Wesley Chapman » Customers

Social—the most overplayed word in history!

Wesley Chapman — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 03:50:23 +0000

There is one reason and one reason only I dislike listening to music radio stations—that is repeats of the same songs over and over again. Songs quickly become overplayed and out wear their welcome fare too quickly. Nothing is simpler then plugging in my iPod and listening to what I chose and only what I chose. Sometimes it is an oldie and sometimes it is a little Black-eyed Peas. Okay I feel better now that I have gotten that out of system.

What does this and the title of this blog post have in common? Do a google search for me, better yet I did it for you. I searched the phrase ‘social media’ which returned 157,000,000 results and that is just the tip of it! ( see for yourself ) You turn on the TV and guaranteed some news station or some infomercial is talking about ‘social media’. Your email inbox is slammed with offers, updates, blog posts and the like all telling you about this ‘social media’. You go to conferences and meet ‘social media’ experts or hear of a speaker coming into town that is a ‘social media’ expert. Even my blog post has been shoving the word ‘social media’ into your eyeballs!

Enough. Enough with the most overplayed word in human history. Yes it is a hot topic, yes we have new vehicles of transportation in its’ world, but in no way is it new. Let me take you back to the 1950’s when homes were separated by 3 foot picket fences and neighbors talked about children, vacations and yes even products right there over that little picket fence. How incredible would it have been for Coca Cola to have installed microphones on the fences and each time someone said the word “Coca Cola” they would have it recorded? Well welcome to 2009 when business could start just that.

The art of communication as been around since the dawn of time and since the creation of the first wheel company, business owners have given anything to know and understand their consumers. Now businesses have these great tools in Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and so on, where endusers freely post truckloads of content and data and somehow this has transcended time and social media was just created. Somehow someone has made us believe that we don’t know how to be social and we need the media to educate us and train us. Somehow the word social has become another word for Facebook or Twitter. This is all just not the case.

Simply put as a business owner your social media has always been there and it will continue to be there long after Facebook and Twitter are gone ( yes they will be gone MySpace ). The word social has been overplayed and oversold. It is a very important and part of your business, but it always has been and always will be. Stop thinking you need to change yourself to be a part of a new transportation device. No matter what car you drive there is always a gas pedal, a brake system, a forward, a backward and a left and right. You may drive some cars faster and some may pull you out of the muck, but at the end of the day you will—drive.

For those of us out there that are looking to make this social world our world and consult others on it, lets remember the following; non of us are experts in Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or the like, yet. We have to put the ‘time’ into it to become an expert. We may have social experience, but the transportation devices are infants and we need to respect that for our clients. We are all experimenting. Further more lets stop overplaying the word and focus on the oldies which are still amazing goodies!

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Buzz Words, Content, Customers, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Social Space, Website

Do you have a Beethoven or a Hasselhoff?

Wesley Chapman — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:37:47 +0000

I am an avid music lover. So much so that my iTunes is filled with over 529 days ( or over 13,000 songs ) of playable music ranging from classical to rap. Music to me is one of the truest ways to express yourself or a message you wish to convey. Those with musical talents truly have an art of expression and that art is a powerful and effective way of transportation of information. With this said, what if I told you that your brand needs to ‘sing’?

Brand is another word that is often thrown out there in a general state not really understood. Your company’s brand is the overall imagery of your mission statement and is not limited to your logo or color schemes. Your brand is truly any messaging tool your company uses to express its self. Your brand can be the way you handle client related issues or it can be the way you handle your social space. Your brand however does have roots and those roots need to be planted, watered and fed correctly.

So what does brand have to do with music or art? Everything. Like music, your brand needs to engage the audience. It has to communicate with a wide group and it must display your overall commitment to your industry and client base. When you have truly identified your brand it will be a thing of beauty, it will be a modern piece of art. Planting your brand starts with planning, planning and more planning. Watering your brand means you look after it and you ensure that those you hire, outsource to and interact with all have your brands best interests at heart.

Now feeding your brand, is the fun part. This is the part in which you are able to become incredibly creative. Where you are able to work with your audience to share with them your visions, ethics and dreams. Feeding your brand correctly, will take your business to new heights and you will soar above your competitors for years to come. You may have set backs and feed your brand some raw meat, but it is always curable.

In today’s market place your brand must be ready to flex, but not break. Your brand must be fine tuned, but not over the top. Your brand must follow the curves, but lead the pack. Do you think your brand is up to the challenge? Re-branding an existing company or branding a newly formed idea is one of my favorite tasks and one of the most challenging. It takes time, energy and a commitment to understanding. It takes being an artist and understanding your canvas. Not all brands are created equally, but all brands have the chance to become something great!

Your brand can be as amazing as Beethoven’s Fur Elise or as painful as a David Hasselhoff’s* solo album, it is truly up to you and those you surround yourself with.

*I have nothing against the “Hoff” as long as he isn’t singing.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Content, Customers, Design, LIME, Marketing, Print, Social Media, Social Space

Get Them To Commit

Wesley Chapman — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:50:24 +0000

In our personal lives we all aim to get that special commitment, or special some to say ‘yes’ when we ask the big question. Fear drives us not to ask and the thought of rejection often freezes us in our tracks.

In business we have the same dilemmas. While you might not be asking your clients to marry you ( although you might ) you are asking them to trust you, your product/service and then offer up the Benjamins. This is a task all on it’s own. I want to share some scary numbers with you about business commitment rates.

The below are all examples of some type of business, their efforts and the results ( commitment level ) of such efforts.

A good preacher should to be able to get 70% of the people who showed up on Sunday to make a donation.
A teeny bop rock group might convert 20% of concert goers to buy a shirt or souvenir.
A great street magician can get 10% of the people who watch his show to throw a dollar in the hat.
Direct marketers used to shoot for 2% conversion from a good list, but now, that’s a long shot.
A blogger might convert 2% of readers to buy a book.
And a twitter user with a lot of fans will be lucky to get one out of a thousand to click a link and buy something. (.1%)

Do you see the disparity? It is quite clear. Who on the list above has the most personal connection with the client base? As we get father away from the personal human connection we start to see a dramatic loss in commitment. Why?

Easy of the ‘no’ or the ignore. How easy is it to ignore a tweet or a FaceBook update? How hard is it to ignore a human being standing two feet in front of you? Although technology is great and can help you reach the masses it has to be understood that there is no easier way to get clients to commit then offer a personal human connection.

This doesn’t mean you don’t need your social space or you should not focus on it. Just understand what you can really get out of it. I fear too many business owners are investing and counting on Twitter to grow their business ( aka get new clients to commit ) that they abandon the core of business—knowing people.

Want more commitments? Commit yourself to human connections.

Stats reviewed and drawn from Seth Godin - http://sethgodin.typepad.com

Technorati Tags: Customers, LIME, Marketing, Social Media, Social Space

Comments, who needs them?

Wesley Chapman — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:38:22 +0000

Ever heard the saying, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all!”? If you have, you are part of the minority when it comes to web users and blog readers. It is funny how many of my clients, friends or like mined individuals will dive into the world of online publishing only to find out that people are quite or plain mean!

The online world of content delivery is hands down the best invention since the light bulb, but it is still very misunderstood. One of the big mysteries is commenting. Each time I have a client post a blog or a social media status I field the phone calls and questions about the comments. The phone call either goes one of two ways. It is either, “I have posted 3 articles and NO ONE is commenting on my posts, why and what am I doing wrong?” “Lets take a step back,” is my reply. I continue by stating that facts are facts. Your blog is new, people are still getting to know you. They are learning to trust you and learning your style of opinions or information.

Blogging and social media connections are much like starting a new friendship in the physical world. You aren’t going to jump into a room full of people you don’t know and have everyone tell you how amazing your shirt looks or how smart you look. It takes time, it takes getting to know people and yes some people have an easier time with this and some bloggers do as well.

Just because people are not commenting or replying doesn’t mean they are not reading. I have been to many functions where someone will comment to me directly how they enjoyed a post I wrote or saw a status update on my FaceBook wall. Some people just feel more comfortable telling you to your face, rather then to a comment box on a website.

I also remind my clients that if they or their company have different portals of online communication, say a twitter account, a FaceBook account and a blog, their customers may find it easier to tweet them a comment about their latest blog rather then comment directly to the blog. The number of comments on your blog is in no way a direct reflection on the blog’s or article’s impact.

Continuing to post is the key and then when you do get that comment reaching out to your opinion or information it is critical that you reply. Develop an open line of communication with your readers and show them that yes you do care about what they have to say.

Next the client will tell me about some hateful and spamming comments their blog is getting. In some cases the comments can be hurtful and damaging to a blogger’s morale. I can’t tell you how many comments and painful statements I have gotten in my blogging and social media endeavors and that is exactly what I tell my clients. Everyone will get the negative comments and hate mail. Every blog will be spammed by Viagra ads, you simply have to ignore them. People will hide behind their computers and there is just nothing you can do about it.

Now in some cases the comments need to be addressed. They may be negative, but true. It could be about your companies poor service or a bad experience a client has had with your firm. You need to address them in an open and professional way and good things can happen. Here is a live example of this from a project I am running:

The customer was upset and was quite open in his statements. We worked with him, not against him and in the end we have a fan of not just our one app, but our company as a whole.

Comments are a tricky thing in the online world of blogging and social media. Not everything you write or ‘status update’ will get replies, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t reading. Give it time, let it mature and ignore the online garbage.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Blogging, Content, Customers, LIME, Social Media, Social Space

Time for a “Time Out”

Wesley Chapman — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:04:40 +0000

In the business world we tend to think that pushing ourselves to the limit is what will breed success. I want to defunk that theory and give you a new strategy to incorporate, called “Time Outs”.

As you may or may not know, I am a father of five children and one of our family traditions are “Time Outs”. Not those where our children are sent to their rooms or noses in the corner, these are treats. Every so often my wife and I will take a child, just one on one, to their favorite restaurant or activity center. This is one of our children’s favorite activities, as they are focused on and spoiled without the competition of their siblings. This gives mom and dad a way to connect with them and to identify any areas we need to work on with our children. All and all it is a win win.

So how does this apply to business and why am I posting it? In business we tend to forget the ‘little things’ and focus so heavily on the big picture. We wrap ourselves in our day to day grind and we lose ourselves in goals and todo lists. Take a step back and look at your day yesterday, did you get everything done you wanted to get done? Did you go to bed knowing that you checked off every todo? Did you even go to bed?

Many business owners work 20 hours a day, but to what end? What do you accomplish in doing this? Boldly stated, nothing. You have headaches, worries and self deflation. If you have to work 20 hours a day it is a sure sign that what you are working for isn’t working. So pushing yourself to the limits of time and energy will not create results. In today’s world you need to be fresh, alert and ready for quick changes. You can’t do this on 4 hours of sleep.

Here is what I want you to try next week. It is not a secret that businesses are build on relationships and relationships are built on communication. With that said, open up your address book, rolodex or business card folio and select two clients. Doesn’t matter who they are, just pick two. Call them up and ask them to lunch. If they ask why don’t be shy. Tell them you are wanting to communicate more with your clientele. This is only stage one.

Now that you have set up a lunch or two with clients for the week, I want you to only work six hours a day for the next five days. Why only six hours? You need to relax your mind. Take all the tasks you have to do in a day and focus on them for six hours no more no less. Try this for the five days and once you have, your entire work flow will change. Even if you have to put more time into your business, you will see that twenty hours is not needed and you will be able to get more done in ten then you ever did in twenty.

The combination of networking and limiting your ‘limits’ will net you more results then pushing yourself to the edge. You have now successfully been taught my business “Time Out” strategy.

If you try this and find that it doesn’t work—I will buy you lunch.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Customers, Marketing, Updates

Is honesty over rated? Really we are advertising here.

Wesley Chapman — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:00:37 +0000

A few days ago I read a blog post from AdAge and Bob Garfield on the topic of KFC and their recent ad campaign and yet again KFC got me thinking.

The blog post dives into some of the ‘issues’ with KFC and I encourage you to read it, but I want to take this in a different direction. I want to discuss a principle that seems to be leaving the world as a whole and more noticeably leaving the world of advertising. It all started decades ago and has been growing year over year. What is that principle? Honesty. Or should I say the lack there of.

Lets take cigarette ads in the the 1960‘s. Cigarettes were made to be glamorous and would magically turn anyone into a hollywood icon. Was it a lie? Did those marketing and advertising cigarettes lie to the world? Now lets move up a few years and talk about super diets. In the 1980’s the Atkins’ diet promised that anyone could lose massive amounts of weight by just eating. By 2003 the Atkins’ diet was no where to be found, so was it a lie?

Now here we are in 2010 and as business owners we are trying to share our products and services with the masses and in doing so, are we being honest? Are we upfront with our target audience? If not why are we scared to be? Why are we so hell bent on glorifying our products/services? One word; fear.

Yes fear is what drives us all in business. Fear of failure, fear that we won’t be liked. Fear that we will lose everything and so on. Sadly we are losing everything by not facing these and other fears head on.

As a marketing and advertising consultant I battle daily with clients to ‘tell it like it is’. I push them to open up to their target base and to push the real un-edited version of what they have to offer. Why? Because they will stand out. How sad is that? By being honest they will stand out to the public and will be able to use honesty as a marketing and advertising angle.

So have I come full circle? Am I consulting businesses to be honest with the intent to sell and is that deemed ‘frauding the masses’? I will leave that for you to answer, but I will say this; there is nothing more enlightening then to have an honest and open dialog with an other member of the human race.

There is something about honesty that in the long run, just makes life—easier. I consult each of you to take a step back and look at your ad campaigns. Open up to the public and get real with them. Cut the fluff, cut the junk and just tell it how it is. Show your face—just make it an honest one—with that I promise positive results.

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Technorati Tags: Advertising, Blogging, Content, Customers, Marketing, Social Space, Website

There is just too much static…so just ignore it.

Wesley Chapman — Thu, 27 May 2010 07:11:35 +0000

In the world of marketing and advertising there always seems to be something new, something better and something you just HAVE to use. After 17 years of watching, living and experiencing this, I have come to a solid conclusion—no.

No I don’t have to use the newest, latest or most revolutionary thing out there to be successful. In fact it is just the opposite. The most successful marketing and advertising campaigns use the oldest techniques.

I have developed a term for all the overnight newbies, MSTI or Marketing Static To Ignore. Running a business is hard enough without worrying about all the static that surrounds it. Focus on your core and listen to your gut. You are in business for a reason and that reason isn’t to get lost in the black and white fuzz, it is to succeed and provide for your family.

Listening to your gut will 9 times out of 10 put you right where YOU need to be.

Example; three years ago FaceBook and business became the buzz. For many it was a new way to reach people. Article after article was written about how you MUST be on FaceBook if you owned a business. Well many business owners had no idea what to do on FaceBook and I can guarantee that ‘guts’ were telling them not to even get on—yet.

Some listened and some didn’t. Those that first went online with FaceBook spent energy ( and a lot of it ) learning how to use it, learning what to do and how to make it effective. This energy took them away from their core and cost hundreds or thousands. Not even the ‘professionals’ knew what to really do with FaceBook. So now three years later FaceBook has changed, nearly 500 million people use it and starting last year ( end of last year ) we learned just how to use FaceBook with Business.

FaceBook proved it could stand the test of time. It proved that it ‘could’ work. So now it is no longer static. It is a proven method of communication and now it will not take you away from your core, it will enhance it. What about those that adopted it early, do they have a leg up? No they don’t. Why? They just learned how to use it and now you just have to follow, perfect and succeed. This is only one example; an honest one that will get a lot of flack.

So my point? My point is that things will come and go and as a business owner you need to stay focused and let things mature. Right now there are so many ‘start up’ social projects, FourSquare, DeHood, Yelp, Ning and the list goes on and on. Notice these, but don’t focus on them. Remember all the technology in the world will never replace a warm hand shake and a smiling face. When it does, this professional will retire and plant some trees.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Blogging, Content, Customers, Design, Digital Media, Geolocation, iPad, iPhone, LIME, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Social Space, Website

You don’t, you can’t, you just shouldn’t

Wesley Chapman — Wed, 19 May 2010 14:02:00 +0000

Why such a negative title? I have a strong point to make and sometimes adding a bit of negativity to your message helps send the message home.

I get asked often how to create the perfect advertising campaign. At a lunch, in a meeting or at a business conference I will be asked, “How do I create a successful advertising campaign?” My reply is short, simple and to the point, “You don’t.”

That is right you do not create a successful or perfect advertising campaign—you let your audience do that for you. Advertising your product or service can not be successful thought out in a board room or by using fancy charts, you have to get face to face with your consumers. You can not leave the perfect message if you don’t know the right number to call.

How then do you let your audience create your advertising message? Start with hiring a marketer, listening, get creative and do not be scared to ask. What if you have just started your company and haven’t built your network of listeners? Then advertising is the last thing you want to do. You need to build a small ‘following’. Create a loyal group of clientele that will assist you in the growth of your company. Don’t be pushed into advertising, get set up with a marketing plan, social media and good old fashion word of mouth. Then you can build into the full blown advertising mode.

It is key to understand that advertising is not as simple as throwing out an ad and hoping it lands. It is a planned event and you have a much greater chance of success if you slow down, listen and obey. Once you understand what your current clientele see in you, you will be able to share that with a wider audience and if needed correct any misconceptions that may be out there. Every company needs a fan boy/girl and the best way to get them is by listening.

Now this does not mean that you will incorporate/use everything that you learn or that your audience will do all the heavy lifting for you. It is simply the way for you to truly understand how to focus your advertising message to the masses. Doritos has done several ‘audience based’ or social based user generated content campaigns, but they have not used all the generated content or information. They have learned from it, created perfected messages and then have been consistently successful in the implementation.

You will be successful in creating the perfect advertising campaign if you:

Seek professional assistance
Listen to your audience
Become creative
Are fearless and social
Plan, build, execute and track

We live in a world of talkers, simply open your door and let them in. Be educated by them, listen to them and then direct your message to the masses.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Buzz Words, Content, Customers, Design, LIME, Marketing, Print, Social Media, Social Space

365 copies and counting… they hope

Wesley Chapman — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:30:34 +0000

I came across an article about the new GQ iPad magazine app from Appleinsider.com and it got me thinking. The article focuses on the fact that GQ has only sold 365 copies of their iPad magazine in a month and a half since the iPad has been out. Wow! Out of a million plus possible consumers GQ has only managed to get 365 downloads, really? Is this a sign that digital magazines are doomed? Not even close.

My favorite piece from the article is the statement made by Pete Hunsigner ( the VP of GQ )

“…the iPad edition costs (my) magazine nothing, and (I) believe that the sales will become more significant in the future. This costs us nothing extra, no printing or postage,” he said. “Everything is profit, and I look forward to the time when iPad issue sales become a major component to our circulation.”

Pete, I don’t know you, but I want to shake some sense into you. You are the VP of GQ, the fashion mag for men, the empire of class, the top ship and yet your venture into the digital magazine world has been pedestrian and laced with laziness and fear. There is no doubt as to why the GQ magazine has only produced a weak 365 downloads—it is nothing more then a PDF.

A week ago I wrote about how it is time to take the digital distribution world seriously and this is exactly why. The big companies are relying on their name, not progressive thinking and foresight. They are proving to be lazy and weak. They operate on the ‘build it and they will come’ mentality and in the 21th century that will not fly. Actions being shown by the ‘big boys’ is exactly why the there will be a digital revolution and smaller more progressive companies will take the lead and change the face of ‘print’ forever.

How can you benefit? Two ways. As a business owner this is your time to shine. If you own a ‘small’ publication now is the time to take the leap and build your digital strong hold. As a consumer you hold the cards. You have already told GQ where to take their PDF’s, so now demand your feature sets. What do you want to see in digital content media? Where do you want it to take you? You are the driver—so drive.

2011 will be the year of digital media—either you will be leading the way or following. Where will you be?

Technorati Tags: Apple, Customers, Digital Media, iPad, iPhone, LIME, Marketing, Print

Your new mentor is 6 years old

Wesley Chapman — Sat, 15 May 2010 02:48:56 +0000

The Boy Scouts of America have a motto that all business owners need to live by, that motto is “Be Prepared”. A simple little statement that can profoundly impact the future of all tried endeavors.

The boy scouts are always prepared with first aid kits, water, extra socks and so on. They look to be prepared for emergencies, but when you look deeper into the principle of ‘being prepared’ you will see that it isn’t just about emergencies. In your day to day life their is always a need to be prepared. In the world of business it is a necessity to be.

Today, for most, is the end of the work week. This means that it is a perfect time for you to regroup and look at the future of your business. How will you be successful next week? What will you do to achieve your goals and what do you need to be ready for?

Be prepared with a plan for both successes and set backs. Good companies think ahead, great companies plan ahead. You will have successes and you will have set backs. It is how you handle both and how you plan for them that will truly set you apart from your competition. Your customers and your potential clientele are watching you. They will see how you handle your ups and your downs and this can be a powerful marketing and advertising tool.

Prepared to not be prepared. Even with your planing you will have situations that come up that you are not ready for. This is normal, and it is key to work through each option with a clear and stress free mentality. As odd as it may sound it is important to be completely prepared to be unprepared.

Be prepared to listen. Listen to your team, your clientele and the world around you. Many times we are warned of things both positive and negative well in advance we simply don’t listen. Change this and listen. Educate yourself and take heed to those around you. Spend at least thirty minutes a day just listening.

Be prepared to network. Business is truly about not only what you know, but who you know. You can know everything there is to know, but if you have no one to share it with your business will fail. Networking is key to success and it is not something you can just have walk into your life, it is something you have to prepare for. This means seek out networking opportunities and plan to attend them. With all thing moderation is key. I suggest at least one networking event a week. This should open new doors for and help you prepare for more and more opportunities in your business.

We live is a fast paced world, a world that can be unforgiving and can change directions at a moments notice. You need to be prepared for change, be prepared to listen, prepared not to be prepared and prepared to network. Take a lesson from a 6 year old boy scout and “Be Prepared”.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Customers, LIME, Marketing, Social Media, Updates