I have to give it to the spammers out there. They are starting to get a little more clever.  I receive BUCKETS of spam every day. Everything from “Male Enhancement” solutions to “The BEST BUSINESS INVESTMENT SOLUTION IN THE WORLD.” sure…  don’t we all

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*

I have to give it up to those that have jumped into the Google + social media platform with such gusto. People I admire GREATLY like Robert Scoble, Steve Woodruff and Chris Brogan were some of the first people I added to circles and I see them streaming their content religiously through G+. I’ve seen some local adaptation for Google +, but a much more limited display. Why?

I wonder if missing my friends’ posts and content is just because of the volume of content that is generated by those like Scoble and Brogan or if there has been some kind of fissure in the connection between Google+ and the platforms my “Local Circles” produce content on. I have been dedicated to platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for a number of years now, simply because I started and built those networks up from my own social media infancy to a rewarding presence over the past 5 years. But like many I have talked to, I find that Google + is just more noise in the landscape that we’re all trying to understand.

A good local social media friend of mine, Laura Gaulke (@allauremkt on Twitter), posted on the Des Moines Business Mixer, a super aricle link from Mari Smith. Where even Mari questions the validity and application of another social media platform to compete with the likes of Facebook and Twitter. It’s evident, that like many of us, Mari is still waiting for the BIG TA-DA moment from G+ to make the complete switch over:

For now, I highly doubt we’re going to see any kind of mass exodus of Facebook users to Google+. For many people, it can feel like a foreign land and foreign language to have to learn a whole new social network. Many users on Facebook are still getting to grips with the (constantly changing) features on the platform. Besides, if the average user on Facebook uses the site to connect with family around the world and to play games, they will stay there so long as they can still reach their loved ones and play their games.

Google certainly has the power to create a behemoth of a social media network, but my questions is, “Should they?”

I’ve simply resisted adaptation for G+ to my social media strategy for a couple of reasons.

1. I just don’t have the time to manage another outpost for myself or my clients, and
2. I’m not seeing G+ as friendly when it comes to integrating my other social media tools

Until I can alleviate that pain, the utility and convenience of Google + remains a distant tangible. I will stay tuned, stay connected, monitor growth and play on the beachfront; but I probably won’t be diving in the deep end until I know HOW DEEP IT ACTUALLY IS.

So what do YOU think? Has Google+ added to your social media strategy or is it just more noise in the mix. I want to get this discussion started. Post below and share with your circles …(ha ha)…

KEEP COOKING!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Image Credit: http://popherald.com/google-plus-invite-open-again/7944

As CreateWOW embarked on decorating our new office space, I sent out a tweet asking if someone new of a product or a solution to make an entire wall an erasable white board.  I did get some answers, but none that I would have been comfortable with.  Some required a VERY EXPENSIVE paint. Others suggested large sheets of melonite that I’d have to secure to the walls (landlord frowned on that idea).  So, eventually, I gave up on the idea.

It was hard at first, because I am such a visual person, I use an easel and HUGE note pads just to flesh out illustration ideas.  Imagine the space it takes to really flesh out a social media marketing campaign!

Well, yesterday, during a client planning session, I realized what my brain had been telling me for a few months now.  The dry erase wall is a good idea.

A Plan Is Worth 1,000 Words:

a plan is worth 1,000 words

In a matter of minutes, the clients and I flew through sheet after sheet of pad paper and pasted them to the wall.  The conversation was flowing so quickly that just keeping up with the ideas was a challenge. After we’d “Dumped” our wish list on the papers, we then, rearranged the pages and put the plan in systematic, chronological order.

PERFECT.

The clients left assured that the directives they assigned us were understood and the plan to achieve their goals was in place.  Smiles. Handshakes. Pats on the back. It all seemed so simple, but without the plan up on the wall, it was just words.

Try this approach next time you’re in a planning or strategy session with your clients or coworkers. It’s a little overwhelming for the “Non-visual” people in the room, but I guarantee when they see the path ahead of them, they’ll take the next step with you without asking another question.

My friends Mike Wagner and Jocelyn Wallace may have a thing-or-two to add to this post, yes?

Do you have other tips or techniques to help clients or coworkers visualize a plan?  Is it a whiteboard? Is it PowerPoint (God I hope not…

Let us know.  Or better yet…  show us…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Some of the best ideas come quickly and simply.

In a conversation with a good friend, we were mulling over the unique challenges we both have with clients, agencies and production houses when it comes to being effective marketers.  He made a very valid point that

“…if everyone worked as quickly as his brain, the work would be TEN TIMES as valuable.”

As the conversation went on, I started assimilating marketing to a constantly moving force in search of it’s next meal… 

“If a marketing department or even a basic marketing campaign is to have value or any spec of success, it needs to be constantly moving. Like a shark, if it stops, it suffocates under its own pressure and drowns – suddenly, another corpse for other sharks in the ocean to feed on…”

One thing lead to another and the phrase “Sharketing” was coined.

The conversation came to an abrupt stop. Our eyes grew to the size of the plates that sat below us, and we both started laughing.

“Sharketing…  Are YOU Sharketing?” I yelled. (to some pretty strange looks at Palmer’s Deli, mind you)

“Ha…  what a cool idea.” He added.

So I immediately went back to the CreateWOW office and registered the domain, AreYouSharketing.com and the seed was planted.

Jump ahead a few months and we come to Sunday, February 20, 2011. A day that Sharketing was given breath and the ability to swim in the ocean of marketing phraseology for ever.

Sharketing defines the action that ALL MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS professionals should be taking. Ever moving, ever searching, hunting, tracking and focused on the next meal. Sharketing allows the campaign to run, unfettered by politics, red tape and the lack of return.

AreYouSharketing.com is a portal for all marketing communications professionals to gain the speed they need to become TRUE marketers.  It’s a resource for learning.  It’s a resource to extend your brand equity. It’s a resource for additional outposts for your marketing messages.

Some of the best ideas come quickly and simply. And it should always work that way.

I invite you to go on over the AreYouSharketing.com to see what’s in store.  So far we have a handful of collaborators, but we’re always looking for more. If interested, please contact me!

Thank you!

And, remember… Sharks Swim in Schools…

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Economic times are tough for marketing and advertising agencies. Businesses are backing off marketing budgets. Some are folding their hands and letting fate take their brand into the abyss. Heck, some are closing the doors all together. And that directly affects the marketing and agency professionals that depend on them for their own livelihood.

So what do you do in hard times? What do you do when times require tightening the belt or cutting back? Hopefully you do what we all tell our clients to do… “For God’s sake, keep marketing!” Without constant visibility, people (even customers you’ve depended on for years) will forget about you. To us marketers, that’s obvious, right?

Think again.

Over the last 18 months, I’ve heard marketing “pros” and agency staffers (from receptionists on up to CEO) saying some of the oddest things. Things like, “The work just seems to have dried up.” and “I’m not getting any callbacks.” or “Clients are ‘InSourcing’ all the work we’d do…”

Troublesome.

Solution: How about you “SPEND” your way through the downturn? YES, SPEND! And I don’t mean doling out your hard-earned cash for new equipment or some rock star biz-dev stud bolt. I’m talking about strategically investing what you DO have, time, into generating those ever-elusive new leads.

I’ve put together a list of five simple (and VERY economical) actions that marketers and agencies can do to churn up new business. And all you have to remember is “SPEND…”

S = Social Media Marketing: Many “traditional” agencies are still having a hard time figuring out the power of using social media for marketing. If your agency or marketing team hasn’t jumped into the social media waters yet, I encourage them to get in there! It’s inexpensive (costing little more than time – and we all know you have oodles of that) and it has outstanding targeting capabilities. You just need to find and join the right conversations.

P = Public Speaking: Can you think of a better way to position yourself as “thought leader” of your chosen field? Associations, civic groups and chambers are always looking for great information and presentations for their meetings. Think of standing in front of 100 business owners looking for marketing advice. It’s a captive audience and each time you present your message, it’s honed to a sharper and more effective tool for your other marketing efforts.

E = Email: Do you know what 93.6% of business owners do every morning when they walk into the office? They check their email! Why not be in front of them, IN their office, ON their desktop on a regular basis? There are plenty of FREE or LOW COST broadcast email services out there (my favorites are AWeber and MailChimp). Get a sign-up form on your website. Set up your target list. Create a reason for them to WANT to open and engage with you (remember you are a marketer). Then, and this is the MOST important part, KEEP DOING IT AND FOLLOW UP!

N = Networking: If the calls aren’t coming in then you need to get out and start introducing yourself to your audience again. Sitting in your office, looking through PeachTree or QuickBooks isn’t going to get people interested in what’s going on in your world; nor will it help your attitude much. Not interested in chamber functions or professional associations? Then get involved with your church or a board for a non-profit. I don’t think God frowns upon doing business between the pews as long as you thank him once-in-a-while.

D = Dial The Phone! This is one that should go without saying, but for some reason, those that choose “Communications” as a profession seem to HATE talking on the phone. Ridiculous! As I said above, FOLLOW UP! You’ve spent time working your social media, speaking engagements, emails and networking, now just give ‘em a call! You need to reach out and touch someone (more than once) before they’ll turn their attention to you. Sure, the phone is cold, impersonal and intimidating, but it can be the best lead generator in your office – if used correctly.

Guess what you do for a living. You market! You advertise! If you’re able to do it for your clients, then why is it so difficult for you to do it for yourself? Even if you only do a couple of the SPEND tactics, isn’t it better than sitting on your thumbs waiting for the phone to ring?

How do you generate new leads when times are tough? Do you SPEND your time wisely? If you don’t do it, someone else will.

Keep Cooking (at all times)!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef