Archive for April, 2008 Page 3 of 4



Do Agencies Get Social Media?

Cross-posted from the Maple Creative Marketing Genius Blog

Friend, blogger and marketing genius, Tom Pick of Web Market Central posted this interesting commentary recently. (Perhaps I found it interesting because he cited our firm. Thanks for the compliment, Tom!)

Tom’s thesis is that smaller marketing consulting firms, like ours, are exploring and implementing social media tools (such as this blog), while larger traditional agencies are still relying upon traditional tactics like advertising and PR.

While this is true and we are, indeed, exploring and learning about new ways to communicate and promote, we have not completely abandoned traditional media. Our soapbox philosophy and credo remains: success lies in creating aligned layers of strategic marketing tactics. The Web, blogs, Facebook and Twitter are new, promising (and exciting) channels–not the answer. In fact, we hold as truth the belief that there is no such thing as the answer. Each client is different; each situation with corresponding objectives and audience targets is unique.

Part of the beauty of Web 2.0 and social networking is the relationship aspect. I have not met Tom Pick (in person). Yet, we are working together to share ideas and to promote the best of what the other is doing. And once you jump onboard with social media and embrace the concept, you will meet dozens of allies. I certainly have, and I consider it a true blessing.

Federal Goverment Contracting – Teaming to Win

Teaming to WinYou know how there are some groups out there that are just really helpful? One such group in West Virginia is Teaming to Win.

Each year, they put on a conference that helps (typically) small or new businesses in a variety of ways, especially in learning about federal government contracting. At the urging of super human being Wayne Barte, I attended last year. It opened up new ideas for revenue streams for my internet marketing business and introduced me to several rock stars, including Dave Berkey at PTAC (trust me on this one).

There back at it again this year. The 2008 conference will be held May 28 – 30 at Stonewall Resort in the heart of West Virgina. If you’re a small WV business, I strongly encourage you to check out the site and consider presenting at the “Spotlight on Small Business.”

If you like what you see, you will also want to consider the following workshop in Bridgeport, WV on April 18 that goes over how you can market your company at this conference. From their email:

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West Virginia’s Business Potential in a Web 2.0 World

Jason Keeling and I will present “Business for Breakfast” at the Charleston Marriott’s Whitewater Grille, on April 25, from 7:30-8:30 a.m. The focus will be Web 2.0: Blogs, Pods and Twitters — How Emerging Internet Technologies Can Enhance Business Communications. We’ll consider the growing importance of blogs, podcasts, and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. We will discuss the significance of these technologies to West Virginia businesses and organizations. We are also utilizing Zoomerang to poll our audience in advance of the presentation to assess their familiarity, needs and expectations.

Pre-registration at http://www.score.org/ is appreciated. The event is sponsored by The State Journal, SCORE, and the West Virginia Small Business Development Center.

Add questions and comments here or at aBetterWestVirginia to get the conversation started early.

Early Bird Special Ends April 16

Tommy BoyJust a quick conference note: Early Bird Special pricing lasts through April 16 for all cities and dates this Spring (Martinsburg, Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling, and Morgantown, WV). When you sign up now to reserve your city and choice of best-selling book (more on that later), you will receive a $70 discount on the full day admission.

That’s a savings of more than 25% off the registration price just for planning ahead. You could use those savings to buy six-packs of bee…soda, candy bars…anything you want to keep cold.

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eBay Ink Blog: An Exercise in Joining the Conversation

For those readers that attended Online Marketing: Innovations that Work outside of Pittsburgh (I would say Pittsburgh, PA, but apparently it’s not necessarily to mention Pennsylvania because of the “h”) last fall, you will remember Jose Mallabo from eBay Inc. presenting about online pr.

Since that time, I’ve had a lot of interesting conversations with Jose about the steps eBay is taking to join the conversation. Earlier this week, I even had the opportunity to visit Jose on eBay’s main campus (you know a company is large when it has any campus, let alone multiple ones). During that time, I was able to meet Richard Brewer-Hay and get a sneak peek at eBay’s new corporate blog: eBayInk. Pretty good stuff. I was talking with Paul yesterday and said they seemed to have hit everything I think we would have recommended (except for the fact that I can’t seem to easily pull the logo – sorry, but I’m way too tired to open up photoshop).

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