The Follis Marketing Report

Don’t confuse “marketing” with “advertising”. Some people hear the word “marketing” and think “advertising.” Not the same thing. And to grow your business you must understand the difference.

Traditional “advertising” is about paying for traditional media exposure via newspapers, magazines, Yellow Pages, radio, TV, billboards, etc. It’s generally designed to reach a broad audience and the ad/media costs will reflect that. For many products and services advertising works great if it’s done right.

“Marketing” is a broader term that involves any possible way to get your message out. That includes PR, direct mail, your logo and tagline, personal networking, giving talks and writing articles, and many non-traditional and online strategies like having an effective website, sending out email newsletters and promotions, buying Google Adwords, pay-per-click, SEO, and using “social media” like blogs and podcasts.

Effective marketing includes the right mix of traditional advertising and non-traditional online strategies.

www.podcampnyc.org

In this hype-happy, what-to-believe world, it comes down to a very basic, fundamental thing: credibility. How does one get it? How does one convincingly communicate it? And is there a Good Housekeeping Seal of the 21st century? Yes, there is, and it’s called “G cred.”.

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Just incase you’re not up with Web 2.0 terms and sites, here are the most popular:

Web 2.0
The second generation of the Web involving social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, video, podcasts, etc, which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing.

Social Media
The umbrella term that defines the activities that integrate technology and social interaction.

Blog
(short for ‘web log’) is a website formatted as an on-going log or diary of text entries posted by the creator or “blogger”. Unlike traditional websites, blog technology allows users to easily create a web site and then easily add content (text, mostly).

Podcast
An audio or video blog.

Facebook
Perhaps the most popular social networking website. It began as a way for college students to connect and is now open to all.

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No matter what your business, 99% of people could care less about it. Why? Because some people simply aren’t good prospects. But for many others it’s because you haven’t convinced them otherwise. In fact, there are thousands of people who’d buy you IF you got them excited and convinced them of the value of your product.

Do you Believe in Marketing? (more…)

Smart creativity is the only unfair legal advantage you can have over the competition. Be it an ad campaign or tagline, it must clearly inform, excite and persuade. And, done right, it enables a business with limited funds to compete against its better funded competitors. For an example, see this Guerilla Marketing campaign.

Last week ADWEEK ran this piece I wrote about Second Life …

and it ruffled a few feathers. The feathers it ruffled belonged to a couple folks who spend lots of time on Second Life. One admitted to up to 30-hours a week, and the other would only admit to “lots of time.” The comment I made was that I find SL intriguing, but there are other websites I’d prefer spending my time on. And, as cool as I find SL, my First Life is far more exciting. That really pissed off the 30-hour-a-week gal.

If you don’t yet know about SL, you may find my previous post “Second Life or Get a Life?” worth reading. If you do, check out this one. And, I’d love to know your thoughts, so don’t forget to leave your comment. (more…)

“Can blogging make money?” If you’re Michael Arrington the answer is definitely yes. Last year, revenues from his “little (TechCrunch) blog” were 3M. And he’s turned down a “firm offer” for 8M. See the recent Arrington interview.

So, have you checked out Second Life? Wait, let me guess… you’re too busy with your first life. I know, I felt the same way. Then I realized it’s time I check out this wild virtual world that everybody is talking about.

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G-Cred, a term coined by John Follis in ‘05 and accepted by Wikipedia in ‘06, has become part of the Web 2.0 vocabulary. What is it? And why must every product, service, professional person and business have it? Listen to the interview:

g-cred-interview.mp3