Tag Archives: online advertising

by

A Letter To My Family (the 25 Years of Age Update)

by: Jamey Brown

So I got to the office early today. Poured my coffee. Turned on my computer. Teed up my to-do’s list. And began clicking. But this morning was different than other mornings – and you can ask my coworkers, I cherish my early morning time. This morning I could not stop thinking of what it is I do and why I do it. Sometimes we get so caught up in doing what we love we don’t have time to actually love it. So, I switched over to my personal e-mail account and decided to write a letter to my family (which, sadly, I rarely do). Below is what I wrote, with inspiration from Chris Pirillo - following is the response from my father (the best man I know):

Hi Family, 

You know, I grew up in the world of sports and hard work. Sweating was what equalled success. And believe me, that is the mentality I still have, and always will have. But today, my interests have shifted – not changed, just altered (bc I still love cracking some beers and watching a Braves game and obviously a UGA game. That will never go away). But now, I consider myself a “geek” and a “nerd.” Deep down that’s what I enjoy on a daily basis. I enjoy digital media, social media, screenwriting, nerding out with movies, tv shows, certain comics. That being said, I think what makes the difference, what makes it a career, is the business side that goes along with it – the drive to get others talking about it and connecting with the zealots out there. Rallying people for a cause, expo or brand is what I love to do. And today, that is best done by storytelling – a gift I think I have. I lack in a lot of areas (don’t we all?), but I feel I am here right now, right here to do what I am doing. Many people can’t say that with an honest face. Moving aside from my genetically passed down philosophical points of view, I wanted to share a quick 2 minute video. Please watch with full sound (the music is good). I have been following this dude for a while and seen him make his career. How did he do this? He unapologetically loves what he does and has made a thriving career for himself. Yet with all the digital and tech in his life he lives in beautiful Seattle with his wife and values relationships – real, connected relationships. He values how digital and tech can help better our real life relationships and day to day activities. That is a hard combo to find. Therefore, I find this as genuine inspiration. So again, please watch below with headphones, let it sink in and cheers to change and loving what you do. 

 
Just had some time to give you all a 25 years of age update, 
Your son
RESPONSE FROM MY DAD 30 MINUTES LATER BELOW
I am pleased that you are able to do something you are passionate about, and  have the work ethic you have developed-maintain it as you will need it throughout life. The fact that your primary interests and focus may have changed is part of life-but I have never cared for a “classification”-it implies being one dimensional which I don’t think is good or healthy. Follow your passion-enjoy what you enjoy-but remember this statement (I can’t take credit for it) – “To label me is to negate me”. 
 
Be a compilation of ALL of your interests, past, present and future- your influence upon others will be heightened.

 
We’re proud of you, son.

DAD 

First off, I think it’s safe to say my father is awesome. Secondly, I know it is hard to do what you love and make a career out of it. You are going to have horrible days and you are going to struggle and be unhappy at times. But as long as you are working hard at what you love doing then it is always worth it. Always.

- Jamey

by

An Ode to Community Managers

by: Jamey Brown

You’re a creator. A curator. A communicator.

You’re an editor. A director. A writer.

You’re an analyst. An interpreter. An advertiser.

You’re a sun up to sun down (and then some) worker. A “not leaving till it’s done” researcher.

You’re an orchestrator . A leader. A helper.

You’re a contributor. But most importantly, a listener.

You’re a doer. An observer. A specialist.

You’re a linker. A connector. A seeker.

You’re a Community Manager 

Congrats on being awesome 

by

Should All Brands Be Onboard With “Real Time Marketing?”

by: Jamey Brown

I was reading a good piece by Scott Monty yesterday on what exactly “real time marketing” was and if it should even be a term. After taking 24 hours to digest the piece and digest the comments, I woke up with these thoughts about the newly slated strategy:

- I like this term, but it will soon be overused by every marketer out there and will then die a tragic, buzzword death.

- No, not all brands need to adopt this style of marketing. It needs to be applicable to A. your brand and B. your brand’s campaign.

- Don’t forget normal marketing.

- Not everything has to be “live.” I swear, as soon as a harlem shake comes down the pike it’s off to the races on who can push out the fastest blog post. And half the time, they aren’t worth the keystrokes that went into writing them. When something viral hits and I read these immediate write-ups on it, they usually just say that it happened…and that’s it. Is it too much to ask to be informative these days?

- Force messaging is not the answer. During the Oscars I saw SO many brands pushing campaigns that had no business being lumped into this stream of conversation. Again, don’t compromise your brand’s mantra just because a big event is coming up.

Bottom line: Real Time Marketing can be effective, but under the right circumstances and for the right brand. Always be wary of marketing trends before decisions are made.

Do You Know Brands Who Are Doing A Good Job With “Real Time Marketing?” A Bad Job? 

by

5 Reasons Why Storytelling Is The Backbone of Social Media

by: Jamey Brown

When you watch a bad movie, the first things that jump out to you are typically a bad plot, poorly developed characters and/or bad acting. Social media does not have much to do with the latter, but plotting and character development are huge aspects that translate into having a good social media strategy. How? Why?

1. Branding is storytelling. Social media helps bring this story out with multimedia and writing.

2. There are various stories with each brand or organization – both behind the scenes and on the front lines. What the hell does that mean? Well, brands have internal stories about the people behind the brand. Don’t ever be afraid to tell that story. A brand’s “front lines” story is the one everyone sees on the stages of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. on a daily basis. It is the character, logo, cause, etc. we connect with as a fan or follower.

3. Storytelling creates consistency. Fans and followers will return to your channels if they are interested in what is happening in the brand’s story.

4. It increases engagement. People want to interact with characters and plot lines they can relate to. Having a brand’s story connect to someone’s lifestyle is the ultimate win.

5. It’s just plain fun. Remember, storytelling is an art form. People enjoy sitting down and listening to something with a beginning, middle and end. Albeit, I would not advise creating an end anytime soon! Let fans and followers in on your brand story so they can get hooked.

Which brands do you think have the best stories? 

by

4 Things To Remember When Promoting Posts On Facebook

by: Jamey Brown

So how does content really get out there for users to see? There are the basic strategies and tactics, but it never hurts to put some ad dollars behind solid content. That being said, promoted posts are a content marketer’s dream. I am currently running multiple promoted posts campaigns for a client and so far (knock on wood) the numbers are coming out great. Below are 4 things to remember every time you run a promoted post campaign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Include Links: always always always have this content driving traffic to a certain destination. You’re putting money behind, make it worth the expense! Along with including applicable links in the content, make sure to track these links on the back end. I use bit.ly for all of my link statistics. You can also incorporate promo codes within the copy to make clicking the link more attractive to users.

2. Target Correctly: bottom line, if you don’t target well you WILL be the victim of a spam invasion. I have seen it happen and trust me, it isn’t pretty. Be precise in your targeting because the more precise you are, typically, the better your numbers will be. This is not the case every time, but if you are seeking out a specific group of people to engage with (and trying to get them to purchase something) then you need to zero in on them.

3. Set The Appropriate Budget: the bigger your Facebook community is, the bigger your ad spend options are going to be. The higher the spend, the bigger the reach. The more you invest, the more engagement you will receive, thus resulting in a growing community and more traffic being driven to your digital destination.

4. Oh Yeah, The Content Has To Be Good: Warning! If the content is bad, promoted posts will only help so much. Put yourself in your market’s place and say, “would I click this?” When you pass this test, then click “promote.”

Promoting posts is a real game changer for brand pages because it is a guaranteed way to market good content to the exact people who need to see it. In fact, I would not be surprised to see traditional Facebook ads to start slowly fading out. Why? Well, promoted post advertising is all the gravy of a traditional Facebook ad, but with engagement applications attached to it and it is placed in a news feed as opposed to the side panel (aka the no man’s land of mouse cursors). So the next time you are launching an ad campaign, give promoted posts a thought and watch the results roll in.