Social media, blogging and social networking definitely have a place in your marketing strategy, but if you don’t understand how it works, you can’t possibly leverage its advantages. Throwing up a Facebook Fan page and a blog and then leaving them unattended is a total waste of time. You should look at the underpinnings of social networks, and—just as with any other marketing medium—create a set of goals to achieve with it. You wouldn’t send out a direct mailing without knowing your call to action or run a print ad without your logo or contact information. Diving into social networking without a clear plan will deliver just as many results as these examples; in other words, zero.

Social networking exists to create and cultivate relationships, not generate sales. Your goal should be to attract potential customers and engage them in ongoing conversation that builds trust. When they feel comfortable with you, the word-of-mouth component kicks in.

Focus your blogs and your updates on educating. Share information. Retweet or link to useful articles. Use it as a customer service tool: Answer customer inquiries in front of your entire network so the others can see you’re responsive and accessible.

You can calculate your social networking ROI by the number AND quality of your connections. When your community is involved in communicating with you and with each other, you’re on the right path. And it will lead to sales, directly and indirectly. Just put away your sales pitch. Like the castor oil, it’s hard to swallow here.

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The move represents a direct hit at McDonald’s in the Fast Food Coffee Wars. Mickey D’s targeted Starbucks’ market of coffee aficionados when it added the McCafe line of gourmet coffees to its menu. BK now jumps into the fray, alongside Subway, which is selling Seattle’s Best in about 9,000 locations nationwide. Add the 7,250 BK stores that will be pumping the Starbucks blend to its customers and the Seattle giant has more than doubled the number of sites selling its bargain brand of caffeine, at a price of about $1 to $2.79 a cup.

So, the real winner here is Starbucks, a brand that has been suffering from all the businesses that have chipped away at the company’s legendary success in the high-priced gourmet coffee market. A brilliant marketing move to stretch the Starbucks brand reach to a wider base of consumers—those who frequent the fast-food windows—and they’ve done it without compromising the premium brand!

The runner-up is the coffee drinker who can feed his/her caffeine addiction with a good cup of coffee in more places and at a reasonable price.

But will the Starbucks name be strong enough to rip market share out of the hands of fast-food leader McDonald’s? Probably not. But Burger King is sure to increase sales of food items—in spite of that uber-creepy character/mascot that should be de-throned.

More businesses need to take a marketing lesson from Starbucks. When the numbers are down, don’t just try to push your customers to buy more. Invest in a new niche. Get creative. And choose partners with the power to build your brand.

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According to The Global Language Monitor, English hit the one-million-word mark on June 10, 2009, when “Web 2.0″ was accepted as a word. Technically, I would call that a “term” and not a new word. This same site says we are gaining a new word every 98 minutes. Where are they all coming from?

Well, in the case of “incentivize”, which was not in the dictionary 20 years ago, the word resulted from misuse, misunderstanding, or, as George Bush might say, “misoverdefining”.

“Incentive” comes from the word “incite”, which means to spark an action. “Incite” is a verb that prompted the noun “incentive”, meaning the reward that is used to incite the desired reaction. But because too many people didn’t know this, they simply added “ize” to the end. It’s easy.

Based on this practice and the speed at which our language is breeding, we can expect a new noun to emerge: incentivization, which is the process of incentivizing. Then, we can add “incentivizational” to our adjectives collection. After that, the “incentivizational” promotion can be further incentivizationalized. At that point, we’ll do what most people do and abbreviate it.

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Lately, I’ve been taking part in more webinars. If I can get one good tip from investing an hour of my time, it’s a solid return on investment. But I’m finding that, like a book, you can’t judge a webinar by its cover. Some of the sessions that sound tantalizing actually fall flat.

If you’re planning on delivering a webinar in the future, please consider these tips so that both you and your attendees realize reasonable—or better—ROI.

1. Speak clearly and with enthusiasm. I listened to one presenter drone on with the passion of roll call (“Bueller. Bueller.”). Her voice lacked conviction and energy. If you can’t be excited about your topic, your listener won’t either.

2. Your visuals are for support only. Use your PowerPoint presentation to share key points. Don’t spend this valuable online experience simply reading from each one. Let’s assume your participants can do this on their own.

3. Be technically prepared. You’re probably going to rely on a service like GoToMeeting, so do a dry run in advance to ensure that the service is functioning and that you can navigate it. Make sure you understand how to mute/unmute listeners, and that your own equipment will deliver the sound quality and clarity. I’ve had far too many experiences where the link wouldn’t work, the dial-in was dead, and the presenter became so flustered with technical difficulties that the webinar was a total waste of time.

4. Proofread your materials. Most presenters will share their information online during the webinar and afterwards, in a digital file. Do you really want your audience to see typos and grammatical errors? Ask a proofreader to double-check your work.

5. Inform; don’t sell. A webinar is an educational experience. Share your knowledge and you elevate yourself as a thought leader in your area of expertise. That doesn’t mean you have an open invitation to sell yourself. If you effectively communicate your value as a knowledge resource, you will convert listeners into prospects, and prospects into clients. It’s okay to extend a special offer to your attendees but don’t push the sale.

Here are two webinar presenters who have got it together: Bea Fields (“Become A Blogging Maniac” is an incredible value!) and Jeff Simpkins.

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I’ve been an Apple fanatic since I booted up my first Macintosh in 1985. People laughed and called it a “toy”, but I knew better.

I got my payback when Windows was launched and all those PC users were so mesmerized by such features as pull-down menus and—wait for it—a mouse that were commonplace for us.

When you introduced the iBook, I was thrilled to get my tangerine beauty and proudly unplugged myself in public.

Then came the iPod and iTunes. Those many Mac naysayers had to admit that Apple was “on to something”.

Steve, even though my brother has a business where he builds custom PCs, I turned down a freebie and bought a MacBook—and then purchased another one for my son, all while my brother shook his head in total disdain.

I bought the iPhone in its first generation. Even when you lowered the price just a month after I had invested in this techno-goodie, I stood firm in my unwavering loyalty to you and to Apple.

And now you have launched the iPad and I have to say I’m a bit disappointed. When I heard you were working on a “tablet”, I thought I could maybe use MS Word, scribble hand-written notes, and send emails. What I’m seeing is something that rests halfway between my beloved Kindle reader and my MacBook. My Kindle is a much better size for portability as a reader. My cherished MacBook is easy to take along, thank you very much.

Steve, for 25 years, I have been an avid Apple fan, and will continue to be. But I’ve learned that you often tweak your first generation gadgets and those of us who leap are not rewarded for our faith, but rather pay the price of being a really big focus group. So, I am going to wait not-so-patiently to see how you can make the iPad even better. And you know you will!

Faithfully yours,

Sue Publicover

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What bugs me even more are those calls that come from a political candidate who is asking for my support. The other night, in the midst of the dinner hour, I got a call from such a tele-bugger, with a very thick foreign accent who asked me a few quick qualifying questions to determine I am a registered voter. She then told me (didn’t ask) to hold on the line because she was transferring me to this politician’s office so I could state my position on the health reform bill. Before she put me on hold, she told me not to hang up.

So I hung up.

This person never asked if I had a few minutes or if I wanted to share my thoughts with someone from my senator’s office. She just pushed herself on me, the epitome of interruption marketing.

Some business people get so jazzed by the ease of connecting with their consumers that they forget the gentle art of “please” and “thank you”. We teach our kids to use their manners but suddenly forget them when it comes to trawling for  a sale.

Just because you have the technology to launch a marketing campaign—whether via telephone, Internet, mobile, or other cool tool—doesn’t mean you should use it. Think about your audience. Consider their response to your message. Be honest with yourself and, if you can’t feel confident that they will welcome your message and the medium you use, stop. And then ask yourself if you want to be an intruder or an invited guest. And always, ALWAYS mind your manners!

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Welcome to Momism Marketing.

Rule #1: “Don’t jump off the bridge just because everybody else is doing it.”

In fact, if everyone else is making the leap, aren’t you smarter to stay behind and stand out from the crowd? What do you gain by following mindlessly? You’re just one in a flock of sheep and, having lived in Vermont for 18 years, I can tell you that sheep are dumb.

I recently had a discussion with a client who was trying to determine where to place his print advertising. He told me that his competitor ran ads in a few publications and a slew of phone directories and he thought he should do the same. I asked him if he thought his competitor was a better businessperson than he.

His response was a resounding “NO!”

Is your competitor more successful? Does he get more customers and make more sales? Is he more innovative? Does he have his finger on the pulse of the industry?

To each question, he gave me the same response as the first one.

Then I asked him the Momism question: If your competitor jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?

Had I tied on a June Cleaver apron, put one hand on my hip, and wagged my index finger at him, I don’t think my message could have been any clearer. Mom knows best.

So, before you mimic your competition, consider the value of their opinions and business sense. For all you know, they are frantically trying to stay afloat and just clinging to these decisions like a drowning person gasping for air. Weigh your choices against the return on your investment and how they match the pursuit of your goals. Think for yourself.

Now pull up a chair and have a chocolate chip cookie, still warm from the oven. But wash your hands first.

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When you work in an online world, you don’t have the luxury of face-to-face meetings. I can only imagine how often my well-intentioned suggestions are met with eye-rolling. However, since I firmly believe in being an advocate for the clients who pay me for results, I ignore the jabs at my inability to accept something that grates at my craw. And, to be honest, A LOT of things grate at my craw.

Does that make me a diva? Maybe. But I can live with that title. If you don’t advocate for improvement, you’re destined to be unremarkable. Don’t accept the acceptable. Strive for better. Elevate your expectations. Raise your standards. Keep looking for ways to be better. And although those around you might resent it, know that you are making them better, smarter, more creative solutions providers, even if they get there kicking and screaming.

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With one call to Amazon’s Kindle Support, my problem was solved. They admitted this particular Kindle was damaged so they sent me a new one — overnight. I had it in time to hit the beach the next afternoon with the electronic gadget I can no longer live without.

In the short time I’ve had my Kindle, I’ve convinced at least three bibliophiles to invest $359 in this goodie. Now I can also assure anyone who will listen that this particular electronic reader is powerfully supported by a company that believes wholeheartedly in customer satisfaction.

If you love books, re-Kindle your romance with not just a tool, but a company!

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