19Oct 2009 by Bob Cargill

GM’s Satisfaction Guarantee Offer: Good Faith, Great Marketing

Advertising, Branding, Direct Marketing, Marketing
I can't tell you how happy I was to hear that General Motors was giving customers (specifically, "eligible buyers" of new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles) a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. Personally, I believe every company should be willing to go to such lengths in order to reassure prospective customers that they will meet, if not exceed, their expectations -- even if it means the possibility of doling out refunds to those who might be dissatisfied. A guarantee is a strong demonstration of good faith. Of course, the direct marketer in me also knows just how much a guarantee can lift response rates and, ultimately, sales.  As I wrote here... ...a strong guarantee will go a long way toward mitigating any concerns your constituents may have about buying your products or services. In fact, when I had my own…
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12Oct 2009 by Bob Cargill

Inbound Marketing Summit Boston (’09): The Best Conference I Never Attended

Blogging, Branding, Facebook, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter
While I was fortunate enough to attend the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston a year ago, I wasn’t able to attend this social media extravaganza here this time around... ...but I can tell you for a fact that it was the best conference I never attended. Yes, thanks to the live, exhaustive coverage of this two-day event by a slew of those in attendance via Twitter and many timely reports filed on other social media platforms (blogs, Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, etc.), I don’t feel like I missed much of anything. Okay, so I didn't get the opportunity to network with my colleagues face-to-face, shake their hands and exchange business cards, but I definitely got the gist of pretty much all the presentations in snippets and headlines, video clips and sound bites. Starting with…
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05Oct 2009 by Bob Cargill

“Happy Anniversary” to the New England Direct Marketing Association

Direct Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
          Although I find myself immersed in social media these days, those who have known me for more than a few years know that I’m a copywriter by trade with roots firmly planted in direct marketing. I’m enamored with blogging, Twitter, Facebook and the like, sure, but only because I feel so strongly about the potential such self-publishing platforms have to transform the way we live, communicate and conduct business as direct marketers. In social media, I believe I’ve seen the future of the industry in which I’ve earned my livelihood up to this point in time. Yes, thanks to the Internet and a slew of new online communications channels we can now leverage to connect with our constituents, I believe the direct marketing industry is not getting older, it’s getting better. That’s…
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29Sep 2009 by Bob Cargill

Blog Post on Video: Getting Past the Social Media “Dip”

Blogging, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter
If there’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as using social media in my day-to-day communications and marketing activities, it’s speaking about these relatively new online publishing tools to friends, colleagues and, frankly, anyone else who will listen to me. I’ve always liked sharing what I know with others, teaching, training, helping others get from point A to point B – regardless of the subject. But there’s something different about social media. There’s something radically transformational about it that you just wouldn’t understand – and be able to take advantage of – till you’ve actually used it yourself for a while.     If you ask me, the keys to being successful with social media are patience, perseverance and pushing past the so-called “Dip,” a difficult stretch of time (invariably the…
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22Sep 2009 by Bob Cargill

Social Media: That’s What I’m Talking About

Blogging, Branding, Facebook, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter
In the next eight days, I'll be giving three different presentations on social media, each of which I hope will be as transformative to my audience as some of the first talks I attended on the subject were to me. I’m a lifelong direct marketer, a copywriter by trade, but as I've said time and again, I believe strongly that those of us who can leverage social media technologies and tools to build mutually-beneficial relationships with colleagues, clients, customers, connections, friends and fans will be much more successful amidst this new communications era. Of course, given the confidence I have in social media, you can only imagine how much I enjoy sharing what I know about it with others, helping people harness the awesome power of blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the like. It's hard work.…
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16Sep 2009 by Bob Cargill

Blog Post on Video: Who Moved My Customers?

Advertising, Blogging, Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Client Service, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Facebook, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter
To say that marketing has changed in the last few years would be to put it quite mildly. Marketing has been rocked, shaken, stirred, knocked for a loop and turned completely upside down not just by the Internet, but by the emergence of social media as an informational, educational and conversational platform leveraged by the masses. Watch this short video and learn what to do about it before it's too late... This “blog post on video” was recorded on September 13, 2009 on Old Connecticut Path (overlooking the Massachusetts Turnpike) in Framingham, MA. It’s an adaptation of a post I wrote earlier this year called “Who Moved My Customers,” which you can read in its entirety here.
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14Sep 2009 by Bob Cargill

How to Use Social Bookmarking to Share Good Content in Social Media

Blogging, Facebook, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter
There are many ways to get attention in social media, but one of the easiest ways is to share good content. Ideally, a large percentage of this content is authored, created and produced by you and your colleagues, of course, serving as a reflection of your brand, an indication of your capabilities.  But not all of the content you share has to be your own. In fact, it’s considered both good form and smart strategy in the social media space to share content created by others, sometimes even competitors', citing such content in your own blog posts, tweets and status updates.  For instance, in addition to my own articles, advice, insight and information, I make a point of sharing plenty of other good, relevant content from “third-party” sources as often as possible. To find all of…
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09Sep 2009 by Bob Cargill

Blog Post on Video: How to Make People Like You on Twitter

Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter
If you’re one of the millions of people using Twitter to share what’s on your mind, you know what a challenge it is to stand out among the crowd.  To some, Twitter’s a cocktail party. To others, it’s a soap box. But to the majority of its users, Twitter’s more like an uncontrollable scrum in which everybody is competing for a greater share of the discussion.   But it doesn’t have to be that way, not if you do as much listening as talking on this social media communications platform – and, when you do put yourself out there in 140 characters or less, you pause before you post.   That’s right, like a good conversationalist, the last thing you want to do is come across as loud and insensitive,…
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08Sep 2009 by Bob Cargill

How to Educate, Entertain and Engage People with Photo Marketing

Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Social Media
When I took my oldest son, Scott, 13, to see a rock concert at the Comcast Center (Mansfield, MA) recently, I knew we were going to have a great time. But I had no idea I’d be one of many getting a crash course in HPV (human papillomavirus) and the diseases it causes, including cervical cancer. But in addition to giving us pictures to commemorate the occasion, that’s what Merck and Co., the maker of GARDASIL, a cervical cancer vaccine, gave me and a throng of other willing participants. I was glad to get a souvenir photo with my son, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn more about HPV in the process -- and, consequently, given an opportunity to help spread the word here on my own blog. This was the…
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