This Saturday's Video: Tootsie Pop circa 1970

For this Saturday afternoon's video I've selected a classic Tootsie Pop commercial. I used to get so frustrated by the owl. I wondered "why did he have to bite it, couldn't he have done like the others and simply said I don't know?" Honestly, I'm even getting a little worked now after seeing it again. Did you think it was okay for the owl to bite the kid's Tootsie Pop?

Poll: Would You Start a Business In Today's Economy?

Please take a moment and respond to the poll. It will remain open until 12:00 a.m. May 2nd. You're also invited to join me for the upcoming live chat session. Subscribe to my blog, and I'll send you an advance notice of the date and time.


The Poll is now closed. Thanks for participating.

Super Pitchman Elmer Hauldren Dies

Elmer Lynn Hauldren who was known to millions as the Empire Carpet Man, has died at the age of 89 years old. In the early 70's while working as a copywriter for Empire, Hauldren auditioned several people to represent the company as on-air spokesperson. As fate would have it, the best person for the job turned out to be Hauldren himself. A native of Evanston, IL, Hauldren helped launch the company's jingle "5-8-8 2-three hundred, Empire". Over the years, he would remain associated with the Empire commercials. However in recent years he did not appear in the spots. Instead a computerized likeness was used, though he continued to do the voice work.

In addition to his long association with Empire, Hauldren was also a member of Chordiac Arrest, a barbershop quartet with whom he made several recordings.

The decorated WWII veteran was the father of six children, 18 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Thank you Mr. Hauldren for a job well-done.

DIY TV Spots: Part II

In my last post, I provided some basic steps for a do-it-yourself television commercial. As mentioned, you have a few options if you want to take on this responsibility.

This next option for creating your own spot eliminates a few steps and can mean even greater savings. There are a few companies offering online spot creation services, the best of which I've seen so far is Spotmixer.

DIY TV Spots: Are They Really the Way to Go?

The best way to save money is to spend less. Whether it's the family budget, or the national budget, keeping a rein on spending makes sense if saving is your goal. But what about a small business, with limited resources, that wants to advertise on TELEVISION and keep costs low? First of all, good for them for not eliminating or drastically reducing the advertising budget. Ironically, many small business owners target their advertising budget when belt-tightening, despite the fact that advertising is the best tool for driving sales.

But if a company wants to run tv spots while keeping costs low, they have some options. One particular option that we'll look at today is to do it yourself. It goes without saying that just because you're frequently called on to bring your camcorder to family functions, won't guarantee that you are the best person to actually shoot your commerical. But if you decide to take on all the jobs necessary to make your commerical, be sure that you can be very objective about your work.

Here are the basic steps:

1. See what your competitors are doing. Watch for commericals for products or services that are similar to yours. See what you like or don't like. Think more about the concept, because on a small budget and running your own production (without any prior experience), you won't be able to replicate the more expensive productions. Make some calls to local advertisers and ask them how their commericals are working for them and ask for advice.

2. Plan. Establish your budget. Research costs to air your cmmercial There are many factors to consider here: Broadcast or cable tv? Will you have a 30 or 60 second spot? How often do you want your spot to run? What time of day or night? Identify your unique selling position--why propects should buy from you instead of your competition. Decide what your goal is: Is it to make people aware of your business or to promote a particular product or a sale? Or both? Be sure to include a call to action.

3. Write your script. First decide on the type of commercial you want. Will if be funny? Will there be someone on camera or will you only use still pictures or video with a voice-over. Will you be on camera or hire someone? Will you show the exterior of your business or shoot it on the premises? Write for everyday conversation is a good rule of thumb. Of course if your product or service is specialized or unique in some way then use easy to understand terminology. Don't forget to mention your website or have it (and your social media buttons) added in post production. Write and read aloud what you've written. Time your spot.

4. Produce and edit your spot. Again, you will not save money by using your camcorder--it'll cost you more because the results won't be broadcast quality. This means, you'll either have to hire a freelancer (not your brother-in-law), a production company, or use the production department of the televsion station that you'll be running your commercial on. Discuss post production with your videographer before production begins. Even if that person or company doesn't edit your commercial, get a recommendation, along with costs and be sure to check out samples of their work. Post production is not the time to leave your commercial entirely in the hands of someone else. You'll want to be in the editing suite to make decisions about what stays in and what gets left out of your commercial.

5. Buy your airtime. If you thought the first four steps were challenging, not quite. This is where the real challenge begins for the uninitiated. Your goal should be to consistently get as much airtime as possible in decent time slots. Don't buy the first thing that's offered to you. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. The television ad market is very competitive. They want cash, and you have cash, which gives you a great negotiating position. However, there are details about buying tv airtime that an experienced ad buyer would know, such as which months are cheaper to buy and the days of the month when the rates are better. Rates are even discounted per program. You can request this information from the station, and they are required by law to provide it within 72 hours. Buying time from a cable operator is actually easier and allows you to spread your money around (more channels), for less money than broadcast channels (but you should still negotiate). Just remember, you want as much saturation as you can get, therefore don't spread yourself over too many channels if it means that your commerical will only air once or twice a day per channel.

The process is not cost-free but you can save money by doing this yourself. On the other hand, today, production costs can be very reasonable so you can save time and more by hiring a company to handle everthing.

Would you rather shoot and place your own commercial or hire a company?

This Saturday's Video

Last week's video was the kind of video that's actually a good video, despite being a bad video. I can't say the same for today's selection. It's BAD! And after you watch it, you'll know why.



I've oonducted several searches for Gary's but they keep ending up at a dead end. Which is actually a relief...I'd hate to think that any small business owner would intentionally try and offend so many prospects.

Can Postal Service Win with Money-Back Guarantee?

What would you say if the company that you were considering hiring for your advertising campaign told you, "We guarantee that your campaign will be successful, or we'll refund your money?" I think you'd say, "Come on now, what's the catch?" That would be a good response. But what would you say if the U. S. Postal Service promised to refund your money if your direct mail campaign failed?

This is exactly what the Postal Service wants to do (at least for a few big spenders). According to the Associated Press, the Postal Service wants to launch a test next month called Mail Works Guarantee. Under the proposal, the Postal Service would select 16 companies that spend $250 million dollars annually on advertising, but very little of it on direct mail.

And why would this struggling agency make such an offer? Because they are missing out on a huge chunk of ad revenues. "The top advertisers in America represent $90 billion in total expenditures for media advertising," the Postal Service noted in its proposal for the test. Of that, they currently get about three percent.

Under the plan, the Postal Service will help design individual direct-mail campaigns, and each company would agree to mail between 500,000 and 1 million first-class or standard mail items at regular prices. The company and the post office would work out the goal in advance and how success would be measured, and if the results failed to reach that level, the company would be entitled to a credit of up to $250,000 for its postage expenses. The refund would not cover printing or production costs.

The 16 companies will represent a cross section of companies. These include, retail, fast food, automotive and consumer products among others, with mail ads designed to accomplish such things as improving product sales, increasing store traffic or bringing more people to web sites.

Before testing can begin, the proposal must first be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

I say good for the Postal Service. They are an independent agency, which means they don't rely on taxpayer dollars, and they've been hard hit (and increasingly so) by the internet. This is thinking outside the box. Let's hope it works.

Dress Your Website for Success: Choose the Right Colors

Have ever logged onto a website and immediately thought, "This is a nice website?" Whenever I come upon a great looking website, I have high expectations that my actual experience with the company itself will be a good one. There are a number of elements that go into making a great website. From the basics, such as using the right fonts and point size, to custom features like e-commerce with FedX or UPS delivery and social media integration.

While you may not be able to add much that your web developer doesn't already know in terms of your website's functionality, you should work closely with your designer when it comes to creating the look of your website. If you're going to build your own website, be sure to get lots of feedback from others using a blind test. In my last post, I talked about the importance of choosing the right color for your personal brand. And as you may have already guessed, color is also very important in creating a website that your potential customers will find appealing.

It can be tempting to take the position that "It's my business, I'm paying for the website, so I'll choose the colors that I like for my website". Big mistake. Your website is not for you, it's for both your potential and existing customers. Remember, research shows that people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.

Take several things into consideration when selecting the colors for your website such as the type of product or service that you offer. Are you selling high end fashion jewelry or cakes? What gender are you targeting? Will there be more men or more women, or about even? Does your market expect a company like yours to be more conservative or less conventional? Perhaps your company is a combination of things such as a high end bakery for the weight conscious? Take a long hard look at your company and your market, but careful not to use too many colors.

And don't work yourself up over this. Yes, researchers, color theorists and marketers all agree about the relationship between color and psychology, just remember, this isn't an exact science.

For lots more information on selecting the right colors for your website, read Special Report - Color Attracts: Increase Your Sales by Choosing the Right Colors by Connie Casparie. The 25-page report provides a step-by-step method for selecting the right colors, and includes a helpful chart matching types of businesses and color schemes.

What colors would be really hard for you to use or avoid on your website?

What Color Are You?

What color are you? I'm talking about your brand color. It's something that can be easily overlooked, but shouldn't be. For years, marketing professionals have applied their knowledge of the psychological effect of colors when branding for large corporations. Who doesn't know about the golden arches or Big Blue? However, I must admit that I associated the orange ball with "I-N-G", long before I even knew what ING was (just in case you still don't know, ING provides financial services).

Carefully selecting your color when branding is important whether you're branding a company, product, service, or yourself (you don't have to be a celebrity to have a personal brand). Lots of research has been conducted and shows a strong relationship between color and marketing. Research from CCICOLOR Institute for Color Research, reveals that people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.

Color theorists have more extensive descriptions of value judgements and color, but here's my Cliffsnotes version.

WHITE – purity, peace, contentment
BLACK – boldness, seriousness, elegance
Gray or Silver – high tech, authority, practicality
GOLD – wealth, prosperity, happiness
BLUE – sanctuary, faithfulness, confidence.
RED – warmth, power, excitement
YELLOW – spiritual, happiness, warmth
GREEN – freedom, healing, tranquility
BROWN – richness, politeness, helpfulness
ORANGE – contentment, pleasure,
PINK – gentleness, romance, well being
PURPLE – royalty, spirituality, dignity

In my next post, I'll look what colors have to say about your website.

Insecure About Your Marketing Communications Strategy? Don't Be

The clients that I usually work with are small businesses and non-profits. My experience has been that when these clients are ready to spend money on advertising or marketing, they are ready. They know what they want to do, though not necessarily how they want to do it (which is why they hire a professional). About a year ago, I began noticing something that could present a new challenge--prospects and clients have become much more knowledgeable of marketing communications strategies.

For years, I've encountered clients that are very knowledgeable about leveraging traditional media, but now I'm finding that more than a few are knowledgeable about social media, mobile media, cloud based environments, apps, SEO and yes, even the importance of content. Which in and of itself is a good thing.

Naturally, when your bottom line is the bottom line, you want to make sure that every investment yields a return. You want to take advantage of opportunities to increase sales, retain existing customers, engage new ones or whatever your goal happens to be. But I suspect that some prospects are not just interested in maximizing their resources or getting the best return on their investment, but are feeling a bit like David in a world of advertising and marketing Goliath's. Mainly because there are so many strategy options, and they don't want to miss out on using them.

A good case in point is a former client from a few years ago (who I'll call Mike). Mike recently expressed an interest in working with us again. He said he really liked our work, but this time around, he wanted to expand his marketing mix. Mike is very much a hands-on guy. When we last worked together, he was involved in every aspect of his campaign. Which is great, he's a very smart guy. But during our recent conversation, Mike talked about things like "integration" and "multi-platform" marketing. And how certain he was that "having an app will bring in lots of business", and most importantly, how we needed to "do whatever they're doing now that works."

It's the "whatever they're doing now that works" that prompted a series of follow-up conversations with Mike. I needed him to know that we'd love to create a marketing strategy that compassed it all. But I also needed Mike to think more about his business, his market, his clients and his budget. My point was that what works for large corporations that are trying to reach massive numbers of consumers, or even small companies that offer very different services, won't necessarily work for his business (small and local).

I know he immediately understood, but remained unconvinced. Mike believes that his growth is directly tied to having a market communications strategy that encompasses as much technology as possible. He wants to do what industry publications, marcom bloggers and other so-called marketing gurus say must be done in order to have a successful campaign.

I don't agree. I still believe that first and foremost, successful campaigns have a few irrevocable elements. First the business owner must have extensive and realistic knowledge about their business, their brand, their market, their marketing/advertising goals and their budget. The people they hire must soberly take that information, interpret it, build upon it with research, develop strong messages, possess the knowledge to choose the appropriate channels, and the ability to measure effectiveness.

It's not that I have a problem with new media, technology or clients who know what they want. But I can see a new challenge emerging where potential clients that have been sold on the idea that they can't win without employing the latest marketing trend, will have to first be sold on the idea that successful campaigns are built on good old fashioned foundational elements.

As for Mike, he'll likely go with a company that will give him what he wants. They'll probably burn through his budget pretty quickly, but at least he'll be trendy.

This Saturday's Video

This video from Carl Hogan Automotive in Columbus, Mississippi is said to be one of the worst ever. But I beg to differ. This is one of those commericals that's so bad, it's actually quite good. If for no other reason than it's a low cost, local spot, that uses humor (self-deprecating), parody (Hee-Haw), and demonstrates creative flair with the characters' names. Do you give it thumbs up or down?

Are You Really Thinking Outside the Box?

It's Friday night, which means it's my chance to engage in a little random thinking (and just think, Friday night used to mean club night). But these days, it's how I indulge myself in a little personal luxury. This may seem like a small thing to call a luxury, but actually, it's not. Random thinking is thinking about...whatever, sans the pressure of decision-making or prioritizing. A random thought that I just had is "what does thinking outside the box really mean?'

I know what it's supposed to mean; being creative, unconventional, even fearless. But it seems that this phrase is used all the time. At work, bosses are always saying things like, "you need to think outside the box" or "around here, we think outside the box". Advertisers tell us to think outside the box and buy their products. Politicians promise to think outside the box to find solutions. It just seems that everyone is thinking outside the box, or at least they're claiming to do so.

But how much outside the box thinking are we really doing? Has the term gone from being a call to creativity to nothing more than motivation speak for employers? Or another one of Madison Avenue's successful catchphrases? Or just a people-pleasing platitude spoken on the campaign stump? Of course I'm generalizing, because there are certainly companies, both large and small that enjoy successful breakout marketing and advertising campaigns. A great example of an outside the box ad campaign is the Old Spice commerical series. It was a bold move to abandon the old captain, in favor of a sexy, semi-clothed, young man (of color). The creatives behind this ad didn't even make the product the focus of the ad. And of course their shrewd use of social media catapulted the ads into the stratosphere and atop many industry lists as being the best ad of 2010.



But success stories don't happen because of some declaration of outside the box thinking. I'm convinced that true outside the box thinking is demonstrated when we conceive new ideas, methodologies or strategies; resist fear in our planning and execution, and show true courage by being committed to them.

Just a random thought.

Turning Up the Wow Factor with This Special Invitation

It's that time of year again. Brides-to-be across the land are mailing invitations to their upcoming nuptials. Wedding invitations are not just invitations, most couples (or at least the bride-to-be) undergo a painstaking process to find that special invitation. They want invitations that say things like "elegant", "fancy", or "unique". I've been the recipient of some pretty outstanding wedding invitations--the satin ribbons, the caligraphy, the rose petals--pretty impressive stuff. Heck, my own invites weren't too shabby either.

But I've come across a video that demostrates what can only be described as the "mother of all unique wedding invitations". Invented by Karen Sandler and Mike Tarantino, a Grammy-nominated audio sound engineer,the paper record player plays a song recorded by the betrothed couple. Read more details at Kelli Anderson's blog . Sidenote: I just discovered that Mike Tarantino recorded the Oscar Meyer WeinerMobile-Girl song.



Paper Record Player from kellianderson on Vimeo.

I'll admit, the audio quality is very tinny, nearly causing my ears to bleed. But the designer has a solution to this problem. The recipients can pop the “flexi-disc” out of the wedding invitation and play it on a turntable (do they still make turntables?), where it’ll play just like any other record.

Overall, I like it. There are so many possiblities for it's use as a marketing tool. Not only would this be great for musicians and singers, but anyone hosting a special event, grand opening or a product launch can customize their invitations with a song or spoken word.

Would you use a paper record player invitation?

Engage or Ignore? How Do You Respond To Street Team Marketers?

We've all encountered street team marketers. We see them at concerts, clubs, on the street or at the mall passing out samples, performing or simply chatting up potential customers. In my previous post, I shared my favorite encounter with a street team. Granted, they were promoting a well-established brand, Oscar Mayer, one that I'm fond of, so I was more than willing to give them my time. And they really turned up the cool factor by traveling in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Guerilla marketing, which includes the use of street teams has grown in acceptance as an important part of the marketing mix. In fact, for some companies the use of street teams has become a real tour de force of their marketing efforts. Red Bull should immediately come mind.

But what about you? How do you respond to street teams? Do you stop to hear what they're talking about or rush to pass them by? Let me know by posting a comment.

Memory Lane

In my last post, we looked at Street Team marketing. Later in the day, I started to think about one particular Street Team event that swept me into nostalgic bliss. It was probably 20 years ago. I was out on lunch, walking across the Daley Plaza in the heart of Chicago's loop. Across the plaza, I saw an familiar vehicle parked at the curb. I knew it well, eventhough I'd never seen it in person, and the last time that I even saw it on tv, I wasn't even a teenager yet.

I got so excited that I began to double-time it, making a beeline to this iconic symbol of fun and deliciousness. As I approached the vehicle, a perky young lady from the Street Team approached me and asked if I would like special gift? Was she kidding me? Could there really be a perfectly grilled Oscar Mayer wiener steaming inside a special compartment of the Weinermobile? "Sure" I eagerly responded. And she told me to step over to the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.

I wasn't the only one delighted to see the Weinermobile either. There were 50-60 other friendly folks who had gathered around, just as excited as I was to get close to the giant frank on wheels, and to get our prize. Funny thing, I don't think there was a child in the entire bunch, after all it was lunch time in Chicago's business district. No, this crowd was there to re-connect with a simpler time from long ago. I know this because several of us sang the popular Oscar Mayer wiener jingle without hesitation--not a care in the world.

Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener
That is what I truly want to be
'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener
Everyone would be in love with me.


The Oscar Mayer Street Team members were real pros. They cajoled us, laughed and applauded us, extinguishing any vestige of embarassment that may have been lingering. Aa for the prize? It was even better than a smokey weiner on a bun. The Street Team members handed out official Oscar Mayer weiner whistles!

I blew a short note and quickly placed mine in my purse. I'd said it before, but this time I really meant it, "lunch time is just too short".

Taking It To the Streets: Street Team Marketing

Today, it's common to use street teams as part of the mix of a marketing campaign. But just a few years ago, the music industry was practically the only industry using street teams. Record labels would recruit fans and volunteers to help promote their artists' music at the "street level", that is to say, directly to the consumer. The street teams would be dispatched to clubs and public events to hand out fliers, hang posters and talk up the artist.

Steet team members could be easily identified by the t-shirts and hats they wore, which were provided by the record labels and usually emblazoned with the artist's name, the name of the album and the label's name. In exchange for their work, the street teams were gifted with label merchandise and music, free tickets and access to label-sponsored events. Although you couldn't pay the bills being a member of a street team, for the diehard fan, being a part of a street team was a dream come true. Today lables expect more from street teams. And they're getting more. Steet teams post on message boards, manage websites, write reviews, and call radio stations to request songs.

Street teams are now used by a wide variety of industries. They are hired to promote events, products and services; demonstrate new technology, create atmosphere, or basically anything a creative marketing or advertising plan calls for. They are also favored by small business owners and other savvy entreprenuers not only because of the wide range of prices, but they create grassroots buzz.

The growing popularity of street teams has resulted in the emergence of street team companies, and the professionalization of the street team model. When hiring a street team company, they will identify your target and assemble the right team for your project. You can expect to work with a team leader or captain who will develop a plan/strategy, an advertising buget and work with third party service providers (printers, ad agencies, etc.)--most companies will try to secure as much free advertising as possible.

Some street team companies function more like special event or advertising companies. They can produce elaborate outdoor events, light shows, they'll handle logistics, drive vehicles wrapped with your customized advertisment or digital message, you name it, all while team members are passing out your samples and talking up your company. I even know of one company whose street team members wear t-shirts embedded with small flat screen televisions promoting the client's business.

It's easy to be wowed by the many creative things that today's street teams can do. Just remember, the glitz and technology are great additions, but the most important thing is to hire people that are friendly, energetic and genuinely like working with the public.

This Saturday's Video

It's the weekend, and the way I like to spend it is relaxing (unless of course there's shopping, chauffeuring, yard work or something else around the house that needs to be done).  So I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite videos. Enjoy! ADVISORY: Contains language

Exactly Who Are You Marketing To?

It’s been said that nobody can toot your horn better than you. If you’re investing time and money in a venture that requires exposure, such as operating a business, launching a product or service, promoting a book or even brokering a radio show, then you are probably all too familiar with this axiom. 

In an ideal world, your marketing and/or advertising needs would be turned over to a team of creative professionals, dedicated to your campaign’s success.  But alas, this is the real world, so the job of building awareness is just one of the many hats that we wear. We need people to know that we exist.  We need them to know what we do, how well we do it, and why they should do business with us (or read our book, or listen to our radio show). So you launch a marketing campaign.  

Here’s where things can get a little tricky. You work hard designing all the requisite collateral; email, sales brochures and other print products,  PowerPoint presentations, web content, product data sheets and so forth. You're making sales calls, you’ve even made a few presentations, but sales remain elusive.

So what’s the problem?  Your marketing materials contain the most impressive facts about your venture:  the numerous awards…the storied history of the business…the enviable sales volume…the fact that you were the first to offer a premium brand or that the mayor shops at your store.  There’s no question about it, you have lots to boast about.  But perhaps that’s exactly the problem.  Simply put, you’re doing a great job of communicating why you’re important, but you’re not communicating why you’re important to your target.

If you’re going to spend the time and money to do your own marketing, then it’s imperative that you first conduct market research.  Without the proper insight of your customer base, it’s impossible to communicate value to that target—not your value, but what the target deems valuable.  For some it’s cost.  For others, it’s time, or perhaps it’s something else still.  But you’ll have to first gather information about your market.. Learn all you can about your target market (and your competition for that matter).  You should know who, what, when, where and most importantly why, before you launch your campaign.  It’ll be well worth your time to spend a few hours at the library or online gathering this data, conducting a few surveys and making calls.  Once you’re armed with this information, you’ll then be able to develop an effective marketing campaign.

Maximizing Your Marketing Efforts on Facebook

Facebook has become a favorite destination for anyone wishing to market a product, service, organization or even themselves.  And why not?  It's very functional.  You can post photos, videos, links and customize your page with an assortment of applications, just for starters.  If you are conducting a campaign, you can send updates--even targeting those updates by age, gender or location, set up an events calendar or engage in discussions.  With an investment of time and creative energy, you can succeed in the all important areas of branding, customer engagement, new customer acquisition, reputation management and lead generation, the very things that make a marketing, advertising or public relations campaign successful.

Thanks to a study conducted by Buddy Media, Facebook's marketing firm, we are learning more about best practices for posting on Facebook's brand pages.  Yesterday, we looked at a finding from the study which showed why customized URLs are important for extending a user's length of engagement.  Another key finding is that we should KISS our posts.  Not literally of course, but keep it short and sweet.  According to the study, posts containing 80 characters or less on average, had a 27% higher rate of engagement than those with more than 80 characters, however, these accounted for only 19% of all posts.  This can be a real challenge because we have so much to say, and of course it's all so very interesting. Perhaps one solution might be to post more often, using shorter posts.  Think Twitter, or maybe that's think micro Twitter since you can post up to 140 characters there.

Other key findings from the study:

• Thursday and Friday are peak interaction days.  The rate of engagement jumped by 18%.  More people commented and "Liked" posts on these days. (Data from Facebook reveals that there are actually certain days when we are happier and Friday appears to be that day as activity on the site jumps by 10%.  Read more about the Gross National Happiness Index.)
• Monday through Wednesday, engagement rates dropped by 3.5%, and by 18% on Saturday.
• As for the time of day, the Buddy Media study reveals that 60% of posts are made between 10:00am and 4:00 pm.  However, engagement rates are 20% higher outside of traditional work hours. "By posting within business hours, brands miss the critical opportunity to get the visibility they need for maximum engagement," according to the report. "So schedule posts to appear early in the morning or late at night. Don't publish simply because you're in front of your computer," noted the report.

Other recommendations from the report include:

• Avoid the hard sell.  Use promotional keywords like "winner" and "events" rather than the more direct terms "contest" or "coupon.
• Keywords like "how," "who," "what" and "when" are useful for driving interaction -- but "why," is not. "'Why' has both the lowest 'Like' and comment rates and may be perceived as intrusive and/or challenging,"
• Be direct in asking users for "Likes" and comments.  Place questions at the end of a post (rather than the beginning or middle) to increase the chances of getting a response. Posts ending with a question have a 15% higher engagement rate.

The bottom line:  Facebook can be a great tool for business.  But don't just rely on the site's bells and whistles, use a strategic approach to your Facebook campaign to maximize your marketing efforts.

Facebook Marketing? Full URLs vs Shortened URLs

Facebook's marketing firm, Buddy Media, conducted a study to determine the best practices for posting on the social site's brand pages.  During a two week period, Buddy Media examined the wall posts, including the "Likes" and comments on the Facebook pages of 200 of their clients.  I found one of the findings of the study to be particularly interesting.  The study found that full length URLs in posts had three times the length of engagement than those using a shorter URL.  This is interesting because URL condenser sites such as bitly and TinyURL!  or QR Code generators, allow users of Twitter and  mobile platforms to save coveted space.

So what's the reason?  "It's likely because the 'indicators' a user normally gets from reading the text in a full-length URL are missing with a shortened URL," according to the report.  So where does that leave the savvy marketer?  To get around that problem, the report suggests using a condensed URL that still includes some brand identification in the Web address instead of simply a series of numbers and letters.

For example, our web address is http://www.deborahrowemedia.com/.  But if we use a URL condenser, say bitly for example, it becomes http://bit.ly/fkgpNa.  However, if I select bitly's "Custom" feature, I get a customized shortened URL like this http://bit.lydebrowe/. 

Coming up, I'll have more results from the Buddy Media study on attracting and engaging fans on Facebook brand pages

Best Practices for Success in Social Media

It's been nearly 14 years since the first social media site appeared.  According to information experts Danah M. Boyd of UC-Berkeley and Nicole B. Ellison of Michigan State University, SixDegrees.com allowed users to create profiles and list their friends.  Today, while the list of social media networking sites continues to expand, there remains little in the way of formal social media etiquette.  That is, until now. Digital marketer Sean Rusinko has written The Social Media Constitution, which he offers as social media governance for digital marketers. Here's the preamble:

“We the People of Web 2.0, in order to form a more perfect online community, establish relevance, ensure user-friendliness, provide for fresh user-generated content, promote related web content of our peers, and secure the Blessings of inbound links to ourselves, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Social Media of the Internet.”

Rusinko's social media constitution also includes seven Articles that encompass key behavioral ethics that can be quite useful for anyone wishing to make a positive impact in new media.  Read more.