Marketing With Social Media

I attended an online webinar today about Marketing With Social Media (or Inbound Marketing), presented by Hubspot. They did a really great job, and spoke mostly about how Facebook factors into the Social Media + Marketing equation.

To start us off, the speakers (Ellie Mirman and Mike Volpe) told us that social media sites like Facebook are a lot like business cocktail parties, but without the restrictions of time or space. Our goal with virtual social networking sites is the same as real business networking events - meet people, make connections, offer input, and seek advice from experts. The slogan on the login page is: "Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life."

Some of the tips I learned about Facebook include:

• It's an active and growing community; there are over 120 million users this year as opposed to half that only a year ago, making Facebook the 4th most trafficed website on the Internet.
• To get started as a business on Facebook, we first need to get started as individuals. (Hmmm...I was thinking I was a little old for Facebook, but Ellie and Mike say it's not just for college kids anymore!)
• We can edit a Facebook profile all we want before it's viewed by others; it only goes live when we hit "publish."
• Once we've set up a personal page, we can control how much of our personal information is seen by others by adjusting the privacy settings.
• Our goal with a Facebook page is to build a community through attracting fans, joining groups, participating in discussions, etc.

A couple of success stories we heard about were TripAdvisor, which offers a Where Have You Been interactive travel map for users, and Pizza Hut, which allows users to order their pizza through Facebook, with fabulous results.

Definitely food for thought.
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Fitness and Retirement Funds

As I was viewing my 401(k) balance the other day, I began to realize that retirement funds or other long-term savings accounts are very much like fitness. You can work and work at it and still feel like you're not getting anywhere when viewed on a daily basis, but it's the long haul that counts.

With working out, I come home thinking that I MUST be buff by now. But when I look in the mirror, I don't look much different, if at all, from yesterday. How could that be? I've been sweating, my muscles ache? Why haven't I dropped a size yet. Why is the scale still showing me that horrible number?

With saving, I look at my balance and think, I must have a sizable chunk saved up by now. But when I view my account, it doesn't look much different, if at all, from last month. Why is my balance not huge by now. What has happened to all the money that's been deposited directly from my paycheck?

I've finally concluded that these two processes are very much the same. If we look at our bodies or our balances on a day-to-day basis and make comparisons, we won't see much that's changed. However, if we look at ourselves or our accounts at the beginning of the year, do our work during the year, and then look again at the end of the year - that's when we see the real progress.

The secret to savvy workouts or savvy saving is to do it with purpose, but give it time to take shape. Then, after a good amount of time has passed, check again. That's when things should be looking pretty good.

So, I'll continue to just buck up, save up, and work out.
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The Pleasures of Commuting

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I know, I know - most people think commuting must be so tedious. But, I must confess... I REALLY like it. Here's why:

• Beauty: we're so fortunate to live in the Berkshires, surrounded by beauty at every turn. Each day, I drive past breathtaking scenery, and watch the changing of the seasons. (My drive is along either Route 7 or Route 8 North.) Keeping a camera in my purse means I'm always ready to pull over and capture a bucolic scene.
• Solitude: so many of us spend all our waking moments in the company of other people - at home, at work, in the community - that there are only rare occasions when we can be alone to think, plan, figure things out, etc. Commuting is the perfect time to do any of these things.
• Edification: in the Making the Most of a Commute post, I wrote about listening to books on CD during my drive. I absolutely love this. In fact, most often, I can't wait to get back into the car to hear the latest installment of the current novel.
• Practice: yup - I sometimes talk to myself in the car. If I have to make a public presentation, I actually run through it on my drive. I make sure my talk will be within its time limits, that my speech outline is coherent, etc. Fortunately, there are long stretches during the drive with no other vehicles around!

Working Out Stress

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First - Planet Fitness is already making upgrades! They added a shelf (thank you!) and mirror in the changing area. Looks like they're really listening to customer feedback and responding. Now, about the coat rack and the clothes hooks...

Anyway, I have to say, I really notice a difference in stress levels when I skip a workout. Sometimes, when I have back-to-back meetings all day, I tell myself that there just isn't time to get to the gym. And, up goes the stress-o-meter.

All this business about endorphins may really be true! When I was doing my 3 miles uphill on the treadmill today, I really felt pumped. It didn't hurt that the ladies on The View were really funny today, and I was actually laughing out loud as I huffed and puffed. (Machines at Planet Fitness have hook-ups to TVs - choose your machine by what's playing on each TV.)

I'm beginning to get the message: it's important to fit the gym in no matter how crazy the day is.
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Be Like Amazon

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To so many businesses out there, and especially to those on the web, I'd like to shout - Be Like Amazon! Here's why Amazon is so great:

• They provide recommendations from people who actually use the product. So, when I was trying to find out which music CD to buy for my then-13-year-old daughter, I was able to choose from a recommended list written by a 13-year-old girl. This was especially helpful to me, because I had no idea who the bands and singers were.


• They remember what I've purchased, and can show it to me any time.


• They remember what I've searched for in the past and can show it to me any time.
• They recommend new products to me based on what I've purchased in the past, and what others with my interests have bought.


• They have such a variety of items available for sale.


• They make checkout easy and painless.


• They store multiple billing and shipping addresses for me, and make it easy for me to choose or change one of them any time.

The only thing I'm not wild about is the return policy. If I remember correctly, all items must be returned within 30 days or they're not returnable. This has only affected me once; I purchased a Kodak memory card for my daughter's Kodak digital camera, and put it away for her birthday. By the time she opened it, and discovered that the two items were not compatible (go figure?), it was too late to return the memory card. Anyone out there need a Kodak digital camera memory card?

Other than this little snafu, Amazon is just wonderful. Be like Amazon.
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Non-Profit Sponsorship Ad Requests

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If you work with a non-profit group that's in the midst of fundraising and requesting ads from local businesses, I'd love to offer some useful tips from the perspective of the donor.

Most often, when an organization is requesting funds and ads, we in Marketing receive a letter and a few details about the organization and its event, but we're often missing the specific details that make it possible for us to effectively and quickly deliver an ad to the organization. Which means we need to take extra time to find the name of a contact, then find their phone number, then try to get hold of that person and find out needed info, etc, etc.

So, if you have any say in your organization's fundraising/advertising letter, here are some specific details you could request to have included in the letter that would make your sponsors/advertisers VERY happy:

• Contact Person, including name, email, and phone.
• Ad Size Options in exact measurements; your publication may be 8.5 x 11, but someone else's may only be 5.5 x 8.5. If measurements in your solicitation letter are given as simply "Quarter Page" or "Full Page", we won't know what size to make the ad, as each publication size is so different. So, exact measurements are what we need - and it helps the graphic designer to do a nice ad layout.
• Horizontal or Vertical...included in your size options, we need to know which direction the ad will run, as the designer will be doing somewhat different layouts based on this info.
• Delivery Format...do you need a pdf, hard copy, Word document? We can deliver what you need; we just need to know what that is. And, do we send the ad to the Contact Person or to someone else?
• Delivery Deadline, and please don't let it be tomorrow! Two weeks lead time would be great, and even more time is even better.

Including these details in your solicitation letter will put you at the top of the pile of requests organizations receive. Help us to help you!
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Feng Shui at the Office

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My daughter recently feng shui-ed her bedroom, with the help of a friend. They rearranged furniture, strategically repositioned pictures and knick-knacks, and added a few "elements" according to the feng shui kit my daughter received for Christmas. Afterward, she asked me to survey the results, and I was quite impressed. She explained the various aspects of the arrangement to me and told me what everything meant and its importance for her personal arrangement.

It occurred to me that this might be nice to bring to my office. I asked her to think about what I could do to bring a little feng shui into work, and here's what we came up with:

• Artwork: we took down my degree (which I already know I have) and my military discharge and medals (which I got a long time ago), and replaced them with a pleasant and relaxing saying. This is the image I see most often during the day, as it is directly above my computer monitor; it reminds me to chill out and enjoy the ride.
• Live Plant: we added a mini live bamboo plant to my desk (I already have lots of fake plants that I can't kill!), right next to my phone so I look at it often throughout the day. The delicate greenery is visually refreshing.
• Music: I now play relaxing music during the day through my computer's CD drive. It helps create such a calm atmosphere.
• Scent: we looked up the different aromatherapy scents and their meanings and chose the one that I needed most, which turned out to be lemon or citrus. I found a great lemon verbena reed diffuser at Home Goods and my office smells delightful.
• Clutter: one of the biggest things my daughter told me about was clutter. Having clutter around helps contribute to underlying feelings of stress. My office isn't a mess, but I do have lots of files and paperwork out in view. Feng shui principles suggest cleaning this up, throwing away what I don't need, and storing what I do need out of sight. I'm continuing work on this one, as it will take a little longer, but I can feel the difference as I pare down and put away each pile.
• Furniture: I have fairly big furniture in my office and there really isn't a different way to arrange it, so we decided to be satisfied with how things were. Fortunately, my desk is already facing the door, which is suggested in the feng shui book.

None of these changes were difficult (well, the clutter one, maybe) or time consuming, but they really change how I feel when I'm in my office. And, it makes it so much more pleasant for my visitors too.

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Making the Most of a Commute

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To make the most of my 45-minute commute to and from work (with gas prices, I'm glad to be driving a hybrid!), I listen to books on CD. They're available from the library, which has a growing collection. It seems that more and more drivers are making use of this terrific free service. All you need is a library card, and you have ready access to quite a list of books. An added plus is that the libraries in both Pittsfield and North Adams are in the same library system, so I can take a CD book out of one library and return it to another. Mighty convenient.

The available titles are so varied, and include classics, bestsellers, mysteries, and more. Some of my past "reads" have been:

• Pompeii (Robert Harris)
• A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson)
• Me (Katherine Hepburn's autobiography)
• Summer (Edith Wharton)
• Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte's autobiography - I didn't realize that...thought it was purely fiction!)
• Master and Commander (Patrick O'Brian)
• Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen)
• The House of the Seven Gables (Nathanial Hawthorne)

Somehow, there just doesn't seem to be time to actually sit and read a hard-copy book anymore. These days, I really only sit around reading when we're on the beach on Cape Cod. And, The Illiad and The Odyssey have been sitting on our bookshelf at home for years, and have never been read. (Funny...they're never the books I choose to take for vacation reading!).

So, I'm now listening to The Odyssey on my car's CD player. Veeeeeery interesting. Finally getting the lowdown on all those Greek myths, and figuring out which god is married to which. Go Odysseus!
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