folks over at HubSpot just released their own list of 47 Holiday Stats, here are some of the highlights from that list:

1. 80% of marketers will invest in a mobile or tablet application for the holidays, vs. 49% in 2011.

Tablet computing saw a huge spike last year, and it shows no  signs of stopping. Android and iOS are obvious platforms, but don’t shy away from Windows 8 for too long, and keep your sights on Blackberry 10 in January.

2. 54% of marketers who used email marketing in 2011 holiday campaigns said they were extremely or very successful.

Don’t think even for a minute that direct mail is dead. The mediums may have changed, but the mail is still alive and breathing.

3. 93% say they’ve purchased a product from a blogger recommendation.

How does your company communicate with the blogging community? If there is one person you want on your team, it’s an industry blogger. Blogs tend to adopt early (and often), review products for others and grab the attention of thousands of your could-be customers. Bottom line: If you haven’t already, it might be time to start making some new friends online…

4. Over 90% of marketers will increase their holiday marketing spend on Facebook, 75% for twitter, and 67% for Pinterest.

There are two schools of thought here: 1) Get on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, ramp up sponsored posts. 2) Get off Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest (not entirely) and avoid your competitor’s clutter. Not to say that social is bad, but there are thousands of untapped communities that may provide a more effective means to reaching YOUR audience.

5. 3 in 5 retailers will dedicate over 20% of their total 2012 online marketing budgets to holiday.

Granted, that still leaves almost half of all retailers who are not going overboard for the holidays. Forget luxury goods all together, you’re not going to see doorbusters at Louis Vuitton, and about that Patek Philipe you’ve been eyeing? Probably not on sale for Christmas. Or ever. This stat isn’t just for retailers though, it’s just as important for the manufacturers. If you’re a toy company, where is your hottest item being sold? The more shelves you’re on, the greater chance you have of being in one of those 3 stores.

6. Online shoppers are expected to grow from 137 million in 2010 to 175 million in 2016.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday each grew astronomically this year, and analysts are pretty confident in a continual growth. So, let it grow, let it, grow let it grow…

7. 84% of marketers will invest in a mobile-optimized website this holiday season, vs 57% in 2011.

It’s mind boggling to me that in time where smart phones eat up over 50% of the market, there are still a thousands and thousands of sites who haven’t taken the leap to mobile-optimized pages. If you’re one of “those people”, it’s high time you start taking yourself and your business seriously. Get a mobile site.

8. More than 42% of retailers say percentage-off coupons for their entire site were among the online tactics that pulled in the most customers during the 2011 holidays.

When the holidays are kicking, loss leaders aren’t always enough to get bodies in your store. With 42% of your competition offering discounts on their entire line of merchandise, it quickly turns into a kill or be killed scenario.

9. Yet, less than ½ of retailers will use homepage messaging to get the word out about in-store offers.

Does your homepage mention your holiday deals? Are they easy to find? If not, consider a holiday theme for your homepage to help you get into the spirit.

10. 55% of retailers are using search marketing to persuade customers to snatch up in-store deals.

SEO is still relevant. and it’s not as hard as you think. Google updates will surely come, but managing your search presence is still a vital component of your marketing campaign.

Has your brand heeded the advice of any of these statistics? In the comments below, tell us what you did and why. A big shout out to HubSpot for making such awesome content available for free. If you’re interested in reading all 47 stats, you can download that full report here.

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Living Bamboo Billboards

Stephen Glassman, a native of L.A., and has started a movement to drastically change his city for the better. Let me introduce you to Urban Air, an initiative to transform existing highway billboards into living, suspended bamboo gardens. Seriously. Urban Air’s innovative design will not only de-clutter the cityscape, but also help clean up that smoggy L.A. air with a gorgeous aerial garden.

Imagine this: It’s 6:00 PM and the Santa Monica Freeway is a parking lot- you left work late and are smack dab in the middle of it. In an effort to maintain your sanity, you roll down the window and peep you head out for some fresh air. That fifty foot eyesore of a Macy’s advertisement you drive by every day on your way home? Gone. In it’s place is a luscious, growing bamboo garden. How’s that for pleasant. Stephen is running a campaign on Kickstarter to try to raise $100,000 by December 11th. He’s already approaching $35k, but could really use a hand in creating his “instrument for a green future.” Links to donate and share are below, please take a look at his video:

Help out Urban Air by spreading the word:

Donate @ Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1045021696/urban-air-los-angeles

Like: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanAirProject

Follow: https://twitter.com/urbanairproject

Read: http://www.urbanair.is/

*UPDATE* – Urban Air has successfully been funded, the project has started!

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SEO: It’s Not Rocket Science

Getting noticed online isn’t as complex as most people make it out to be. It takes hard work, diligence and a sharp wit- but it’s not rocket science. It’s not any kind of science, actually. I’d call it a sport, but that’s just getting into semantics. For today, let’s boil it down to three important components: Content, Linking and Google Plus.

Content Rules (Everything Around Me)

You can back link, flood your meta tags and do all the canonical-izing you want, but all the SEO in the world won’t make up for flat content. You may have snuck a few quick ones by Google in the past, but those days are long gone. With the evolution of Google’s Panda and Penguin updates, your site is being graded on a modified scale. The emphasis of your writing should be on producing the most magnificent copy imaginable, not on stealthy html edits. White hatters, don’t get me wrong here, you’re doing great. You can optimize your writing for a better SERP, but never sacrifice quality. Stellar content is the best SEO.

Linking: Quality over Quantity

Linking can be a powerful tool if used correctly. Marketing yourself through comments on other blogs and news outlets may give you a small boost, but the real home run is a link from an established site. Gurus, news sites and pro bloggers can be a powerful of resource for linking. I know what you’re thinking, easier said than done. I’ll let you in on a little secret: Content is King. Try conducting original studies, unique strategies or something completely off the wall. Link with the winners.

Google Plus

If you’re like most people, you probably created a Google+ account in 2011 and haven’t touched it since. Stop letting G+ collect dust in your bookmarks folder folks, it’s time to log back in. Google isn’t letting this project die, so it’s more important than ever before to have a strong presence. Build a profile, expand your circles and snag a Plus One button for your site and start posting. Come alive on Google Plus.

The lesson is simple: avoid the shortcuts and create something meaningful. Google sees everything you’re doing and probably doesn’t appreciate you trying to weasel your way up the ranks. Understandably, trying to stay in touch with all three points can be difficult. That’s why you can always turn to C.C. for a motivation boost!

Happy Halloween!

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Control your Conversation

Poor Bic, you probably didn’t know any better. You fueled R&D with piles of money, developed a great product, then let your marketing department drag it through the mud. We all learned in Marketing 101 that targeting is essential, but if you’re offending your audience you’re doing something wrong.

Bic launched their new pens ‘For Her’ which crashed just as quickly as it launched. Snarky reviews from Amazon started to pile up and caught the attention of major news outlets. Let’s do a quick Pro/Con list to see how Bic did:

  • Pro: National media attention for your products
  • Con: Everyone know thinks you’re sexist
  • Pro: Hordes of product reviews all over the internet
  • Con: Everyone still thinks you’re sexist

Over targeting can be a serious offense to your brand, so if you’re going to do it, have a contingency plan (I’m look at you, Dr. Pepper). We all remember Dr. Pepper’s new 10 calorie drink that was nationally televised as “just for men” earlier this year, but have since completely dropped the tagline.

The nationally televised ‘For Her’ commercial is just as bad as you would imagine. Get with it, Bic, it’s 2012. Companies make mistakes all the time, but the real rock stars do something about it and control the conversation. If people are talking about you behind you back, you might want to try to get a word in.

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Can Buick Get Itself in Gear?

Zero Moment of Truth

My parents called a few days ago to tell me they’ve decided on a new car, a Buick. I’ve got no problem with the product Buick makes, but we all know that it’s generally regarded as an “old folk’s car.” Ask anybody under 40 what make their next vehicle will be, I’d put a lot of money on them not say the word Buick. But why is that? Buick makes great cars- they’re safe, spacious and fuel efficient- but their image is diluted by an unfortunate Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT): They’re only for old people.

How did this happen?

Buick has been around for over a century and has picked up a lot of loyal customers in that time. The styles changed and new models rolled up to sway a younger audience, but it never quite caught on. Tiger Woods tried, Shaq tried, but they’ve yet to erase the “old man” stigma.

Moving Forward

Buick is making cars with the same no-frills luxury they’re famous for, but why hasn’t a younger audience grappled on? It’s not because Buick isn’t trying, but they may be going about it the wrong way. Negative brand perception can be extremely hard to change, and can even tank you if you let it. Buick knows that. They’re socially plugged in to most major outlets, but it’s going to take more than a Shaq endorsement and a Twitter page to turn this company around. So how do you rebrand yourself without abandoning your most loyal crowd of geriatrics? That’s the million dollar question for GM to answer, but I think it involves a careful overhaul. JC Penney failed, Block Buster failed, yet Old Spice and Pabst Blue Ribbon were wildly successful at reinventing themselves.

What about you?

I’d love to hear what you think: would you buy a Buick today? Do you think they can pull off the rebranding, or will they crash and burn like so many before them? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or tweet at me @MarketBrew
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Content: What’s a King without His Court?

Content was crowned as king at the beginning of time, and will probably always sit on that throne. That’s fact, that’s quotable and that’s how it is across most product markets today. But what is a king without his court? Immobilized, weakened and one small misstep from mutiny. 

Let’s say you’ve got a fantastic product (your king)-you’re going to need to start selling units. Every king needs his assistants: marketing, customer service, R&D, etc. No matter how great your content is, your company will never reach its full potential without a strong supporting cast. Maybe you’re okay with being a hole in the wall pizzeria with the best pies in Chicago, but if you want to advance and evolve your brand I suggest you keep reading.
 
The iPod is a king, but without a substantial effort from the marketing department, your king may look more like a peasant to the average consumer. “Why do I need an mp3 player, what’s wrong with my Walkman? And why the hell would I pay 99 cents for a single song?” Those questions undoubtedly echoed through the halls of Apple when the first iPod was released in 2001. Yet, customer engagement, data metrics, analysis and advertising all helped put the crown atop iPod’s head.
 
These other departments are necessary, but don’t ever forget their position. IHOP may have the best marketing folks in the world, but no amount of advertising or customer service will ever bring me back to eat crappy, cold pancakes a second or third time. Take a look at Domino’s, a company whose foundation was a cheap, greasy pizza that nobody willfully ordered. They’re still struggling through the massive re-branding process to desperately change an image that’s deeply ingrained in America’s mind as “bad content.” 
 
Successful companies start with a great product or piece of content and grow their legs with solid marketing. Content may be the king, but never leave him to fend for himself.
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Marketing Podcasts You Should be Listening to

I’ve always really enjoyed the art of podcasting. Over the years I’ve reaped a huge educational benefit from them and today I want to pass that on to you. I’m plugged into a show most days when I’m at work, and I’m always downloading the latest episodes for a fresh set list the next day. It’s a great way to keep an ear to the ground of the marketing world, a necessary skill to stay a step ahead of competition. I’ve compiled a list of the Top 8 Marketing Podcasts below, each show comes highly recommended. All programs listed below are available for free on iTunes and other podcasting directories.

Marketing Over Coffee

This show is recorded from an actual coffee shop once a week and usually lasts for about 30 minutes. The hosts themselves are fantastic, not to mention the A-list of marketers they bring on as guests.

The BeanCast

The BeanCast is also a weekly show hosted by Bob Knorpp, delivering a thorough breakdown of the week’s most important marketing news. Bob also wrangles in a great guest list for his shows and produces a high caliber hour of content on a regular basis.

Internet Marketing for Smart People

Brought to you by the folks at CopyBlogger, IMFSP is a weekly-ish discussion about marketing that plunges a bit deeper than most programs. The guest panel is enlightening and leaves absolutely no stone unturned. Honest, sometimes they turn each stone over a couple times, just for good measure.


-Six Pixels of Separation
-Digital Marketing Podcast
-I Love Marketing
-Internet Marketing Podcast
-For Immediate Release

Bonus!

Made it all the way to the bottom of the list and still want more? Here are three more shows I truly enjoy, that don’t quite fall into “business” genre. Guaranteed to lighten the mood if you need a break from the regular marketing hustle.

Car Talk (don’t blog like my brother!)

Managing the Gray

The Adam Carolla Show

Anything I left out? Leave your favorites in the comment section!

 
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Take a Page from Chick-fil-A’s Book

I wanted to let the dust settle a bit before picking apart last week’s Chick-fil-A news. While I don’t necessarily agree with their viewpoints, I’ve got a lot of respect for Chick-fil-A and the transparency of their brand’s values. Consumers put a lot of weight in organizational transparency- it’s simple, really, it personifies the company and makes it look more genuine. If your company’s ideals line up your target market, you’re more likely to create a sense of loyalty among your following. It’s a deeper connection between a company and a customer that goes beyond the taste of their chicken sandwiches.

I applaud Dan Cathy for sticking to his guns and not faltering at the weight of the media. His morals are clear, hiding absolutely nothing from the general public. A lot brands could better themselves by taking a page from Mr. Cathy’s book. In today’s realm of constantly streaming social media, transparency is everything. Online communities across the world are holding brands accountable for their actions- it’s easy to blend in among the mediocrity, but the real superstars wear their values on their sleeves and openly accept criticism. So what can you learn from Chick-fil-A?

Be bold, be authentic, be crystal clear.

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Olympic Branding

The London games are upon us, and with what’s being called the most social games ever, marketers and athletes alike are blowing up the online social sphere. But thanks to restrictions set forth by the International Olympic Committee, that channel of communication is being heavily throttled. New rules state that no athlete can post any pictures from the game floor, no audio or video and not even so much as a picture with the Olympic rings logo. In a world where virtually every major national event is live tweeted, doesn’t it seem silly to block so much content from your most popular brand ambassadors? The athletes are attracting millions of eyes to their social accounts, which could be an incredible marketing tool for sponsors to provide a behind the scenes look at the world’s stage. It seems as though the IOC has missed the mark here and isn’t doing enough to capitalize on their athletes’ buzz.

On the topic of sponsors, is it actually worth  backing the Olympic games with millions from your advertising budget? The Wall Street Journal recently published an article reporting that Adidas has shelled out around $155 million to be an official sponsor of the London Olympics. Much to their dismay, Nike, who opted not to sponsor the games launched their own viral video (Find Your Greatness) which teetered as close to the edge as possible without actually saying the ‘O’ word. It’s still a clear message they’re sending, in the same way that I could make a commercial about a spinach-eating sailor without actually saying the word “Popeye.” You get the picture. What’s really intriguing is that Nike’s ad is killing, actually outdoing Adidas’ online campaign, begging the question: is it worth the price tag? Trevor Edwards, Nike’s CMO resoundingly says “No” as he laughs his way to the bank.A thank you goes out to Bob Knorpp and the folks at BeanCast for bringing up this topic on their weekly podcast.