Category Archives: Marketing

Blogging, Business, Marketing

Social Media Is So Much More Than Likes, Retweets, and Endless Statuses

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For us millenials, social media can have many different meanings. It could be used for keeping in touch with friends, chatting with other people who share our interests who may live across the country, or marketing for our own businesses or companies we work for. But when it comes to how we use these platforms universally, we’re cheating ourselves out of growing as individuals, maybe not in a social sense, but in a business and career sense that can propel us to levels previous generations could only dream of.

Most likely you’ve had a hobby or passion, but never made it into something more, such as a career. For instance, being from Boston I was an avid Boston Celtics fan, and some of my friends described my fanhood as unhealthy. For years I watched basketball, constantly learning every aspect of the game which made me grow as a fan to a journalist. After starting my first ever blog, Bostonbball.com, I began writing constantly and growing a following that eventually led me to an editor job at HardwoodHoudini.com, which is a blog on the Fansided Network.

Eventually it was time to move on and that’s where my passion for marketing grew as I picked up experience from running social media accounts for my own blog and the blog I was an editor for. The path that lead to me to marketing, and later starting a business, wouldn’t have been paved for me had I not used social media to my advantage.

Some of you may be reading this who have a hobby or passion, and speaking from experience, I say start writing about whatever it is that makes you happy. Become the guru, a leader, the go-to man of your hobby and begin to acquire a following. Make yourself an expert in your field and people will notice.

With social media, your articles and small blog posts can be shared across the globe, reaching people that would have never heard your name otherwise. We have an opportunity, more than any other generation, to make a passion into a career, as long as it can be sustainable and profitable in the long run. Sites such as Medium, WordPress, and Tumblr can help distribute your content, and don’t just rely on one site, use them all! Someone who read your article on Medium may have never heard of your blogs on other sites, and right there you may have just acquired a reader and follower for life.

As an entrepreneur, and someone who wants to help others pursue their dreams and goals, I share this info because as a generation, we don’t use social media correctly, or in reality we use it selfishly. If you want to be selfish, share the content from your blog posts and start showing your friends, co-workers, and followers that you have experience in your field and that you are worthy of their attention!

Business, Marketing

The Information and Resources Needed To Succeed Is In Front Of Us

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Not a productive workspace
boltron- / Foter / CC BY-SA

Whether it was studying for a history test, searching for information about your favorite car, or wanting to pick up and learn new moves on the basketball court, all the answers and resources were right in front us. The same can be applied when starting a business or making that hobby into something more. Sports teaches us a lot, from where hard work and dedication gets you, to learning the importance of teamwork and going through adversity together that makes you stronger as a team. Yet there is one aspect of our love of sports that’s never applied to in the real world, our answer to someone telling us we can’t.

In the business world we’re constantly told we can’t; we can’t compete with the big companies; we’re not going to acquire clients because the more experienced business will attract them with their flashy website or ads they use. It wasn’t too long ago when we were in high school and felt the disappointment of not making one of the sports teams. However, even without consciously thinking about it, you got back up and started playing pickup basketball, or got a group of friends together and played a game of tackle football. You said, “Yes I can”, to the coach and the players who made the team, but you also continued to pursue what you loved, playing the one sport that made you happy despite not being a good player.

In that time your love for that sport grew, and it didn’t become a chore because that’s what you loved to do, which showed to the people around you. You might ask how this relates to business. In business, you’ll always hear the word no or you can’t because you weren’t gifted with an ability, or you didn’t have the right qualifications because you had the wrong degree. However, just as with sports, this business is your passion, and you’re willing to learn whatever is necessary to make it work. That information can be researched on the Internet, but the resources that are at you disposal that can make your dreams a reality are already in front of you, but you have to make it work.

For the kid who loved basketball, all he needed was a basketball court, sneakers, and hoop to continue playing the sport he loved, even if he didn’t make the team. Or the car enthusiast who loves talking about the newest vehicles on the road, has endless videos on Youtube to watch, countless magazines to read, and may even have a few cars at his disposal to drive and write a few reviews on to show his knowledge in that field.

Small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs have resources in their fields that can help them become experts and experienced companies and business owners. The idea that you have to be an expert from day one is a lie. For those who scratch and claw their way to success, they’ll be better for it in the end because they went through those battles and experiences. What kept them in the game was the passion to be successful in something they loved.

Business, Marketing

Not Having A Website For Your Business Is A Costly Mistake

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Boston Web Worx

Boston Web Worx

In the age of social media, Yelp, and Angie’s List, some might think that websites for small businesses may have lost their effectiveness, but that belief couldn’t be more wrong. As an owner of a web design business, BostonWebWorx, I’m constantly looking for businesses that desperately need a website or a redesign, but more often then not, I’m noticing small businesses, especially in the contacting industry, just advertising and using Yelp, Angie’s List, and the Yellow Pages. While it seems that business owners have bought into the social media age, they’re missing out on one key component to a marketing strategy that helps them stand out, a website.

The biggest issue with this is the fact that these companies are just one of millions trying to compete with others who may have a better looking profile on these sites. Not only are they competing for clients, they’re competing against themselves to have a more enticing profile, and that’s a complete waste of energy. There is a belief that since we are in the 21st century, websites have become obsolete because a Facebook or Twitter profile can provide all the necessary information for clients and customers. But with this attitude and flocking towards modern marketing, the door is wide open for a strong, classy website that portrays you as a professional business that exudes experience and class.

Anyone can create a good looking Facebook or Twitter profile by having a nice cover and profile photo, and a strong statement consisting of 140 characters, but the real selling point is when you show your client that you’re offering much more with a quality website. You’re showing that you’re not some young social media marketer behind the scenes posting content on a profile everyday, but you’re a legitimate business that presents itself with class and shows the customer that you’re going to provide them with the best service or product that your competitors can’t offer.

Don’t get me wrong, having accounts on all social media platforms is great for brand awareness, but those profiles can’t reflect one quality, and that’s professionalism. Your websites needs to be where the traffic for your social media sites ends up, and that’s where you make the final sale. You’re basically leaving a breadcrumb trail on the Internet, which eventually ends up at your site with all the contact information and further reasons as to why that customer should choose your business.

Let’s also remember that while businesses are becoming “social” with their customers, they’re forgetting that there still needs to be the final call to action, and that’s to make the sale. With a quality web design, and strong message, you’ll stand out from all the other small businesses in your industry. For those of you in the contracting field, while you’re still competing with other businesses, you have the one card that makes all the difference, the website.

Don’t become a victim of the game where you start out competing on Yelp or Angie’s List; your website needs to be on the front page, at least first or second on this list after searching your company on Google. Too often do I see Yelp and Angie’s List first and no business website, and that is a major mistake that puts you in the backseat, while the other businesses who do have websites of their own are driving the car and they’re getting all the attention and looks. Become the driver of your own vehicle, get the attention that you deserve and provide the quality service that your customers deserve, because you have the experience and professionalism to give it to them.

Business, Marketing

How Did Chevrolet Go From “Like A Rock” to “The Dollar Menu”?

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14 Chevrolet Sonic RS Turbo & Spark
DVS1mn / Foter / CC BY

Chevrolet has been launching campaigns to attract an assortment of consumers for years by offering cheap prices for those who have poor credit or can’t afford buying a new car due to their financial situation. While that is a noble cause, one that has probably been successful, there are major implications the auto manufacturer faces by making such offers. After the launching of their latest marketing campaign, “Chevrolet’s Dollar Menu”, they’ve unofficially solidified their fate as being the McDonald’s of the automotive world.

The deal is one dollar down payment in a lease offer for the Chevy Cruze and Chevy Silvarado, making them the cheapest lease offers on the market today. Forgetting about the incentives, limited mileage because of a lease, and the deal itself, let’s take a step back for a minute and let this sink in. A dollar menu for an auto brand, not a fast food restaurant, but an American auto manufacturer.

With all the recalls Chevy has had to endure, and now offering some of their lineup for a dollar, they’ve now opened themselves up to the perception of being the car equivalent of McDonald’s. When it comes to the food McDonald’s offers, you could say, “It’s cheap, but in the long wrong could cause obesity”. Chevys are now cheap, but could break down 2,000 miles later. This is not the best approach for a struggling auto maker and completely makes the brand look bad by subliminally saying, “Our cars are lemons and no longer of good quality”.

Chevrolet was once a proud American auto maker, the Camaro and Corvette were highly coveted by young adults, the Silverado was a very popular and durable pickup truck, and the Impala and Malibu were decent four door sedans that could hold their own against their American counterparts. Even the commercials sent better messages by going with the slogan “Like a rock”. In a matter of 15 years, Chevrolet has gone from being a respected manufacturer, to being the prime example of not buying American when it comes to cars.

Instead of the dollar menu approach and sounding like a fast food restaurant, Chevy should try a strategy similar to Honda. The Honda Fit is being marketed as an affordable, yet fun and efficient compact hatchback that fills every need for young adults, as they’ve been the target of this recent advertising effort. Chevy has the Spark, Sonic, and Cruze, all with starting prices under $20,000, and this should be the basis of a marketing campaign. Honda isn’t playing the Chevy game by being a Burger King or Wendy’s, and instead has a sound marketing strategy to a specific audience who are in the market for the hatchback.

The Sonic is a fun, hot, little hatchback for Chevy, and they should roll with it as being the backbone of affordable cars in their lineup. In all honestly, if a Cruze is only $1 down, I don’t think I’d be willing to pay the $169 a month as it doesn’t seem worth it, and would then think that the Sonic or Spark should be offered for $.50 or $.75 down on a lease offer.

When it comes to the automotive world, there should never be a dollar menu. ‘Like a rock” was a better slogan as it promoted a durable and quality vehicle lineup by an American automaker. Chevy has a lot of work to do when it comes to brand image after the countless number of recalls, but if they really want to be respected again, they need to drop the dollar menu immediately.

Business, Marketing

You Don’t Need To Become A Conglomerate To Be Successful

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Pancakes mini-tower
GloriaGarcía / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the United States in the 21st century as adults, and even teenagers, are looking to different ways to make a living during trying times in a struggling economy. New and growing businesses will be the helping hand that gets this country back on it’s feet and revitalizes this nation as a whole. We’ve been blessed with the ability to learn from our predecessors that lived before, during, and after the Great Depression and by ripping a page out of history, we can once again hold our heads high and bring back a winning and thriving attitude that has been lacking since 2008.

While some of the biggest corporations that we know today were started in the early 20th century, they weren’t the only businesses that cured local economies, and later the United States, of the Great Depression. Regionally around the country there may be a very successful business that was started in the 1930’s, but it’s not a conglomerate and it could be possible that it took this company decades to get where they are today, as technology has allowed businesses to reach more people in a broader area.

You may ask why am I pumping the brakes on being a national brand, or why focus on successful regional businesses. The answer I can give is that you don’t have to be a conglomerate to be successful, own a big house, have exotic cars, and live a life that you think is out of the realm of possibility without being nationally recognized. It’s a lie, and with determination, passion, and thinking outside the box, you could run a seven figure company from your office without getting the recognition of some of the biggest companies today.

TV shows such as Shark Tank and The Profit prove that one store, or a company that distributes their products regionally, can be prosperous if they manage the business properly and there is a need for the product or service the business is offering. During an episode of Shark Tank last season, a company called Kodiak Cakes went into the tank to pitch their pancakes to the sharks. They were selling their product in Target stores and were making $2.5 mil in sales that year, with projections of sales doubling in the following year. However, the issues the sharks had was the name of the company and the packaging of the product itself because they believed it sounded too much like a hiking product, and a kodiak bear was on the box which somehow confused them.

After doing some research, Kodiak Cakes are based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The name of the company and having a bear on the packaging makes sense because of where they are regionally in the United States. While the sharks didn’t see them becoming a nationally recognized business, they certainly have the branding to appeal to customers in the region of the country in which outdoors and hiking is more of a pastime, than in a densely populated city where the great outdoors is skyscrapers and taxi cabs.

Another great example of successful regional business that would later go national is Dunkin’ Donuts. Founded in Weymouth, Massachusetts, this once small donut shop now has the slogan, “America runs on Dunkin”. Their coffee is what makes people come back for more, and through word of mouth, and growing gradually, they’ve become a empire that if they didn’t exist, America might cease to function.

You should always have dreams and aspirations of growing into a conglomerate, but always know that you can run a multi-million dollar business by staying local and or regional. By being smart and managing the business right, you can be successful and watch your business grow through the years.

Business, Marketing

Marketing Matters: Where AXE and Old Spice Commercials Differ Greatly

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When we think of commercials, AXE and Old Spice might come to mind, especially on Superbowl Sunday. However, there is a vast difference in marketing strategies that either grabs the audience’s attention, or leaves them baffled as to what they just witnessed on their television screen. Effective marketing goes beyond just funny commercials. There has to be strong sales numbers that prove the ad was effective, and that the company should continue going in that direction. For years, Old Spice has aired strange commercials to say the least, some of which made little to no sense. In all honesty, who are these deodorant companies marketing to and is one of them making a huge mistake moving forward?

If you’re in your 20’s or 30’s you can probably relate to the AXE commercials in which a young guy puts on the deodorant and a bevy of beauties tackle him or are immediately drawn to him. That’s effective marketing. Every young guy wants some advantage over the rest of the field to get noticed by the girls, and AXE is that answer. Everywhere teens starting using it, and later on AXE moved onto shampoos and conditioners to further reach out to the single men who are looking to become magnets. AXE’s ads completely makes sense and is relevant to the target audience in which they’re marketing to. By establishing that connection with teenagers and early 20 year olds, this is the reason why we see their products in a majority of teenegars’ backpacks.

Old Spice on the other hand was originally seen as the older man’s deodorant, the man that’s seen in barbershops, on the golf course, or driving a Jaguar. Seeing that their target audience was getting older, Old Spice made a complete 180 by marketing to the younger generations, making less sense with their commercials as the years passed. Maybe I’m the one individual that doesn’t get it, but I’m not understanding the lunacy behind the commercials Old Spice has aired over recent years.

Last year’s Superbowl ad, where mothers stalked their sons or were completely saddened because their sons found a girl who replaced them, may not only have been the weirdest commercial, but also was poorly thought up as the teenaged guys should have been the focus in the commercial not the mothers. It’s these errors that can be costly, especially if viewers are creeped out by the commercial more than finding it funny.

Looking back into their past, why was Old Spice a popular brand? Because their ads were relevant to the consumer who would buy the deodorant, the older gentleman.

Being funny only goes so far, converting that laughter and enjoyment of the commercials into sales is the more important aspect. AXE understands this, and having a single guy get tackled by beautiful girls is every guy’s dream. They made that emotional connection to that buyer of the product; those kids wanted that scenario to play out in their lives so they bought the product.

Old Spice on the other hand should look back to their roots and re-think their marketing strategies. Have a specific audience, have the commercials make sense to those who intend on buying the deodorant, and stop marketing to mothers who are heartbroken because their sons are focusing all their attention on their girlfriends.

Marketing

Marketing Matters: Could the Chrysler 200 Be Marketed Better?

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Being a car enthusiast, I’m always researching vehicles that might be worth my money when it’s time to look for a new car. While there is already one manufacturer that I’m loyal to, I won’t let that limit my choices to better options if they should present themselves. The Chrysler 200 is a sedan that should get much more attention than it has, but because the US automaker takes the luxurious approach, they’re missing out on a major consumer group that would definitely consider the 200 if it was marketed to them correctly.

Knowing the 200’s history, it was a shock to find out that Chrysler has a V6 engine version of the sedan that is priced close to $30,000. This V6 engine supplies a whopping 295 horsepower, which is uncommon considering the class that the 200 is in among it’s competitors. The Volkswagen Jetta GLI has 210 horsepower, is in the same price range, and isn’t even remotely close to competing with the 200 when it comes to power.

It’s this angle that Chrysler hasn’t exploited. Yes we know the 200 has class and styling, yes it offers the newest technology to it’s buyer, but nothing is ever said about it’s power, not even subtly. The millennial generation are the buyers of the future, and what do the young guns want in a car? Speed and power, luxury, and relative affordability. Chrysler can offer that, but they’re taking the wrong approach when it comes to marketing the 200. As a millennial who wants that in a car, my future car buying decisions have been altered thanks to further research into what Chrysler has to offer.

The brand new look of the 200 is appealing; it has a European and futuristic look while also maintaining the tradition of Chrysler, which is to be an American auto manufacturer. A company that is trying to portray itself as being caught up with the times must not market as if they’re Lincoln or Cadillac and appeal to the younger generations. No one in their mid 20’s knows that a Chrysler has this power, instead they look to Dodge and their Charger for a powerful four door sedan.

If fuel economy is what the consumer wants, the lower trims offer mpg’s of 23 in the city and 36 on the highway while having a four cylinder engine that supplies 184 horsepower.

Chrysler must look at their marketing strategies for the 200 from all angles. A 295 horsepower car is not going to be passed up by an adult in their mid 20’s or 30’s. From the commercials I see class and the promoting of a luxury vehicle that offers comforts much cheaper than the luxurious car brands. By covering all angles, Chrysler will reach all age groups and consumer audiences that are in the market for a car such as the 200. Finding out about a 295 horsepower car around $30,000 was an eye opener, and it will have the same affect for others who learn of the secret power underneath the hood of a Chrysler 200.