by Felicitas Ritter | Feb 10, 2014 | Creative, Latest
Whether you are tasked to come up with ideas for a corporate creative campaign using a team of people, or you are just trying to generate ideas for yourself, the process of “brainstorming” is virtually the same. It doesn’t have to be an intimidating process and hopefully the idea of facilitating a session doesn’t strike in you with the same kind of blinding fear it did in me the first time I had to lead one – which happened when I was barely an account executive, with half the agency present, including the Big Boss, and The Client! But not only did I survive, I gained tremendous confidence through the challenge and (I think) managed to impress a few people.
1. Preparation: When it comes to involving other people in a brainstorming session, how well you prepare everyone for it BEFORE they get there is important. Provide a one or two page outline including background on the situation, the issues, and the competition, as well as some direction as to the kinds of ideas you are looking for. Send this out a few days in advance of your session to give people time to ruminate about it. I find that when I’m coming up with ideas it sometimes takes a few hours of just sitting with the concept in my mind before ideas really start to flow. Suggest that your participants take note of any thoughts and bring those with them into the session to share – this will also help to get things started.
2. Relaxed atmosphere: Where you get creative is equally important. A room that is comfortable, quiet, and without distraction will help people focus on what you are trying to accomplish. Also, keeping the atmosphere friendly and inviting so people will feel free to contribute is key. No stuffed shirts allowed. Otherwise, you’ll just get the same old boring ideas, from the same old people and that may result in a less effective campaign. In fact, working with a more diverse group should be your objective.
We all come from different places and you want to take advantage of unique perspectives.
3. Scheduling: According to Mind Power News http://www.mindpowernews.com/BestTimeOfDay.htm the most productive time of the day to generate ideas is between 9am and 11am. This is when your brain has activated enough of the stress hormone, cortisol, to allow your mind to focus and be creative. Having light snacks, such as fruit and nuts, and keeping everyone hydrated is also a good idea.
4. No negativity: It’s all good… or not. But don’t start judging anything until the session is done. Certainly not all ideas are going to be stellar, but that luke-warm, never-gonna-fly, embarrassed-you-said-it idea could lead to the next latest and greatest one. You owe it to the team (or yourself) to just put it out there – plant the seed and see what develops, for you or someone else in the group. That crazy idea could lead to something truly original and creative.
5. Post it: Write all the ideas on a board (or several boards) around the room so everyone can see them. Having all your ideas front and center will help maintain focus and flow.
6. Visual Aids: Using images can also be helpful to stimulate creative thinking. Ask people to bring tear-sheets from magazines, or print-outs from inspiring web content. Put those up on the wall too. There also some amazing online programs and apps available to help you organize your ideas: Pinterest, Wordstorm, Springpad, and Popplet are just a few.
7. Organize & Evaluate: As you are writing down ideas, try to keep them in some kind of cohesive order. When you have what you consider to be enough to work with, filter through them all categorically and see if you can expand on anything that you particularly like. Once everything has been explored to the fullest, you should be ready to put together a strong and comprehensive creative campaign strategy.
by Belinda Lui | Jan 29, 2014 | Latest, Social Media
If you didn’t listen to the radio, watch the news, or read about it online somewhere, Bell Media launched a viral campaign called, “Let’s Talk Day”, to raise awareness for mental health. There are a lot of note-worthy causes that are supported by big names, but this has by far gotten much more attention and reach than other one-day campaigns. By mid-day, the campaign had already received 32M shares and raised $1.6M. Not only are advertisements being shared on Facebook, and hashtag BellLetsTalk trending on Twitter, but in order to promote mental health, professionals are going to public schools to speak to young minds about the initiative.
While Bell is supporting a great cause by raising social awareness on an increasingly significant issue.
Bell is putting their money where their network is. They are supporting the cause by donating 5 cents for every share, like, hashtag, etc. that this campaign receives today. This incentive makes an already shareable notion, easier to share. They are also leveraging the upcoming Olympic games with the choice of spokesperson.
If you have not already seen it, here are one of the ads:
Mental health conditions are comparable to physical health conditions in many ways: they take many forms, they are distinct from the people who experience them (so we refer to “an individual with schizophrenia” rather than “a schizophrenic”), and they are treatable. For more information, visit CMHA’s website.
Bell created a subpage for this campaign that tracks the social reach of the “Let’s Talk” initiative. Visiting it throughout the day has definitely been inspiring for users to continue sharing the stories and raising awareness for the cause of mental health.
On top of the social media incentives of donating 5 cents each, Bell will also be donating 5 cents for every text message sent and mobile or long distance call made (by Bell customers only) today. If that isn’t a way to encourage talking, I don’t know what is!
There are many questions I would like to ask, among them:
How do you feel about this type of approach for the cornerstone of a campaign? Did you take part in this campaign? How successful was your reach?
by Miriam Hara | Jan 25, 2014 | Interactive, Latest, Social Media
Remember when all a website needed to do was to show up on the net? Gone are those days! The website growth cycle has gone through animations and music design all in the hopes of getting attention and to be entertaining… only to now being a part of the business’ sales lead generation and customer service first point of contact. But alas, change is well… ever changing, and now the website must morph again, to include its channel partner: social media. Social media was once synonymous with Facebook – but businesses were reluctant to jump on board, waiting for this to be a passing phase. Enter Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, the powerful mom bloggers and blogger networks, and now social media has evolved from being a one platform channel (Facebook), to a complex multi-platform channel, embraced by small and large businesses all over the world.
So now comes the latest frontier…where the established business website must, once again, re-purpose itself to include and be a supportive pillar of its social media counterpart.
Take the following 3 must-have tips for a website to support a social persona, assisting in the social media initiatives and maximizing on the SEO platform. Social media initiatives must be solidly supported by the business website to optimize on the efforts and contributions.
1) Ensure your social media efforts all feed on the home page of your website (Twitter feed, Facebook comments, forum article or updates). This alone will help in the SEO ranking efforts. It’s also an effective way to keep the home page renewed with fresh content.
2) Ensure your website features enrollment/subscription of all social media platforms that your business is involved in. This includes the icons for following on Twitter, subscribing to the business forum or blog, to engaging on Facebook, or LinkedIn. This demonstrates to anyone coming onto your website that your business is on the forefront of business.
3) Ensure share-ability. The home page of any website is important, but all pages should be optimized to be social. Pages that feature case studies or articles, or portfolio pieces… all should be made to be easily shared on the social media channels or via email.
If your current business website does not have any one of these, then the time has come to seriously think about making your website more social. For now, at least, it’s about being social.
by Kristina Parker | Jan 20, 2014 | Design, Latest
If you’ve been on the internet long enough, for something a lot more sensible than cat videos and pointless Facebook updates (say for instance, for making some real money) then you’ve also- on multiple occasions- come to that moment where you’ve had to get a website for yourself. Now, getting a website that actually works wonders for your business AND manages to survive the regular spate of Google updates is no cakewalk. You need a pro to do the best for your website. Luckily, it’s easy for you to find a good web developer, but how do you get the one you can trust?
One simple test is by making him discuss things that no other web developer would want to, like these four things…
You can’t go ahead without a plan
If you’re going for anything major, you need a plan. Many business owners think of their website as a whole different entity, as opposed to considering it a major aspect of the marketing strategy. Therefore, it doesn’t really make sense for you to just put random or no content up for users to see. Web design actually varies based on its purpose. So, obviously marketing plan counts. After all, it is the one thing that gives you solid direction. A good web developer understands this, and expects you to let him in on the plan too. This will help him come up with a more relevant design, which is perfectly in line with your goals and objectives.Talk to him about your target audience and the kind of growth you expect from the website. Don’t shy away from deep discussions about your plans with the developer.
Bad content
While the whole ‘Content is King’ thing may be over-hyped, there is a reason it has become the hype. Unique, relevant and original content is what lends your site the credibility that keeps people coming back to it. If the content is bad, no masterstroke of web design is going to save it. And if your web designer/developer isn’t telling you that already, you’re pretty much being taken for a ride. Agreed that the web developer isn’t really a big expert on the subject firsthand, however, he’s seen enough of web content to be able to distinguish the good ones from the bad. Moreover, publishing the content on a website is a major part of the web design. So, the bad content will eventually translate into bad design.
You will want to change
Nothing on the internet is stable or constant. Trends are changing on a daily basis and people are constantly on the lookout for something new and fresh. As a business, you have to constantly stay on your toes, so that you’re not lost in the crowd and clutter out there. This will require you to make some changes in the future. You wouldn’t want to stay out of tune with your audience. You need to maintain your appeal. Plus, somewhere down the line, your objectives and goals will change, so will your needs. Imprisoning your website in the last century with technology that cannot be altered or changed is one of the first things a good web developer will prevent you from doing.
Demand feedback
You’re not going anywhere without this. Yes, you may have a specific vision in mind. And yes, it’s for YOUR business, but don’t forget that you are putting it out for the world to see. It’s about the users- your target audience. And it is important that your website doesn’t fall flat on its face due to lack of appeal. This is why feedback helps; it lets you know what the other side is thinking. No developer is going to let you go live with a website without getting adequate feedback first.
The secret behind the success of any collaboration is clear and open communication, and of course, great attention to detail. Stick to these, and you should be sorted. Good luck!
by Belinda Lui | Jan 9, 2014 | Latest, Social Media
A Social Strategy is one that every business should implement — given that we’re well into the digital age, it would be a bad business choice to rule out altogether. Given that you do decide to approach the Social Strategy challenge, there are aspects to every platform that you should consider. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula to promoting product or services online. So before you do, take a look at these 8 statistics on social media platforms:
To create a successful Social Strategy, consider these 8 statistics on Social Media:
1. THE FASTEST GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC ON TWITTER IS THE 55–64 YEAR AGE BRACKET.
This demographic has grown 79% since 2012. This is especially important to consider since the prevailing idea that social media is “just for teenagers” is clearly no longer the case. It certainly points to the importance of having a solid social media strategy if these age brackets fit into your target demographic.
2. 189 MILLION OF FACEBOOK’S USERS ARE “MOBILE ONLY”
There are probably more users accessing Facebook from their mobile device than you thought. Consider this fact when you’re creating an ad or content and how it might be viewed in this manner. Mobile use generates 30% of Facebook’s ad revenue.
3. YOUTUBE REACHES MORE U.S. ADULTS AGED 18–34 THAN ANY CABLE NETWORK
Did you think TV was the best way to reach the masses? Well if you’re after the 18–34 year old demographic in the U.S., you’ll have more luck reaching them through YouTube. Of course, one video won’t necessarily reach more viewers than a cable network could, but utilizing a platform with such a wide user base makes a lot of sense.
4. EVERY SECOND TWO NEW MEMBERS JOIN LINKEDIN
LinkedIn, the social network for professionals, continues to grow every second. From groups to blogs to job listings, this platform is a rich source of information and conversation for professionals who want to connect to others in their industry.
5. LINKEDIN HAS A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF ACTIVE USERS THAN PINTEREST, GOOGLE+, TWITTER AND FACEBOOK
Although LinkedIn has a fast growing network of new users, they are also less active than their social media counterparts. Consider hosting contests and surveys on sites like Facebook and Twitter and your news-related content for LinkedIn.
6. 93% OF MARKETERS USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS
There is reportedly only 7% of Marketers that aren’t using Social Media for their business. If you’re a part of that statistic, it might be time to hop on the Social Strategy bandwagon!
7. 25% OF SMARTPHONE OWNERS AGES 18–44 SAY THEY CAN’T RECALL THE LAST TIME THEIR SMARTPHONE WASN’T NEXT TO THEM
This means that at least 25% of smartphone owners are pretty much always connected. You can reach them through various platforms at any time of the day.
8. EVEN THOUGH 62% OF MARKETERS BLOG OR PLAN TO BLOG IN 2014, ONLY 9% OF US MARKETING COMPANIES EMPLOY A FULL-TIME BLOGGER
Blogging is clearly a big focus for marketers who want to take advantage of social media and content marketing. This is great, because blogging for your business has lots of advantages: you can control your company blog, you can set the tone and use it to market your product, share company news or provide interesting information for your customers. With only 9% of marketing companies hiring bloggers full-time, however, the pressure to produce high-quality content consistently will be a lot higher.
(Information from: Fast Company)
