Marketing with Tags is a hot new way to immediately connect with your people, your consumers, customers, and community. They look like the image on the right.

What Are TAGS?

If you like me, you’re still trying to figure out, what exactly are tags. Tags are a Mobile Bar Code. 

Microsoft offers some software to read tags. You can enter your phone number to get your the Microsoft Tag Reader software that works on Windows Mobile, iPhone, Symbian, Blackberry, Android and J2ME phones here  Or visit http://gettag.mobi from your mobile device.  And more importantly for marketers, here’s the link to create tags.

You can use a tag to market a landing page for your service, a website that offers incentives for trial purchase (also known as a coupon) or even a fun video about your product!

Here are some questions that may be floating around in your head (because they are in mine):

• How would you use a tag?
• How many people have actually downloaded the iPhone tag app?
• When will software for Droid and Blackberry be ready?
• Will people really use their phones to interact with products, services and companies?

This next month, I’m going to learn what I can about tags and share it here.  Are you interested in this new marketing tool? Let me know by leaving a comment.

Today is “Ask Chris a Question” day. Or at least the day I’m going to answer a question…

I’ve had 4 people ask me this same question in the past two weeks.  Let’s say you’ve had a company website for years.  You update it from time to time, but don’t know how to install a blog on the website.  Meanwhile, your company has already started a blog.  How can you link it to your website? And how do you link the website to the blog?

There are a number of ways to accomplish this. 

One way is to create a link in the navigation.

If you note the navigation bar above, I link to my company website “Marketing Resources & Results” in the nav bar with the link on the far right.  In websites, it seems the far right link is reserved for “Contact Us”, but in blogs, I see the company link most often on the far right.

I use Thesis theme on WordPress software to create an easy to manipulate tool bar in the blog. 

On my company website, I have my blog link attached to a graphic on many of the pages for an easy click thru.

I also have a link located on every page down on the bottom toolbar. 

You might wonder, “Why doesn’t she have it on the top tool bar?” You may want your link on the top or side navigation. But having the blog link on my top tool bar, doesn’t match my strategy for why I even have a blog.

My strategy on creating, writing and publishing a blog is to ultimately drive more traffic to my company website. I don’t want the river to flow upstream.  So I make it easier to get to my company website from the blog, than back to the blog from the company website.

That said, when I’m networking with my business card at functions, I find it easy to say, just go to my company website and click on the blog link on the bottom toolbar.

What’s the relationship of your blog to your company’s website. Do you want traffic to flow from blog to website or website to blog? Does it matter? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

I was surprised and flattered that Branding & Marketing was considered as one of the top Junta 42 Marketing blogs… and beat out some of my most favorite and the very popular marketing blogs to rank #32 in the Junta 42 Top Marketing Blogs.

Not sure exactly how my blog beat DuctTape Marketing, Drew’s Marketing Minute or Chris Brogan’s blog, but according to Joe Pulizzi:

The Junta42 Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs list highlights the best bloggers on the web discussing content marketing. Each blog on the list has been rated by our expert staff in terms of content strength, depth, regularity and, to a very small extent, popularity.

Here’s the list of the Junta42 of Top Content Marketing Blogs that continues to the total list of 400 marketing blogs. Great reading here!

1 Brian Solis
2 Copyblogger
3 Conversation Agent
4 TopRank Blog
5 PR 20/20
6 Marketing Experiments
7 Convince and Convert
8 Spin Sucks
9 Marketing Interactions
10 ConverStations
11 Simple Marketing Blog
12 Influential Marketing Blog
13 Direct Marketing Observations
14 Post Advertising
15 Web Ink Now
16 Social Media Explorer
17 Writing on the Web
18 Inbound Internet Marketing Blog
19 Rexblog
20 eMedia Vitals
21 Vertical Leap
22 Conversation Marketing
23 WeBlogBetter.com
24 Mack Collier
25 Buzz News
26 FASTforward Blog
27 IdeaLaunch
28 Site Booster
29 Freelance Copywriters Blog
30 Social Media Examiner
31 Priority Integrated Marketing Blog
32 Branding & Marketing
33 Shopper Culture
34 Vertical Measures
35 Proactive
36 Web Marketing Therapy
37 ContentMarketingToday
38 Servant of Chaos
39 Ducttape Marketing
40 TippingPoint Labs
41 Sparksheet
42 The MineThat Data Blog

Ivana and Deborah with their Tags

Last month at the Akron Bloggers Community meeting Deborah Shapiro explained about marketing with tags. 

Maybe you’ve heard or seen them?  Seems like a great tool for a business to drive traffic to a specific URL link. I know they are all the rage in Japan.

Here’s one way how tags can work to market your business: Deborah Shapiro from Montrose Video has her tag printed on the back of her business card. She passes out the business card at a trade show. People with the app on their cell phone hover over the tag. It takes them to a website on their phone.

How Tags work with the Phone

Here’s a photo of Ivana Taylor with her cell phone hovering over tag on the computer screen. She opens the app on her phone (that she downloaded from GetTag.mobi) and uses her cell phone to “look” at the tag. Then the cell phone immediately moves to a website page… like a video or a photo or even a map to give you directions to get there.

You can have the tag on a sign, a business card, your tradeshow booth, etc. Downside: only on iPhones, not Blackberry or Droid yet. This is just one of the things I learned at the ABC group… but there are many things:

Some of the things I’ve Learned from the Akron Bloggers Community

1. Blogging doesn’t have to be a solo activity.
2. Getting together with a group of like minded individuals helps me focus my thoughts and develop my projects faster, better and with much more fun.
3. Everyone has an “off” day, but repetition, doing something every day, or every week has a pay off. Like the saying “Luck is where preparation and opportunity meet.”
4. Things keep changing and NO one knows it all… I learn just as much from the new members as the experienced members!
5. The biggest challenge of blogging is the technology and getting together with a group helps to minimize the frustration!

Thought from other Akron Bloggers Community members

• Deborah Shapiro of Montrose Video: 5 things I’ve learned from the Akron Bloggers Community
• Deborah Chaddock Brown, of Ohio Web Writer: Akron Bloggers Community – A Great Place to Learn
• Maria Santaferro of Maria Media: 5 things I learned from the Akron Bloggers Community
• Norma Rist of Boardroom Groups 4 Women:  Blogging Info at Mocha Joes

Note to the ABC group: I’ll keep updating this post with your article as you post it. Let everyone know by posting your link on our LinkedIn group under the discussion called “5 things I learned…

Foursquare, which was introduced about a year ago, has become one of the best ways for a retail destination establishment to take advantage of social media — (in addition to an enewsletter, a blog, a Twitter program and a Facebook fan page.)

Now Facebook has introduced their own app, called Facebook Places, for consumers to let others know where they’re having coffee, enjoying a beer or real time gathering for a get together.

Facebook is a formidable competitor with 400 million users and provides very strong competition to Foursquare.  But Foursquare has several advantages:

• Right now Facebook’s Places is only for iPhone, but Foursquare has apps for the Blackberry and other devices.
• And it’s only available in the USA.
• Foursquare has been first to market
• Foursquare seems more fun… half game.  Just look at the difference in the graphics?!
• You can already connect Foursquare to Facebook
• And there’s the foursquare store

But nonetheless, Facebook already has everyone’s friends in place, so the biggest barrier (getting all your friends to join) is already overcome.  Privacy issues?  I expect to hear more about it. 

Only 3 million users are using Foursquare as of August 2010 (today.) I wonder how many people will be using Facebook Places one year from now? (Note to self, come back and check!!)

If I was promoting a restaurant, coffee shop, kickboxing studio, amusement park or destination, you bet I’d be displaying BOTH symbols for my marketing program and offering incentives for everyone who checks in or use both in my marketing bag of tricks!

My bet is on Facebook.

Flickr photo via creative commons Nan Palmero

Don’t overlook the power of a business card when you’re pulling together the brand image and marketing magic for your business.

See how my California cousin Meredith Klassen updated her business cards to brand and market her business.

One of the first things a new business needs is a business card and you can see the original business cards here. The original card probably worked in the beginning but doesn’t even look like the same company when you view the Santa Barbara Silver Safari website and press about the business.

Whether you are seeking a unique alternative to Santa Barbara area hotels, or a guest room your guests will not soon forget, a retro retreat in a vintage Airstream trailer is the answer. Just choose the local area destination, make the reservations, and we take care of the rest.

She’s also been able to get some great public relations and publicity results for her business.

Take a look at your business card as a prospective client, customer, patient or referral partner would. Does it reflect your brand image? Does it communicate your marketing message?

Let me know if you’ve recently updated your brand. I love to compare the before and afters.

The other day I spoke to a group of business owners about using a blog to help brand and market their business.

I was on the panel with the owner of an insurance agency that specializes in business insurance and a lawyer who specializes in copyright and trademark law. I know I learned a few new things from hearing their talks. I think I was asked to be there to balance out the discussion about what could go wrong. Meanwhile, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and resources that I offered to the group.

What I Wished I Knew from the Beginning

•  Blogging is a Marathon.  Not a Sprint!
•  Build a community with like-minded bloggers.
• Don’t let the technology get in the way of publishing your content.
• Perfection is the enemy of excellence.
• Find your “voice” and let a bit of your personality show through.
• Don’t be try to be anonymous. Transparency is the way to go.

Blogging Resources
National: Media Bloggers Association founded in 2004 by dozens of leading bloggers as a “mutual defense pact” for bloggers facing legal threats. www.mediabloggers.org  $25 to belong after taking test. $450 or so for insurance, depending.

Regional Resources: PodCamp or WordCamps: Free or nominal fee.  All day Saturday “unconferences” to share info. Some of these sites have links to the PowerPoint or Podcast presentations where you can learn even if you weren’t there live.
• Cleveland :  May 1, 2010 www.PodCampCleveland.com
• Columbus: June 19, 2010 www.PodCampOhio.com
• Pittsburgh:  September 18 & 19, 2010 www.PodCampPittsburgh.com
• Philadelphia: Oct 2 and 3, 2010 Temple University  www.PodCampPhilly.com
• Detroit: October 9 and 10 www.wordcampdetroit.com
• Cincinnati: October 2011 @PodCampCincy twitter and www.podcampCincinnati.com
• Cleveland: Saturday, April 30, 2011 www.PodCampCleveland.com

Locally: Akron Bloggers Community. Meets 4th Thursday of the Month in Stow, Ohio.  9:30 am to 11:00 at Mocha Joe’s Coffee House, Graham Road and Route 91 just off route 8.  Join LinkedIn Group to get the monthly reminder and agenda.

Getting started:
Out of the blog fog: Blogging 101 with a podcast and slides on SlideShare.net developed last May for my presentation at first annual Cleveland PodCamp.

Love this book. If you’re in the midst of launching a new product, do yourself a favor and read PULL first. I’ve had it on my desk all summer and I just love to grab it, flip thru and absorb one good morsel after the next.

Keith Chambers knows what he’s talking about. I found myself taking notes. And commenting to the other branding people in my company. And basically looking at a couple of projects that we’re working on for our clients and going thru his checklist on page 212 to make sure we didn’t forget something important.

I like this book because it’s practical. He has a lot of real world examples. It’s not a “how-to” theory type book written by someone whose never launched a new product in their life. It’s got check lists and how to’s along with the “why’s”. I really appreciate that part, because even if I disagree with the execution in a few places, I understand why he made the choice he did.

I’ve helped companies brand and market hundreds of products. I will keep this book as a resource.

Full Disclosure: I received this book for free because I agreed to review it.

Tweet

The new tweet button makes sharing even quicker and easier. The way it works is similar to the “like” button that keeps appearing everywhere from Facebook. This button says “tweet” and you have a choice of selecting it with and without a count… and also showing the people to follow after you’ve shared the tweet.

You can try it by clicking on the “tweet button” with the count above or this one:
Tweet

to get the tweet button to add to your website, blog or Facebook Fan page, go to twitter.com/tweetbutton Here’s a quick video that explains more.

Remember when email was just starting out and people didn’t realize that if they kept the caps lock on they were “shouting”? Or you had your first job and didn’t know how to answer the phone at your employer?

Just like there is an unwritten list of rules for email and business interactions, there are many do’s and don’ts for blogs. I know when I was first starting out with blogging, there was a lot to learn.

Usually being polite and following the “right” path will keep you out of legal trouble. Play fair. Be truthful but kind.

The first rule that Liz Strauss of Successful and Outstanding Blogs mentions is Be Honest, but BE NICE!

Some new bloggers are looking for a little more than the generic guideline of be polite, so here are some additional thoughts that I have on blogging etiquette for those who are trying to blog to brand and market their company, product or service offerings.

Commenting

Do you leave comments on blogs that you follow? Engaging conversations are one way to interact online.

As a publisher, it’s important to know the right way to handle comments. It’s a responsibility. There’s some feeling of deleting comments that could cause trouble. Should you delete some comments? What about “free” speech?

I delete the comments that are clearly spam. (Actually I mark them as spam and my WordPress plugin Akismet “learns” so that other people don’t get stuck with the same spam.)

I also edit by taking out the URL link to the ones that are questionable. Don’t confuse marketing your blog with spamming other people’s blog!

And replying to comments. What’s the right thing to do? I like to reply to people who leave a comment, sometimes directly in the blog, other times, just via email.

As a commenter, do you have something to add? Do you disagree? Using the name of the blog author is a good start, like you would in a normal conversation. And signing with your own name, not some keyword phrase that is a poor substitution!

As the publisher of a blog, what’s the best kind of comment? Not the kind that says something like “Great post. I look forward to reading more” because the conversation stops dead. I like Lorelle on WordPress’s blog because she explains how to make comments work and Brian Clark’s post, (he’s the publisher of Copyblogger) about using comments to get traffic is also good.

Attribution of Other’s Work:

If you’re wondering how to quote someone else, or use a photo or other work, check out How do I properly attribute creative commons work??

Not sure what creative commons means? Read this article about Creative Commons.

In a nutshell, don’t steal. Don’t take other people’s work and pretend it is yours. Or even borrow it without permission. Respect their work.

Acknowlege when Someone Inspires You

If you use Google Alerts or another method to check for trackbacks, it is good form to thank people for the mention either by leaving a comment or mentioning them back from your blog if appropriate. “Hat tip” is a phrase that many use as a short hand for thanking someone for an idea, inspiration or link to a subject.

For instance, I’d like to give a hat tip to Women Owners Daily for inspiring me to write this post.

Flickr image: Lawrence Braun Photo – Tell Me Secrets with creative commons attibution.

Inc Magazine has a great article with 30 tips for using social media for marketing your business.

A few of my favorites:

12. See what people are saying about you.
16. Find potential customers.
17. Reach more markets.
27. Find influential people in your industry.

I got to know Vickie Sceifers from VS Productions a few weeks ago and she’s been very helpful in my quest to learn more about using video for branding and marketing a small business. She runs a video production company near Cincinnati.

Vickie Sceifers

For those who are working on adding a quick, casual video to a website, landing page or blog, she is a great resource.

The presentation had several great recommendations:

Equipment:

• KODAK ZI8 – has True HD (720/60fps) Widescreen – 16×9/4×3 USB
• flipout
• Charger
• battery
• Tripod
• External audio
• Sony Webbie Flip Cam
• headphones
• wired lapel mic

Screen casting software:

• Screenflow (Telestream)
• Jing (Techsmith) Snap a picture of your screen. Record video of onscreen action. Share instantly over the web, IM, email. Free download
• Camtasia (Techsmith) Robost editing capability for video screencapture.

I used the Jing free software she recommended to capture the image above and add some text to it. You can also grab video with it and save that as well.

Are you trying to build an online community for your business or organization?

Do you ever wonder how it is done?

This link is to the 1 hour video that features a panel of experts speaking at BizTechDay 2009 where they share how they did it during the session called: How to Build Your Online Community from Zero to Millions

The panel is moderated by Edith Yeung, founder of Biz Tech Day and features:

• Matt Mullenweg of Automatic (creator of WordPress)
• Kevin Hartz of Eventbrite
• Phil Libin of Evernote
• Ranjith Kumaran – YouSendIt

GreenPeace’s logo redesign contest brought out some creative talent to create a branding logo that reflects BP’s tarnished brand positioning

Greenpeace ran a logo contest to create a logo for BP that reflects their new positioning following the oil spill in the Gulf. You can see all the choices of logos and tag lines in a slideshow on Flickr, inspired by BP’s public relations fiasco.

While most of the visuals focus on the spill, I found that more of the tag lines address the way the company chose to address the communications around the crisis.

Vote here for your favorite in various marketing categories: rebranded logo, illustration, tag line, etc.

Hat tip to Dave Rothhacker.

Congratulations to NNEP and Sassafras Design Services!

The National Network of Embroidery Professionals (NNEP) President Jenni Cox asked graphic designer Sarah Sawaya of Sassafras Design Services to create an ad for NNEP for a national trade magazine for marketing their upcoming Embroidery Mart trade shows. NNEP just received word that the ad she designed WON as the best ad in the magazine when they had their annual national ad review process in June!!!

The ad captured the highest percentage of the readers’ attention and was rated as the best ad of the publication.

According to Ed Koehler, Associate Publisher:

Every June Stitches Magazine conducts an Ad Readership Study. The study is conducted by Readex which is the premier firm for magazine publishers. This year, the National Network of Embroidery Professionals ad in the June issue was rated the highest among all other advertisers. The NNEP ad’s score was 102, where the average for all other ads was a 94.

Their ad scored very well in “information value” as well as ‘believability.”

NNEP will be receiving a plaque from Stitches Magazine ad for their effective advertisement.

I think that’s great. Isn’t that the purpose of an ad, to capture the readers’ attention and draw them in? So often I hear of ad agencies winning awards from ad clubs made up of other ad agencies. This is an award presented by an independent group based on REAL results of what the reader’s saw and remembered. Good work!

Congrats to both Sarah Sawaya and Jenni Cox. I’m especially happy for them because they are both Northeast Ohio business friends of mine as well as outstanding business professionals!
For more information about NNEP visit the NNEP website or NNEP blog. For more about Sarah Sawaya of Sassafras Design visit her LinkedIn profile here.