Now, I took the time to find out what the details were and was able to do the unsubscribe process again without a hitch. However, it made me think about the fact that most people wouldn’t really take the time to investigate. They would simply see the error, mumble something under their breath about Microsoft and then complain to three of their friends about how Microsoft is going to get away with spamming them because they weren’t able to be removed from the mailing list.

Now, the point of this article is not to disparage Microsoft or their choice of mass e-mail partner. The idea is to remember that our vendors are a representation of us. Who we choose to do things for us, especially if it is directly customer facing, is an extension of ourselves as individuals and companies. Always make sure that the people you partner yourselves with are of the quality and integrity that you would expect out of your organization.

- C

Some of you are smiling right now, knowing exactly where I’m going with this. Some of you knew when you read the title of this blog post. Some of you are still lost. Don’t worry internet friends, I am here to help. To begin the story we have to go back to the Super Bowl this past February. The Colts and the Saints were engaged in an epic battle that only pious guys and wild stallions can engage in. Then, during one of the commercial breaks, we were treated to this:

From this hilarious, if slightly innocuous seeming, commercial a star was born. That star was actor Isaiah Mustafa in the role of what would come to be known as Old Spice Guy. Several more videos were made, but it seemed like nothing more than another serial marketing effort. That is, until the beginning of this week…

If you are the proud owner of an internet connection or know or work for someone who does then you’ve heard of YouTube. Well, the folks at Wieden + Kennedy leveraged the Old Spice channel for all it was worth earlier in the week. A team of writers, social media experts, tech guys and the man with the gift for dead-pan humor from the series got together to respond to Tweets, Facebook status updates, YouTube comments and even the dreaded 4Chan in video format. Over the course of two days, they uploaded nearly 200 personalized video responses. Nearly without exception, the videos were adored and consumed. Even the people at 4Chan; known for reviling everything, and everyone, because they can; got a kick out of it.

But it didn’t stop at video responses. There were two videos (one for men and one for women) that were created specifically so people could slice up the audio from it and create an outgoing voicemail message from it. Soundboards were created, websites devoted to generating them were created, and people were ripping the audio and making their own. I must admit that I created one, and will have it on my voicemail as soon as I can figure out how to get it onto the Droid without it sounding like crap. (So far, attempting to hold the phone near the computer speaker has been unsuccessful.) Alyssa Milano actually responded in a towel, challenging Old Spice Guy to donate money to help animals harmed after the oil spill.

Kudos to Wieden + Kennedy for using Social Media to create an engaging and interesting campaign. Kudos to Proctor and Gamble (Old Spice’s parent company) for having the guts to let them try something that had never been done before. The use of social media outlets, along with technology savvy minds and creative thinking has given us the newest internet phenomenon. And it is a commercial series for Old Spice products.

Swan Dive! Into one of the best and most well executed advertising ideas of the decade.

Sure, you could whip out your smart phone (you do have a smart phone, don’t you?) or something similar, but there’s something about a hand-written note that makes all the difference in the world to the person you’re writing it for. And the more personalized you make it, the more they’re going to remember it and the more likely they are to remember you. Also, I’ve never seen a smart phone that could write on a piece of paper unless it had a pen duct taped to it.

The most powerful impression-making combination in your arsenal is a pen and your business card. When someone asks for a card of mine, I typically don’t give it to them. Well, not right away. Depending on what we were talking about when they asked for it or what use they have for it, I will typically pull out the card along with my pen and jot a quick note on the back of the card.

For example, if we were talking about Social Media, I could write on there, “Give me a call when you’d like to talk some more about establishing your presence on Facebook.”, and then write my name and add my cell phone number. Not only does it help them remember why they got your card in the first place, but also that you have something specific to talk about.

No pen also makes you look unprepared. Remember when you were at a school dance and you wanted to exchange phone numbers? What happened? You went frantically searching for something to write on and something to write with. Well, now that you’re all grown up you don’t want to be doing the same thing. Leave the awkward kid at the dance in the past and have a pen you can write with at a moment’s notice.

So, where is your pen?

Throw one of these in front of people you meet and they’re going to do one of two things. One, they’re going to know what to do with it and depending on how you’ve set it up they’re going to smile. Two, they’re going to ask you what it is and you have a chance to talk to them about it and make a connection while you educate someone about a cool new piece of technological interaction.

So, do you know what this is? Better yet, do you know how to leverage it?

I will give you two tidbits:

1. It is called a QR Code
2. It has to do with your smart-phone (That’s a Droid, iPhone or similar; if you need clarification.)

Check it out. Find an interesting way to use it and let me know how you do.

- C

Think about this: Google returns 10 results per page unless the user specifies otherwise. Where are you in the other nine? If all of the remaining websites on the page are your competitors, then you need to be doing more to get your name out there. Top five should be your website, your Facebook page (You do have a Facebook page, don’t you?) and what other people are saying about you. If you’re really, really good; then you can dominate the top ten.

Ok, so you understand what you can do to make your website a Google robot devouring powerhouse (or you have someone to help you with it). You have your Facebook page and you’re leveraging it for all it is worth. Number one spot, knocked. Number two spot, locked in. So, what can you do to own the other spots? Here’s some suggestions:

• Talk to your customers. Just as you can earn referrals, you can earn testimonials. And these testimonials go well beyond a couple of written sentences that you can include on your website. Ask them if they would be comfortable writing up a testimonial or referral for you on a website that reviews businesses. If you’d really like to impress people, ask for a video testimonial and upload it to your YouTube channel. (You do have a YouTube channel, don’t you?)
• Make sure they can find you to talk about you. Speaking of websites that review businesses, have you found your way onto one yet? What do you do when you want to buy a car? Beyond the usual steps of looking at local dealerships, checking Kelly Blue Book and asking your uncle who is a mechanic about his favorites, you probably visit Consumer Reports. And you find out what other people have to say about that brand, make and model of vehicle. Guess what, your customers would love to do the same about you. Give them the opportunity.
• Put yourself out there. Get on every legitimate website you possibly can. Talk to local papers, media outlets and organizations. Anytime you can get in with them, or better yet have them come to you, that is another page that will have your name all over it for a search engine to index and show to your potential customers. And be especially eager to talk to places that allow for use comments to their articles. Every time someone responds with a comment that says, “I worked with Company X and they were fantastic!” or “Company X helped me to fulfill my needs in Y area.” these are adding fuel to the bonfire of search density you’re trying to create on the internet. Your customers are saying positive things, aren’t they? Which leads us into the final bullet…
• Give an impression that makes people want to talk about you. Don’t just service your customers, service them in such a way that they will want to tell their friends. In this age of Facebook, Twitter and a nearly infinite number of blogs, blogging services and people with opinions, any opportunity that you give for people to talk about you on the web is going to be indexed by those search engines’ busy little robots. The more people talk about you, the more pages will show up in a search and the more credible people know you are.

Here’s the bottom line: You need to do the work up front to make sure that people are going to talk about you, and talk about you in a positive light. While getting more talk will help, getting negative talk will hurt. Keep it in perspective and use the positive talk to reinforce and the negative talk to motivate.

- C