Buzz Builder

Wall Street Journal Story about the Demise of Email Misses the Mark

In a fascinating Wall Street Journal article titled "Why Email No Longer Rules... And what that means for the way we commmunicate," Reporter Jessica Vascellaro writes, "Email has had a good run as king of communications. But its reign is over. In its place, a new generation of services is starting to take hold—services like Twitter and Facebook and countless others vying for a piece of the new world. And just as email did more than a decade ago, this shift promises to profoundly rewrite the way we communicate—in ways we can only begin to imagine.

In August 2009, 276.9 million people used email across the U.S., several European countries, Australia and Brazil, according to Nielsen Co., up 21% from 229.2 million in August 2008. But the number of users on social-networking and other community sites jumped 31% to 301.5 million people.

Without question, social media website like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have received a lot of press coverage this year and have demonstrated phenomenal growth rates. However, the article, which implies that email has lost much of its relevancy, clearly misses the mark. Here are just a few of my reasons why email will continue to thrive:

1) Many people prefer email to social media.

I've tried to discontinue my monthly ezine twice over the last four years figuring my readers would find it easier and more timely to get information via this blog. I heard comments like "I like getting your stuff via email because it's more convenient" and "Sure I could subscribe to your blog via an RSS feed but I don't have the time to do this or don't want to set up an RSS reader."

2) Many check their email more than their social media platforms.

Ok, be honest... how often do you check your Facebook account? In contrast, if you have a corporate email address,you most likely look at it various times throughout the day. The frequency in which people check their email means that it is still a highly-effective way to get in front of them with your messages.

3) Email is easier to screen than social media.

A couple of years ago, I was getting increasingly frustrated with email since so much junk was cluttering my inbox. Then, I downloaded Cloudmark, a robust spam blocking system, and nearly all my junk email was directed to spam folder. More recently, my ISP added an excellent spam blocking filter that works even better than Cloudmark. In contrast, I find that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have become so popular that I'm constantly being invited to connect with people and events which don't interest me.

Other compelling reasons for the continued importance of email were aptly pointed out in the Vertical Response blog. What do you think about the future of email as social media usage increases?

Buzz Camp Evolution Reflects Changes in Effective Word of Mouth Marketing Techniques

Yesterday, I presented Buzz Camp for the Oregon Remodelers Association. The dramatic change in Buzz Camp curriculum since I led my first one in October 2004 reflects how successful word of mouth marketing has changed. Five years ago, I spent 60% of Buzz Camp teaching people how to land free publicity in newspapers, magazines, TV and radio. Yesterday,only 10% of the curriculum focused on mainstream media. While traditional PR is still an excellent way to create buzz, there are so many other ways companies can generate attention and sales through customer cultivation, referrals, online tools, and social media. These approaches require more creativity and commitment than dollars.

Some business people are slow to embrace change while others just seem to "get it." My friend Sheri Fitts, Director of Communication and Large Plan Sales at The Standard, is always looking for effective ways to market her company and help the financial advisors who work with her grow their sales. Yesterday, she sent me a link to the below video, which had a YouTube launch on 7/30/09, about the incredible growth of social media. If you've been waiting for the "right time" to jump into social media, this video should convince you that the time is now.

Cable Titan John Malone on the Future of Media & Information Dissemination

What role will mainstream television and newspapers play in the next decade? At The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital Conference in New York last month, cable legend John Malone, the current chairman of Liberty Media and the CEO of Discovery Holding Company, had a lot of interesting things to say about the future of media and information dissemination so I'm including the entire interview below. In the words of Greek philosopher Heraclitus, "the only constant is change."

Interest in Sustaining Buzz in Social Media Grows

Last week, I was in California and presented a four-hour Buzz Camp to massage therapists and alternative health care providers at the National Holistic Institute in Emeryville. I was impressed with the enthusiasm and interest that people had for using social media and other Web 2.0 tools to create buzz for their practices.

It's exciting to see that social media is generating real business results for small business as an excellent article in today's New York Times indicates. Another piece worth reading in the Wall Street Journal points out that sustaining buzz in social media requires creativity and strategic thinking.

Customer Service Is the Future of Marketing

A couple of days ago, I heard a great interview on NPR's Talk of the Nation with Emily Yellin, author of Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us. Emily spoke about the history and future of customer service and discussed some fascinating research that she did at customer service centers around the world. One comment that I found particularly striking and true: "Customer service is the future of marketing."

Too many companies are preoccupied with trying to stir up interest in their products and services with word of mouth marketing. Yet, once they get a prospect to call them, visit their websitie, or come into their showroom, poor service prevents them from making the sale. Or, even worse, the customer makes a purchase and then has a problem that the company fails to resolve in a quick and satsifactory manner.

Positive word of mouth will grow when a company delivers upon its promises with stellar customer service. Many businesses would be much better served getting their customer service practices in order so that purchases create happy customers willing to come back and refer their friends.

Buzz Marketing Camp Launching in San Francisco Bay Area - Learn How to Get People Buzzing & Buying on a Tight Budget

Many businesses are struggling to attract customers with reduced marketing dollars. Even companies that have kept their marketing budgets intact are finding it increasingly difficult to meet their sales objectives since consumers are buying less and not responding to traditional advertising. That's why I'm launching Buzz Camp which is a results-producing, idea-generating half-day workshop designed to help businesses of all sizes break through the commercial clutter and get people buzzing and buying in spite of a challenging economic environment. The first Buzz Camp will take place on 4/23/09 in Berkeley, CA in association with the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce.

Buzz Camp will cover:

• The latest trends in buzz marketing and what they mean for your business.
• How to build a cohesive brand message that drives business growth.
• Buzz secrets from America’s most successful companies.
• How to create buzz through online newsletters, seminars, special events, blogs, networking (both face-to-face and online including Facebook and LinkedIn), consumer review websites (Angie’s List, CitySearch, Yelp, etc.), and viral videos.
• The inside scoop on what the media and bloggers want and how to generate free publicity that greatly exceeds what you could afford to purchase in advertising.
• How to obtain free and prominent media and blogger coverage using a simple three-step process that Patrick developed to land his clients in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, Forbes, Boston Globe, InStyle, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Business Times, San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, The View from the Bay (KGO TV), NBC News, Evening Magazine (KPIX TV) , KTVU News, Home & Garden Television, etc.
• Techniques to increase the loyalty and enthusiasm of your customers and prospects that drive repeat sales and referrals.
• How to get to the top of Google and other leading search engines through search engine optimization (SEO) without wasting money on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Check out details and registration information for Buzz Camp here.

The Secret to Successful Wall Street Investing - Run from the Herd & Laugh A Lot

What a year it has been for the economy! Barring an extraordinary recovery today, it looks like major US stock indexes will close nearly 40% lower than they were on 1/1/08 - the biggest yearly decline since the 1930s.

If you're like me, you might be wondering what to do with your dwindling 401(k) or other funds tied up in the stock market. While it's tempting to pull out of the stock market entirely based on all the bad news you're hearing from the media and your friends, Bill Bernstein, neurologist and famous economic theorist, would likely suggest that you don't fall victim to the herd mentality of stock naysers. In fact, in this brilliant interview on NPR's Planet Money podcast series, he eloquently articulates why the best time to invest is oftentimes when things look the most grim and word of mouth suggests that you should pull your money out of the stock market.

May 2009 bring your success in your all your business and personal endeavors! And, regardless of how down you may feel, remember to laugh a lot in the coming year since it will likely help you live longer and happier.

My Buzz Marketing Video in High Quality on YouTube & the Future of Online Videos for Companies Seeking Buzz

A few months ago, my friend and client Anthony Sandberg at OCSC Sailing let me use his beatiful club room in the Berkeley Marina overlooking San Francisco Bay to give a two-hour seminar on "Galvanizing Your Business with Buzz." Max Fancher, the owner of Maximize Video Productions, shot and edited the below clip using two high definition cameras. If you're looking for somebody to shoot your corporate video, I highly recommend Max for his creativity, professionalism, and reasonable pricing. You can check out his work here.

If you have a high-speed connection to the Internent, you'll note that the image quality of the below is much better than what you've typically seen on YouTube. Although it has not been widely announced, YouTube now allows the uploading of high quality video. If you're interested in seeing the difference between standard and high quality video as well as how to watch or upload high quality video on YouTube's website, check out this excellent post on Jimmy Ruska's blog.

Small companies, which can't afford television advertising, now have a tremendous opportunity to create buzz for their businesses posting high quality videos to YouTube. Blendtec, a small commercial blender company based in Utah received more millions of views of its YouTube videos (all in low definition) and increased sales 43% in less than a year (see this article in The Wall Street Journal for details). I'm sure that the advent of high quality video on YouTube means that there will be a lot more success stories like Blendtec since YouTube's already huge audience is bound to increase now that watching online videos doesn't mean putting up with grainy images.

No Recession in Word of Mouth Marketing Spending

Thanks to the outstanding free newsletter that I receive from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, I learned that according to a new study  from PQ Media, spending on alternative media, which word of mouth marketing is a part of, is expected to continue to grow in 2008, in spite of a slowing economy. Alternative media spending grew 22.0% to $73.43 billion in 2007, according to PQ Media's research. Spending is projected to grow 20.2% to $88.24 billion in 2008.

Blogging for Business - Do You Agree with BusinessWeek Magazine?

In May 2005, BusinessWeek Magazine did one of the first cover stories on the blogging phenomenon. Last week, they published an interesting update of that piece in a blogging style with lots of active links. It's worth reading to see an important media outlet's take on on the future of blogging. BusinessWeek is bullish on blogging and social media as a tool for business. In fact, in the piece, they announced a BusinessWeek blog called Blogspotting which provides an interesting take on how cutting-edge technologies are changing business and society.

I've been blogging since January 2005 and my blog visitors now far exceeds my website audience since Google ranks blog posts much higher than website content. For instance, you'll find this blog in the top ten search results in Google under "publicity stunts"  while my website is invisible in this search even thought I talk about publicity stunts. 

While I've only landed one client who came to the blog first, the blog has proven to be an excellent way to show  prospects how I think. And, I know that a few clients have chosen my services over competitors since they identify with my creative word of mouth marketing approach over traditional advertising. If you're a blogger, I would be curious to know how blogging has helped grow your business. What have  you done to make blogging an effective business building tool?