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It’s official! I’ve joined Fleishman-Hillard’s digital team in Dallas.

This decision happened rather quickly, in fact I accepted the offer to join the talented FH Digital team right before the New Year and last week I rolled up my sleeves and joined the crew in Dallas.

Fleishman-Hillard is a global public relations, public affairs and marketing communications company. The digital team in Dallas is guiding some of the world’s largest brands through the space where digital marketing, social media and mobile are converging. The opportunity to dig in and join great minds like Matt Dickman, Brad Mays and Mike Cearley was one that I couldn’t pass up.

For anyone that has been following this blog from its beginning, this news shouldn’t be much of a surprise. The topics of discussion here have been edging more and more into how technology is changing the rules for how brands, well… do everything.

Stay tuned for more exciting things coming down the pipe! And if you’re in Dallas, let’s connect.

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

I haven’t really been a fan when it comes to listing trends and predictions for the new year. After all, shouldn’t we always be looking forward? Especially with the rate of change that currently exists?

That’s not to say that I haven’t contributed my thoughts as to what 2010 holds. Check out the 100 Social Media & Content Marketing Predictions for 2010, where I along with 60+ other marketing minds made our predictions.

I find a lot of value in being able to see future through so many different lenses this time of the year. I can see what topics are repeating and if there are any irregular gems that catch my eye as something to keep a close eye on in the coming months.

So with that goal in mind I’ve listed 46 different 2010 trends and predictions posts, that I’ve organized (as much as I can) by topic.

Please let me know I missed your predictions post. Go ahead and leave a link in the comments. I welcome different perspectives on what 2010 holds.

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Digital

• 100 Social Media & Content Marketing Predictions for 2010, by Various Authors

• 2010: Year of Digital Distraction?, by Pete Cashmore

• Twitter at a Crossroads: Audience Growth Won’t Be Enough in 2010, by Josh Bernoff

• Social Media 2010: it’s time to get boring, by Jackie Huba

• Top Digital Trends for 2010, by Brian Morrissey

• What’s the Twitter of 2010?, by Mark Evans

• 5 Social Media Implications for Brands in 2010, by Sienna Farris

• 2010 Social Media Influencers – Trend Predictions in 140 Characters, by TrendsSpotting

• ReadWriteWeb 2010 Predictions, by ReadWriteWeb

• The 10 TENsions That Will Define 2010, by Ross Dawson

• Top 5 Predictions for the Next 5 Years in Business Social Media, by Tac Anderson

• 10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010, by Ravit Lichtenberg

• 6 Social Media Predictions for 2010, by Amy Porterfield

• 9 digital trends to watch in 2010, by Nuri Djavit

• Nick Law on 2010 Trends, by MediaBeat

• (Social Media) Trends to Watch in 2010, by Mike Sansone

• 2010 Trends: Social Media & Paid Content, by Debra Aho Williamson

• 10 Web trends to watch in 2010, by Pete Cashmore

• 100 Things to Watch in 2010, by JWT

Mobile

• How Carrier Evolution will Affect Mobile in 2010, by Vince Lesch

• What will be the major trends in mobile marketing in 2010?, by Giselle Tsirulnik

• 9 unpredictions: What’s not going to happen with mobile in 2010, by Vanessa Horwell

• 10 Trends to Watch in 2010, by David Stutts

• Six Social Media Trends for 2010, by David Armano

• Top ten digital trends for 2010, by Drew Neisser

• 8 Mobile Technologies to Watch in 2010, by Sarah Perez

Marketing

• 10 Internet Online Trends for 2010, by John Arnold

• Trends That Will Shape Market Research In 2010, by Reineke Reitsma

• 2010: The Year Marketing Dies…, by Augie Ray

• 2010 Marketing Predictions, by Matt Granfield

• Three Words to Sing in 2010, by Pete Blackshaw

• 5 Trends That Will Shape Small Business in 2010, by John Jantsch

• Four Email Marketing Predictions for 2010, by Chad White

• Top 10 Brand and Marketing Trends for 2010, by Robert Passikoff

• 11 Smart Marketers Shared Their 2010 Predictions, by Various Authors

Public Relations

• What to Look Out For in 2010, by PRSA

• PR Trends in 2010: The Future of PR, by Sally Falkow

• Jeremiah Owyang: Public relations will be impacted by ’social CRM’ in 2010, by Dave Armon

• Envisioning Media Relations: 2010 Predictions, by BurrellesLuce

• Public Relations Measurement 2010: Five Things to Forget & Five Things to Learn, by Don Bartholomew

Customer Service

• 10 Customer Service Trends for 2010, by Barry Moltz

Journalism

• 8 News Media Business Trends for 2010, by Vadim Lavrusik

• 10 Reasons Media Relations Will Get Easier in 2010, by Jeremy Porter

Nonprofits/Social Good

• 3 Powerful Social Good Trends in 2010, by Ben Rattray

• Five Social Media Fundraising Trends for 2010, by Beth Kanter

Music

• 5 Predictions for the Music Industry in 2010, by Nick Crocker

Finally, to put all of these predictions into perspective, Iain Tait from Crackunit has some mockingly humorous Trend Predictions for 2010.

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What did I miss? Let us know what you think 2010 holds in the comments, or leave a link to your trends and predictions post.

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

The eve of Black Friday is here. People around the country are forming their plans of attack for one of the biggest shopping days of the year. In fact, some have already pitched their tents on the sidewalks of select retailers so that they can be at the front of the line when the doors open.

I’m still curious to see if any retailers have the guts to make Black Friday something more than a price war. More specifically, will any realize the day as an opportunity to create a positive brand experience and cultivate fans?

After my recent post on the topic, I was pointed towards an event that is slowly becoming something of a tradition at Bass Pro Shops. (Thanks zgilliam) It’s called The Great Turkey Campout and it happens in the parking lots of stores around the country.

Customers are invited out on Thanksgiving night for s’mores cooked on an open campfire, hot chocolate and coffee. There are also a number of drawings for camping gear and gift cards.

When the event ends, customers are invited to pitch their tents and camp out the rest of the night, where they will be first in line when the doors open on Black Friday.

Bass Pro saw Black Friday as an opportunity to create a positive experience for it’s biggest fans, instead of focusing on price along to lure customers to the door.

I hope they will continue this event in the coming years and make a tradition out of it, but I challenge them to up the ante a bit. Think of ways to further highlight and encourage the community that Bass Pro supports around camping and hunting. Here are a few ideas:

• Serve everyone deer chili.
• Bring in a storyteller to tell stories around the campfire.
• In the morning, drive coffee around to everyone in a fully outfitted ATV.

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What would you add to this list?

Have you seen any retailers like Bass Pro Shops that are breaking the mold this year?

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

It’s not always about being the flashiest or slickest, sometimes it just means using the tools you already have at your disposal in smart new and creative ways. Ikea proves this brilliantly in their recent Facebook marketing campaign.

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Via: The Social Path

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

Chris Brogan discusses what he calls, The Serendipity Engine, at Web 2.0 Expo NY 09.

Some takeaways:

• Social media tools allow brands to acknowledge consumers and say, “I see you. There is a person there.”
• There is the potential in social media, particularly Twitter, for the serendipitous creation of connections and opportunities.
• Listen far more than time than you spend worrying about what to say.
• Use the 12 to 1 ratio. “Spend 12 times talking about other people as you do yourself.”
• Drive social media tools deeper inside organizations.

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

We’re only days away from another Thanksgiving Day celebration, spent with friends and families, eating lots of great food and watching football. That also means that retailers are just days away from another dose of Black Friday chaos.

Last year, after watching people pitch their tents in front of Best Buy stores as early as eight o’clock the night before Black Friday, I recognized an opportunity that retailers were failing to take full advantage of.

Consumers were lining up outside, weathering the cold and waiting hours for stores to open. Why not use this as an opportunity to engage with consumers and create a branded experience? I boldly suggested that retailers should start treating Black Friday more like a tailgating party with their fans, instead of the simple discount war it has become.

Best Buy, for example, could implement any or all of these ideas to create a completely different Black Friday experience:

• Hire a DJ spinning the newest music releases. Throw in some Christmas tracks here or there.
• Pull in a huge Best Buy bus with wide screen HD plasma TV’s on the side.
• Have a gaming tournament.
• Hand out fleece Best Buy blankets and sweatshirts to the crowd.
• Serve Thanksgiving turkey legs and hot cocoa.
• Draw a crowd and spark the curiosity of passerbys.

I received some flack for this idea because some see Black Friday shoppers as nothing more than crazies in search of the lowest prices. Why would a retailer waste their time and money on shoppers that have no clear loyalties?

This is a valid concern, but I think it misses some larger opportunities. Creating a new Black Friday experience would do three things for the retailer that is brave enough to try it:

1. Change the Game
Any retailer that chose to be the first to implement this would instantly change the rules. It would take the sole focus off of discounts and put it on a unique brand experience with the retailer instead.

2. Stimulate and Earn Word of Mouth
Black Friday is already a heavily talked about event. Breaking the mold would put the retailer at the front of the conversation. Instead of small mentions scattered across the web and news, think headlines.

3. Convert to Loyalists
This type of event would create a very different experience of value for consumers, and would give people a reason to interact and engage with the retailer brand beyond price. This is the perfect stage for converting this largely un-loyal group to brand loyalist.

And as I stated last year, “At the very least it would show customers that you care.”

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So are there any retailers out there that are brave enough to break the mold?

Photo via: Paul Garland

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

Download the Brand Touch Cycle pdf

A discipline that I consistently see organizations struggling with is in fully understanding the importance of touchpoints of their brand.

Yes they understand the basic idea of a touchpoint—that interactions with their brand is a touchpoint that influences the overall perception of their brand. And yes they know that it is to their advantage to integrate the touchpoints of their brand as much as possible.

The disconnects start to happen when we start to dig a little deeper into the organization and really start to identify all the ways in which consumers experience the brand. You then start to see areas where the brand experience doesn’t flow quite as smoothly as it should.

This typically happens because of lack of clarity in three areas:

1. Identifying all the touchpoints of a brand—large and small.
2. Understanding how consumers tend to move from one touchpoint to the next.
3. Recognizing that all touches have an impact the brand experience.

While working with clients to help them continually improve and grow their brands, I’ve developed a framework to help them fully grasp the depth and complexity of the many ways that consumers experience their brand, and also help them improve this experience over time.

I call it the Touch Cycle. Here are the steps:

1. Choreograph Touches
Map out as many different paths that a consumer might take with your brand, from start to finish. Think about all the interactions that consumers have with your brand, large and small.

Don’t forget the small touches here. We have a tendency to let all the big things our brands do overshadow the small things that slowly chip away at our brands.

How do they fit together? How do consumers move from one step to the next?

Play out these scenerios in your head. Do they flow together well?

2. Listen and Watch
At each of these touchpoints listen and watch what consumers say and do. What are they telling you through their actions, or what they tell others?

Take note of any confusion or frustrations that consumers might have at a specific touchpoint.

3. Reinforce Behaviors
Support the positive reactions and actions happening around with the touchpoints of your brand. Strengthen those touchpoints by encouraging good behaviors.

For example, if someone refers a friend to your product or brand, at the very least thank them. Or better yet, reward them in some way.

This is especially important when it comes to your brands online touchpoints. When someone says something good about your brand, engage with them. Thank them and encourage them to continue being advocates for your brand.

4. Evaluate and Expand
Take a look back at all the work you’ve done in steps 1, 2, and 3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the touchpoints you identified in step 1. Determine what’s working and what’s not.

Is value being added at each point of contact, giving consumers a reason to further engage?

Are there touchpoints that we should eliminate? Are there areas what we should expand into and add new touchpoints to the brand experience?

Download the Brand Touch Cycle pdf

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It’s at this point that the cycle starts over and begins again. Obviously this is something that needs to be worked into a larger brand strategy, but I’ve found it to be a great tool to help organizations start to think of their brands in a more holistic way.

Thoughts? What say you?

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

There is a lot great content on the web. (Understatement of the year.)

Everyday I wade through piles of RSS feeds, funneling blog posts and the long list of various industry and client-related keywords that I track into one spot. And everyday I come across some really cool stuff, stuff that I find valuable in some way. Whether it be an interesting case study, a informational slide deck, or an original and creative marketing approach, I take it in, store it, if I think I might want to reference it later and then share it if I think you will find it valuable.

If you are following me on Twitter (@freshpeel) you probably see some of this content, because I share a good portion of it there.

A few months back I started a posterous account to collect and share more of these chunks of content with you. I’ve found posterous to be the perfect place to record and share slide decks, infographics, videos and content that doesn’t need much, if any additional commentary. It’s become a new bucket for me share things of value.

If you haven’t already, please check it out. And I hope it will be a nice accompaniment to the content you find here at the Fresh Peel.

Subscribe to my posterous

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This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

Last week I was given the opportunity to participate in OpenBeta3, which is becoming quite the local Oklahoma City tech conference. In it’s third year running, OpenBeta delivered a great lineup stacked full of great speakers and content for anyone interested in startups and technology.

This year featured an awesome collection of technology demos, most notably a soon to be released iPhone app called Audio Footnote, which lets users record and attach audio notes to podcasts and audiobooks. The keynote featured Josh Williams, the CEO and founder of Alamofire, the creators of Gowalla and the Facebook app, Packrat.

The tradition after the keynote is a rapid fire series of Lightening Talks, which is a lot like the PechaKucha 20×20, where each speaker delivers a talk on a set of 20 slides in 5-minutes. My talk was a quick look at an idea that I’ve been brewing for a while. I call it Micro-Pulse: how small touches impact the heartbeat of your brand.

The idea is that in a world with an unlimited amount of brand touchpoints, some in a brands control and many not, and the fact that consumers can interact with a brand whenever and wherever they want to, every touch matters. I credit the birth of this idea to David Armano and his Micro-Interactions presentation.

In this very short form the idea is still not ripe, but I’ve posted the slides below. I welcome your thoughts.

View the slideshow: Micro-Pulse

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Do you have any personal examples of how small brand touches have made a big impact on you?

Have you seen this in action in social media?

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

The FTC’s recent Guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials has gained a lot of attention for such a dry, lengthy document at 81 pages long, emerging out of the fast, bite sized world we live in. The reason for this attention is well deserved because for the first time these guidelines will include blogs and other forms of digital publishing.

Rather than give you my own opinions on the document and how I interpret the them (as some have done), I’ve decided it would be much more beneficial to round up some more qualified explanations of the document, so that we can dispel the myths and opinions and find out exactly what this means for everyone working in the digital space (especially bloggers).

Legal Interpretations

The two posts I’ll point you toward, are a written by individuals with professional legal experience. The first is written by blogger, podcaster and former attorney, Whitney Hoffman. The second is by Thomas O’Toole, who is the managing editor of the Electronic Commerce Law Report for the Bureau of National Affairs, e-commerce and tech law blogger and attorney.

The New FTC Guidelines on Endorsements by Bloggers – by Whitney Hoffman.
Takeaways for Social Media Advertisers in the FTC’s New Endorsement Guides – by Thomas O’Toole

Update: WOMMA hosted a webinar last week to discuss the new FTC guidelines and their impact. The webinar was hosted by Paul Rand, WOMMA’s president and CEO of the Zocalo Group, along with WOMMA’s legal counsel Anthony DiResta from the Manatt Phelps & Phillips law firm. I’ve embedded a short summary slide deck of that presentation. (Thanks to Brand Autopsy for the tip)

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After reading these dissections of the FTC Guidelines, here are a few questions for you. I’d enjoy your thoughts.

Does this at all impact what your organization’s digital strategy?

If your organization hesitant to get involved in the online space, will these guidelines make it easier or harder for them to make the leap?

(Photo is a mashup of Flickr pics credited to jasoneppink and St_A_Sh.)

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

The internet provides us with an endless number of ways to test and perfect our marketing communications. Like mad scientists, we can experiment with our website using Google’s Website Optimizer, continuously tweaking it to better. Tim Ferris even talks about testing product names and price points using eBay listings and AdWord campaigns.

Something that I’ve been playing around with is using Twitter and the url shortening service, Bit.ly, to test the effectiveness of headlines. It’s a quick way to find out which phrasings work and which don’t.

Here how you can gain quick insights to perfect your headlines:

1. Pick a URL Shortener

First pick a url shortening service that will let you create two or more short urls for your link and that collects click data on your urls. I like Bit.ly because it is easy to use and it displays data in an clean format that takes no time to digest. (Plus it is the most common url shortening service.)

2. Select Your Content

Now find the content that you want to test headlines for. In this example, I picked an article on the Dachis Group’s Social Business Design.

3. Create Two Different Short URLs to the Content

Copy the url from the content page you want test headlines around. Create two different short urls linking to this page.

4. Pair Each Short URL with a Different Headline

Pair each of the short urls to a different headline that you want to test. (Using Bit.ly, this is when I rename the link titles so that I know which headline I used for each link.)

5. Tweet the Headlines Followed by the Paired Short URL

Tweet the first headline you want to test with the url to the content page. Then wait a few minutes and tweet the second headline and url.

6. Track the Results

Using your url shortening service, track the number of clicks on each headline. If you are using Bit.ly, the top number is how many clicks there have been and the bottom number is how many clicks there have been total, through Bit.ly, to the long url. That is why the bottom number for both links is the same, because they are both linking to the same page.

So from this we can see that “Social Business Design” is a much more effective headline hook than “Improving Value Exchange.”

7. Repeat to Find the Perfect Headline

This is where you start the process over. Go back to step 1 pairing up the most clicked headline from the first test with a new headline variation. As you do multiple tests make minor variations in the headlines in order to better understand the results. (e.g., instead of using the word “design” you might try using the word “blueprint.”) Do as many tests as you want, until you are satisfied with your headline. Depending on your timeline and what you are testing for will determine the length of time you want to spend testing.

I should point out that there are some limitations to this testing method:

• For this to be of any value, you need to have a history of participation and a following of enough size to accurately make a comparison.
• There is no way of knowing whether or not users clicked on both links.
• Participants on Twitter won’t always match up to the audience you are crafting a headline for.

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That’s it! A quick way to experiment and perfect your headlines.

Thoughts?

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

The Post2Post bus has returned!

The Fresh Peel is pleased to welcome Jeremy Gutsche, founder of the wildly popular TrendHunter.com and author of Exploiting Chaos: 150 Ways to Spark Innovation During Times of Change, which is the featured book for October’s stop on the Post2Post Virtual Book Tour.

Not only is Jeremy one of the founders at TrendHunter, but he is also a highly sought after speaker. He was one of Capital One’s youngest Business Directors and innovation leads. Prior to Capital One, Jeremy advised top-level strategy to Fortune 50 and government clients as a Management Consultant at the Monitor Group.

In this interview, I picked Jeremy’s brain on everything from finding innovation out of chaos to what his response is to opponents of trend spotting.

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Q: Is chaos a necessary ingredient for innovation?

Jeremy: It’s not required, but during periods of chaos, consumer needs change. This presents an opportunity for companies who are able to identify these needs.

Q: What are some things that history teaches us about chaos and crisis?


Jeremy: People get caught up in the downsides of the depression, but history teaches us that these times consistently provide us with new opportunities. In fact, some of the most iconic companies were founded during chaotic periods of economic downturns, including: Apple, Microsoft, General Electric, Amgen, Hyatt, HP, EA, and Fortune Magazine.

Fortune Magazine, for instance, was founded just four months AFTER the 1929 Wall Street crash. It was a dollar an issue (the price of a wool sweater), but it thrived. DURING the Great Depression, a subscriber base of 500,000 was grown, and the magazine made seven million dollars in modern day profit. The reason Fortune was successful was not because it was a luxury publication, but rather, because consumer needs had evolved. When people lost their jobs and saw the world changed by the decisions made by NYC based corporations, they wanted to know what was happening behind boardroom doors. Fortune was an answer; an answer to a new consumer need.

Q: You introduce a new wave of management theory which you call “The Exploiting Chaos Framework.” Give us a brief description of each of the four tactics and how they work in the framework.



Jeremy: Culture of Revolution – Culture is more important than strategy because it underlies your organization’s ability to adapt. During times of dramatic change, the importance of an aligned organization becomes even more important

Trend Hunting – Innovation and strategic advantage hinge on the ability to anticipate new trends and identify the next big thing. The book outlines our TrendHunter.com approach to filtering through chaos and identify clusters of opportunity to focus your innovation.

Adaptive Innovation – Engineers, designers, and scientists have invested billions of dollars to perfect human creativity. By applying the best of their proven practices to your own field, you can think big while acting small. You can rapidly identify and evaluate new opportunities.

Infectious Messaging – The Internet has created a world cluttered with chaos, but it has also created the world’s first viral platform for ideas. Well-packaged stories travel faster than ever before. Unfortunately, most marketers are stuck in a world dominated by traditional advertising and cliché. By cultivating infection, your ideas will resonate, helping you to leapfrog ahead of the competition.

Q: What’s different about the framework that you present from current and past management models? Why do organizations need a new model?




Jeremy: The EXPLOITING CHAOS framework teaches readers about reinventing SPECIFICALLY during times of chaos and change, whether in an area of growth and bubbling opportunity or periods of downturn.

Q: In the book, you say, “if you want to change the course of your organization’s future, you need to spark a revolution.” Where in the organization does this spark take place and who makes it happen?





Jeremy: The revolution is in the mindset of the entire organization. It becomes part of the culture. It takes place when the leaders of the company are able to articulate a mantra. An alignment towards a common mantra helps the company to evolve in the same direction.

Q: Your framework includes trend hunting, which is what you and your team does on a daily basis at TrendHunter.com. Is the trend hunting a part of the framework that an organization could outsource? Possibly to an company like TrendHunter.


Jeremy: We provide premium research and help facilitate workshops for companies… but ultimately, trend hunting involves looking for ideas that spark interest based on YOUR consumer’s needs… So truly breakthrough organization has to have origins within one’s own company. Accordingly, we like to help companies by providing them with a toolkit and trends in other industries that might be relevant for their own problems.

Q: What would your response be to someone that says, “you can’t spot trends because by the time you recognize a trend it’s already here, and thus no longer a trend?”



Jeremy: In the book (and our professional research), we use the term clusters… The theory being that you need to find groups of meaningful and inspiring ideas. If these ideas are relevant to your consumer’s needs, and they aren’t incredibly broad, then you’re going to have a good basis for creating remarkable products that solve a consumer need.

Q: What’s your biggest challenge as a professional trend hunter?


Jeremy: Balancing my time… I do about 5-10 speaking gigs a month, and all that travel keeps me away from the Trend Hunter team, who is diligently programming new functionality and hunting new trends as we do this interview…

Q: What do organizations tend to struggle with more? Trend Hunting (recognizing trends) or Adaptive Innovation (Finding ways to apply those trends)?


Jeremy: It’s so easy to get caught up with routine daily tasks and the status quo, that I think organizations struggle most with Culture. However… I won’t avoid your question that easily… I think organizations struggle with Trend Hunting because it is too easy to jump to the closest answer or to make the same decision that was made the day before…

Q: Everyone wants to be noticed. How can we make our messages better and more infectious?


Jeremy: At Trend Hunter, our Rule #1 is to RELENTLESSLY OBSESS ABOUT YOUR STORY! Careful word choice can have an astounding impact on the viral potential of your message. At Trend Hunter, we have the luxury of being able to test our word choice and see a measured view count for each test. For most products, the goal is immeasurable buzz and word of mouth. Here’s a sample of how I break it down in the book:

The framework we use at Trend Hunter includes three components: an article must be simple, direct, and supercharged.

Simple: As Jack Welch of GE put it, “Simple messages travel faster, simpler designs reach the market faster, and the elimination of clutter allows faster decision making.” Similarly, author Seth Godin notes that simple messages “supercharge word of mouth.”

Direct: An outsider should understand your value proposition from your 7 words. Your value proposition is your advantage. It’s the unique attribute that explains why I should choose you.

Supercharged: Your seven words should pass the “I-have-to-tell-someone-test.” If they don’t, why will someone else care? You can’t expect your message to drive word-of-mouth exposure if you don’t give people a supercharged story.

In traditional marketing, there is an emphasis on cliché, clever wording, and invented words. At Trend Hunter, we pursue viral, and that means we place our emphasis is on simplicity.
Rule #1: RELENTLESSLY OBSESS ABOUT YOUR STORY

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Thanks Jeremy!

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

Following my post on how finding the right segment of consumers goes much deeper than demographics and statistics, Brian Solis, compiled a list of revealing demographics for 11 of the major social networks.

The reason I’m mentioning this here is that Solis also had some important things to say about how reaching the right group of people takes more than a look at a data sheet.

“They are not demographics, they are not statistics, they are not avatars, nor are they waiting with baited breath for you to friend or market at them and their network friends. This data represents whole numbers and is not representative of the individuals that are looking for resources and guidance, and in turn, will help you participate as a community member.

So, how will you use this information to engage more effectively and genuinely?”

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Great question. How will you use this information to engage more effectively and genuinely?

Have you looked for pockets of consumers in smaller niche networks? What are you doing to connect these smaller groups?

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

One of the favorite activities right now in social media (right there behind making fun of so-called social media experts) is spouting out large statistics and demographics revolving around the use of social media and the growth of social networks. You’ve probably seen these stats in the popular presentations, videos, or research findings that circulate the web faster than Steve Jobs rumors. From time to time I even fuel the fire myself.

Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with sharing these stats (assuming they are factually accurate). And many times the right statistic or fact about social activities can be a pivotal, eye-opening moment for some people.

The problem occurs when we take all of this information at face value and don’t dig any deeper. As I’ve argued before, demographics are only a small part of the equation. To take these broad forms of information and immediately act is not only irresponsible, but will more than likely be a waste of time.

Here’s a good example: Studies have shown that Facebook is growing fastest among the 35-54 age groups and a larger percentage of that group are women. Lets say you are the brand manager for a line of spa products that is targeted towards women over the age of 40. After seeing this statistic, your impulse might be to dive into adding a full-blown Facebook strategy to your marketing plan, but this would be a mistake. (Hint: If you ever use or hear someone else use the phrase “Facebook strategy” that’s a red flag)

Your first step should be to find where your ideal consumers hang out. Where are they active. All the above stat does is give you a hint. A pocket of women dieing to talk spa may exist on Facebook, but do your research before jumping in.

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What do you think?

Are companies looking before they jump?

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

(Photo via: wannaoreo)

People have a Physiological Ability to Ignore your Marketing, but there is something you can do about it, try a little Guerrilla marketing.

The human brain has a coping mechanism that helps people filter out unwanted communication and if you are not careful, the brains of the people you want to reach with your marketing will automatically edit you out of your prospect’s minds before they even have a chance to think about responding to you.

The Reticular Activating System (RAS) of the human brain manages the daily function of consciousness and filters out unwanted stimuli. This autonomic physiological ability is nature’s way of helping humans block out ambient noises and other distractions to aid in concentration.

It’s a handy part of the brain too, there are a lot of sensory events going on all around you all the time. Imagine how crazy it would drive you if you actually heard every noise around you, or noticed everything you saw.

The problem with this is your marketing message is mixed up in all the other noises that surround the people you want to reach and can easily get blocked by their automatic brain filters. Researchers say that people experience between 1,500-3,500 appeals for their attention every day. No wonder brains are filtering out marketing messages—there’s a mess of them!

How do you break through the natural attention filtering of your target audience?

Here are four Guerrilla marketing battle plans for breaking through and getting the attention of the customers you want to reach:

1. Be patient: It takes a prospect seeing your message nine times before they are ready to act on it. Before they see your message the first time, you probably showed it to them three times. Most marketers quit before their marketing has a chance to work. Keep plugging until you have showed them your message twenty-seven times and you’ll be cashing checks and not just writing them for advertising.
2. Stop changing messages so much: Just because you are bored with your marketing doesn’t mean your audience is. Chances are they haven’t even “seen” it yet. And if you have something that worked before, why on earth did you change it?
3. Narrow your target: The more narrow your audience, the smaller the target and easier it is to repeat your message multiple times. The smaller the target, the bigger the bulls-eye.
4. Stop talking about yourself: Most marketers send out “me marketing” marketing that says “Notice me” and “See how great my product is.” Most people are looking out for themselves, they think “What’s in it for me?” People don’t filter out things that meet their needs. They don’t filter out “You marketing.” Make sure your marketing speaks to your audience from their point of view, with their needs in mind.
   

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Chris Forbes is a certified Guerrilla Marketing coach specializing in nonprofit marketing. Now co-authoring “Guerrilla Marketing for Nonprofits” with Jay Conrad Levinson & Frank Adkins soon to be published by Entrepreneur Press. Follow Chris on Twitter – @cforbesoklahoma

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

What new tools are you experimenting with?

Social media is always changing, evolving, shifting and growing. It takes a high level of curiosity and dedication to keep up, but it’s this experimentation (the dirty work) that sets the thought leaders apart from everyone else.

In order to lead the way, we have to have some ideas about where we are going. And we can’t form these ideas without rearranging the parts we are currently using and throwing in some new parts to see what happens—experimentation.

People like Chris Brogan, Steve Rubel, Christopher S. Penn and Jeremiah Owyang became the thought leaders that they have risen to today because of their constant experimentation in the space which has allowed them to better analyze all that is happening around us and see a slightly clearer picture of what’s next. The same could be said of just about anyone from Mashable or ReadWriteWeb.

Want to take your level of insights to a whole new level?

Then start experimenting.

What are you experimenting with in social media?

Let us know in the comments below.

If you need some help finding tools to experiment with make Mashable or ReadWriteWeb a part of your daily exploration.

And if you’d like to try out a tool that’s just now hitting the social media runway, check out uVizz. (Disclosure: I’m currently an adviser to uVizz) The across social network video advertising app just launched in mid June and is now accepting campaigns. They are also giving you cash to get your experiment off the ground. The first 200 people to sign-up will receive a $250 in uVizz campaign funds. Click the button below to signup.

This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

For the past two decades Harley-Davidson has been seen as a free-spirited, rebellious brand. Drawing on images from classic movies like “Easy Rider” and “Wild One” the company struck a chord with well-to-do baby boomers, who needed to feel like they are breaking the rules and every once and a while. For Harley owners, riding is a way to escape everyday life and feel like an outlaw without actually breaking any laws (except maybe changing lanes without proper signal).

It’s this bond with boomers that has gained Harley some of the most loyal customers you will ever see. Harley has shown that they know what their brand stands for, and until recent months has remained true to those beliefs, even during tough times.

Tough Times

Harley, like a majority of manufacturers, have in fact been facing hard times. Harley reported a 37% drop in first-quarter profits because of sluggish sales and plans to eliminate up to 400 more blue-collar jobs over the next two years.

On the surface this looks like the sluggish economy is having it’s way with another American business. That is certainly true, but I speculate that there might be some deeper signs of trouble for Harley that are being overshadowed by the recession.

Take for example the fact that Harley’s biggest demographic, the baby boomers, will soon be reaching ages where riding a motorcycle will become less and less of a priority and in some cases physically impossible. And with baby boomers on their way out as Harley customers, there are not nearly enough numbers in Gen X to fill their shoes. That leaves Gen Y, a generation that has never heard of “Easy Rider” and has grown up on movies like “Fast and the Furious” where speedier, more nimble sport bikes take the screen, and there are no heavy-motor bikes like Harley anywhere in sight.

Searching for Relevance with Gen Y

Some small steps have been taken to gain loyalty from Gen Y, like the acquisition of Buell Motorcycles in 1998, and the introduction of the V-Rod in 2001, which was the first completely new bike the company has produced in 50 years. The V-Rod incorporated a more aerodynamic design like that of sport bikes, and is noticeably quieter than the typical Harley.

But these moves have done little to gain the interest of the younger generations, and have looked more like a company that has one foot in the boat and one on the shore, as they struggle to find relevancy with Gen Y without losing their most loyal and profitable boomer customers.

More recently, Harley has taken, what I’d consider a bold new direction with the hiring of former GM executive, Dino Bernacchi as director of advertising, promotions and entertainment. He’s the guy that was responsible for trying to thinking he could buy a bit of pop culture by matching up megastars like Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z and Tiger Woods with automobile from the GM line.

Bernacchi seems to have a bit of an addiction to Hollywood and was once quoted saying,

Everybody wants to be youthful and feel good and live vicariously through these celebrities. Sure, everybody criticizes it, but then we can’t get our eyes off of it.

Taking a page out of his old playbook at GM, Bernacchi seems think he can instill some youth into the Harley brand by throwing it into the spotlights of Hollywood.

So far there have been tie-ins with the HBO series True Blood, placements on FX’s Sons of Anarchy (one of my favs), and recently Harley teamed up with some famous gals (Jillian Michaels, Jewel, Tricia Helfer and Deborah DiMiceli) for the June issue of Vanity Fair.

[Watch the Vanity Fair Photoshoot]

I may just be me on this one, but I find the glitz and glam of Hollywood to be a big departure for the Harley brand. Even with their desperate need to find relevance with Gen Y, is Hollywood too far? Or maybe a little stardom is exactly what Harley needs.

What do you think? Is Harley turning it’s back on it’s brand?

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This is a content from: The Marketing Fresh Peel

I wish this was a joke. It’s not. This is what it’s like in the world of marketing agencies right now.

This is all that Shift Communications, Todd Defren had in response to this video.

I have to agree with him. There continues to be a disproportionate amount of emphasis put on deliverables and cutting costs, and not enough focus on goals, desired results and where to add value.

We need to refocus our business.

Marketing, when executed right, isn’t an expense. Marketing becomes an expense when it is poorly executed. And poorly executed marketing efforts often start with emphasis on the wrong things.

I’m not at all saying budget shouldn’t be included in your marketing plans. What I’m saying is that no matter what the current economic state of affairs looks like, we should always lead with the right foot, keeping goals at the forefront of the planning process.

This is good advice for both agencies and clients alike.

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This is something agencies have struggled with for a long time. How can we get away from this focus on deliverables and costs?