Web Design and Development in Greenville, SC | Merge

About five or six years ago, I rang the death knell on Rock n' Roll.  Anything on local radio was pretty much trash in my estimation, and finding anything new by any other means just wasn't easy enough to draw me away from my CD collection.  Things didn't change overnight, but it almost seems that way. 

A long, long time ago, say 1999, if you wanted new music, you went to the music store.  Either an Earshot or a big box, buy the CD, and pop it in your car on the way home.  You probably bought the CD because you heard the band on the radio at some point, or saw them on MTV, when they used to play videos.  Essentially you had two (three if you read Rolling Stone or Spin) channels from which to hear about new music.  Things are a little different today.

I love The Black Keys.  You know how I heard about them?  An EA Sports game via Playstation 2 about 4 years ago.  A little embarrassed to admit that, but glad I found them.  How 'bout a band you've probably never heard of, Dirty Sweet.  They are from San Diego and get zero radio play. I found them through the iTunes store looking for new Black Keys stuff and stumbled upon them through the "Listeners also bought..."  One of my favorite bands now.  What about a band I'd never heard of until literally 2 minutes ago, Railroad Earth.  They just popped onto my Pandora station.

The web is making it increasingly easier for bands to get their music to the masses. Long gone are the days of buying a $30 "import" to hear your favorite band live.  Pearl Jam released 72 live CD's about eight years ago after a tour, all available online.  Even that seems tedious now.  I saw them in Columbia in 2008 and downloaded the show three days later.  The band that refused to use Ticketmaster a few years back now has an iPhone App. 

Artists have long been the best marketers, and bands like OK Go aren't waiting on their labels to help sell records these days.  Check out their recent op-ed on the topic.  Ben Harper (along with countless others) has his own YouTube channel.  Many an artist use Facebook to share songs and video with their fans, who in turn share it with their friends.

Bottom Line:  The web has made it very easy for music and artists to find you.  No more do you need to get in your car and drive to buy music, now you can just buy music while you happen to be in your car.

For our non-profit friends out there, here is a quick success story of a grassroots organization and their use of the web and social media to make a big splash from day one. 

Fall 2009 - The Red Shoe Society (RSS) Board is formed, comprised of eleven volunteers.  The goal from the outset is to be the sought after young professionals philanthropic organization in the Upstate while creating awareness and raising funds for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas.

November/December 2009 - Planning begins for the year, with the first introduction to the public to be held on February 10, 2010, the "Open Your Hearts for the Ronald McDonald House."

December 2009/January 2010 - The board secures Good Life Catering, the Next Innovation Center, Highland Brewing Company and West End Wine and Spirits to provide the space, food and drink for the event.  All of which donate in kind (a good portion of their costs, if not all their costs in most cases) for the event.  

January 2010 - The invitation process begins.  The goal is to get 150 people to the event, and be happy to get ten new paying members that night. 

• Invites are done via email and Facebook.  An event is created and then shared by the board members. 
• Based solely on Facebook friends of the board members, the Open Your Hearts event was seen by a minimum of 3,800 people.  This is assuming  it was only sent out once by each board member.  It was also pushed on twitter.

The event ends up raising $1,980 for the Ronald McDonald House in roughly 2 hours. 

• This covers the cost for just over 22 families to stay at the house for one night each. 
• Close to 200 people attend. 
• The total cost of the event is $77.74.
• The year end goal for membership is 100.  As it stands today, after only one event, membership is over 30 young professionals, not including the board. 

Bottom Line:  Good strategy + dedicated volunteers and/or staff + plus the power of the web can lead to great things for your organization. 

As we talked about on Tuesday, sometimes organizations make leaps in order to achieve transformational change.  Most times this happens without much fanfare.  It happens internally, and sometimes your clients or constituents don't really know about or understand the change.  Clearly, Domino's took a different approach, they are not only letting the world know, they are taking advantage of the web and letting the world respond.  Good idea or bad, only about two weeks or so in, they can already gauge their customers reaction.  And so can we. 

With almost 220,000 youtube views of the 4 minute documercial, they have probably accomplished goal number 1.  It will be interesting to see their first quarter returns to see if the plan has really worked, but until then, you'll have to judge the social media response.  The response has been interesting, especially when you compare it across different sites.  Facebook and Twitter seem mainly positive (and really comical at times), while folks posting on youtube are taking it as more of a marketing ploy.  If nothing else, it can be used as a good case study or measuring stick for what platforms to use for a campaign and what type of response you may get.   

Cynically we could say this was just a marketing ploy.  I would tell you that this probably has a lot to do with it.  I would also say who cares.  Their goal is to sell pizzas.  For years their focus was on service, being able to get you a pie in 30 minutes or less.  They never promised the greatest pizza on Earth.  So now their focus and business model has changed.  If they can keep a high level of service, and deliver a better pizza while they are at it, then the gamble pays off. 

Overall, I think the strategy has been smart, generally good-natured (I think they actually took to heart their customers comments) and most of all, timely.  New Years Eve and New Years Day are two of their five busiest days of the year.  Domino's estimated selling 2.3 million pizzas during these two days, up from their 1.8 million forecast from last year during the same time.  I would look for the push to last through the Super Bowl, heavy on the weekends with the NFL playoffs beginning, and then I believe it will tail off. 

Bottom Line:  The true measure of whether this was just a marketing ploy or a real
shift in their fundamental business will come when the hype is dead, pricing normalizes and their normal marketing strategy picks back up.  We'll have to wait and see.

I was walking downtown to a meeting, and passed the hot dog guy right outside the Greenville News.  He said hello to me as I was walking by.  I didn’t think much about it at the time, but realized later that every time I walk by him, he says hello and asks how I am doing.  I have never met him, don’t know his name, and truthfully have never bought anything from him.  While delicious, I just don’t eat many hot dogs.   But, if someone ever asks me where they can get one, I’d tell them right outside the Greenville News.  The hot dog guy is like a human twitter feed.  Strange correlation, I know, but if you think about it, he blips across everyone’s radar that walks by him, simply by saying hello.  It’s pretty innocuous and it works, he is always busy. (And now he's getting free pub from us.)

There are hundreds of ways to get your messaging out today.  Facebook, Twitter, blogs, newsletters, webinars.  It is way too easy to get overwhelmed.   I wish I had a dime for every time over the last year I have heard someone say “There is just too much out there, we don’t even know where to begin.”  And then literally, nothing ever begins, they just sit stagnant. 

If this sounds like you or your company, the first step you need to take should probably be backwards, and evaluate what you are currently using or have used in the past, how well it’s working, then go forward.  Next, figure out what other media might be out there and if it’s a fit.  Social media and webinars may not be for everyone, or maybe better put, they are not always used in a way that fits what you do.  I’ve seen a lot of companies try and force it, it looks pretty silly.   The most important thing is that you do something and diversify your marketing.  Spend some time up front some to evaluate a new media, and then put one or two to work for you, with plans to expand to one or two more in the future.  There is tremendous value in innocently popping on someone’s radar screen on a regular basis.

Bottom Line:  The hot dog guy could sit hapless and hope people notice his cart and happen to be hungry, but instead he makes the extra effort to get noticed.  It seems to be paying off. 

1. Start Blogging
If you already have a blog set up, great! If you don’t, what are you waiting for? There are several free blog sites available including WordPress and Blogger by Google. Once you set up your account you can begin blogging immediately.

2. Include Pictures
Pictures draw in your audience and keep them interested. Try using Flickr or Google Images to search for the main theme(s) of your blog post and see what images turn up. Here is a recent example from Merge’s Blog. If you are posting pictures that belong to someone else, make sure the copyright allows it and if so, be sure to give them the proper credit.

3. Human Voice – Be Personable
You are the expert and people come to your blog to learn. Don’t intimidate your audience by using corporate speak. Relate to your audience and show them your true personality and they’ll keep coming back for more.

4. Unique Topics
Keep your audience in mind and use unique topics. The more mainstream your topic, the less likely new followers will be able to find your blog in the mass results of the search engines.

5. Add Value
Don’t be selfish with your blog. It is not purely a marketing tool, it is a chance for you to share your knowledge and provide value. You are an expert in your field and you should not view your readers as competitors.

6. Review of Products Relative to your industry
Review products and your blogs will be more easily found in search engines and provide you credibility for reviewing industry related goods. However, be careful about reviewing local products or services—in the days of social media, blogs can be posted and distributed easily through social media networks like twitter and Facebook. National product reviews, good; local product reviews, beware.

7. Link to Resources
Linking to outside resources indicate that you've done your homework and you're sourcing another expert--which gives you additional credibility. Also, if you provide links to other resources you increase the chance that they will return the favor and link to your blog. Give and you shall receive. When linking to other web sites, be sure to have your link open in a new window or tab. Having links open in the same window is a guarantee that your reader is done reading your blog and might miss out on valuable information.

8. Final Question or Final Thought
A blog is more about a conversation than a soliloquy. A conversations can be had by encouraging the reader to leave comments. Utilizing a final question or final thought is a great way to summarize your topic or theme and also to spur reader comments. Anything that challenges a reader to think is a great way to prompt comments.

9. Make it easy to comment
Almost any blog has the ability for readers to leave a comment, but sometimes it's not so easy to find. For instance, in Merge's redesigned web site (coming soon), we will display a much more prominent comment button. Also Make it a priority to respond to your readers comments. Keep the conversation going!

10. Get the Company to Blog – Not Just One Person
Incorporate several employees into your blog and have them post regularly. This will give your readers an even more comprehensive view of your company culture and your company’s range of expertise. A great example of this is Brains on Fire.

11. Be Consistent – Blog Often
Once you start your blog, block out time on your calendar at least 1-2 times a week to write and post new blogs. Nothing bugs a reader more than to find a blog that they like but is only updated once or twice a month. If you allow too much time in between posts, your readers will forget about you and find other blogs to follow.

12. Track Traffic
Use a tool to track your traffic. Merge’s tracker of choice is FeedBurner which makes it easy for your readers to subscribe to your blog. Be sure to check your subscribers often in order to better understand who your audience is which will should be reflected in your topics.

Now it's your turn: What blogging best practice do you think could be added to the list?