I’m starting to feel that my iPhone is an appendage. I never leave home without it. I’m sure a lot of people are like that, young people, anyway.

The right kind of marketers should know that they can reach me and millions of people just like me through our omnipresent cell phones in a number of ways and with perfect timing. Here are a few examples:

One of my favorite iPhone apps is RedLaser. It’s simple (and everyone I know has it). RedLaser is software that can scan any bar or QR code. Once I scan a code, it searches thousands of local and online retailers for the best prices. If you’re like me, you don’t want to spend your day researching or jumping from store to store to find the best prices.

I went to a computer store the other day to buy a charger for my laptop and it was $60 (far more than I wanted to spend). I scanned the barcode with the RedLaser App and found the exact same charger  on Amazon for $10. I ordered it right away and Amazon got it to me a few days later. How cool is that?

You can scan a coupon in a magazine or newspaper and bring it, on your SmartPhone, to, say, a theater or a restaurant for a discount. If you’re walking by a store, you can enter its name into your phone and there’ll probably be an offer you can take advantage of right way.

A lot of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn users, access their accounts on their SmartPhones. At the mall, I’ve noticed a lot of stores featuring in-store promotions mentioning to “Like” them on Facebook or “follow” them on Twitter. Macy’s offered me an extra 10% discount, if I showed them on my iPhone, that I “liked” them on Facebook.

Text message advertising has also grown tremendously in the past few years. In 2011, a survey conducted by the International Association for Wireless Communication showed that over 2.12 trillion text messages were sent and received. Crazy, right?

Advertising via text message, is a great way to reach your target audience directly and in real-time. 98% of all recipients read their text messages, 95% of them within 15 minutes of receiving them. People change their mailing and email addresses more often than they change their phone number. Companies can take advantage of this large consumer base.

Our good friends at Per-Keys help make this a seamless process for marketers, by offering a platform where they can integrate mobile and direct marketing. Since mobile marketing is permission-based, they use print communications to ask for permission. It uses personalized keywords to make the SMS message highly targeted, and allows for marketers to track responses. It’s also great to use, because everyone doesn’t have a Smartphone, so you can reach a broader audience via text message.

All in all, there are a lot of opportunities in Mobile Marketing. Which ideas do you like? Are you testing any Mobile Marketing? Please share with us in the comments below.

Food Trucks have been popping up all across the country. Everything deliciously sinful is on a truck. From cake shakes and fried Oreos to ginger Brussels sprouts & Short Rib Sandwiches¬…

When food truck lineups started, even better, one opened up right in front of my Alma Mater, Johnson & Wales University. The BTTR (Biscayne Triangle Truck Round-up) Miami Food Truck Events, usually about 35 trucks, get together once a week.

My friends and I have been going practically every week, and the crowds keep getting bigger. At first, it was mostly college students, and then people from all around the city started showing up.

And that made me wonder. “How did all these people hear about this?”

I decided to investigate! I started watching the trucks, more important asking questions. I came up with some surprising answers. Here’s what they do great, and what they could do:

1. They create a stand out brand personality.
The truck owners put a lot of thought into coming up with a creative name, and overall theme. The decals and truck design can make or break them. Some keep it simple and focus on making good food; others go crazy with characters and graffiti-like design. Just like in any business, standing out from your competitors is key.

2. Most of them get the word out with Social Media.
Food Truck owners use Facebook and Twitter, since they move around a lot, so people can track them down. (A lot of my friends hear about Food Trucks on Twitter or Facebook, and read reviews on which ones are best.)

3. About 75% of Food Trucks I saw have QR codes.
While people stand in line they usually have their smart phones in their hand. Food Truck owners ask them to scan the QR code to follow them on Facebook and Twitter, so they get the latest updates.

4. Missed Opportunity?
I noticed that some trucks have 4” X 6” Flyers with QR Codes linked to Facebook, Twitter, their website and phone number. Why aren’t the owners asking people to sign up for an email list? Missed opportunity? Why not collect their information and send them updates once a week about upcoming events.

5. Reviews! Reviews! Reviews!
Like most people, I have favorite Food Trucks. I’m obsessed with this mouthwatering, scrumdiddlyumptious (no real word can describe how good it is) Short Rib Sandwich. I talk about it on Facebook and my friends have all tried it! A lot of people post reviews on Yelp or their own websites, so it’s a good idea to encourage customers to review your business. Some trucks have a decal asking customers to review them on Yelp.

Any standout Marketing Ideas you’ve seen? Please share your thoughts and comment below.

Guest Blog Post from
Rachel Rodriguez
LGMG Account Exec.

In times like these I remember when I was a little girl and my mother took me to Manhattan’s Marble Collegiate Church to hear the Reverend Norman Vincent Peale talk about The Power of Positive Thinking.

He was amazing but I hadn’t thought of him in years, not until we all began to feel the pinch of a terrible economy.

Small business owners, like me, blanch at the word Recession. Some of us panic. Some cut prices, cut staff. Thanks to Reverend Peale, I prefer to think about positive approaches. I start by remembering that we have a choice:

1. We can pack up our tents and go home, or

2. We can try something new.

We always pick #2.

1. I’m making myself accountable first, accountable myself to work on my next book, be more creative (in all elements of their business) for our clients and learn new things.

2. As soon as I find myself working on a new creative program, I start having fun. For some odd reason, I think about Tom Dixon, the Blendtec CEO whose “Will it blend?” videos usually go viral. In this one, he purees an iPad and it’s had over 12 millions views

Great storytelling and that’s always made for effective marketing.

3. Your network can be golden for you. If you’re on LinkedIn, keep in touch with people you’ve worked with in the past, former clients, friends, relatives and people in your groups. I reach out to several people every day to see if I can be a resource for them. I help people find new positions, mention them in a post, or ask about their families. Networking is easy on Facebook and Twitter, too. It helps if you remember this: Don’t just ask for something, offer something.


You can tell we’re working on a fun new program! From the Left: Emilian Gruev (Our go-to guy!), Rachel Rodriguez (She’s in charge), Pepper Huff (Creative Director), Michael McCormick (Our Strategy Guru), & Lois Geller (Leader of the pack).

4. Your strategy is your Game Plan for new business. So, figure out the best ways you might be able to reach the companies you want to work with, and then write it down. I’ve found personal, first class mail to be very effective in generating new business, especially in industries in which we have a lot of experience, like finance, publishing automotive and tourism.

(Sometimes, I wish our new prospects had a little more experience. We recently presented a program idea to a bank, and asked them the value of an average new customer. They didn’t know and so they had no idea how much they can afford to spend to get X number of new customers.)

5. The important thing is to take action! Get out of your comfort zone and do new things. It’s fruitless to keep doing what you’ve always done if it’s stopped working.

6. And, surround yourself with the best people you can afford. Hard times call for the best, the smartest, most positive people you can find.

Stay positive yourself by doing something nice for yourself every day.

Good luck and please comment and add your ideas to this list, will you?

One of the great things about speaking at the annual Merit Direct Coop is that I get a chance to learn new things. I also get to meet some of Merit’s clients and to enjoy the beautiful Renaissance Westchester Hotel.

And this year there was a bonus! I got to share the keynote with Amy Africa and spend a little time with her. The fact that it was her birthday made it even better.

Amy spoke about Mobile Marketing, expertly, as always. My topic was “Everything you need to know about Social Media for B to B companies”.

Some of the things I said might interest you:

I· You can develop a Prospect Database through Social Media. Merit Direct is a great List Company and they know better than anyone else that all kinds of businesses are building their own databases. Twitter and Facebook can help. A lot. Twitter has places for you to create your own lists and segment your audiences. You can also create a landing page on Facebook that ask your friends or fans for their email addresses so you can send them updates or offers.

II· Social Media makes it easier to access people in charge. You can begin a conversation with almost anyone on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. I’ve chatted with people online that I‘d never get to talk to if I called. There’s no gatekeeper and people logon to social media when they have time.

III. You can maximize your own content. Use it for your blog, white papers, etc. and broadcast it with links from social media. It’ll get you out to a larger audience.

IV. Talking about your company in all of these places, you can develop a large brand, even though you might be a small startup company. At the Merit Direct Coop, I was delighted to meet one fellow I’d been talking to online for a while. I thought he had a large company. Turned out it was a startup! Goes to show you what you can do with a social media approach.

V. And … You can also communicate with your customers along the buying cycle.

You might also want to consider this:

- The B2B buyer cycle is complex

- The offerings are more sophisticated (what they can do
and on what scale)

- B2B buyers are curious about how a product can make life easier and business better (mistakes can be costly)

- to win a B2B sale you first have to build trust, demonstrate how reliable your product is, and show how it is suitable

- determine each customer’s perspective, and mirror their concerns with benefits

- B2B buyer cycle will always require thoughtful consideration, due to the sophistication of the offerings.

- With targeted online experiences we can shorten the length of time between first contact to signed contract.

A chart of some Conversion Metrics

When I spoke on the exact same topic at the Merit Direct Coop a few years ago, we had a nice crowd. This time there was a lot more people, and we were in the ballroom. B to B sees the power of Social Media.

Happy Birthday, Amy.

Celebrating with Amy Africa (@AmyAfrica)(EightbyEight) and friends; Barbara de la Riva (@bdelariva), Linda Pickering, and Joanna Brandi (@joannabrandi)(Customer Care Coach)

I was reading an article the other day about “The Social Network” movie (“How Facebook Really Won the Social Media War…“) and it said something that I’ve been saying for years! There is Power in the List.

The movie was nominated for an Oscar, not because of the genius directing or their brilliant acting, but really for the depiction of how Facebook went from being an idea to a phenomenon that affected 500 million people!

The key to their success was in the power of their list! Being a Direct Marketer I’ve always known the value of having the right list. Remember, the 40-40-20 Rule. 40 percent of the success of a campaign lies in the list! When you have the right audience, you are more likely to be a success.

In “The Social Network” Mark Zuckerberg had to make decisions that were crucial to his success. He knew that in order to make “The Facebook” (It’s then name) a success, he had to get Eduardo Saverin’s (friend and co-founder) email list. His idea was that if he could get the emails of the Pheonix (a prominent social club at Harvard) it would make all the difference. Sending it to his personal list wouldn’t get them very far.

Zuckerberg was smart in that he knew if he got to the “popular” crowd first, the rest would follow their lead.

Are you targeting the right list? If you’re not too sure, then call us at our office 646.723.3231 or email me for some ideas at loisgeller@loisgellermarketinggroup.com.

I first met Bridget Best when she and her twin sister Colleen were about 6 years old. They lived in Toronto and I was working there at the time.

I visited them, and really got a kick out of them, because whatever they thought of seemed to leap out of their mouths. Their parents called them “Twinkles”. Mostly because they were bright and alive and always had something up their collective sleeves.

Now Bridget is an opera singer. Though I’ve never heard her perform, I have spoken to people who have…and they rave about her talent. She’s graduated from Hunter College in New York, with Music as her major and the Manhattan School of Music where she studied Classical Voice.

Last week, I met up with her in NY at the Canadian Consulate and was amazed at how lovely she is, and now she’s looking for work singing. If you know of any opportunities for her, just let me know and thanks for your advice.

So, Bridget needs auditions!

What would I do to get some good ones?

1. I Googled “opera auditions“…and the Metropolitan Opera came up and they said, “mail a photo and your resume“. I’d add a great letter too. Other places for auditions came up too. This is a marketing numbers game, so respond to all those opera companies.

2. I figured she’d have a video on YouTube singing. But i looked there and couldn’t find one.

3. She did a concert and webcast which she should put on YouTube, Facebook and her website. Here’s a link: MSM-NYC

4. Bridget might also volunteer to sing at music schools, fund-raising events, and at private parties. Her lovely Soprano voice is amazing and someone might refer her to just the right opera company.

5. Social Media is always an opportunity to reach out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Plaxo, and a great place to network with many people.

Maybe she might call herself “@BridgetTheSoprano” (on Twitter).

Good Luck my lovely friend!

Last week my friend Keith Fletcher of the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association called to invite me to a marketing conference with an intriguing title: Social Media/Legal Mashup. He wanted me to hear Gaida Zirkelbach, a lawyer, speak about social media. A lawyer?

Keith told me that she’s fascinating and I’d learn a lot. So, I went. And she was great. My first clue was that half the room was filled with lawyers taking lots of notes. If I ever have a problem, I’ll just call Gaida fast. She’s great. I wish I had a transcript of her presentation but I took notes, too, and here they are:

· Kim Kardashian said that she’d never use Dr. Siegal’s cookie diet, and would never do an unhealthy diet like his. Dr. Siegal filed a lawsuit and you can read all about it here: Kardashian Article

· Apparently the Ann Taylor Company gave a gift to people who blogged nicely about the company. According to the FTC, you must disclose that to readers. I already knew that. A few years back we did a program for American Express auto insurance. Instead of a traditional sales letter, we used a thank you letter from a happy customer. Our creative director edited it, and we sent the writer a small gift from Tiffany’s. We also added this: “I didn’t get paid for this letter, and my original letter was edited but these are my words. The advertising agency sent me a gift from Tiffany’s to thank me.”

· Gaida (and I) encourage you to read The Digital Milennium Copyright Act.

· Gaida covered a lot of ground quickly. She told us about a woman who spoke badly of her boss on Facebook. Her boss then fired her on her blog. I’ve noticed that people talk freely on Facebook and don’t seem to think that employers or associates might read it. They will, and do!

· There was a fascinating story about Houston’s employees who were griping on Yelp. One of the bosses had gotten onto the site using someone else’s i.d. The employees sued him for “invasion of privacy”.

· Gaida urged us to manage risk in social media by putting together policies for employees. She mentioned the Communications Decency Act, and her parting words were “think before you print”. I think she meant think before you post.

Late one night I was tweeting about my sick cat, Mortimer. One of my followers said that she didn’t care about my cat, and why would I think anyone would? This was followed by a firestorm of people tweeting support for Mortimer. They probably “unfollowed” her.

Reviewed by Lois Geller

Reading this book reminded me of something and it tugged at the back of memory until it burst through.
Keats!

195 years ago, John Keats wrote a sonnet called On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer. Chapman was George Chapman and his translations of Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad struck Keats as rather splendid:

“… I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;”

That’s how I feel about Tamar Weinberg’s new book about Marketing on the Social Web and if I could write like Keats I’d compose a sonnet to her on the spot, perhaps borrowing those lines :

“… I heard Chapman Weinberg speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his her ken;”

It’s that kind of book, an eye opener, a gentle slap to the back of the head.

Just as Keats had read other translations of Homer, I’d read other books about the Social Web and I am on Twitter, Plaxo, Ecademy, Facebook and LinkedIn and I thought I was doing pretty well with them.

Then that new planet swam into my ken and I realized I’d been a village blacksmith tinkering with a jet engine.

This book is so comprehensive, that I learned about StumbleUpon (still not sure how that works), and delicious.com and RSS feeds, bookmarking and whole new worlds I’d only heard about. The 346 page volume is packed with all kinds of new opportunities, for people like me who love marketing.

Tamar (I don’t know her but I hope to be on a first name basis some day) starts from the start assuming her readers know nothing about the Social Web, and, compared to her, that’s a good bet no matter what readers think they know.

She holds your hand and in tight, readable prose walks you through this Wonderland. She tells you that it is really conversation marketing. She tells you how to do it (or get it done), how to get photos and video on social sites, what language to use (and not use), how to build your reputation and your following, and, most of all and dear to the heart of this direct marketer, how to use social sites to sell.

She tells you who’s already miles ahead of you (and why) and not to worry because you can catch up in no time – if you pay attention to Tamar, my new BFF.

Get this book, read it, read it again, keep it by your side and grow rich in your pajamas, working online at home, having fun and making friends even if you’re the marketing head of a Fortune 500 company.

P.S. I went to a local Barnes & Noble to buy a copy for my client, and they were sold out. That’s another good sign.

This year I spoke about the power of Social Media, sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. One of the things I like about the social media world is that in many ways it’s like direct marketing on steroids – faster, more intimate, and easier-to-measure.

I was amazed that many in the audience didn’t know about Twitter or LinkedIn. Some had Facebook accounts for showing family photos.

I spoke about strategy and how to drive followers from Twitter to Facebook and then to your blog. As people get to know you, the more likely it is that they will do business with you, especially in b2b.
The title of my talk was How to get Tons of Free Advice on the Internet. I showed them how I floated questions on LinkedIn and received dozens of great answers from leading lights in our field.

My enthusiasm for this subject is over the top because I have a great time meeting people online. The Merit audience wanted to know the basics. I was amazed that with all of the publicity around these programs (how did Obama win the election? Social Media) that they hadn’t at least tested the waters. After all, it is all free.
My takeaway was:
· Many people in business are depressed. They’re worried about their companies and their jobs.

· They are waiting for business to come back as it has in the past.

· They are marketing conservatively, doing what they’ve done (just mailing less).

My advice to them and you:
· Develop the right attitude now! If you stay positive and keep on truckin’ – trying new ideas – something is a bound to work for you.

· If you just wait for business to come back, as it has before, it might not. Go after any piece of business that has a chance to pay off for you. (I call it the Dandelion Theory.) Blow out as many programs as you can, and one will take root. Maybe more.

· Now is the time to think creatively. Tell people about the benefits ofy our product or service, as if you were recommending it to a friend. Skip the rhetoric. Talk like a human being and tell your prospects why they should buy it now.

· Don Libey at the conference said, WAYMISH. Why are you making it so hard for your customer to buy from you? Make it easy on your website, on the phone, on your direct mail. Short is best.

And, let me know how you’re doing. Visit me at twitter.com/loisgeller at LinkedIn: Lois Geller, Facebook: Lois K. Geller and by email: loisgeller@loisgellermarketinggroup.com Easy, huh?

So, we started testing mail, then obtaining email addresses. We tested emailing people to visit us on Facebook, and then gave them special offers there. Little by little, over the last few years, we’ve gone from a direct mail agency, to an online group that builds websites, maintains the relationships our clients have iwth their customers via social media…and are testing some great new strategies. We’re having fun.

If we’d stayed in our old niche, we probably wouldn’t be growing as fast.

Then I read a piece about Newsweek reinventing itself in The New York Times. Their transformation is amazing: a new, smaller format, interesting new design…and a more afluent readership. They aren’t going to cover the big events any more (like the U.S. Airways flight that glided into the Hudson River). They are gambling on an audience that will pay more for a new “offbeat take” on events. Will it work?

Time will tell.