If there are two other words that best describe internet marketing in the last few years, I don’t know what they are. As a marketing guy at Wired.com, I must come across that term 100 times a week. Maybe 1,000.
It’s not shocking that I’m immersed in social media because I’m directly dealing with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and reddit.
It’s not surprising when I read about strategies that 5 person tech startups, apartment-based entrepreneurs, digital ad agencies, and veteran web-based companies are rolling out.
But what I really find fascinating is when non-traditional companies embrace — and dominate — social media.
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I think about some of the random companies that really ‘get’ social media, and when you think about it objectively, it can actually be amusing. What if you did this quiz just 2 years ago, before the Twitter explosion, asking people who they thought would have millions of followers.
Has there ever been a better quote on the topic of longevity?
This means one of my favorite weekend activities in New York City, going to long brunches with friends… savoring a hot cup of coffee… debating the eggs vs. pancakes vs. french toast conundrum… and without fail, ordering a side of delicious, crispy bacon, is actually helping me live a long and fulfilling life.
- This is a quote of legends
– This is a quote that was tailor-made for bacon fans (and oh, there are many)
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In an interview with the The Hopkinson Report (read the full transcript of the Spreadshirt interview here), Jana tells how a deal they’ve done with CNN allows users to instantly take any headline that CNN runs and make it into a t-shirt. (Buy the bacon shirt here). They’ve also done a similar deal with reddit.com.
It’s just another way that users are getting customized, real-time products online. No longer do users need to watch network TV when they can make their own movies with a Flip Camera, iMovie, and YouTube. No longer do users need newspapers when they can write their own blog. And of course, your everyday marketing guy can create his own podcast for thousands to listen to.
With Spreadshirt, users no longer have to order huge quantities and guess on sizing to get a custom t-shirt created. In fact, I’ve been using Spreadshirt long before I was introduced to Jana, having created a Hopkinson Report T-shirt back in March.
I did it to do a little promotion while I was at SXSW and have kept it low-key, but if any fans out there want a unique t-shirt, you can check it out at TheHopkinsonReport.com/Store.
More than just a t-shirt
More than just the shirt itself, the great thing about it is that you can choose from several styles, from basic heavyweight T’s to American Apparel… from your standard cotton guy’s shirt, to the girly ones that have the little microsleeves… from long sleeve shirts to hoodies… in just about any color you want… and you can price it any way you want to.
I’m huge in Canada!
After fantastic interviews with Saul Colt and Sarah Prevette (Toronto) and Mitch Joel (Montreal), I’m shifting to the West Coast to speak with Ryan Holmes, the CEO of Vancouver-based Invoke Media. Up next… Manitoba and Saskatchewan!
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Ryan’s company is the creator of a Twitter client called Hootsuite.
What exactly is a Twitter client (also known as a dashboard)? It’s a way for individuals and companies to better manage their Twitter experience.
The adoption of Twitter definitely moves through various stages, from the initial hatred (why do I want to know what you’re having for lunch!!!) through a tiny toe in the ocean of status updates, and finally through the a-ha moment when it starts to add real value.
Some people will move through these stages faster than others, and it’s easy for power users to forget that millions of new people are signing up every day, and they’ve never used a URL shortener and don’t know what a ReTweet is.
Hopkinson Report interview with Blogger, Podcaster, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Author, Marketing Guru Mitch Joel.
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What does Mitch Joel have that almost every other “social media expert” doesn’t have?
Well, to answer that question, we have to look at the things that Mitch does have:
- He is certainly a great interview
While my Julia Allison interview is still my most downloaded episode ever, Saul Colt is the smartest man in the world, and my talk with Sarah Prevette confirmed she is the very definition of Malcolm Gladwell’s “connector,” my conversation with Mitch was one of the most engaging and interesting talks on the current state of internet marketing I’ve had to date.
- He certainly has a great background
How many other people started out as a music journalist with their first assignment ever being an interview with Tommy Lee from Motley Crue?
- He certainly has the new media resume to back up what he has to say
Considering he owns his own digital marketing agency called Twist Image, has been blogging since 2003 (which is why we discussed consistency over relevance), and also does a podcast.
- He certainly has a unique perspective on book publishing
Why did he go through a traditional publisher with his new book, Six Pixels of Separation? When I asked him if he thought about self-publishing with any of the new and impressive tools that are available, or distributing the book as a PDF or some other form, he said no. Why was that? He was writing a book for people that read books!
It seems quite obvious, but if some is dialed in and is already reading his work online via his blog and listening to his podcast digitally, they’re already aware of him. This is for the guy browsing in Barnes & Noble or running through the airport that wants a marketing book and has never heard of him. And get this, he ENJOYED the book writing process. Not many authors will tell you that.
- He certainly fits the modern geek profile
We discuss the tools of the modern road warrior, the pros and cons of SSD vs traditional hard drives, laptop choices and key features in laser pointers. You can see the list of geek electronics via “What’s in his bag.”
- OK, so what about public speaking?
Mitch is an accomplished speaker, having presented to Starbucks and Microsoft, sharing a stage with people ranging from Bill Clinton to Dr. Phil, and drawing from his arsenal of thousands of slides to wow any audience.
Maybe you’re an expert in your field as well, and want to do more speaking, or teach a class, or be on a panel.
- So what is the thing that Mitch has that nearly every other potential speaker is missing?
Answer: A “speaker’s page” … basically a bio page on your website that has some or all of the following elements:
- Bio section (or link to your full “About” page) that tells who you are
- List of places that you have spoken before
- Video examples of your speeches
- List of topics that you present on within your realm of expertise
- Testimonials from people that you have spoken with before
- A way to get in touch with you
Wow, that was obvious, right? But think about it… without all these elements, how can a company or conference have any confidence that you are a prepared professional that can pull this off? It’s like a resume for your public speaking persona.
I see this as a huge opportunity for people looking to get into this field, raise their profile, or try to generate additional revenue.
1) Fear of public speaking is right up there with fear of snakes and fear of dying. If you LIKE public speaking, you are ahead of 90% of the game.
2) A lot of people are bad at public speaking. If you practice, can weave a good story, and are prepared, you jump ahead of all of those people.
3) If you can put it all together and demonstrate to a potential company or conference that you can do this through a speakers page when no one else is, that should put you to the top of the list.
Mitch goes on to talk about several other great tactics, including books to read and gadgets to use.
Shirts + Social Media = Fashionable, Profitable Marketing for IWearYourShirt.com
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In my profession as an online marketer in the social media arena in New York City, I often find myself surrounded by three types of people…
1) Entrepreneurs looking to start a fun, unique business
2) Companies asking for new and inventive ways to market their product on a budget
3) People trying to harness the power of social media
Jason Sadler from IWearYourShirt.com is a walking, talking Venn Diagram of these three concepts merged together.
First, he has come up with a side business that not only generates more than $66,000 a year, but also ensures that he never has to buy another t-shirt nor worry about what to put on in the morning.
Second, he is offering a unique way for companies to get the word out about their product in 2009 for $365 or less, that doesn’t involve a traditional banner ad or Google keyword.
Lastly, he is harnessing the power of social media. By building up a personal network of followers on his blog, Facebook, Twitter, and video channels, he can expose a sponsor’s message to thousands of people, who then may in turn spread the word to thousands more. One company estimates Jason increased their social media presence 230%! See the transcript below for details (stats are bolded).
We had a great interview where he talks about:
- How he got the idea - Why businesses get their money’s worth - How his girlfriend — and grandmother — feel about him wearing a t-shirt every day.
Speaking of Venn Diagrams, Wired took the opportunity to buy Friday, September 18 Monday, September 28 from I Wear Your Shirt to promote the fact that they are giving away a FREE one-of-a-kind Venn Diagram with the purchase of an annual Wired Magazine subscription.
Update: Jason ‘wore our shirt’ on 9/28. See his blog post or watch the video below.
Last I checked, t-shirts were running anywhere from $15-$50 at retail outlets. This offer is $10 for a cool shirt AND you get 12 issues of Wired Magazine delivered to your door? No brainer.
—————————————————————- Full transcript of Jim Hopkinson interviewing Jason Sadler of I Wear Your Shirt on The Hopkinson Report podcast.
Jim Hopkinson: Hi, I’m on the line with Jason from IWearYourShirt.com which is a really unique business where Jason has actually outsourced his wardrobe to corporate America. Welcome Jason.
Jason Sadler: Thanks for having me.
Jim: So tell me, what is IWearYourShirt, why did you start this, and how did you get this crazy idea?
The Hopkinson Report spoke with David Veneski, Senior Digital Marketing & Media Manager, to discuss Intel’s transition from more traditional marketing to social media marketing.
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As the world’s largest semiconductor chip maker, Intel is a household name in the computer industry and has given us some of the most important technological advances of our lifetime.
But also impressive has been their work from the marketing and branding side, between their long time “Intel Inside” campaign (18 years running) and the catchy “audio mnemonic jingle.” It’s no wonder that a 2009 Millward Brown study ranked Intel as #23 in the world’s 100 most powerful brands.
The one characteristic necessary to survive and thrive on both the product side and the marketing side, is the ability to adapt.
Summary of covered topics: [See bottom of post for full transcript]
– Discussion of their famous Intel Inside campaign
– The overall goals for all of Intel’s marketing programs
– The shift that Intel has made to focus more on social media marketing, in addition to their traditional marketing
– A look at Intel’s approach to TV commercials, such as their tongue-in-cheek “Rock Star” spot, which showed Ajay Bhatt, an Intel employee and one of the inventors of the USB device
– The innovative ways Intel is promoting their brand and truly connecting with users through their new Sponsors of Tomorrow program
– Intel’s innovative sponsorship of Maggie Mason’sMighty Girl life list… can you say swimming with Bioluminescent Plankton in Puerto Rico? Check.
– How Intel is leveraging grass roots campaigns, Facebook, and Twitter
– David’s look on the future of advertising
If the first half of 2009 was spent telling the world how to use Twitter, the second half might be them telling you that you can’t use it.
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As you can imagine, it’s not always easy being a diehard Boston Red Sox fan living in New York City. My passion for the team has come down from it’s astronomic levels after they ended the 86 year drought without a championship back in 2004 . Since then it hasn’t been do-or-die in my life, and things are made easy with a fantastic Red Sox bar just a block from my apartment.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t take the opportunity to venture into the Bronx to see my team play in person when the opportunity arises, and so I found myself at the new Yankee Stadium in early August. How would I classify the new ballpark? To be honest, it really just seems like a newer, larger version of the old one. It has better seats, wider aisles, better concession stands, an enormous screen in the outfield, more opportunities for marketing, and is all-around more luxurious than the last park.
The one thing I noticed it didn’t have, was Wi-Fi. Also worth noting was pretty terrible service from AT&T. A strong 3G connection would have been nice. For some reason, even no connection would somehow be understandable (too much concrete or something). But to have INTERMITTENT, slow service was very frustrating. Sometimes you could get to the web, sometimes not. Sometimes you could check e-mail, sometimes not. Sometimes on 3G, sometimes on Edge.
Have you ever dreamed of ditching the corporate world in order to open a small business in a rural town? Can big city marketing experience translate to a small town coffee shop? Lets look at someone that did it.
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Over the 4th of July weekend, I escaped the hustle and bustle of Manhattan to relax a few hours away in a small town in upstate New York. It was a big day for a college friend of mine, who was marking her full exit from the corporate world with the opening of a little coffee shop cafe on Main Street, USA.
She has actually made a pretty linear progression in her marketing career, one that many people might admire and aspire to.
This week Apple announced the new iPhone 3G S, and all the fun hardware and software updates that go along with it. But did they fix all the items that people were clamoring for? Let’s find out.
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It’s June and that means the Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference is going on, so all the die-hard fans can stop looking at the rumor sites featuring leaked bootleg photos from Chinese wholesalers guessing what will be announced. It’s here.
In the end, the phone itself was largely the same, with Steve Jobs and company giving it more speed, a longer battery life, and a video camera as major features. What, no Kindle-killer? No ultra-light “Macbook Touch” tablet? I guess I can go back to checking out netbooks.
But here’s the important fact for the millions of people like me that already have an iPhone 3G, and aren’t fanatical about buying every new piece of hardware that Cupertino pumps out. It’s the software.
Most everyone has heard about the razor/razor blade business model. But a recent set of Gillette TV commercials has me wondering if Gillette has taken that model too far.
Back in 1901, King Gillette had a business breakthrough when he came up with his business model of selling safety razors. He would sell the razor once, but it was the disposable blades that people had to keep buying over and over where you really made your profits.
This became known as the “Razor and blades” business model, and you can see it in many industries. For example, wireless companies gave away millions of cell phones for free because they knew they would make the money back on the call plans.
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But today I’m going to talk about the razor and blades model, with actual razors and blades.
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“World’s Oldest Person Credits Bacon”
What does Mitch Joel have that almost every other “social media expert” doesn’t have?
Most everyone has heard about the razor/razor blade business model. But a recent set of Gillette TV commercials has me wondering if Gillette has taken that model too far.