Marketing Today

Read Inbound Marketing Because The Rules of Marketing Have Changed

The rules of marketing have changed.  Marketing today is a combination of traditional marketing methods strategically pushing the message out coupled with online marketing methods that strategically reel in your prospects.  So, how do you build and execute a marketing plan that best meets your business goals?  Get your hands on Inbound Marketing for starters.

Hubspot co-founders, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, have written THE book on how to get found using Google, social media, and blogs.  Inbound Marketing begins with a refresher on how customers shopping behavior has changed.  It goes on to discuss how your website needs to be a marketing hub that attracts your customers rather than an online marketing brochure that talks at your customers.  The book moves on to give ideas on how to get found online and then how to convert prospects into customers.

By reading Inbound Marketing, you will be able to: 

• Hire the right people to market your organization most effectively
• Improve your rankings in Google and other search engines to get more traffic
• Build and promote a blog for your business that is integrated into other your online marketing
• Grow and nurture a community in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.
• Measure what matters and learn to do more of what works online

My Inbound Marketing Experience

As for me, I've learned a lot reading the book.  And, I've already been to two Inbound Marketing Summits and I put online marketing methods into practice every day for myself and my clients.  I am constantly learning about inbound marketing all because a) there are so many new tools that seem to come out every day, and b) I have to constantly test what's working and what's not in order to readjust my online marketing to keep it effective.

More interesting than what I've learned from this book, watching my friend Jennifer, who runs a local gift shop, learn as she reads her copy of Inbound Marketing.  Everything she learns is immediately put into use on her website, her Facebook page, and her Twitter account.  She's found the Hubspot site and has been running Graders on everything!  (I probably shouldn't confess this, but now we both talk online stats, stats, and more stats until we realize that anyone else who tried to join our conversation walked off about five minutes before we noticed.) 

Inbound Marketing book specs:

Hardcover: 256 pages

Publisher: Wiley (October 19, 2009)

Language: English

Price (on Amazon):  $16.47 (discounted from $24.95)

Landing Pages I Like: Dragon NaturallySpeaking

I found a great example of some non-traditional marketing - an ad for a software product on the top of a taxi cab - that led me to a really effective landing page which sells the product being advertised in three easy steps.

The www.getdragon.com/taxi URL is part of a marketing campaign testing which forms of marketing are generating traffic to a landing page (see below) which gives a simple explanation of what Dragon NaturallySpeakingvoice recognition software is and what it can do for you.  There is a special price offer with a money back guarantee right up front.  There are three options for purchasing the software right now.  And, if you want additional information about the product, there are several links to good supporting information at the bottom of the page.  The only thing that they could have left off this page is the video that seems to automatically start up every time you hit the page. 

I give this two thumbs up for effectiveness and I'm impressed the folks at Nuance for trying some unconventional types of marketing to generate leads and sell product.  Earlier this year, I wrote "Is That Dragon NaturallySpeaking on the Radio?" congratulating the team marketing the product that I used to market on trying new things like local market radio and TV.  It's great to see my old product being promoted in new ways as the new team tests what works best for sales.

May the Résumé Rest In Peace

Résumé is French for "summary".  It's a collection of things that you’ve done in your work life that doesn't really give an indication of your aptitude, your natural talents, or how you'd fit onto a new team.  A lot of the time, candidates have them written by others so it's not an accurate reflection of how a candidate writes or organizes thoughts.

Why Do Employers Still Rely on Résumés?

The résumé still does get used because it's easy for pre-screening purposes.  In my opinion, this gets done by organizations who use administrative people working from job descriptions who scan resumes for keywords or job titles.  In a candidate-rich environment, it gives them a quick reason to eliminate people missing a particular bullet point on the job description and to narrow down the stack that they pass on to the hiring manager.

There are many problems with this use of the résumé starting with the first call made to set up the interview by an HR person who has never worked in the role that they are hiring for who and often doesn't follow what's going on in the industry.  The résumé gets used to have a chronological discussion designed to look for gaps.  Here's an example: 

Phone Screener:  "I see that you only stayed at Company X for one year. What happened there?"

Candidate:  "The company ran out of money and closed down.  Didn't you read about that?"

Phone Screener:  "No, but that sounds terrible.  Now, I see that you were with Company Y for 12 years.  Why did you stay so long?"

Candidate:  "Well, it was a great company.  I got promoted three times while I was there and I needed to let my stock options vest."

Phone Screener:  "Oh, I can't really tell that from your résumé.  Now, before that Company Y, you were a camp counselor.  Is that right?"

Candidate:  "Am I going to get a chance to talk to the hiring manager?"

You get the idea.  A document that doesn't really sum you up very well leads to an unproductive Q&A session.  You never get to a discussion about what the job is and how your skills would fit into it.  And, it keeps you from having a discussion with the members of the team you might be joining.

And, the Internet Changes Everything!

A recruiter friend of mine was interviewing someone over the phone the other day using an electronic version his résumé sent through e-mail while looking at his LinkedIn profile.  They didn't match up!  The phone call ended shortly after that was discovered. 

These days, you have know that most of what you do can be found online.  So, use that to your advantage and keep things accurate and up to date across media.  Use a blog to show how you write and what you can do.  Know that people who share your interests will find you online.  If they like what they see, you'll hear from them directly. 

Your LinkedIn page should reflect what you have done in the past, who your network is comprised of, and include links to more information about you like your Twitter stream, your website, and anything else you want to share.  Don't forget to Google yourself from time to time to see what's out there about you, because that information will get found.

It's All About Your Network, Anyway

Even in the “old days” of résumés, most people would tell you that once you get to a certain level, the best way to land a new job is through your personal network. Executives, rock star engineers, top sales people, well-published academics don’t ever need to look for a job because they get asked to come work at places.  Let that be the way that you land your next job.  May the résumé rest in peace.

Have You Seen "Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong"?

Like many others, I read about this blog & book in a recent New York Times article.  Both provide a very funny look at some of the craziest cakes you've ever seen that were designed by  professional cake decorators by accident. 

Author Jen Yates defines a Cake Wreck is “any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate — you name it.”  Her inspiration for the blog/book was the image that you see on the book cover (to the left) which got her collecting images of "cakes gone wrong" that has become an Internet phenomenon.

Not since I came across "Cute Things Falling Asleep" have I found crazy blog that some one put together in their spare time, that made me smile as much as this one does.  As a baker of a few "disaster cakes" of my own, I think I'll be giving this book out as a Christmas present to a few of the folks who have been served a few of my mistakes.

For fun, join up with over a million others and follow @cakewrecks on Twitter.  And, if you end up with a cake wreck of your own at your next event, send it into the Cake Wrecks blog.  (Note:  only professional/store bought cakes will get featured.  If you happen upon a home-made cake wreck, that won't get featured.

When Madeleine Albright Does Your Marketing For You

If you ever get a chance to hear Madeleine Albright speak, take it!  I just got to hear her at a recent Commonwealth Institute event in Boston coordinated with the publication of her new book "Read My Pins:  Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box." Her stories about how her jewelry collection was used to make diplomatic history during her time as Ambassador to the United Nations and Secretary of State during the Clinton administration are both funny and fascinating. 

A few lines from her book tell it best: "Before long, and without intending it, I found that jewelry had become part of my personal diplomatic arsenal. Former president George H. W. Bush had been known for saying "Read my lips." I began urging colleagues and reporters to "Read my pins."

Talking About Your Pins Means Big Business for Ann Hand

I was inspired by my autographed copy of Read My Pins and its more than 200 photographs combined with the wonderful stories about jewelry and it's place amongst global politics.  So, when I was in Washington, DC this week, I set out to visit the Ann Hand Jewelry store were several of the pins and diplomatic gifts featured in Albright's book are sold. One pin in particular, the Liberty Eagle, was on my acquisition list.  

The first thing I saw upon walking into the Ann Hand salon was a copy of Read My Pins cracked open to page 68 where the pin is magnified on a black velvet background.  Featured on the next page is the pin as part of a necklace worn by Madeleine Albright in a photo with President Clinton.  When I asked to purchase the pin, I was told that they had sold out right after the book came out and that they were back-ordered.  So, I placed an order.  Sure enough, while I was looking around the rest of the store, a lady walked in wanting the Liberty Eagle pin because she had just seen Madeleine Albright giving an interview about her pins on TV.

Riding the Wave with Celebrity Endorsements

Unsolicited celebrity endorsements or simple word of mouth endorsements from happy customers are one of the best ways to market your product.  You get them by a) having a great product or service, and b) attracting customers to what you're offering.  Sometimes you can help get endorsements by promoting photos of celebrities with your product or developing case studies that you publish or generating press featuring your customers and your product.  But, when you get someone like Madeleine Albright for customer because she just plain likes your jewelry and wears it proudly, you know that  you've done your job well.  The sales that roll in from a happy customer endorsement just reinforce that, so enjoy the success. 

Personally, I can't wait for my pin to arrive and here I am blogging about the Liberty Eagle and the Ann Hand shopping experience when I didn't even get to wear my purchase home.  Even worse, I'm thinking about my next trip back to the store and what I'll buy then!

Lots to Learn from the 2009 Inbound Marketing Summit

I just got back from the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston.  This was my second year to attend. Except for the part where I got food poisoning on Day 2, I learned an awful lot and had fun doing it.  There were 21 sessions crammed into two days and while some sessions were naturally better than others, there was something to take away from all of them.  Here are a few things I learned:

What Hash Jacking Is

Like any tech conference these days, the event had a hashtage - #IMS09 - so that we could all tweet about the event and see our comments all in one place on Twitter.  As the event started trending high for tweets, a porn site found us and began using our hash tag to post their images and 140-character messages too.  This, I learned is called "hash jacking" and made for some interesting tweets!

Case Studies Still Make A Subject Real

The most interesting presentations for me where real world examples of how folks are integrating new social media tools into their traditional marketing programs.  We had some great presentations from Gary Vaynerchuck, author of Crush It!, on how to turn your ideas into business using the Internet the way he did for his wine business.  Greg Matthewsof Humana Consumer Innovation gave a presentation on who Humana is using social media to execute their strategy of changing health care from a focus on sickness to a focus on wellness.  It is an example of a social business from the inside out.  Most fun of the case studies was Paula Berg of Southwest Airlines who is "nuts about online communication."  From the video of the rapping flight attendant to stories of the highs and lows Southwest has had with social media, Paula showed how Southwest Airlines has learned to leverage social media to support company initiatives.

Why Online Marketers Publish Dead Tree Books

After listening to purposely controversial presentations by online marketers stating that PR is dead; advertising is dead; within 10 years face-to-face meetings will be dead, I tweeted " Why is it that everyone making a name for themselves in online social media comes out with a dead tree book? #ims09"  Shortly, there after, I heard from my friend W. Curtis Preston (known in the computer storage world as "Mr. Backup") who tweeted back "@cgunst bcs deadtree books are still where the money is (I have both & the $ from paper exceeds online by at least ordr of mag.)".  PR, advertising, and conferences are not dead, they are evolving.  Curtis is right in that the money is with the printed word not the blog although Twitter, blogs, online videos, etc. are a great way to build relationships with your base and spread the word.

Will I Go Again Next Year?

Inbound marketing has come a long way even in the last year as it becomes more mainstream and is more widely integrated into the marketing mix.  I left the conference with enough dead tree reading materials in the form of:  101 Content Marketing Tips, Putting the Public Back Into Public Relations, Inbound Marketing, and Trust Agents that I'll still be reading by next year's conference.  Seriously, we'll see were marketing is at this time next year.  With luck, my marketing consulting business, Gunst & Associates will take off and I'll get called in as a speaker!  Now, that would be fun! 

Marketing A High-Tech History Book Using Today's Marketing Tools

I'm marketing the autobiography of Harlan Anderson, the co-founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and I'm having so much fun doing it.  It's so nice to have a client with a great story to tell who is a joy to work with and who appreciates the marketing initiatives that we're doing. 

To start, we've built a website and a blog.  I just started a Twitter account today and am starting to tweet while building up a list of followers.  Later today, I need to beef up the wikipedia entry with all of our links and a little more information.  And, we're utilizing relationships - like the link to DEC alumni and the Massachusetts high-tech community - to generate speaking opportunities, book reviews, and hyperlinks to our website.  We're offering autographed, custom bookplates to folks who pre-order the book.  If we achieve success with all this, we're moving on to Google readers, Amazon.com and other electronic sales venues. 

While I'm seriously starting to wonder about who really needs a book agent or a publishing house, when you publish your own book and market straight to your audience, I just want to share a few facts about what it was like in 1957 when Harlan Anderson and Ken Olsen founded DEC.

• There were no word processors, so the original business plan for DEC was typed up on a rental typewriter that cost $10 for thee months by Harlan Anderson's wife, Lois.
• The original company name was Digital Computer Corporation, but since there hadn't been a lot of success selling computers, the name was changed to Digital Equipment Corporation
• The initial idea for funding DEC was to make a proposal to the Boston office of the Small Business Association to ask for a loan. While that didn't work, the SBA suggested that Olsen and Anderson look into venture capital which was in its infancy then.
• Boston-based American Research and Development (ARD) corporation put up $70,000 to start Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in exchange for 70% of the start-up’s equity. (The rest of the equity was 20% to Olsen and Anderson and 10% reserved for additional businessmen to join the team.) If things were going well by the end of the first year, ARD offered to put in an additional $30,000 to round out the initial request for $100,000 to get DEC started.
• When ARD finally liquidated its stake in Digital, the company was worth more than $400 million – yielding a return on the original investment of more than 70,000 percent.
• DEC, at its peak, was the second largest computer company in the world. (IBM being the first.)
• In 1966, the year that Harlan Anderson left DEC, the company went public. The DEC IPO was one of the most profitable initial public offerings in Wall Street’s history.

It's amazing to me how far technology has come in 50 years and how rapidly things change. Many of the tools that we're using to market the book and get the word out - like Twitter - didn't even exist five years ago. There's no replacement for good, honest hard work and building relationships that matter on your path to success, but using today's marketing tools, you can get there a lot faster.