soulati.com

Digital Marketing Strategy, PR and Messaging

Soulati-'TUDE!

New South Digital Marketing Conference 2013: Get Deck, Order Books!

By

This post is going accomplish about four things taken direct from the New South Digital Marketing Conference, May 17, 2013:

Allie Wallis, Eleanor Pierce, Ashley Bruno of The Brandon Agency

 

1. Kudos to The Brandon Agency, host of

High fives and huge applause to the young professional ladies (Allie Wallis, Eleanor Pierce, Ashley Bruno, and others) who worked logistics and event planning for The Brandon Agency to ensure every minor and major detail for the New South Digital Marketing Conference was crossed and dotted. You made me feel like a Queen; thank you so much!

This event was so well done with no stone unturned. The Brandon Agency should give major rewards to this team and others at Fuel Interactive with Stuart Butler leading the pack. Thanks for a great show, Events Team!

 

 

 

2. Blogging Soup to Nuts: Tales, Tips and Tools Slide Deck

My first solo presentation IRL to a community of my peers was a resounding success. You can download the slides right here. I promised attendees they’d get a copy…sorry I ran out of time toward the end of my presentation!

 





Thanks to my lovely assistant , a software vendor in North Carolina. Thanks also go to Adrienne Jandler, President of Atlantic WebWorks, , and Dorien Morin Van Damm of More In Media each who will take on celebrity status soon in Soulati Media On The Street and for their amazing ‘raderie and peanut gallery fame.
 

3. Writing with Verve on the Blogging Journey

Jayme Soulati holds her new book prior to presenting at New South Digital Marketing Conference

With book debut now 48-hours-old, it’s time to get serious about marketing the title. Thanks for all who asked for my autograph, who sat in on my presentation, and who will take a book, read it and pass it along to budding bloggers looking for tips.

My first title (more to come) is now available on Amazon right here.

Credit: Jayme Soulat — Jay Baer presentation in queue at New South Digital Marketing Conference

 

4. Get Jay Baer’s New Book & A Final Note:

Another conference scored more in-person connections, and ponderings about the state of marketing at large. While we in social media continue to grow and learn and re-invent, there remain new and small businesses overwhelmed with the future of marketing. 

How do we face backward with a rope to tug them along in parallel? That’s the question I’m left with; so many need help and it’s our opportunity and privilege to help businesses grow and take full advantage of social marketing, digital marketing, and big data.

I leave you with that ponderance, and I also leave you with a note to run and pre-order Jay Baer’s new book Youtility. I had the distinct privilege of hearing his keynote, and, ooh-la-lah…Jay Baer has it it out of the park. This latest title of his applies to us all and shows the interconnectivity that social has created with interesting patterns and criss-crosses we’d never know until he points them out.

 

Order Jay Baer’s new book, Youtility, right here!

Ahhh, it’s so nice to be home! What’s even better is to sit and gel on the content coming out of this fodderiffic conference! See you next year!

Related articles

10 Ways To Market Your Personal Brand

By

jayme-soulati.jpgThe inspiration for this post came from something zany I did yesterday on a whim. Let me share…

I am publishing a book right now. The opportunity with that is to update profiles, bios and online identities. As I was updating my About Jayme Soulati page on this website, I decided to share it on Google+ with an out-there message, “Does anyone want to know me? Heh, just getting the shares on this page off ZERO!”

To which my friend Davina Brewer kindly said, “You crack me up; I need to do more of that, too.”

That quick scenario prompted this post and list:

10 12 Ways to Promote Your Personal Brand

1. Update your about page on your website and share it with the world. That was a gimme as I already told you I did that. I may give you 11 tips just because.

2. Write a news release about something cool product, service or project you’re involved with and optimize it with SEO juice.

3. Write a book! You can do an e-book you offer free on your website, a self-publish hard copy book like mine with a printer/book vendor, a Kindle book, or an Amazon book you can hold, too.

4. Launch a Google+ community like mine, Bloggers Unite, and become very active with those who join with welcomes for new members, greetings for those newly engaging, and banter for those frequently engaging.

5. Write a hire me blog post. Now, this I have not done; in fact, I’m not sure I can be so blatant about asking someone to hire me. Hmm, maybe I’ll bury that right here…will you please hire Jayme Soulati? (She’s totally worth it!)

6. Do a List.ly. I already have an idea for mine and have vetted it to see if it’s too alien. It’s going to be called — Top Reasons Why You Should Partner with Jayme Soulati, and I’ll install it on my About page somewhere. Now I need to make that happen. Maybe Nick Kellet will stop in and nudge me twice. (P.S. I just made this happen!)

7. Create your Google+ authorship mark up and add it to all your writings and bios.

8. Showcase your client work on a special page on your website. I just did this and it’s called Client News Releases. It’s samples of all the recent press releases I’ve written in the last month for a variety of clients. It shows an entirely other side to my writing — a more serious business style strictly professional.

9. Create a newsletter and subscribers’ list and do a fantabulous job of being personable while delivering content that makes people want to stay on board with you. Showcase the cool project you’ve just completed or feature someone you like in an interview, podcast, or YouTube series.

10. Guest post. Nothing like being a guest author on others’ blogs; it powers up your brand and introduces you to an entirely new community. Guest posting is something few of us do well. It requires a planned approach similar to what we do when pitching stories as media relations requires.

11. Brand Yourself! No, really. Head on over to BrandYourself.com and sign up. It’s the #RockHot of online personal branding and easy optimization for search!

12. Be a professional and personable you. At the end of the day, your engagement online, your shares, your willingness to help others, the content you write, and the presentation of your professionally personable self does more for the marketing of your personal brand than any recommended tactic.

What did I miss? Got a method that works for you?

 

Get Jayme’s Blogging Book Today!

jayme-soulati-blogging-book-cover.jpg

Photo Credit: Jayme Soulati via iPhone 4S on AA flight to LA

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Brand Gamification Is Hot Trend in Social Marketing

By

enterprise-gamification-chart

Credit: ZDNet.com

Whether the term gamification connotes negativity or it’s just a word taken direct from the video game industry to entice, the trend is pulsing through social customer service, location-based marketing, and social marketing.

You need to begin now to view gamification as something that inspires, incents and motivates customers, employees, prospects, and others who engage with your brand in a variety of ways, on mobile platforms, in-person, via phone, or other.

At the core of gamification is a study in human behavior.

There is a burgeoning and nascent industry around the psychology of human connectivity which also stems from how we’re wired to compete.

About Klout

Several years ago, Klout hit the social stage, and many pioneer users were up because the platform was assigning scores on “influencers” based on the number of tweets and +K awarded on a variety of irrelevant topics and levels of engagement. Was that really influence or was it selective tallying of whose on Twitter longer than most?

Flash forward. After many closed their Klout accounts in public protest, I just received last week my first Klout Perk — a free Sony Walkman. My Klout hovers around 60, and I can influence that score by three points sitting at Social Slam and tweeting and Facebooking and Instagramming all day in conference. Is a Klout perk bribery or good marketing? It’s probably good old gamification — incentivizing Klout users to tout, share, post, feel good, and compete, while sharing the good news in a blog post that a free Sony Walkman just arrived. (Yes, I felt compelled to write about that; it’s a high-quality product and I paid nada.)

About Foursquare

Meanwhile, earning badges and becoming the mayor on Foursquare drives my competitive streak. While recently on spring break driving 2,500 miles, I was the leading scorer among my Foursquare friends until someone in the UK racked up 1,000 points literally overnight. My 11-year-old kidlet and I were not happy; so I tried to unfriend that guy to no avail. We knew he gamed the system and cheated while I diligently checked in at each Hilton hotel to earn 50 points in the Hilton Honors program.

With these two examples from one person, multiply that by Pi. I’m not even a gamer; I’m in a much older demographic, and I hardly engage with the platforms that would allow me to compete at a furious pace.

What Gamification Means To Marketers

Website magazine’s May 2013 issue has a short piece by Evan Hamilton, head of community for UserVoice, on this topic. He references Zappos, Wired magazine, and Gartner’s prediction that 50% of brands will gamify by 2015 and 70% of the largest organizations will have at least one gamification app.

What he also writes is of interest:

“Gamification is not about creating motivation, it’s about reminding people of their inspiration.”

Think about that a moment…

Hamilton says…”If you’re trying to get your users more engaged, take a deep look into what inspires them. Then try building in gamification that evokes that inspiration and reminds them of why they’re doing what they’re doing.”

Social customer service is an area ripe for gamification. The frontline ambassadors need to realize that their motivation is not about earning a badge for the most calls completed; rather, motivation needs to be satisfied customers.

I find the psychology of human behavior behind gamification fascinating. As marketers, we need to delve into the crux of customers’ competitive nature and their need to be acknowledged. Blend that core element into product marketing, customer service, and mobility programs and platforms to motivate response via winning beyond just earning a badge or free dessert.

By Jayme Soulati

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Crutchfield Direct Meets Content Marketing

By

Crutchfield-Direct-MailThere are few marketing catalogs good enough to devour and some you should trash. For them all, you ought to get on the “do not mail” list (can I get a personal assistant, please?).

The catalog I devour is Crutchfield. It is full of the most advanced tech gadgets from stereo speakers on a carabiner to cameras, earphones, and deck speakers for that outside life we all love to wish for.

I’m not an audiophile, but I sure do love tech toys. Didn’t I recently tell you we were all game players? I digress.

Direct Mail Say Hi To Content Marketing

Crutchfield is taking the direct mail catalog to new heights, and they are impressive ones:

On page 12 of the most recent not-junk-mail sales catalog is a piece fit for a blog post, “Making A Mustang Rock; We do the research so you know exactly where it fits.” It gets no link because it’s not online; it’s in print and mailed to me.

The article (yes, I said article) is for Mustang enthusiasts interested in souping up stereo speakers in the dash for Mustangs built in 2005-2009.

Throughout the authoritative piece that smacks of research and original proven content are photos of the speakers for sale.

In the sidebar is a feature of the guy, Jason, who’s been working for Crutchfield 18 years. He’s the savvy dude who fits your car with tech gear.

At the bottom, are two call outs —

  •  First is oriented to establishing more authority, “We’ve done profiles like this for 38 more vehicles; hit crutchfield.com/vprofile to read more, etc.:
  •  The second is definitely a favorite of Crutchfield customers and prospects…Outfit My Car, where Crutchfield has created a database of 17,000 autos and what the audio requirements are for each with a lot of “free installation accessories.”  Check that out at crutchfield.com/whatfits.

photo-32Why Crutchfield is #RockHot

  • Have you heard that content is king? I know you have or else you’ve been under a rock for two years.
  • This type of blog-postesque content that melds sales with content marketing is brilliant.
  • Not only that, the experts behind the story are featured right there; authority zudes from the content.
  • They showcase their database of extensive vehicles and product requirements.
  • Products are seen in action and help illustrate the story IN THE SALES CATALOG.

If you are a content marketer, it’s time to get creative, just like this. We’re living in a souped up time for business opportunity…just like those Mustangs Crutchfield is outfitting with sound systems.

 

By Jayme Soulati

Enhanced by Zemanta

10 Marketing Tips To Make 6 Minutes Of Fame Longer

By

baconSouth By Southwest or SXSW is happening right now. I will attend some day; it’s on my list. What happens there? Do companies become famous overnight and do videos of feats go viral? It’s been known to happen.

Have you ever thought about what happens after six minutes of fame?

I was in the audience for the Jenny Show in Chicago once; they asked me a question about being single in the city and I was on TV. It wasn’t for six minutes; more like six seconds…and what happened next? Nothing. It was a big let down after my stint on camera wearing a stupid grin because when you frown on TV you look like a convict.

Remember those streakers who ran nudey through the Sunday football game or the collegiate games? Bet they got more than six minutes of fame; probably a mug shot and criminal record for showing items that should always remain covered.

How To Make 6 Minutes of Fame Live Longer

It seems to me, as an over-the-top consumer of news, that companies are trying really, really hard to earn six minutes of fame. Social media has done that. Everyone is hungry for word-of-mouth marketing to up the ante and boost their brand into the stratosphere.

The Super Bowl comes to mind, especially when there’s equipment (aka clothing) failure. Advertisers who spend millions of dollars are expecting infamy.  The Old Spice commercial still engages the sexual energy; yep, definitely more than six minutes of fame. The video I featured here by the guitarist for the Chicago Music Exchange who played 100 riffs on the history of Rock ‘n Roll certainly went viral, but I can’t tell you the guy’s name.

Fame is fleeting, Folks.

What Marketers Can Do For Fame and Fortune Every Day

Instead of worrying about how you’re going to capitalize on a fad, trend or current event, consider the following to be famous every single day, not only for six minutes:

  1. Keep your messages updated; adjust them as your company grows with the times.
  2. Change up the team every now and again; hire a fresh perspective to give new eyeballs on current marketing or public relations. I know just the person.
  3. Try a new social media channel and master it. Just like a master gardener who makes the flowers grow with five green thumbs, you can earn a green thumb and sow the seeds for your company.
  4. Listen. When you hear someone say social listening is a new trend; it’s really not. All that means is someone is tuning in to their community and the social media channels to see what’s trending in their vertical market.
  5. Read. Read the bloggers and media outlets that can teach you; if you find yourself yawning over an article, then move on. There are more than 1 million blogs to peruse; 10 of them should be ripe as learning grounds.
  6. Engage. You have to; there is no excuse for not engaging with your community, prospects, customers, employees, and peers. Please remember, you never know if a reporter is visiting your channels to see if your stream is healthy. When you engage as a company or brand, your community engages and evangelizes with and for you.
  7. Rather than seek six minutes of fame and fortune (which rarely exists), create strategically strong integrated marketing campaigns for the long term. With the right smart marketing team in place, you can brainstorm ideas for 12 months that keep your brand consistently focused and marketed.
  8. Tune in to news events and create a smart campaign that ties in with it. Have you seen the craze called bacon?  Every day, someone is talking about bacon and not necessarily eating it. For some zany reason, the Baconators have taken over the social sphere with anything and everything relating to pork strips.
  9. Live, breathe and eat bacon. The Oscar Mayer agency, 360i, did some heavy social listening and determined that bacon was hot stuff; however, no brand had capitalized on the bacon trend. It devised an awesome social-media-infused PR campaign called the Great American Bacon Barter “in which a penniless comedian traveled cross country trading Oscar Mayer’s new Butcher Thick Cut bacon for essential such as food, a night on someone’s couch, or NFL tickets.”  Oscar Mayer’s CEO said the campaign was successful because of the “culture of curiosity that’s fueled by using data to drive creativity and commerce.”
  10. Dig in deep to your company culture. Can you define your company culture? I’ve always been fascinated by this…what is the definition of culture in business and how does it play out in marketing? Ask yourself.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta