February 5: It’s Superbowl Sunday!  Fans will be talking about football this week.  Tie into this content on your Facebook Page and Twitter account.

February 13-17: Gear up for Social Media Week.  Register for free presentations all week long.  Fletcher Prince is offering two free presentations this week — register for both!

February 14: Valentine’s Day – share some love and write LinkedIn recommendations for your vendors, partners, and contractors.  Ask Fletcher Prince to help you set up your LinkedIn company profile.  Giveaway a big, heart-shaped box of chocolates, or a dozen roses.

February 20: Today is Washington’s Birthday and it’s a federal holiday, President’s Day.  It’s cold out, too, so lots of people will be online.  This is a good day to schedule email communications and social media outreach. Or if you have a store or brick and mortar business, hire an actor to be President Lincoln or President Washington.

February 21: Laissez les bons temps rouler! It’s Mardi Gras.  If you’re in the Washington, DC area, make plans to join your friends from Fletcher Prince for a Louisiana-style networking lunch with a Mardi Gras theme in Alexandria, Virginia.  You’ll meet Washington PR Woman of the Year Heathere Evans-Keenan and  foremost employee communications expert Susan Rink, among other interesting professionals.  Register here.

Image via Wikipedia

This year, as you make your marketing plans, I hope you are allocating money for advertising.  While advertising may be the most expensive component in the marketing mix, it is often highly effective.

There are two upcoming opportunities to expand your knowledge about advertising opportunities in the DC area.  One is the local ADDY awards, which will be presented by the DC Ad Club in mid-March.  This is the perfect occasion to scout out the agencies that are producing award-winning work.  The other is DC Ad Week, which will occur in mid-September.  You have the opportunity to hear from nationally known experts in advertising at DC Ad Week, and learn about the latest trends and best practices.

Of course, David and I hope you will work with us this year.  As you consider your advertising options, here are some “Do’s and Don’ts” to keep in mind . . .

DO

• Integrate your marketing, public relations, and social media campaigns to complement each other.  We can help you plan your integrated campaign.
• Examine where your competitors are advertising, and the frequency.
• Invest in professional graphic design for display advertisements.
• Use cost-effective email marketing.  It has the highest ROI on the dollar of all marketing channels, according to the Direct Marketing Association
  • Email marketing: $40.56
  • Internet, search: $22.24
  • Internet, display: $19.72
  • Social networking: $12.71
  • Mobile: $10.51
  • Catalog: $7.30
  • General advertising: $5.24
• Use search engine advertising, especially if you have numerous competitors.
• Target workday commuters with drive-time radio spots and Metro bus/rail ads.

DON’T

• Skimp on advertising!  This is the most common mistake we observe.
• Assume Twitter and Facebook updates can replace the results of paid advertising.
• Run small, lower-price ads in many outlets.  Larger ads get noticed.

However, one of the basic, initial tasks you have to tackle is defining your marketing objectives, as well as your target audiences.

Here’s a quick list of some typical marketing objectives.  Review this list — or expand it — when you are in the planning stages of your next project.

With this tool, we hope to . . .

• Increase sales or donations (quantify, if possible)
• Obtain more repeat business
• Match or stand apart from our competitors
• Promote our expertise and successes
• Launch a new product or service
• Persuade people to make a lifestyle change
• Win acceptance of a viewpoint
• Replace ineffective or overly expensive marketing approaches
• Report developments or innovations
• Manage crises or repair reputations
• Reduce communications risks and information leaks
• Attract and retain quality employees

Today, I am asking you, YouTube, please don’t impose the March 1 “upgrade!” on all subscribers!  We don’t want it!

For those who want it, great.

But you PROMISED we could switch back to the old design.  Even in your new documentation guide, there is wording about how we can switch back to the old design if we prefer.  But now, all of a sudden, there is this notice that the Channels will ALL be switched to the new design on March 1.  Not voluntarily.  You’re just going to do it.

There are so many drawbacks to the new Channel design! You’re taking away our publicly viewable friends and subscriptions, and so many other aspects that made us social on YouTube. I used to find new Channels to subscribe to by looking at what other people subscribed to on their Channels.  Hey, we all did.  It was an important way of building audiences.  And now, poof.  That will be eliminated. Why, why, why?

The new format, in my view, is not user-friendly, and nearly impossible to brand.  All the Channels now look the same.  We can’t organize our channels by playlists anymore.  We can’t make them the color of our brands.  We can’t choose a font.  The text amount we used to have to describe our Channels, companies, and purpose has been drastically cut.  And the hyperlinks we had in our profile descriptions don’t work anymore, either.   Just check out Michelle Phan’s site if you don’t believe me.

And where are my Channel comments?  I had some nice ones.  In the new format, they’re just gone.

The truncated video descriptions that appeared on our Channels that encouraged people to watch the videos are gone.  Now they have to click through to the watch page to see what the video is about.  We can’t organize the modules in the way we would like.  The customization options we know and love have been taken away from us.

I liked being able to feature other Channels on my Channel.  My whole portfolio was organized around it.  But I’m not the only one who uses that feature. So does the Federal Government.  Why are you giving us fewer options to keep people from exploring content on YouTube?  How does that work for you?

Hey, if I could pay to keep my Channel like it is, or buy the branded Channel option, I sure would.  I don’t know how many times I’ve contacted your advertising rep to do just that.  But I’ve never received an answer.  I guess you don’t want my money anymore than you want my input!

And the “Feed” setting just makes no sense at all.  Seriously, is there a user demand for “Feed” activity? People want to see videos.  If I wanted to see what a user “favorited” I could have looked at their “favorite” playlist, like before.

BEFORE

New Design. I don't like it. It's "blah."

AFTER

Nicole Wanzer, Washington Business Journal

I have enjoyed getting to know Nicole Wanzer, who is an advertising representative for the Washington Business Journal.  If you’re interested in discussing your advertising options, I recommend you contact her.  You can meet Nicole in person at the Book of Lists Celebration this Thursday night at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

Recently, I asked Nicole about the marketing advice she shares with her diverse group of clients.

Here are some of Nicole’s excellent tips

• Think about who your ideal audience is.  Who are you trying to send a message too? Then strategically place the ad to target your audience.
• Think about your objectives and carefully determine how you will measure your ROI before you launch a campaign.
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  It’s important to have a good marketing mix.
• Don’t be complacent. Technology and social media are forever changing and forcing us all to rethink our marketing and advertising strategies.  Be open to change and stay current.

Related articles

• 4 Media Relations Tips from Jennifer Nycz-Conner (video) (fletcher-prince.com)

Viral videos

Many viral videos are “accidents.”  They were not produced to go viral.  Typically, the videos offer shock value (bride accidentally falling into a swimming pool) or humor (talking cats).  Viral videos are almost always brief (typically less than 2 minutes in duration). Other video content that becomes viral includes videos featuring celebrities, and “how-to” videos that build a huge following (Michelle Phan’s makeup videos). Michelle’s videos are a good example of viral videos that involve advanced level planning and production qualities — those are planned to go viral.

This is a good example of a viral video (incorporating humor, originality, and some shock value — the cross dressing and profanity) that just happened yesterday.  My friend, Ray Ortega, posted it on his Facebook profile.  I saw it, loved it, and shared it on Facebook and Twitter. At that time, it had 311 views.  In 24 hours, so many people had shared it, the views rocketed to more than 350,000 views.

Sometimes, it seems like a video just becomes viral because of luck. Let me give you an example: Dieselducy on YouTube. Just one of his many elevator videos (yes, they are just videos of elevators) has more views than all of the videos on my Fletcher Prince Channel put together, and for that matter, more than nearly any public relations agency on YouTube. Certainly, they achieve viral status, and how humbling is that?!  He has managed somehow to put together content, that for reasons many of us would find hard to understand, resonate with a large audience.  My son happens to be a big fan, and I have to say they do kind of grow on you. Anyway, whatever the reason, viral videos strike a chord among viewers, and in this way, they are rather successful communications forms.

Is it possible to “make” a video you have produced for your company or nonprofit go viral?  You can certainly increase your chances for obtaining more views by creating shocking or humorous content (both are extremely difficult to do, and I only recommend it for certain kinds of brands).

You can also increase views for any YouTube video through

• Optimization (proper tags, titles, descriptions, and playlists)
• Promotion (embeds, blogs, Twitter, email)
• Advertising — YouTube offers a variety of well-tested options

I do not believe I have had the fortune to have produced a viral video, myself.  The most views I have ever achieved on a single video would be about 35,000, and I don’t consider that count to be in the viral category. That said, YouTube still contacts me to run advertising on my videos, and they feature them from time to time.  So, I know my videos have influence.

Think about your goals. Do you want your video to go viral, truly? Or do you want to reach a targeted audience? Most viral video producers are obtaining advertising revenue from their videos, and may already be in the YouTube Partner program. If you’re trying to make money from videos, you want to produce viral content.

On the other hand, maybe getting out your message is more important to you and your company or organization. In that case, strive to reach your targeted audience with video content they find relevant, useful, and informative. And a note: make it interesting!  Videos should not be talking blogs. The visual aspect is what it is important.

Everyone on YouTube, self included, wants more video views. But just because your video isn’t viral doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.

Related articles

• Watch The 9 Most Popular Viral Videos Of The Week (huffingtonpost.com)
• The Most Watched YouTube Videos of 2011 (myq105.radio.com)

Optimizing YouTube videos is an important part of getting a return on your investment for this marketing and engagement tactic, yet,  so many companies drop the ball on this step.  It’s not difficult to learn how to optimize your videos for search and more views, and I’d like to show you how.

Attend my free seminar on Valentine’s Day

As part of Social Media Week DC, I will be giving a free seminar on how to get more views for your YouTube videos on Tuesday, February 14, at 11:00 a.m.  at Thomas Jefferson Library in Falls Church.  That’s almost a month away, but I want you to register early, please, because we already reached 1/3 capacity in the first two days of registration!  This is the basically same presentation I gave at Digital East in September, which was well-received.  Only this time, there will be more time for questions and contributions from you.  Register here to attend.

The event will also be available live on the Fletcher Prince Livestream channel for those of you who can’t attend in person.

Good to know:  There is free parking in the library parking lot.  Although the library will be closed, the meeting room will be open for our event.  There will be Valentine’s Day treats!  Bring your lunch and stay for the next two free sessions (brand-new presentations!), “Organizing Your Social Media” (Editorial Calendars) at 12 p.m. and “Jump-Start Your Blog” at 1 p.m.  The library is located between two complexes of garden apartments just adjacent to Loehmann’s Plaza (shopping center with Giant and other stores), on the same side of Rt. 50.  There are some places at Loehmann’s Plaza (McDonald’s, Subway, Giant) where you can grab a quick lunch to go, if you need to.

Directions

Thomas Jefferson Library, 7415 Arlington Boulevard, Falls Church, VA 22042

From the Beltway:

• Take Exit 50B (old Exit 8E), Rte. 50 East (Arlington Boulevard).
• Go through the first light (Jaguar Trail).
• Go 0.4 miles to library on the right, just before the traffic light at Allen Street.
• The library is a new, modern-looking brick building surrounded by garden apartment buildings (there is a service road in front that runs parallel to Route 50/Arlington Boulevard).

From Seven Corners:

• Go 1.3 miles west on Rte. 50 to the third traffic light (Allen Street).
• Turn left on Allen Street, then immediately right onto service road that runs parallel to Route 50.
• The library is a new, modern looking building surrounded by garden apartments; the second brick building on the left.

Public Transportation:

Metrobus Route 1B and 1C travels between the Dunn Loring-Merrifeild station Metro Station and Thomas Jefferson Community Library.  For more information, visit the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Virginia Bus Schedules.  Fairfax Connector Route 401 travels between the Dunn Loring Metro Station and Thomas Jefferson Community Library. For more information, visit the Fairfax Connector Home Page.

When I arrived at the gallery in the morning, before it was open to the public, one of the first things I used to do was polish the front glass doors with Windex.  The receptionist used to laugh at me for doing this, and tease me a little.  And I used to say “All the public relations in the world won’t do us any good if people come here and see dirty doors when they walk in!”

And I still believe it’s true.  Five minutes of glass polishing was worth it.  It’s the little things that can sink your business.  Attention to detail matters, and this is especially true when it comes to customer service.

Today, I was struck by this when I was working with a vendor for my own business.  As a marketing agency, Fletcher Prince uses printers.  A lot.  We just gave a big print job to a printer last month.  We had another one today, and we went back to the same printer.  Now David usually handles the print aspects of our business, since he is the designer.  But he’s working on-site for Deloitte this week.  So he asked me to drive to this printer and check a proof.  He calls ahead and tells them I am on my way, and to ask for Ed.  So far, so good.

I drive (35 minutes from my house) to this printer.  I don’t know the neighborhood and there’s no street parking in front of the printer, so I hop out with the hazards on. There is a woman at the front desk.  I tell her, I am here to check a proof, but I have to park my car…can you tell me where to park?  And she tells me and I thank her and tell her I’ll be right back.

I am back in 45 seconds.  She sees me and says “How can I help you?” like she has never seen me before, not really looking at me or smiling or anything.  I can already smell the attitude.  No one else has come in and literally I was there in front of her less than a minute ago. I think, okay, I will play the game her way. I  say “I am here to check a proof.  I am supposed to talk with Ed.”

She says nothing but picks up the phone which rings and proceeds to take a call.  She seems to be giving a little attitude to the other person on the line, who apparently is a customer with some questions, and I also feel like she is giving me attitude.  She does not look at me the whole time. There is no — “Please wait a minute,” or a gesture, or expression, or anything to acknowledge I am there.  Waiting.

Okay.  So maybe she’s having a bad day. But I have worked as a secretary and I have worked as a receptionist.  I know what you do and you don’t do.  And she is breaking the rules of good customer service.  I take a deep breath.

So she finishes her call and says “What is your company’s name?” and I tell her: Fletcher Prince.  She says “What?”  and I say more clearly “Fletcher Prince.”  Then she says “Did you say (she says a nonsense word).”

At this point, I can tell she is, pardon the expression, f’ing with me.  Just because.  I don’t know maybe she doesn’t like curly hair, because I certainly haven’t done anything to her except be courteous.  So I say, loudly, and with my own attitude now, FLETCHER PRINCE.  People in the office jump.  She picks up the proof that is on the counter right in front of her, hands it to me, and I say Thank You.

At this point, I am seething.  Remember, they knew I was on my way. We are about to hand over $1500 to these people to do work for us.  Not a king’s ransom but maybe worth a little courtesy, considering we just gave them $1500 last month.

I don’ t know where Ed is.  I guess I don’t get to see Ed today and there are problems with the proof.  But I’m not going through her.  At this point, I am just mad.  I am done.

Let’s talk about how she might have handled this situation.

She could have said Hello and greeted me when she walked in the door.  She could have said something friendly, such as, did you find a good parking space?  It would not have killed her.

When I told her why I was there, she could have looked for the proof herself.  It was really the only one there.  But, she knew I was coming.  There really was no need  for that.

Ed could have come out.  It’s an open office.  I’m sure he was there, somewhere!

When she took the call she could have said “Sorry, I’ll be right with you in a moment.”  She then could have told the prospective customer that she was helping someone else (who happened to be a paying customer) and either put them on hold or call them back.   Then she could have turned her attention to me, who was there first.  And paying.

When she didn’t understand me (I am half-deaf myself so I understand the dilemma) she could have politely asked me to repeat the name of my company. Or she could have come closer.  She didn’t have to be sarcastic when she didn’t understand.  She didn’t have to make me yell it to her.  Again, probably a fairly good idea who I was. They weren’t busy and they knew I was coming in an hour.  No one likes these kinds of games.

She could have offered me coffee (we are paying enough) and a seat.  She could have called Ed over to greet me (it is my company, after all, that’s paying for this).  She could have smiled.  She could have thanked me.  She could have done any of the normal customer service things people do but she chose not to.

Nothing makes me madder than gratuitous rudeness.  I can handle a little vinegar from anyone but not when there is no call for it all.  I called David and said we are not working with this printer anymore.  They do fine work, but we make it easy for our printers.  When I encounter customer service like this, I worry that when I need them to be accommodating, they won’t be.  It just wasn’t worth it to me to get all that attitude.

So I remembered that another printer has approached me a few times.  I called the rep, and  I gave them the job.  I was delighted that 1) they were polite!  2) they were local  and 3) they were 25% cheaper than the rude printer.  I hope I have found a new vendor.

So, the other printer (and I’m not going to name them) has lost our business for good.  And why?  All because they put someone out front who probably really hates handling the front desk and telephone calls.  Maybe she’s a traffic coordinator, or maybe she OWNS the company, I don’t know.  But she didn’t do the company any favors today.  Big mistake!

And that’s what I mean when I say — all the advertising, public relations, and social media in the WORLD won’t help you if you make a lousy first impression on your customers.  Polish the glass doors, and put on a smile.  We’re in a recession.  Thank your customers for even coming through the door, or risk losing them forever.

Great!  Then, let’s make a date to have lunch together.  You, me, and up to 10 other people.  Put these dates on your calendar and click on the links to register for these fun networking-and-lunch events.  There is no cost to participate, only the cost of your lunch.  Looking forward to seeing you!

February – Alexandria, VA

Tuesday, February 21, 12 Noon – 1:30 p.m. Mardi Gras Network-and-Lunch (Free). Join us for informal networking and delicious Cajun/Creole cuisine at RT’s Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. Please arrive ten minutes early so we can group and get a table together. Cost of lunch is on your own (range, about $10-$15, plus tip). Please bring cash to make it easy on the server.

March – Washington, DC

Tuesday, March 27, 12 Noon – 1:30 p.m. March Network-and-Lunch. Join us for informal networking and delicious Bento Boxes or sandwiches at Teaism – Penn Quarter in Washington, DC. (Metro: Archives/Navy Memorial) during the lovely Cherry Blossom Festival. Please arrive ten minutes early so we can group and get a table together, or register in advance if you can. Cost of lunch is on your own (range, about $10-$15, plus tip).

April – Bethesda, MD

Tuesday, April 24, 12 Noon – 1:30 p.m. April Network-and-Lunch. Join us for lunch and informal networking at Jaleo in Bethesda, MD! Please arrive ten minutes early (11:50 and meet outside) so we can group and get a table together.  Cost of lunch is on your own (range, about $10-$15, plus tip).

May – Falls Church, VA

Tuesday, May 15, 12 Noon – 1:30 p.m. May Network-and-Lunch. Join us for informal networking and delicious pasta or oven-baked pizza at Pizzeria Orso! Please arrive ten minutes early (11:50 and meet outside) so we can group and get a table together. Free parking in garage. Cost of lunch is on your own (range, about $10-$15, plus tip). They have a great lunch special for $10: includes salad and individual pizza.

June – Rockville, MD

September – Arlington, VA

Tuesday, September, 12 Noon – 1:30 p.m.  September Network-and-Lunch. Join us for informal networking and lunch in a casual atmosphere at Whitlow’s on Wilson in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, VA (Metro: Clarendon)! Please register in advance or arrive ten minutes early (11:50 and meet outside) so we can group and get a table together.  Cost of lunch is on your own (range, about $10-$15, plus tip, bring cash to make it easy on the server).

October – Washington, DC

Wednesday, October 17, 12 Noon – 1:30 p.m. – Oktoberfest Network-and-Lunch. Join us for informal networking and delicious German food at Cafe Mozart German Deli in Washington, DC! Please arrive ten minutes early (11:50 and meet outside) so we can group and get a table together. Free parking. Cost of lunch is on your own (range, about $10-$15, plus tip). Please bring cash to make it easy on the server.

In this Washington Business Journal YouTube video, she presents four recommendations for working with the media.

1. Familiarize yourself with the publications and news shows you target.  Read the publications and watch the programs.

2. Build relationships with reporters before you contact them about your story.  Learn what kinds of stories they write about.

3. Provide exclusives. The news environment has become very competitive. The one thing news outlets really  need is information people want to hear that they haven’t learned about somewhere else.

4. Respond as soon as possible when a reporter calls.  Now that reporters write online content, as well as print, and the news cycles is 24/7, it’s more important than ever to respond quickly.

Subscribe to Washington Business Journal on YouTube.

Subscribe to Fletcher Prince on YouTube.