We’ve all been there – you spend precious time and resources building an information-rich monthly newsletter, and no one reads it. So instead, you send out an email every other day with a single piece of information, and still, no one reads it.

It’s not you (well, maybe a teeny bit you) – it’s your membership. People have moved beyond their inbox and into the world of social media to stay connected, informed and engaged with their peer groups.

So how can you harness these online platforms to stay engaged with your membership? Here are 3 social media tools you should consider today (like, now):

• LinkedIn
  It’s a safe bet to assume that a large percentage of your membership is on LinkedIn.  In fact, LinkedIn estimates that it adds at least 10 new members every 5 seconds, and counts at least 135 million members in its database. Wait 5 seconds – make that 145 million.
  
  So how can your group take advantage of this powerful tool? Create a group, either public or private, and promote it as an online forum for your membership to connect and engage outside of your events. Create a business listing for your group, and share event presentations through SlideShare, or post and share upcoming events and campaigns. You can even go one step further and ask your membership to share your events with their own LinkedIn contacts.  
  
  If there are no other social media platforms that your group uses, LinkedIn is most likely the easiest for your group to start with – with a little advanced work and thought, and a well-managed process to stimulate discussions, you’ll find this to be a powerful tool to engage your membership.

• Twitter
  Now, I’ll admit that not every member of a group will be on Twitter. In fact, for most groups, I’ve found that only a small minority of members participate in Twitter. 
  
  However, there is a world on Twitter that can help drive better engagement with your membership – they’re reporters, industry journals, analysts and experts, partners, other groups, and more, all of whom are sharing information daily, that is of interest to your members. 
  
  How does this help your membership engagement? By participating in these ancillary communities, you’re going to find relevant information that’s of critical interest to your membership, which you can share with them any way you’d like. Not only does that demonstrate value, but also helps your members see your group as a trusted industry resource. 

• YouTube
  When people hear ‘YouTube,’ they immediately think “It’s too expensive to film video,” “I have nothing important to say,” etc.
  
  However, when it’s done resourcefully, YouTube can be an incredibly powerful tool to engage your membership at a low cost. Quite frankly, all you really need is a digital camcorder or other handheld device (FlipCam, iPhone, etc.), a quiet room, and a little knowledge of a video editing program (Windows Live comes with a movie maker program), and you’re good to go.
  
  And what can you record? Think of all the panel events and sessions you hold – a video of your speaker, as opposed to a few paragraphs written on your blog, will travel much farther, much longer. Video testimonials from your membership on why they chose your group can serve as marketing materials for new membership drives.  Have an important announcement that you must ensure that all of your membership sees? Record it on YouTube and share it with your membership. 

So when it comes down to it, social media can offer your group a new and compelling way to instantly engage and converse with your membership. In our next few blog articles, we’ll cover each of these social media platforms a bit more in-depth, including best practices to set up and utilize each service to engage your membership, drive sponsor interest, and promote your brand as a trusted voice in your industry.

Related Posts:

• 38 Nuggets of Online Marketing Wisdom
  
• Change is Scary. Get Over It.
  
• Email Marketing Says “I’m Not Dead Yet!”
  
• Are You a Trusted Resource?
  

Every time a product is launched, someone asks "Is it the XX killer?"

For example, will Gmail kill Outlook? Absolutely not.

Will Facebook kill MySpace? I wish it would. It's like the horror movie villain that just won't die.

Will Twitter kill everything? If complex thought could be limited to 140 characters at a time, yes. Otherwise, no.

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner recently stated that no one has the time for Google+ right now. Specifically: 

“You introduce Google+, where am I going to spend that next minute or hour of my discretionary time? I have no more time.”

He's completely right. Why? As far as I know, we've been offered no other reason than "It's from Google, so it has to be awesome." Which is sort of similar to Apple fanboy thinking, but with less crunch on my bank account.

This isn't a problem with Google+. It's a problem with too much. We have too many mediums to share across right now. In the micro view of me, I have too many platforms to manage right now - email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn for my personal and professional networks, Zoho projects and CRM and Quickbooks to manage my business, and let's not forget my clients, who, on top of social networks, also use Salesforce, Wordpress, HubSpot, TweetAdder, MailChimp, SlideShare and who knows what else. Half of my challenge is figuring out how to integrate this mess, let alone share across it. 

And let's not forget, those are the winners. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other micro social media sites out there in the ether that haven't found the same fame as Facebook and Twitter. 

Another issue is that it's new. Brand new. And I don't believe that we've been given enough vision yet on how we're supposed to work and play with it yet. Granted, I've taken an exact total of 2 minutes to view a 'Why Google+' SlideShare, but all I took from that was:

1. It's on the cloud, so it's cool
   
2. If I use all of Google's products, I will love Google+
   
3. Google+ is different from Facebook
   

And that's about it. Is it fair to give it only 2 minutes? No. But that's all the time I have.

But no one is asking us to give up everything and switch to Google+. What I believe they're asking now is if Google+ can play in the same field as the other kids. And I believe that it can, but right now, I'm not hearing or seeing a reason why it's better, or how it's going to make my sharing easier.

Let's also not forget to mention the existential crisis that this has caused people like me who, for probably the first real time have said "I don't want something new." The most networked and well-connected people that I know have looked at Google+ and scratched their heads. Are we old? Maybe. But we don't have the time to think about it.

So for right now, I'm holding Google+ at arm's length. I need a better reason to live and play in it other than it's on a cloud with a multi-colored logo. My business demands it, and my time makes room for nothing else.

Sometimes we're asked "What's a normal day look like for you?"

Quite frankly, we can't answer that. We don't even know where to begin. We could be hanging with some chocolatiers, managing a press tour for a theater, reporting marketing program results to finance professionals, writing some killer web copy, coming up with new product offerings, or taking a minute to catch up on our client's social media progress.

For example, one day we visited 4 Paneras, had a clown play the Chicken Dance song on the phone to us, learned what a kinkajou was (look it up), all while booking some great national daily coverage. And that was just another Wednesday.

One thing is for sure - it's never a dull, never boring, and never, ever without results. So without further ado, this week at Red Plate, we:

• Had an awesome interview with the fun folks at Fox 25 News for our client, the Orpheum Theatre in Foxboro. Mike Bent, voted Boston's Best Magician, performed a 6-minute magic routine, including a little number with the anchor's headshot photoshopped on a svelte 70's photo of David Cassidy. Before the interview aired, we had 50 tickets booked. Afterwards, over 300 were booked. Sweet.
• Produced another fantastic event for our client, The CFO RoundTable, on Demystifying Term Sheets. One thing is for sure - never, ever take your finance team for granted. 
• Helped our client, Boston Chocolate Tours, manage their social media while they went on a well-deserved vacation. We even got a few ideas for new breakfasts, including brown-sugar oatmeal with dark chocolate shavings. We didn't break anything, we swear. 

As always, there's more, but we pinky-swore not to talk about it. And we take pinky-swears seriously around here.

Here at Red Plate, we always strive to bring our clients the best and brightest opportunities we can, and this week is no exception. This week, we:

• Launched a new chocolate and wine class for Boston Chocolate Tours at the College Club on Commonwealth Avenue. The early reviews are in, and they're tasty!
• Produced one of the most popular events of the season for our client, The CFO RoundTable, on the Habits of Highly Effective CFOs, as well as ran our first live tweeting of a program with great success! The CFO RoundTable was also named one of the top social media resources by American Express's Inside Edge (thanks, natch, to Red Plate's social media program!)
• Scored some awesome coverage for our client, The Orpheum Theatre in Foxboro, for its upcoming comedy night featuring Eddie Brill, stand-up comedian and talent coordinator for The Late Show with David Letterman, as well as booked a phenomenal broadcast opportunity next week (stay tuned on that one - it's a magician on a morning show!)

As well as dozens of other things that we can't quite comment on just yet. Or else. 

For more information on any of these programs, or to learn how Red Plate can help your company grow through integrated, creative marketing programs, contact us today!

Welcome to our new site! We're thrilled that it's finally ready, and are excited to hear what you think.

Stay tuned for the same great tips and how-to's, and enjoy the nicer package.

Regards,
Becky

Archived post. Originally published 10.29.2010.

Tis the season for turkey, tinsel, and some holiday sales.

I came across a great post from Ian Lurie of Conversation Marketing today on the 20 things you should be ready for, but probably aren't. 

What could I possibly have forgotten, you ask? Lurie's checklist includes:

• Get to work on your local search 
• Brushing up your in-house email list
• Lock down your site code (hands off, programmers!)
• Get your emergency plan in order
• Fix your broken links (yes, they're out there. Don't lie.)

To check out all of Lurie's 20 steps to a sales-happy holiday season, click here.

Archived post. Originally published 10.8.2010.

Today is my last day of mentoring at Mass Challenge, the global start-up competition and accelerator in Boston, MA.

Overall, it's been a stellar experience. I have been nothing but impressed with the caliber of the entrepreneurs that I've met during my time, and have really, truly enjoyed working through their questions and challenges with them. I've met with a wide range of companies, all of whom have one thing in common: they are passionate, they are dedicated, and they put our work ethic to shame. 

During my time, I worked through questions that ranged from product branding to SEO, nurturing campaigns, and more. I think I've even helped a few companies, but that remains to be seen. I'm pretty sure I didn't tank any, which I'll consider a success for now.

While the topics of discussions have been varied, there have been a few key pieces of advice that I've given time and time again to our budding entrepreneurs, including:

• Be who you are, not what you think you have to be.
  The single greatest thing that an entrepreneur carries with them is themselves. It is your passion and your dedication to your vision that will carry your idea forward. Of course, take advice and guidance along the way, but do not lose yourself or your passion in the fight to make your idea real.
• Be frugal, but don't be cheap.
  Entrepreneurship means living within your means for awhile. Sometimes it's longer than expected, but once you hit profitability, the rewards are ten-fold. Be frugal and effective with your budget, but don't be cheap. Spend your money wisely on the problems that are preventing growth, but do not spend money on the problems that you don't have yet. 
• Focus, focus, focus.
  You cannot do everything well all of the time, and you cannot be everything to everyone. Take it from a working mother - it's impossible.  Focus your energy on doing only a handful of things really well, and let the market or other people lead in other areas. What will result is a focused leader on top of their game.
• If you can't say it simply, don't say it at all.
  If you cannot concisely say who you are and how you help people, go back to your desk, sit down, and try again. There is no room, time, or patience in today's marketplace for chunky, vague language and communications.  
• There is a life beyond these walls
  There will always be fires to put out, always be angry emails to answer, always be emergencies and drills, and always be competitions that suck away your time, resources, and energy. This is the drumbeat of a start-up. It's frantic, it has no rhythm,  but over time, it will steady. 
  
  It's your job as an entrepreneur to steady that drum. It is up to you to see beyond the immediate and into the long-term. No single competition, activity, or project will make or break your company. Companies decay long before they break through a series of combined actions and bad decisions. If you can't see a life beyond one project or competition, get out now.

And as for my marketing crew, I say this: mentoring these entrepreneurs was truly a fulfilling and exciting experience. For what I put into it, I took away ten-fold. Find the time and energy and give back professionally, and you'll be surprised with what waits for you on the other side.

To the patient and driven crew at Mass Challenge, I say thank you - thank you for letting me in, thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with your teams, and best of all, thanks for creating this amazing environment in the first place. 

Archived post. Originally published 9.23.2010.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sharing my morning with the CFO RoundTable, an incredibly active and engaged group of finance professionals who meet monthly to network and participate in professional development programs. (Disclaimer: The CFO RoundTable is a client of mine).

The topic of yesterday’s program was ‘Mastering Your Budget Process,’ a panel discussion dedicated to discussing the best practices in creating, implementing, and managing corporate budgets. It was incredibly timely, especially as most of us are currently in the process of planning, negotiating, or submitting their 2011 budget requests.

Now, let me preface this by stating that I am one of those marketers who actually likes having a budget. I believe that everyone, even us marketers, needs a number to work against, and I have always treated my budget as a benchmark of the pace and success of my program.

However, what I realized yesterday is that while we marketers often discuss how to effectively measure and justify what we spent, we spend little time discussing how we manage the budget process itself – how do we best work with our finance teams to get the money we need versus the money they can spend?

So, from the mouths of CFOs, I give you a few tips to help ease your budget process this year:

Be Detailed and Organized
When a member of your finance team asks exactly what you plan to spend $20,000 a month on next year, they’re not being a pain. They’re doing their job. Being coy with how you plan to spend your 2011 budget does not bode well on your future relationship with your finance team, nor does a sloppy spreadsheet. Do yourself and your CFO a favor and itemize your budget requests, as well as organize them in a way that's easily understood by your finance person. The better that you can equip your finance and executive team with information, the better chance you have of pushing your requests through.

Anticipate Monthly Spend
No one, especially your CFO, likes surprises.

Let's say, for example, that the executive and management teams have agreed upon an annual marketing budget of $250,000, which equals an estimated monthly spend of $20,800. Everyone is happy.

However, what you have failed to mention that $80,000 of that will be spent between May and June for a brand new trade show and campaign. This, my friends, is a surprise that no one, especially your CFO, wants to see. 

By ignoring important expenditures such as spikes in monthly spend, you catch your finance team off guard, which may affect your company’s ability to pay your vendors on time (bad thing), or even worse, negatively affect the company’s cash flow (really, really bad thing. Don’t even get your CFO started on it. Especially if they’re one of those who writes ‘Cash is King’ on their white board.)

Help your finance team look like heroes and help protect your company by demonstrating what your monthly estimated spend will be. Break out your annual expenses by month, as well as itemize the one-time costs that can blow your budget out of the water. The more detailed you are with your finance team, the better prepared they will be to predict and plan for your expensive months.

Establish Clear and Productive Lines of CommunicationIn my own experience, I have always tried to build productive and open relationships with my finance teams. While sometimes contentious, I’ve found that the better I can understand and proactively meet their needs and concerns, the easier our conversation is on spend and ROI.

Sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes it’s not. Most CFOs and other finance folk understand the importance of getting out into the field and talking to departments about their budgets, and others don’t. People are people, after all.

The best thing you can do for your CFO is schedule a monthly meeting to review your financials. Discuss the prior month’s spend, the next month’s budget, and any other additional costs you foresee along the way. Use this time to talk through your department’s financial health and program results, and discuss ways to either improve or sustain your success.

Remember, the more information you can share, the better your CFO will understand your budgetary needs and requirements to sustain a profitable program.

Understand that ‘Budget’ Doesn’t Always Mean ‘We Have Money’
This is especially true in today’s economy. Just because you have an approved budget does not mean that the company has the money to back it up.

This could be for a myriad of reasons – sales have slowed, business partners have not come through the way the company predicted, you’ve lost a good percentage of your customer base, and so on. Whatever is the case, sometimes you may be asked not to spend the budget promised to you, simply because the company can’t support it at the moment.

Is this a permanent problem? Hopefully not. However, taking advantage of your open and productive relationship with your finance team, you can proactively discuss solutions and pathways that will still ensure that your programs come to fruition, all while protecting the company cash flow.

Of course, these are but a few of the ways that we can effectively work to improve the relationship between finance and marketing. Do you have a best practice or tip that has helped to improve your budget process? If so, please share it in the comments section!

Archived post. Originally published 9.2.2010.

In a recent post titled "It's 9:00am: Do You Know Where Your Customers Are," I challenged all of us to discover a method that puts us right in front of our customers, rather than in their inbox, mailbox, or blog reader.

I'll admit - I did cheat a little bit. I kinda sorta already knew what I was going to do. But all is forgiven, right? Awesome.

For the next month, I'll be holding office hours at Mass Challenge, a startup competition designed to help entrepreneurs turn great ideas into great companies. This is my second week working with the contestants, and so far, it's been a great experience. I am continually impressed with the passion, dedication, and intelligence of these companies, as well as their openness to embrace new ideas, or be reminded of simple truths of managing a successful business.

It's also been a great reminder to me to stay true to my own personal and professional goals, and that with dedication and some sweat equity, I can conquer anything. 

I'll post updates on my experience with the group over the next month or so. Stay tuned!

Archived post. Originally published 8.24.2010.

Let’s start with a personal story:

5 months ago, I dropped a really, really well-paying, full-time job and launched Red Plate Marketing. Hands down, it has been the scariest and most thrilling thing I’ve ever done in my professional life.  Frankly, I had no business quitting my job and starting off into the unknown – two small children, a mortgage, and a grocery bill that outweighs the national deficit all depend on me to support them.

It was a scary change. I got over it. Looking back now, I could not have made a better decision.

I tell you this story to tell you another one.

There are still brands and companies out there that refuse to participate, in even the smallest way, in social media.

Do you need to sit down for a minute? It’s ok – I’ll wait.

Now, let me preface this by stating for the record that I do not believe that all social media is right for everyone. Not everyone needs a Facebook page, Twitter feed, or the like. However, I do believe that every company and brand can benefit from a tailored blend of social media tools that can activate and motivate your audience to move your message forward.

Agreed? Awesome.

So why are these companies still refusing to even test out new social media platforms to engage their audience? Well, change is scary. The uncertainty of the unknown can immobilize progress.

Yes, change is scary, but you have to get over it. I’ll be the first to attest that the benefits and rewards that you can reap on the other side far outweigh the reasons to stay put.

While the refusals can vary as widely from “it’s a fad” to “I don’t have time to write,” there are a few objections to incorporating social media tactics that are common among these companies, including:

1. We can’t control it.
   No, you can’t always control your message, and really, who wants to? It’s exhausting.  Any new marketing platform, especially those that enable direct interaction with your audience, takes a level of control out of your messaging.
   
   But think about it for a second – could you really control your messaging in the first place? Can you control what a reporter writes about you? Can you really control what a customer says about you to a peer? No, you can’t. So drop the shackles and open up. You have no idea how far your message and insight go when you’re not standing in your own way.
   
   
2. There is no value in this.
   Imagine trying to broach the conversation of starting a Facebook page with someone who isn’t in marketing. If you’re talking to a parent, they’re most likely picturing their son’s Mafia Wars games and all of the pictures that they were never supposed to see from spring break last year. Sort of hard to translate how that works in business, no?
   
   So skip the chunky dialogue about SEO and metrics for a second and try to think about social media this way: It allows you to forge deeper relationships with your people. The more transparent, communicative, and open you are, the more approachable you will become to the people that matter.
   
   
3. We’ve tried it before and it doesn’t work.
   If I had $1 dollar for every time that I’ve heard this, I would have no need to work. I would be firmly planted on a dock by a lake somewhere, soaking up guilty-pleasure Dean Koontz books.*
   
   The best response I can give to this objection is that just because it failed once, does not mean it will fail again. If you believe enough in the cause, take a lesson from the failure and demonstrate how you will never allow this to happen again. Not only is this good marketing management, it’s really just good business sense.
   
   
4. What if we screw up?
   Of course, they don’t say ‘we,’ do they.
   
   I read a great quote the other day from Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo!, whose motto is to “Fail Fast Forward.” If you screw up, so what – learn quickly from your mistakes, and keep moving forward. No growth can be achieved by sitting on the sidelines.
   
   
5. What if our competitors see it?
   This is really one of my favorites.
   
   For some reason, companies go through a phase where their competition can know nothing of what they do. Maybe their investors pull them aside and threaten to beat their puppies if word gets out that they (gulp!) launched a new product. Or maybe they’ve been burned in the past by a sales person that had a bit too much to drink and shared something super-nuclear with their friendly competitor.
   
   Whatever the case may be, you cannot stop communicating with your audience purely out of the fear that the competition might get wind of it. And quite frankly, if you get there before they do, you are given that much more time to establish the conversation.
   
   Look at it this way – whether it’s a newsletter, a blog, or an article, your competition is going to see it. Your best bet is to stay focused on the audiences that really matter – your customers, your influencers, and your prospects.
   
   
6. We don’t want our employees wasting their time with this.
   Now, there are two sides to this coin – we don’t want our marketing people to take their eye off the ball, and we don’t want our other employees wasting time online.
   
   Let’s start with the first half of the objection: Good program management on part of any marketer involves the distinct ability to multi-task and deftly integrate marketing tactics so they produce one cohesive vision. Besides that, all of your marketing should be geared toward opening and defining a two-way conversation. Social media is just one more platform to add to the mix.
   
   Now, for the second half of the argument. I am in agreement that online activities can be a complete time-suck. That’s for your HR team to figure out. However, to argue that you do not want to incorporate a blog or other social media means into your marketing program because you’re afraid that your employees might spend time online and read it is a bit misguided. I know of no better way to educate your team than by giving them easy access to your thoughts, news and updates online.

Net net, while it can be a seemingly overwhelming and scary task to incorporate social media into a marketing strategy, get over it. The benefits that open and transparent communication offer far outweigh the safety of the sidelines.

*Don’t lie to me. I know you love him too.