Marketing Tips to Remember

Its ALL About Connecting

A while back Kreeer published a blog about titled “Everything You Do Should Be Tweetable!” In addition to some great information about revising the way your approach your daily tasks/work to be more accommodating to the world of social networking, the blog focuses on the single principle that all social interactions on the web are really about one thing: creating meaningful connections.

Hanging On To The Long Tail

If you’re a business person then you probably are very familiar with the concept of the long tail. If however you’re like me, then this might be a new idea but one that is very much worth checking out. In short, the idea demonstrates that there is a greater chance of conversion success by going after the HUGE number of people that are searching for less popular terms then there is by fighting tooth and nail to get a top rank on a really popular search term.

Consistency is Key

For many people that live mostly IRL (in real life) it can be difficult and even at times a pain to get online and interact with twitter, feeds, blogs and other marketing tools.  While not every person has to be on the internet every day to be effective you do need to come up with a schedule. Think of it almost like book-keeping. If you prefer to write multiple blogs on one day and publish throughout the week that’s fine. This technique doesn’t work as well for other mediums (such as twitter that require more interaction). Whatever you chose as your schedule stick to it! Nothing will drive readers and followers away faster than if you disappear for weeks at a time or bombard them with info for three days straight.

Your Voice Matters

While much of the advice you receive for social marketing revolves around publishing its important to remember that what you write/say matters too. People want to connect with other people, sure they want information and whatnot but they go to blogs for experiences, accounts and anecdotes… not just information. This is why some bloggers are wildly popular and others seem to constantly struggle to maintain readers. When a blogger sounds too much like an authority they cease to be relatable and fun, at the same time the musings of a novice are only really interesting to friends and family.

 

Personal Impact

About a week ago I received an update through a neighborhood listserve about the death of a neighbor. The population of what I consider my Dimond neighborhood is near 4000 residents and given the size births, deaths, comings and goings are a regular if not daily occurring. But the passing of this neighbor was more than slightly shocking to me. At most we had met only two or three times and even those conversations had been fairly brief yet in those small interactions he had made his presence a fixture of what I think of when I personify my neighborhood.

I first met David and his wife Cecilia while on a walk through the park with my kids. They were arriving at the same time we were and both were dressed in nifty, yellow, construction style vests – and carrying clean-up tools. As a new resident I had heard rumor of the volunteer clean up crew but had yet to get connected with anyone involved. With two little ones running around I find myself taking full advantage of our park system and the notion of volunteering to help keep it  clean just seemed great. I heartily introduced myself to my new neighbors and proceeded to talk with them for a bit about the Keep Dimond Clean walks and their involvement as volunteers. David summarized their involvement by stating very mater of fact that the park was just an extension of their backyard and it seemed natural that they would help contribute to keeping it nice. The pureness of David’s logic for their volunteer efforts is unarguable; if the park belongs to us then we should all help in keeping the way we want it to be.

When  I received the email about David’s death I was more than a bit taken back, both at his early passing but also at the sense of loss I felt. For someone I had, had very little interaction with my value of him as a neighbor and person was tremendous and I truly mourn his passing. This made me think about what it was that made David such a significant part of the Dimond landscape. What made his impact so much greater than just the individual actions and characteristics. Cecilia wrote a beautiful statement about her interpretation of David’s work within the neighborhood and I think it gets to the gist of this impact:

The Dimond area is a piece of a large metropolis.  Here in Dimond we are the ones who live in our community and the ones who are responsible for our community.  We make feasible decisions on growth and effectiveness of such growth.  The Fruitvale area is one of the most traveled in Oakland.  We have the 580 freeway at one end and the 880 freeway.  The DIA is effective here. My beloved David had great aspirations for this area and it is too bad for the short time he was here.  He had a vision for this community that he really wanted to achieve.  Don’t forget that I am here, and I am not quitting this community.  In his name, my name remains. Thank you to all Keep Dimond Clean volunteers.

— Cecilia Miller

Cecilia’s sentiments get to the core of why David went to the park each week and continued to “keep Dimond clean.” It had everything to do with hope, intention for growth and aspirations for a greater good in the community. These are the things that made David an impactful man, not just what he did but why he did it.

Thinking about the impact that David had on the neighborhood and those of us who live here opens the obvious question of how each of us can share in these common goals that he lived for. Ofcourse it would be wonderful if everyone joined in just one hour a week volunteering to help make their neighborhood a better place, but regardless of whether or not that is a feasible possibility for us all looks past the core of David’s impact. At the heart of the matter it was the reason behind the actions that made David and continue to make Cecilia corner stones of the neighborhood. And all of us can follow this example by setting out not just to complete a task but to remember that in everything we do there is a greater goal of shared values and community.

The Caffeinated Bunny

Once upon a time in a far away garden lived a little rabbit. While most rabbits were playing nicely together, and a few were sneaking into gardens, this rabbit was just a tad different then the rest. Unlike the other proper tea drinking bunnies this one started each morning with a healthy sized cup of straight espresso.  Thus begins the story of Manic Rabbit.

There is enough coffee table philosophy regarding the correlation between people and their names that its worth considering that even if an individual’s given name isn’t a direct reflection on them, perhaps nicknames and monikers do. A number of similar adjectives have been used to describe what is now termed “Manic Rabbit;” spastic, chaotic, fast, dizzying, scattered, overwhelming, and on the less positive side – annoying. Now, while many might consider most of that list to be less than desirable attributes, it should be understood that a critical role is kept stable by the existence of Manic Rabbit. Both the nice clam bunnies and even the garden munching variety are able to do what they do best because in the midst of it all there is Manic Rabbit running around filling in holes and gluing together the little bits and pieces that make things complete.

It is this background knowledge of elusive caffeinated bunny which clues us in to the otherwise seemingly inconsistent nature of a very necessarily body of articles.  These are the concepts and materials that bring together systems, people and projects in the fastest most efficient way possible. These are the teachings of the Manic Rabbit.