(please read all of this post…  kinda long, but VERY important.)

I wanted to make sure I invited all of you to this amazing event, the 2012 Business Growth Summit coming up on the 31st of January!

It’s put on by a group started by some associates and myself about 2 months ago called Above The Line America. We’re a networking group like no other – (no fees, no forced referrals, no stupid clapping – unless you feel like clapping…  ).

Above The Line America is focused on building and supporting community first and fostering “Above The Line” business relationships second. It’s geared to bring like-minded leaders and business owners together to change the conversation from “below the line” (blame, denial and irresponsibility) back “Above The Line” (Accountability, Ownership, Respect).

The event is an ALL DAY Business Summit, focused on YOUR business and connecting you with some of the most innovative thought leaders in business and emerging business today.

Tony Brigmon (formerly with Southwest Airlines)
Geoff Wood (Silicon Prairie News)
Jordan Lampe (Dwolla)
Major Sean Quinlan (US Marines Bronze Star recipient)
Angela Maiers (Maiers Education Services) and more!

Learn the process and allow yourself to Dream, Set Goals, Make Plans, and Take Action! Leave the day armed with your overall 2012 Plan and next steps for the first 90 days. Have FUN and connect with 400 of your AboveTheLineAmerica™ partners for success! Eat, drink, plan and CONNECT with the BEST and BRIGHTEST in Business!

Let’s get this out of the way…  1/2 PRICE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE. GO TO REGISTER AND USE THE DISCOUNT CODE “VIP.” (no quotes, of course)

I know this invitation doesn’t give much time to decide and some of you may not be in Des Moines, Iowa for the 31st, but I wanted to send out invites to everyone I thought would be able to get value from this amazing event.

If you can’t attend, PLEASE let me know your thoughts and if you’d be willing to attend another event like this on a regularly scheduled basis. And if you know of someone that SHOULD attend that I haven’t reached, PLEASE forward this on to them!

This is a group and an event that is VERY close to my heart. If you can attend, or are interested in Above The Line America membership (go to www.abovethelineamerica.com for more info on that), I’d be MORE than happy to welcome you with OPEN ARMS!

Thanks for your time!

Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

(originally posted at: http://TheBrandChef.tumblr.com )

Of course there are still common sense uses for telemarketing, but with the onset of digital messaging, I see its use and utility becoming a little like that of the FAX machine. I still have a FAX number on my business card, but really couldn’t pinpoint the last time it was used.

So, that brings me to today’s little post. While I was at lunch with some close friends, I saw a call come in on my cell phone that I didn’t recognize. Generally, and I’m sorry to those I’ve screened, I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t readily identify as “friendly.” That may be due to the fact that I used to be the director of a loan collection telemarketing center, or it may simply be that I live in Iowa, where every 4-years-or-so, we become the political solicitation call capital of the world. In any case, if you’ve gone my to voice-mail once and left a “friendly” message, I can guarantee you probably won’t again (unless I’m too busy for real.)

So, I finished lunch and got back to the office to check my messages and I’m assaulted with the following:

Yeah, right?

So, let me smack this poor guy around a little…

1. The company (or guy) did a Google search for “Social Media” — maybe even as specific as “Social Media Marketing, Des Moines” and found my Website. BIG DEAL
2. He’s reading from a poorly written script. YAWN
3. His pitch was vague, broad and unappealing. CLICK
4. There was no tangible call-to-action. FAIL
5. There was no research or qualification to the call. DUH And
6. HE SURE AS HELL KNEW MY NAME IS ANDREW…  (he said it 9 times in less than 90 seconds! GOOD LORD! I’m vain, but that’s uncalled for!)

So, what are my takeaways from this little solicitation? Telemarketing can work if you approach it logically.

1. Don’t be a robot.  If I were to answer, I can only assume this guy would have, without taking a breath, given me the :90 seconds you just heard without engaging me for a second. If you’re going from a script, memorize it and interject sales points and benefits as the conversation progresses. Don’t read to me!
2. Be prepared. Sure a Google search and some skimming of a company website may give you the gist of who you’re calling, but with a little deeper dive (LinkedIn, Twitter search, etc.) he could have personalized some of the pitch to make me feel more comfortable that he was stalking me.
3. Don’t bury your lead. It took well over :50 seconds (of :90 total) for the “Hook” to be presented. If you want to get someone’s attention, you don’t have time for chit-chat, especially in this day of “Immediate Gratification.” I’ve seen his business model as a start-up happen in less time than it took him to tell me about it. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
4. Finally, Leave ‘Em Hangin’… Don’t reveal the hook when leaving a voice-mail… Even when I was collecting student loans, I would leave messages that would make people think they should call back. Not by being deceptive or dishonest, but by feeding enough information to them that calling for the “punch line” seems logical.

Like I said, telemarketing can work, but it has to be used the right way.

Let me know your thoughts. Would YOU have taken this call? Would you have even listened to the enitre message before hitting DELETE?

Food for thought.

Keep Cooking,
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Lately, though, I’ve been receiving an email from someone that has actually done a little homework. Or at least they “seem” to have done their homework…  Check out the email below:

Immediately, the subject line, “Are you a chef?” caught my eye. Thinking to myself, “Hey, I call myself ‘The Brand Chef,’ so maybe they have some relevance to me. Maybe I should read on.”

Then, I get into the body of the email and it says they may have “job leads for chefs.”  Of course, this is where I start thinking to myself, “But I don’t need a job as a chef; I want marketing communications leads.”

But wait…  They said “after checking out {my} website…” Well, that gives me hope that they truly know who I am and what I need… so I read on. Only to be disappointed.

Now, let’s see what they might have done wrong…

First off, they didn’t actually address it to me…  I would have accepted “Andrew, Mr. Clark, Chef Clark” or anything that might have signaled that they actually KNEW who they were talking to.  That information is easy to find, even for spam bots. OH, and let’s not forget the fact that I’M NOT AN ACTUAL CHEF! I only play one on the interwebs… 

So, Why Not Delete The SPAM And Go On With Life?

The real reason I write this is that YES, spammers are getting more sophisticated. Instead of blasting emails to anyone and everyone, they have research and demographic focus and they’re starting (scratching the surface) to use it quite well.

I post this because I actually had a client that received the SAME email (of course addressed to THEIR online brand), and they forwarded it on to me asking if they should respond because, “it sounds like a pretty legit offer…”

Sorry, client. By clicking through and even looking at their site, the spammers won. It may have been a very small victory, but they received a “click-through;” a measurable sign that what they are doing is working.

Sure there is the obvious spam that you just delete before finishing the subject line, but as I mentioned above, they’re getting pretty clever.

So, my warning to my client (and to all of you) : “Please read thoroughly, ALL emails that come across your monitor, phone, whatever, for signs that it’s spam BEFORE you click through to their site – or to some executable virus or worse…”

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef*

From what I can tell, video,as with web development and content management systems, has hit a consumer marketing pace that is going to change the way we (you and I and the whole marketing communications world) will communicate in the VERY near future.  While writing and posting blogs and articles will be of continued value for content and SEO, I think the video enterprise of social media is going to make short work of the roadblocks facing the “non-writers” out there.

Also think of the affect video communications has on:

• Instant gratification
• Personal relationships
• Eye contact when speaking
• Professional credibility
• Brand engagement

On the other hand, production, encoding, storage space and other factors will still come into play when using video over the written word.

So, what do we do? Continue to write post after post about our key subject or flip a camera on and tag the heck out of a few videos for virtually the same results.

What say you?

So on that point, I’d like to offer today’s Get-Going Groove of the Day below. I look forward to hearing (or seeing more) from you all!

Keep Cooking (great, visual engagement)!
The Brand Chef
Andrew B. Clark

**As a disclaimer, I was just informed this morning (by my Intern) that Cisco has discontinued the production of the FLIP video Camera.  So ANYWHERE I say “FLIP…”  Insert the words “Cell Phone.”  While it lacks the same fun and double entendre as “FLIP,” the premise still applies. If you “CellPhone” your blog (yawn), keep the following topics in mind…  Now, I’m off to catch up on current events.  Are we still in Iraq?**

Videos and podcast aren’t new to interactive marketing and communications. Some of my favorite blogs aren’t actually written blogs at all, but video blogs (or Vlogs) where the author turns the camera on and actually looks right at me and talks. Think about it. VIRTUALLY communicating eye-to-eye with your audience!

Image credit: http://blog.tmcnet.com

As technology improves and the speed of internet connections increases, the need for monster bandwidth, storage space and cost have become relatively low. Considering that, I’ve been encouraging my clients to “Flip” the model of their blogging.

I’ve sent many clients on over to The Flip Video product website for ideas on what the possibilities are and how it can bring people together. Sure, there are video samples given. That’s an obvious, but how they’re presented doesn’t feel quite so authentic. They feel like produced, planned recordings, even though they might not be.

I’m here to tell you…  Flipping Your Blog doesn’t need to be difficult, but it DOES need to be done…

Here are three simple steps to how to make the Flip Video Recorder an integral part of your blogging (and interactive marketing) process.

1. Turn the site over to the people actually using the product / brand (employees and customers):
   Sure there’s room for starched, corporate stuff, but why not make some space available to those that interact with the brand most? Allow them to upload videos, comment on other videos, tag videos and so on. Use your site as an outlet, so the experience with the brand doesn’t get capped in legal or proofreading.  The Flip Video Recorder allows the “HUMAN” side of the brand to come back to communications. The Flip is all about shooting video easily and transferring it to your computer/website in a snap. You should prove this point every day.
2. Create a YouTube channel
   Make your own space on YouTube. It’s FREE! Create a channel. Encourage people to tag their videos to your group. Flip has the “Upload to YouTube” feature, complete the circle and make the channel. You can then feed the channel right into your blog. Multiple authors and endless video opportunities can be sent to your site with very little effort. Why not harness all that free attention?
3. Make it easy to find you
   Outposts… Outposts…  Outposts! I’ve talked about this many times before, but your brand shouldn’t live solely on your website. With more outposts, the more opportunities you’ll have for cross posting, tagging and linking that all generate a little more SEO love as well as create multiple places for your target audience to find you, share your information and create a bigger, more enthusiastic brand community!

My point is this: the Flip Video Recorder is a tool that makes video, basic video editing and video sharing infinitely easier. It’s a tool for real people looking for a simple and convenient video solution. Why not take the easy road and FLIP YOUR BLOG?

So…  why didn’t I do this post using a Flip video?!?  I GAVE MY LAST FLIP CAMERA TO A CLIENT!

How would you use video to build a better blog? How could video improve your user experience with your brand?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Keep Cooking (TRUE, engaging content)!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef