Oktoberfest

You say the word Oktoberfest around KW it brings to mind many images. Usually fun ones, beer, costumes, polka, parties and so on. You normally only hear the word around October, well maybe September and often with the words “are you going to”.

To us at Digital North Oktoberfest is an ongoing discussion as they are one of our clients. We work together often and are usually building some new online addition to the site for the next festival.

So when we received the email telling us of Mark Kreller’s death, we were shocked.  And to be honest I have trouble finding the words to express the loss.

Mark was a friend and colleague. We met over 18 years ago at CHYM when our offices were next door to them, we worked with him at the OAC, we built his logo for Kreller communications, kept in touch over the years and got to work together again on Oktoberfest for the last several.  Mark’s passion for the festival and for this community was remarkable, he was a joy to work with and his stamp will echo for years to come.

He made us better; he made the work we produced for Oktoberfest stand out and all I can say is he will be missed.

So much so that now, and I’m sure for years to come, when we say Oktoberfest, we will remember Mark mixed in with those images of fun and friends and polka and beer.

Thank you Mark for all the memories.

Afternoon delight

Here is what happens when it’s Thursday afternoon, it’s been a long, productive week and the third cup of coffee has just kicked in. (Please note, no actual phone solicitors where seriously harmed in the following exchange.)

Ring Ring!
I pick up, "Good afternoon, Digital North media"

"Hi there this is Ian, I’m calling from ****** & Co. may I speak with the person in charge of your companies marketing?"

"Sure, how can I help you?" says I, congenially.

"Well sir do you generate sales from you companies website?"

"Yes we do" still congenial.

"Well, our organization specializes in SEO, website optimization, key word management and design and we can put your company in the centre of the internet. We would…"
About this time I kind of tuned out, Ian sounded young and was excited to get his pitch off, not to hurt his feelings I waited and sipped my coffee, read a client email and checked face book. At the end of this I asked? (And yes, still congenial.)

"So Ian, do check the websites of the companies you call ahead of time?"

"well … no"

"Because Ian, we are web design company and experts ourselves in the fields of SEO, social marketing and online branding and to be honest, were better than you guys."

Ian responded "you think so huh?" (A little sarcastically I might add)

"Yes, I do Ian, first, you didn’t know anything about who you called and secondly, you’re the company using blind telephone solicitation to raise awareness about SEO and online sales."

CLICK (Ian had hung up.)

Ahh, the fun you can have on a Thursday afternoon.

Your New Years social resolutions

It’s the New Year and it’s time to make some resolutions. Here are a few social media resolutions you can make for your business.

1 Stop ignoring social media.

You don’t like face book, you don’t understand twitter and you have no idea what a “Farmville” is and you really can’t understand why people do.

Deal with it, because you’re missing out. The reality is humans love social interaction and its here to stay. The mobile era and the reality of open online have added to the human process of interaction ad while the social landscape of what website or system will evolve and change its unlikely the human need to will. Word of mouth has always been the cheapest and most effective way to communicate your idea or product so why would you leave that out of your marketing plan.

2 Stop ignoring your audience

Social circles are all around us.

Your employees, their families and their friends form your network. Don’t ignore them. That network connects to hundreds more people who may be interested in your product. By creating relevant and interesting content you engage your network and can spread your message further into the social sphere so hence the more you share with them the further that word will go.

And no we don’t mean another cat picture with a pithy saying.

3 Stop thinking you can toss your online branding to a younger employee because they “get it”.

Just because the lowest employee on the totem pole likes facebook does not make them the go to person to manage your online brand. Hire a professional, this sort of work can grow into a full time position but if you build it smart you can keep it manageable and scale your investment of time to match the work load.

Oh and yes we are biased, you should call us, or at least like us on face book.

4 Start now.

Make this social world a priority. Get involved, put a smile on your face and enjoy the learning. Like all worthy endeavors it takes time to see results and build success.

The reality is marketing does not sell products people do. Social media when done correctly can feed your sales team qualified leads and prospects. Make it a point to build your online brand and you won’t regret the result.