1+1+1+1+1 = '11'

By Brian J. Blake - President, AMAOKC

What? Is this some new kind of math? Not at all! But this is what happens when you ask five experts to share their thoughts in a panel discussion… They “Turn It Up To 11” rather quickly!

The November meeting of the AMAOKC was nothing short of spectacular. Featuring a panel of successful bloggers with diverse backgrounds, each had valuable information to contribute. The panel consisted of:

Jennifer James - Jennifer James' blogging skills have been acknowledged by Alltop, The Washington Post, MSNBC, The Huffington Post, The Journal Record, NewsOK and The Oklahoman. Are you there God? It's me, Generation X, is a blog about Gen Xers, and Jennifer writes posts about faith, family,
culture and career as each relates to Generation X.

Dave Rhea - Dave Rhea is the multimedia editor at The Journal Record, and the foundation to his career is re-imagining traditionally delivered content. Multimedia digital information—the convergence of text, video, audio and interactive content on the Internet—allows Dave to indulge in his greatest
passion: Learning. He believes that online multimedia talent is the key to survival for any information-based company, whether they specialize in print, broadcast, marketing, law, retail, banking—you name it.

Cory Miller - Cory Miller is a former newspaper journalist and public relations/communications practitioner, turned freelance web designer and full-time entrepreneur. In 2008, he founded iThemes, a provider of premium
WordPress themes. In 2009, Cory launched WebDesign.com, a WordPress web design training site.

Mike Koehler - Owner of Smirk New Media and a veteran blogger, Mike Koehler has spent the past 15 years growing up with the Web, online com- munication and content. Mike directed new media efforts for Oklahoma's
largest website, www.newsok.com, and Oklahoma's largest public relations firm, Schnake Turnbo Frank. Now, with the help of his family, his friends and his online community, Mike and Smirk New Media are striving to be community leaders in new media and content strategy.

Bobby Lehew - Bobby Lehew is the author of Branded Matters, a blog dedicated to best practices in corporate branding, personal branding and the promotional products industry. Bobby is a board member of AMAOKC, and
was recognized in 2009 by OKC Biz magazine as one of Oklahoma's top Forty under 40. Bobby was also recognized by ASI's The Counselor magazine as one of "41 people who are shaking up the market with new and innovative approaches." 

It was a real treat for those in attendance (half of whom were visitors!) to listen to these smart, funny people talk about the “How’s” and “Why’s” of blogging through questions posed to them by our own Dr. Burt Smith, an accomplished blogger himself. Some of the key take-aways from the event included:

• The keys to blogging: Brevity (350 words or less), Frequency and Relevance (from Dave Rhea)
• Do it regularly… It will pay off eventually. (Jennifer James)
• “Quit putting it off. Start NOW!” (Mike Koehler)
• “Blogging IS guerilla marketing.” (Corey Miller)
• “Do it poorly until you can do it well.” (Bobby Lehew)
• “Blogging points to ROI.” (Mike Koehler)
• “Niche, niche, niche!” (Bobby Lehew)

Our meeting sponsor, iThemes, develops Wordpress templates for bloggers that really make them stand out. They ended the meeting on a really high note by giving away t-shirts that say:

"My blog can beat your blog"

In lieu of a regular meeting in December, we are hosting our annual Freezin’ Season Jingle Mingle. The event will be held on Thursday, December 9^th from 4:30-7 p.m. at The Lobby Bar at Will Rogers Theatre. Not only will there be food, prizes and drink specials, but we will also be naming our latest MofO – Marketer of Oklahoma. Given the season, this person will be known as the Ho-Ho-MofO!

Please check our website for more information about this and other upcoming events! 

PS – Don’t forget to start saving information to be included in the Excellence in Marketing Awards in June. Now is the time!

Read more about Brian Blake.

Turning It Up to 11 in the Blogosphere

By Brian J. Blake
President, AMAOKC

The AMAOKC’s October meeting was unique in many ways, and if you were there, you know exactly what I mean! It’s not often that the Grim Reaper is hanging around at a luncheon, handing out cards that say, “Hello there, I’m the Grim Reaper. No, we’ve never met." 

This ghoulish stunt was part of a city-wide guerrilla marketing campaign staged by VI Marketing and Branding to unveil their new name, strategy and logo. As sponsors of the meeting, I thought this was a particularly clever way for them to announce "Advertising is dead. Long live Marketing!"

Of course, the forward-thinking marketers who joined us on the 14^th weren’t there to meet with the Grim Reaper… They came to hear the How’s and Why’s of corporate blogging from one of the hottest brands on the internet – HubSpot. And, they were treated to the new HubSpot book -Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs - courtesy of VI, Evolve and Robyn Promotions. 

When Rick Burnes, the Community Manager at HubSpot, took the stage, he sounded as if he was part of VI’s new identity as he explained that advertising is a one-time shot, while blogs offer an annuity.

Once it’s written, it is there forever. Any visitor can find it at any time. “Market with your brain, not your wallet,” he said. And he is right! 

Rick gave several examples of companies one would not expect to be involved with blogging because of their non-digital origins (i.e. – a fence distributor, a swimming pool installer and a soldering materials manufacturer). Because no one else in their industries is blogging, though, these folks have become the experts. People see them doling out advice online, and when it comes time for them to purchase these materials, there is no doubt who the customers are going to contact. 

It’s not hard to understand why blogging is a good idea. The hard part is figuring out how to go about making it part of your marketing mix. Rick offered six basic steps: 

1. Target your audience
   1. Content attracts the right people
   2. Talk about problems, not products (don’t SELL to them!)
2. Create a mix of topics
   1. Basic, everyday posts (How to…)
   2. Healthy, thoughtful posts
   3. Big blog posts (the kind that you have to think about a long time)
   4. Fun posts
   5. Posts that start fires!
3. Write them!
   1. Use emails, forum posts, conversations with customers… Talk about what you have learned
   2. “Every time you swing your arm, content should come flying off!”
4. Structure your blogs
   1. Use headlines
   2. 500-800 words
   3. Bullet lists are OK
   4. 1 topic per post
   5. ALWAYS have a photo
   6. Keep a schedule of when new posts are due
5. Promote it!
   1. Network your blog like you’re on a job search
   2. Interact with commenters
   3. Get on the radar of bigger blogs (the quickest way is to mention their names!)
6. Convert visitors
   1. Give a call to action at the end of each post 

Rick offered some great insights into the broader realm of social media, too. “You own your blog, but not your social media presence. Having a blog gives you leverage.” He also suggested continuously experimenting, testing and measuring the effectiveness of each of your social media channels just as you do with more traditional channels. 

Next month, AMAOKC is going to continue exploring this valuable new media channel by hosting a panel discussion featuring local bloggers who are experiencing tremendous success by sharing their thoughts and creating communities online. You can learn more about this event at www.AMAOKC.org. 

Speaking of the AMAOKC website, we are thrilled to have launched our new site that was built by Michael Hutchinson from Directing Design. It has many great features including a blog where we will be sharing posts from guest bloggers – sharp marketing minds from a variety of industries. Currently there is a fantastic post from Daniel Gordon, with Samuel Gordon Jewelers, about how technology is redefining marketing. I encourage you to stay up-to-date with the thought leaders the AMAOKC will be showcasing… And to join in the conversation! We want to hear what you think, too! 

This is just one more way we’re “Turning It Up To 11.” I look forward to seeing you at the next AMAOKC meeting on Thursday, November 11.

Read more by Brian Blake at www.B2design.wordpress.com.  

Technology Redefines Marketing

Welcome to AMAOKC Blog Site

Turning It Up to 11 in the Blogosphere

1+1+1+1+1 = '11'

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