Carried Away's 8 Best Fall Marketing Tips

Its fall: time to buy new school supplies, pull sweaters out of storage, plan around school sports schedules and get excited about the holidays. Its also time to put the spontaneity of summer behind us and make sure we are on track to end the year on a high note. Below, see my back-to-school marketing tips to use now, before the holidays swallow us all!

FALL MARKETING IDEAS:

1. Create a graphic to share on social media that says FALL: leaves / pencils / apple / vintage college banner / letterman sweater / etc. Use this image for a post that says you are BACK IN THE OFFICE after summer's end.
2. Even if you didn't have time off, welcome your clients back. Discounts for services if booked prior to the (busy) holiday season work well now. 
3. For those in consulting or knowledge-based fields, write a blog post on the lessons you learned this summer. Share also as an article on LinkedIn!
4. Recap your summer activities, or create a collage to share socially - Instagram loves this!
5. Ask any recent clients for reviews or testimonials, and send them the link to the site you'd like them to use. Split up platforms so you have even coverage for Yelp, Google, LinkedIn, etc. 
6. Start planning your holiday campaign now, and take advantage of printing discounts. 
7. Brainstorm your holiday client gifts or message so you don't need to rush at the end of the year. 
8. Look ahead to the calendar for next year and begin to budget / calendar marketing ideas well before the pressure of a time crunch hits.

Now get out there and enjoy the change of season! 

Carried Away with FunnyBizz

Last week I attended a new kind of business conference. Not on marketing technology (see my post on THAT one!) nor on the business of food (though my friend Sheree puts on a great one for that field) and not on the business of travel, either, though I’ve spoken at a great event for tour guides. Nope, not on social media (there are plenty of those, the best being Social MediaMarketing World which I did love) and not even on design (I often attend as well as speak at these, like SF Design Week, where I will be on a panel on VR in design, but I digress….)

I went to a whole conference about using humor in business! FunnyBizz is in it’s 5^th year, and all I can say is, why didn’t I discover it sooner? I literally screamed with laughter (my goofy mug is all over the event graphics, because I was caught laughing my ass off) for 8 hours and took 6 pages of notes which are mostly illegible, but for the multiple exclamation points I used after each point.

My top takeaways from the event:

1)      Be sure to attend next year (I think this is poised to become the next TED talks).

2)      Comedians are much smarter than they want you to believe. They know what they’re doing.

3)      It takes vivid stimulation of the brain to move an event into memory. If you can activate an emotional signal, you will be memorable.

4)      Use humor on yourself first, then you can select other targets.

5)      Serious topics CAN use humor – see realtor.com

6)      Job titles are ridiculous. (Chief Evangelist of Evangelism)

7)      If it’s embarrassing for me, it’s funny for you.

8)      Do NOT do what works! (That’s what everyone else is doing.)

9)      Make other people look good.

10)   You are at your funniest when you are just being yourself.

11)   Comedy = tragedy + time

12)   The structure of every joke is 1..2..4!

13)   Talk about pain to get empathy.

14)   Comedy tells the truth about being human.

15)   Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want to read about in the paper.

16)   If you are told “No” find another way and make it happen.

Carried Away with SMMW17 (recap)

Straight up 100

Do you like business conferences? Love them even? Or do you, like most people, dread them with every fiber of your being? Don't worry, I'm bananas for them and I'm here to share a recap so you don't have to feel bad that you didn't go. You're welcome ;)

Social Media Examiner came across my radar a few years ago as a resource for social media how-to, and in a sea of eBooks, blog posts and "authorities", they actually know what they are talking about and give quality and up-to-date info. For those reasons, I decided to make the (substantial) investment to attend their massive annual conference (3000 people) in sunny San Diego in March of this year. And [**SPOILER ALERT**] I am quite glad that I did! First, a little about the experience, and then I will share my top 3 takeaways from the event.

From the very start, the experience was grand - and not just because I had a fancy room with a view in the Grand Hyatt! Bad pun, great location.

I used The Force to get a room upgrade!

At check in I was given my credentials. I wasn't expecting a card for a free Starbucks, but clearly someone was advised that I was attending, and it was handed to me by a friendly check-in volunteer. So far, my investment had just paid off! (Well OK about $4 of it...)

Credentials

Did I mention that the conference is held in San Diego? To be honest, it's difficult to be in a place of such natural glory and only spend time inside, but the fact that the Convention Center is so groovy made up for it a bit. Built in 1987 (which might be the last time I was actually IN San Diego) the center is a total mod spaceship landed on earth. Thank you, Arthur Erickson. 

The groovy SD Convention Center

Wasting no time, I attended several pre-conference workshops on Wednesday (Day 1) on storytelling, using your phone to create decent videos, and PR. It was appropriate to end with PR (darling) as it was time to get ready for a kind of massive party (remember, I said there were 3000 people!) on-board an Aircraft Carrier! I got dressed up and headed over to the USS Midway where the scene was lively, to say the least. Planes! Sailors! 80s music! Tours! Wine! Flight Simulators! Tacos! DONUTS! Glow necklaces! Advice not to ride the flight simulator after drinking the wine! 

I like people, but even I can get overwhelmed, so I found my sweet spot at the party below deck, learning about supplies delivery, ship operations, and how the mess hall worked. Meeting retired military personnel who now conduct tours was a treat, as was the private tour aspect. Any and all of my silly questions (did you get sea-sick? did you actually eat shit-on-a-shingle? did your dad make you join the Navy?) were answered patiently and fully. I didn't take a formal poll, but I can report that there were as many different answers as people I spoke to. The fact that I am familiar with the USS Carl Vinson (which was stationed near my home town, in Alameda, in the 80s), helped me converse as well as understand their answers. I could have stayed all night but soon enough it was time to go, because events began at 6am the next day! 

Party on the USS Midway. With tacos. 

After a party, it was refreshing to see my personal favorite, green juice, at the breakfast buffet. No, were were certainly not in Kansas! 

Breakfast in California ;)

Day 2 started off with a bang, or maybe I should say a prediction, in a great keynote by Social Media Examiner founder, Michael Seltzner, on Social Media in 2017. THIS is exactly why we go to SME for advice, because they work with the very best and newest in the field. This is also why I spend my money to attend this conference, so that I can bring that info / perspective back to my own clients! I was pumped. And each block in the day, and the whole following day, offered a choice of 10 or more different sessions - THERE IS SO MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA! I wasn't getting overwhelmed, though, I was going to relax in the sun at lunch time. 

Sunny San Diego

In addition to literally hundreds of classes offered over the next two days, there was a well-stocked bookstore where I bought books from speakers I heard at the event itself (and even had a few signed) as well as a couple that had been on my reading list for some time. 

Book haul

And there was a networking hall where we could meet with vendors, like David here, who started EasyMedia and who gave me a pair of logo glasses, so we could have a Sally Jesse Raphael moment in one of the thousands of selfies I took at the event: 

Meeting vendors / collecting swag

Ummmm did I mention that I adore conferences? I do, and I also live for the haul of conference swag I network my butt off for. With apologies to my daughter, who for her whole life has had to use random corporate logo-gifts as school supplies, I gleefully collected and dragged home plenty of swag. 

Conference swag

In addition to lectures, networking, swag collecting and juicing, I also made it a point to meet the founder of the event, Michael Selzner (see selfie below!) which I am using as a reminder to myself to work towards the level of expertise which will allow ME to one day speak at this conference! 

Selfie with the founder, Michael Stelzner

After an incredible 3 days of lectures, parties and whatnot, we were treated to a closing keynote by someone I know from the fitness world, the adorable (and tiny) Chalene Johnson. I actively do Chalene's PiYo and other fitness videos from BeachBody, and have been inspired to purchase them because of her wildly successful info-mercials (I am actually a huge sucker for info-mercials but that is a story for a whole post in itself!) so I loved hearing her describe the process and formula for creating those very videos. As a wrap, it perfectly capped off a hugely relevant and entertaining conference. Also, she made us dance. 

Closing keynote with Chalene Johnson

Did I mention that I had help from my sweet daughter, Ivy, in selecting my conference garb? Yes, I very carefully styled it up. And then was dismayed to see an overwhelming number of guys in shorts! Oh San Diego, didn't we tell you to Stay Classy? 

#ootd

After three days, though, I was TIRED. And that is why this conference ruled: after the close on Friday, I was able to drive the 2 hours to Long Beach for dinner and a bed at my Dad's house! Total bonus, available only at the Super VIP level ;) 

Dinner at Dad's

Now, enough about my experience, what were my three biggest takeaways from the event? 

1. Technical details change constantly; rely on the right sources to stay up-to-date.
2. Quality content still rules; storytelling is key. 
3. New technology is available at every level and should not be ignored by small business!

Thank you to my Dad for having me, to my family for sparing me for 3 days, to my clients for sending me with questions that I was able to answer and more, and to Social Media Marketing World for quite an experience! And I will be back next year (already bought my ticket) for more coffee, selfies and science. And watch this space, because I WILL speak there some day!

10 Ways to Livestream your Business

Teenagers seem to have a new dance these days: running around, phones held high, squealing and gesturing into the air, completely oblivious to anyone over 25... and friends, it’s not The Twist they’re doing, it’s livestreaming. And as usual, they can teach us a lot because the biggest trend for 2016 in business was exactly that! Hang onto your hats, Gen X, it’s a thing, and I can help you learn how to use it for your business.

My friend Sunny and I broadcasting live from an event

First, you’ll need to master the technical details, which can be found on my previous blog post. If there is anything I didn’t cover in sufficient depth, as my 12-year-old says, “Google It!” To get used to the practice, play around with live broadcasts on different platforms (you can always delete them later!) and once you have the hang of it, then comes the real work. What are you going to broadcast? Short of answering “everything”, let me share some ideas:

Tour of your office / studio: One of the first Instagram lives I watched was an artist standing in the middle of his studio with his dog, drinking a beer. He was speaking into the camera at intervals, but mostly panning around to his workspace, the materials he had out, his beer, his dog… OK the dog was getting the most “likes” but it was a fascinating few minutes where I and a handful of others got to hear someone speak who’s work we had previously followed online, and seeing the stacks of raw materials and the tools he used made me look at his work with even more interest. It was as good as being given a tour in person. Well, that minus the beer and getting to pet the dog.

Show yourself or staff sampling food at your restaurant: No the viewers still won’t be able to taste it, but the visuals can be so much fun for this kind of thing! The possibility for candid humor abounds here as well, especially if you are particularly expressive of face. Not that I saved it for the archives, but the very first live I did was on FaceBook as I sat at Starbucks sampling one of their new coffee drinks. Friends who watched it said they cracked up over the face I made when I tasted how over-sugared the drink was, so this kind of thing can be used to humanize posts.

Demonstrate a how to: The world of the instructional video is something that pains many of us who had corporate jobs in the 80s and 90s, so we should be thrilled that it has loosened up and morphed into the more casual realm of livestreaming. The best part is that many of the venues allow you to save the MP4 files so you can later edit or publish on your website or YouTube as you see fit. Not to be confused with internal training, which should still remain internal, but many of your customers would love to see how it is that you do what you do. Candy making, carpentry, hair cutting, you name it. Show it going on live, and you’ve connected on a deeper level with your audience / clients. Re-posting clips of actual genius elsewhere can boost your SEO and help demonstrate your expertise in the field.

Interview Staff: why not do an impromptu Q&A in the office? Let your viewers get to know you and your team beyond what you carefully edit and post. The nature of livestreaming lends itself to un-rehearsed chat, so keep it informal and short. I would plan to ask people something about their area of strength or have them recount a story they love to tell. People love to talk, and it helps us connect with one another.

Day-in-the-life: Follow someone on their daily rounds of work, or film yourself if it isn’t dangerous. This behind-the-scenes, cinema verite technique can be effective to show a process (similar to a demo video) or a routine, such as feeding animals in a shelter, delivering newspapers or anything else that lends itself to a ride-along mindset.

Special event: this is perhaps the biggest use of livestreaming, and it’s a perfect fit. Whether you are broadcasting to those who couldn’t attend, or trying to build cachet by showing something not open to the public, the special event broadcast meshes well with social media’s aspirational feel. I will admit to watching lives filmed at award shows and fancy dinners which I would never be able to attend in reality.

Document changes: Are you having furniture delivered? Cutting your hair? Demo-ing an old office building? All of these moments can now be shared live and as they happen!

Work-in-progress: One of my favorite things to see on Instagram is when an artist shows images of the same work at different points in its creating. The work-in-progress broadcast takes this to another level and can be used to show process as well as steps. You could do a panorama of all current projects in your workshop, for example, or do a quick kitchen view while food prep is going on, for example, and then follow it up with a still photo post afterwards. For example, film a short live video of gift bags being assembled at an event, and then post a photo of the finished product on your event page.

Announcement: Livestreaming is the new press release! You can film yourself or staff making a business announcement or reading from a press release. The way to make this dynamic is to post in advance, stating the time that the live will be broadcast and reminding your fans to tune in to see it. Who rules this type of hype? Apple.

Q&A: finally, a live broadcast can be used to take questions from customers. You can set it up in advance so that people tweet their questions with a # that you will be following, and you can read them and answer them live, or you can also take the questions on the spot. Just be sure to read the questions aloud so that your viewers know what you are talking about!

Livestream anything - even listening to music in your car!

As I said above, I really think you can livestream just about anything, and if you have other ideas, please share in the comments. Remember the purpose of the broadcast, and tailor your language and behavior to the occasion, but have fun with it. Of course you still want to ask yourself each time if it is in line with your marketing plan and your mission statement and if you answer yes, press that button!

Press Releases are not Rocket Science

In my consulting practice, one of the most frustrating tasks is getting sign offs on press releases. Clients lose sleep over this one document and let it sit for months because it’s not “perfect”. Whether you write your own or pay to have them written for you, here are 5 tips to speed up the process while at the same time ensuring you get a quality release out into the world. Read these and then… JUST DO IT!

1.       Make it Timely

The number one piece of advice I can share is that if you have something to announce, do it now, because there’s nothing worse than missed opportunity or yesterday’s news. Getting it out on time is more important than agonizing for 40 years over the exact wording. This isn’t a college application or the great American novel, it is a tool for sharing information.

2.       Make it Simple

The press release is a vehicle for getting information out into the world, not a one of a kind wood carving or couture gown. It does not require flowery language or poetic rhymes. It simply needs to give people information and the best way to do that is to make it organized, logical and succinct. Write simply, as if you were composing a recipe or directions for putting together a folding dog crate. Keep it to one page and your chances of actually having it read skyrocket.

3.       Share Information

Make sure that the release contains all pertinent information: contact person / phone / email / location / date / basic data, etc. Don’t focus so much on the story that you forget to put a link to your website, for example. Make sure all the contact info is at the top, so that an editor who does a quick scan doesn’t get frustrated and toss the whole thing. Remember that the purpose is to get information into the right hands and to make sure they know where to go further details or to have Oprah’s staff call you to set up a TV appearance!

4.       Include a Photo

Reading is a lost art. Busy editors might see hundreds of releases each week – make yours stand out! Are you promoting a book / retail shop / new exercise gadget / politician? You’ll need photos / headshots no matter what, so get them done early and use them everywhere, especially on the release – right under the header. A picture is worth… well, you know.

5.       Nobody’s Perfect

Revise and edit for accuracy and simplicity, and then have another pair of eyes do the same. It may not be perfect, but when it is good enough, go. Get the information all in one place, run it by someone you trust, and then put it into the universe and let the magic happen. 

You may also find this post on my LinkedIn profile