George Clooney

EOnline.com, Sept. 13, 2009

"I'd rather have a rectal examination on live TV by a fellow with cold hands than have a Facebook page."

Having just read a book (Robopocalypse) about computers and machines ganging up on humanity and wreaking havoc, I have to say I can relate to the growing chasm between technology lovers and technology haters.  I'm not sure if the anger/hatred is really about what Facebook, Twitter, iPhones, Google Maps, etc. stand for.  I mean, people still talked, liked what other people said, stuck pins on a map 100 years ago, right?

Basically, I think some people simply prefer old tools to new ones.  Fair enough.  Being an integrated marketing agency, our job is to effectively communicate using many different methods. The communications channels keep changing, as do the people who fall in love with this channel or that channel.  While the essence of the message remains very much the same, each channel (and their fanboys/girls) likes it customized.  Also, each channel has inherent strengths and weaknesses.

Example

Ballistic Beach Balls Inc. wants to promote their balls.

On your website, you'd create a banner on the homepage which links to your product page(s).  You'd also write a blog post that talks about the Beach Ball Sales Event - what it's all about, what makes Ballistic balls so great, and what's up for grabs with your contests, etc.  Think of your website as your digital homebase.  Your other marketing channels should somehow point back home.

In the Newspaper, you'd run a Ballistic Ball Sales Event (including a "signup at www.ballistic.com" or something)

On the Radio, you'd announce your Ballistic Balls Sales Event (including a "learn more at www.ballistic.com" or something)

On Facebook, you'd run a contest for fans to submit there funniest "beach ball" photos.  Winner gets a new Ballistic Beach Ball. (Easy/fun contests get talked about can really take off on Facebook.)

On Twitter, you'd post a link to a crazy YouTube video showing Ernie the sealion playing with 3 beach balls.  Your little button or promo appears at the end. (Funny videos get passed or "Retweeted" pretty often, which is great word of mouth)

In an email, you'd briefly mention all of the above, and provide links so people can follow-up with their preferred communications channels.

In person, you'd tell people about the crazy sealion video and have a laugh, or "Hey, you (or your kids) should enter our Facebook contest!" People don't need a strategy with their friends, they simply share stuff they like.  It's that simple.

On the phone with a reseller, you'd share the awesome stuff you're doing to promote Ballistic Beach Balls which should drive demand - aka, better order a 1000 cuz they'll be popular this summer.

At an event, you'd get your friend George Clooney (or an Okanagan Sun player) to endorse your beach balls, while announcing that your company is donating 100 to Kelowna General Hospital children's ward.

In the local press, you'd submit a story using content from all of the above.  Maybe you'd get free newspaper, radio, or TV coverage... who knows?

On the internet, you'd share your knowledge on other sites, and online communities, promoting your product while being genuine and not a selfish spammer.

Okay, okay... enough!  This is way oversimplified, but you get the idea.  Each channel is treated differently, but they all integrate with each other.

Moral of the Story: Do your customers hate Facebook (or whatever channel) as much as you do?  Lucky! Stick with what works, but it could change pretty fast so keep your eyes peeled. Do your customers love a communications channel that you hate?  Your business is going to suffer, unless you adapt.  Find someone that "gets it" and let them run that part of your business.

Other Famous Technophobes & Haters

President Barack Obama
_{Hampton University commencement speech, May 10, 2010}

"With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and Playstations - none of which I know how to work - information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation."

Keira Knightley
_{Daily Telegraph, Apr 13, 2009}

"I hate the Internet. I find it dehumanizing to constantly check e-mails or social sites which have become so fashionable."

Prince
_{Daily Mirror, May 7, 2010}

"All these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers, and that can't be good for you."

Ray Bradbury
_{Los Angeles Times, Aug. 16, 2010}

"We have too many cell phones. We've got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now.

Edward Albee
_{Vice, Dec. 2010}

"I walk along the streets of New York and I find people bumping into each other, bumping into things, and they have these things in their ears or in their face. They're not seeing anything of the real world."

Jack White
_{NME.com, Apr. 6, 2010}

"In my head, I'm still living and working as if there is no Internet and treat it as a nuisance."

Drew Barrymore
_{Nylon, Aug. 2010}

"Ironically, with all this 'We're now more connected than ever with technology,' I don't think we've ever been farther apart."

by Brad Trites, Account Manager, Twin Creek Media

I am going to make a very bold statement: “There is no marketing tool available to small businesses more powerful than Facebook”. I guess after making a pretty big statement like that, I better support it.

As a small business owner, the last time you took out a really expensive full-page ad in your city’s most popular phone directory or ran a TV or radio ad, did it provide you with constant referrals? Did your clients receive timely updates about new products that you are carrying or your daily specials? What about actively building your brand awareness, did it do that for you? A properly managed business page on Facebook has the ability to do all of these things and a lot more without having to be that word that all small businesses dread, “expensive”.

A Trusted Source
For most businesses the best source of new clients is usually referrals. When a friend tells you that they really like a certain restaurant, you are more likely to try it out. On Facebook, you follow a business’s page by clicking that page’s “Like” button. When you do this, your action is posted in the News Feed of your friends. You essentially just told all of those people, “I LIKE this and you should check it out!”. Since you are an interesting person with great taste, some of your friends will do just that, and guess what? If they hit “Like”, they will automatically tell all of their friends. Some of those people will take things one step further and even visit your website and possibly become a real customer.

Daily Special
Most businesses are constantly changing. They begin to carry new products. They run new promotions. They win an award. They have product tips or advice to share. They land new clients. These are all pieces of information that a small business wants their customers to know about as quickly as possible. Not only that, this is information that your customers want to know about! Facebook gives small businesses the ability to communicate in real time to their customers. This is key in helping you strengthen relationships with your customers and build customer loyalty.

Tag you’re it!
Once your small business has it’s own Facebook page and you have managed to get a couple of hundred people to “Like” it, the next step is to engage your fans and turn them into your own marketing army. If you post compelling content on your page, there’s a good chance that some of your followers will repost your items, “Like” it, Tag it, or Comment on it. Every time someone does one of these things, your brand gets placed in front of another large audience. Even if the majority of those people take no action themselves with the content, the more they see your name the greater their awareness of your brand becomes. If you’re business was given the opportunity to place free ads in front of an audience every day, wouldn’t you go for it? That is exactly the opportunity Facebook provides small businesses.

Lasers are cool…
One of the great things about Facebook for small businesses is that ‘friends of a feather tend to flock together’. If your company’s target market is 16 year old males that skateboard, chances are that those kids that “Like” your page have a Friends List dominated by other 16 year old boys that like to skateboard. Facebook provides an extremely effective way to put your brand in front of an extremely focused intended audience. Traditional marketing tools such as TV, radio, and magazine ads command huge premiums to access such focused target markets.

NOTE: Hey marketers! Did you know that the average age of a Facebook user is closer to 40 than 14!

WARNING!
Simply setting up a Facebook business page is not enough to generate results. Like any marketing strategy, your Facebook initiative requires both commitment and planning. Compelling content needs to be regularly created and posted on your page and a two-way dialog needs to be maintained between your business and your followers. There is both an art and a science to using Facebook as a marketing tool. As such, if you are not prepared to learn what needs to be learned or able to commit the time required to manage your page, then you should strongly consider hiring a social media-marketing specialist.

Bottom Line
Social media marketing creates engaging customer experiences, drives website traffic, foot traffic, and email/phone inquiries. Although social media is primarily about sharing & relationships, it ultimately results in more sales.  Don’t forget: online marketing tactics should be integrated with your offline efforts too!

Next Steps...
At Twin Creek Media, we have setup Facebook pages for many businesses... both B2B and retailers selling direct to consumers. Facebook is just one social network among other notable ones: Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, StumbleUpon, etc. It’s best to have an online marketing strategy that defines measurable goals and uses the best tools for the job. For a primer on the big picture, see our Social Media 101 article or download our Social Media Reference Card.

Need more convincing?
A properly executed Facebook strategy has the ability to generate new customers that are well informed on your business’s developments and willing to actively market your brand on your behalf. Let’s see your telephone directory pull that one off! If you want to chat more about this topic, come visit us at the Twin Creek Media Facebook page and we’ll keep the conversation going!

by James Shaw, Creative Director

Are your customers ENGAGED with your message (or bored out of their minds)?

When it comes to engaging your target audience, not all marketing channels are created equal....

You are competing with 1000's of messages everyday. Your "target audience" is being bullseyed with so many random, off-topic, and boring attempts to capture their attention that they've probably tuned out most marketing messages altogether.  Wow, that's a depressing thought for marketing managers and advertisers, right?!  Industry insiders have even gone so far to say proclaim things like, "Death of the Advertising Agency" and other disturbing headlines.

I'm sick of advertising too. [I'm the Creative Director for Twin Creek Media, but since I own the company I'm not worried about being fired for a statement like that! Whew! ]

Aren't we all sick of advertising?  Let's define advertising as: any boring marketing message that we aren't interested in, isn't relevant, and isn't engaging.  No one likes "advertising" in that sense.  So what's the opportunity?  As marketers, business owners, sales reps, and business developers our goal is to communicate our messages so well that they do not come across as ads.  The challenge is to make them the opposite of the definition above:  un-boring, interesting, relevant, and engaging.

The topic of this article is Engagement, so we'll leave the other communication goals alone for now.  Marketing and advertising used to be limited to mostly "push" type messages.  Traditional mediums of print, radio, and TV can be effective if done creatively (and targeted as much as possible) but in general the communication is one way.  Marketers push the message out to sea and hope someone eventually picks up their message-in-a-bottle.  Tradigital mediums are not whole lot better in my opinion, but at least your target audience can find your message whenever they want - it's accessible and searchable on Google for example.  The other advantage of pushing content out online is that it can be interactive.  People can dig, explore, learn and sort of control their experience with your brand, product, or service.

Stop "pushing" and have real conversations on Social Engagement channels. The major advantage of this type of communication is that it's two way.  People talk, and people talk back.  If your marketing message is genuinely interesting and relevant to your audience it won't be treated as an ad.  Instead of being boring and ignored your message becomes a thread in normal conversation.  It's a story worthy of repeating.  This is true marketing success!

Wait! Social Media is not the answer to all your marketing goals. Nothing irks me more than flavour-of-the-day marketing.  It's important to figure out exactly what you're trying to do, and who you're trying to reach.  Social networks are not the obvious answer every time.  Set measurable goals so you'll know if moving in the right direction.  Often it's best to integrate all the marketing channels together.  They each have strengths and weaknesses, and instead of jumping on the band wagon with the latest (untested) web tool, craft balanced campaigns to meet your communication goals.  Use a blend of traditional and digital tactics.  Use one channel to spark awareness and curiosity.  Another to inform.  Another to capture.  Another to have conversations.  Another to sell.  Another to retain.  Another to... well, you get the idea.

Have an opinion on engaging customers?  We'd love to hear them!  Comment below.

Quick Review of the Kodak Zi8

Click to jump to Kodak's product page

This is not a marketing related article like most of the posts on this blog, but it may interest readers in the marketing/production/design world nonetheless.

Do you shoot interviews?  Customer testimonials?

Aspiring product reviewer or blogger?

Impromptu capture-the-moment-around-town videos?

Work events, grand openings, parties, birthdays, dog eating soap bubbles?

Using the Kodak Zi8

I just bought the Zi8 on the weekend for $180 at London Drugs.  It's the easiest video camera I've ever used.  We had a $3000 Canon XH-A1 in our studio that we pulled out for pro shoots and mini-interviews.  Although the little Kodak can't really compare on a low light/zoom/quality optics level, it's ridiculous how good it is.  The 1080p mode is great.  The videos are very very good, and with the electronic image stabilization there is zero shake noticeable in playback, with video shot just handheld.

I took video inside and outside over the weekend. The outside video is exceptional (because the little lens works best in bright light).  The indoor video with lower light is a bit grainy, but still looks really good.  Audio is great.  I videod a birthday party and even got decent "blowing out the candles" footage in near pitch black.  I hooked it up on the spot to my 50" LCD TV with the supplied HDMI cable, and we all had a good laugh... everyone was totally blown away by the audio/video quality.  "That little thing made that video?!"

It has lower shooting quality levels too: 720p/60fps and lower, but I'll probably never use them.  The 60 frames per second is better for sports so you can slow-mo the action later, but unless you're running around chasing the action, this camera will be useless for most sports. (Remember, it has no optical zoom.)

Walk closer or back up to zoom.  That right.  Use your feet.  Digital zoom only crops the image...don't use it.  Actually this is kind of a novelty in itself.  It's sooooooo small that moving around is natural.  You can get down low, run close, move sideways... it adds to the creativity.  I enjoyed the low tech for once.  It's like using a prime lens on a DSLR still frame camera like the Canon 7D.  The fixed focal length lens limits you in a sense, and frees you up to move your body and find cool angles.

Kodak Zi8 dimensions

Summary

This is simply the best "home video camera" that I ever used.  It's like a microscopic pro camera that you can take anywhere.  I bought a 16GB SDHC card that gives me over 2hrs of recording time at full 1080p.  I jacked the camera directly in with USB and copied the clips to my Macbook Pro.  They playback just fine, and the format is .MOV so they should be easy to edit with iMovie on a Mac (haven't tested it yet).  It comes with bundled software for a PC, if for some odd reason you're a PC person.

It could be better if...

I wish it came with a case, but I'll find something that'll work.  And it would be nice if the lens had a little powered cover to keep dust and fuzz off.

In the end, every family should own one of these.   Every company should own one of these.  They're just too easy, too cheap, and too much fun to ignore.

Since 2004, Twin Creek Media has been a strategic and creative marketing agency located in Kelowna, British Columbia. The firm has carved a place in the marketing world by becoming known for integrated marketing: combining the best of internet and digital with the traditional mediums of print, radio, and TV.

We've structured our company a little differently than other marketing agencies.  We have 4 people on our executive team, and 12 part-time specialists on our creative team.   Clients get consistent leadership and project management, while scoring the specialized resources that make up our "dream teams".

Normally, clients get "A" there, "B" the other place, "C" somewhere else, and run around between various companies fitting things all together.  The result: lack of clarity, lack of continuity, lack of harmony in the marketing message.  Instead, at Twin Creek Media clients get a well-rounded range of marketing services... from assessing the need, creating the materials, and choosing the right tool(s) for the job.  We fit in very nicely with SMBs (small/mid sized businesses) - companies with 10 to 50 employees.

Twin Creek Media aims to be the gold standard in integrated marketing.  Roughly half our staff are Gen X and Y - we understand the digital world.  We live the internet.  We breathe Google, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, digital video, SEM, SEO, mobile apps... we know how to integrate the best of what today's technology has to offer with what is tried and true in the advertising universe - the big 3: print, radio, TV. 

"We love integrated marketing. Assessing your market and understanding your target audience is critical.  Creating the concept, designing the visuals, and crafting the words are undeniably important.  But the correct delivery of the message is crucial for successfully engaging your audience.  Marketing channels are all different and each have there own strengths and weaknesses.  We want to use the right marketing mix for each client." - Cara Reed, Account Director

We will not limit our services to one industry or one marketing tool.  Imagine marketing channels were colours of the rainbow... (oh boy, here comes the metaphor!) We will not limit our offerings to one colour.  If you want an just an expert in the colours of black & white, there are a million of them these days... just Google it.  We want to use any and all colours appropriate to tell your marketing story!