Today, I sit at my desk with tears in my eyes writing about a man who wrote so much about the businesses – and people behind the businesses – in the St. Louis area. Rick Desloge was a crafty and witty storyteller who had the ability to see things in a way the rest of us didn’t. He uncovered things through his visits and interviews that sometimes ended up being big, good “a-ha” moments for his subjects. And he did it all with passion, enthusiasm, and sincere curiosity.

While we all loved Rick for the stories he told, we also loved him for what he taught us – and those lessons were many:

Rick taught us to be better PR people. He always focused on the “why” of the story, and upon hearing a pitch would say “let’s talk about the why”. Why is the story different? Why is the story interesting? Why can’t everyone else in the industry tell this same story? Here at KolbeCo, that ends up being the first set of questions we always ask when working on a story angle, and that practice was inspired by Rick.

Rick showed us the value of seeing things with fresh eyes. Sometimes in business, you get so fixated on seeing the story the way you think it is that you end up missing what the story actually is. He taught us that taking a step back and dropping all of your preconceived notions will allow you to see something in a greater, better, and maybe a simpler way.

Rick demonstrated that every story is interesting – you just have to find the “nugget”. On the surface, an every-day, non-flashy business may not appear to be the most exciting thing in the world. But Rick took those businesses and found the real story that either involved the passion of an owner, or a sideways series of events that led someplace unexpected. He taught us to dig further to find that too.

Rick always remembered. OK, so maybe he forgot about a photo or document that I emailed the week before, but he always remembered every subject he ever interviewed and details of their stories. Every time I saw Rick, he would ask about clients he had written about – and he was truly interested in hearing updates. And because he remembered, he made invaluable introductions and connections that helped transform those businesses.

There are many anecdotes that I could tell about Rick – stories that I will always cherish and interactions that will always make me chuckle (like the many times he’d call me and say “I only have a couple of minutes for a quick question” … and we’d still be on the phone chatting an hour later). But he made an everlasting mark, and left KolbeCo a great legacy through the lessons he taught us, without even knowing he was doing it.

We will miss you, Rick.

There’s no disputing it. Social media has taken the world by storm! The masses have taken to posting, sharing, tweeting and retweeting – from what they had for breakfast to some of life’s biggest moments, people live (and plan) their days through social media. As companies flock to social media outlets, there’s a growing trend to promote events online and reach the millions that log on every day.

Constant Contact released some numbers earlier this year from a survey of their Event Marketing customers. Here are a couple quick take-away stats:

• 74% think social media is an effective event marketing method
• 89% reported using Facebook to market, followed by 66% on Twitter and 54% on LinkedIn
• 56% use social media to educate and inform others about their events
• 66% want to use social media to reach more people

Did you see that?  74% think social media is an effective event marketing method!  At KolbeCo, we absolutely agree. Just this spring we had the opportunity to work with a new client to promote their event and used outlets like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word.

If you’re thinking of jumping in the social-media-event-marketing-pool (wow, that’s a mouthful!), there are a couple simple tips you should keep in mind. Don’t worry, the water’s warm… we just want to see you swimming laps in the deep end Michael Phelps style… and not flailing about in the kiddie pool. (Side-note confession: I can’t dive and 90% of the time I hold my nose to go underwater. OK, I feel better getting that off my chest. Let’s Continue…)

1. Plan Ahead – If you have an established presence on social media, then you’re in a great position. If not, don’t fret. We can do this! Just plan ahead and give yourself enough time to connect with others and build your network. Building Likes, Friends and Followers takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight.
2. Speak Up - They don’t call it social media for nothing. I hate to compare social-media-event-marketing (whew! Still a mouthful!) to high school, but bare with me for a second. In high school, who were the people getting all the attention? At a high school dance – who did everyone watch? Was it the person standing in the corner or was it the goofy guy doing his best Saturday Night Fever impression? I’m going to go with the guy doing the Hustle! Speak up and stand out! You can’t just create a Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn account and walk away. You have to be present and engaging. Simply tweeting once a week won’t cut it. You need to jump in on a conversation and interact. The same goes for Facebook. Just posting to your wall here and there won’t get the results you’re seeking. Social media is fueled by interaction.
3. Use your Connections – Want to build your social media network?  Reach out to your friends, family and colleagues. Encourage people offline to engage with you online. Promoting a company event? Have employees, board members and maybe even customers help share the word. Add links and social media buttons to your emails, newsletters and website. Remember, you can’t just build it and expect people to come. You have to show them where it is, how to get there, and what to do once they arrive.
4. Stick Around – Don’t just promote the event and then disappear. Post live updates DURING the event and then follow through after it’s all said and done. Remember the client I mentioned earlier? We posted tons of great photos and snippets during the event and actually DOUBLED their number of Likes before the event ended. Show people what they’re missing!

Do you have a repeat event? Whether your event comes around once a month or once a year, it’s important that you stay active on social media. Remind people how great your event was. Get them excited about the next event. Post topics and news that are relevant. In social media, you have to be present. If you fall off the radar, they’ll forget about you. Continue to engage and interact and you’ll stay at the forefront.

This list could go on and on (and clearly I’m rarely at a shortage for words)… but this is a blog. Not a novel.  If you’re part of the 66% of people that want to use social media to reach more people for their events, but are nervous about taking the plunge, KolbeCo is here to help. We want to see your event shine!  Contact us to discuss using social media to market your next event.

I was talking with a client the other day about his advertising campaigns when a very interesting comment came up. My client told me that one of his customers had said something along the lines of “Well, I guess I don’t need me to refer any business your way.  Looks like you’re doing pretty well based on all of the advertising I’m seeing.”

That led me to a thought. What is the purpose of advertising, and what should people think about it? I don’t mean big Coca-Cola or Target advertising campaigns. I’m talking about local businesses and organizations reaching out to their audiences via TV, radio, outdoor, and high visibility sponsorships. Why do they advertise?

1. To grow their business. Through advertising, this happens a couple of different ways. First, advertising provides the ability to reach new audiences – audiences who may have never heard about the product or service. Second, advertising serves as a reminder to your existing customers, keeping you top of mind when the need arises, and giving them the confidence to refer their friends (despite what the customer above said!)
2. To educate the public through a transition. A transition can take many shapes. It can be a new product that needs to be announced to the market. It could be a name change or a leadership change that the public needs to be made aware of (and build a comfort level with). Or maybe it’s a new location, or multiple locations, that would make access to the product or service easier.
3. To gain support for a cause. Face it – who hasn’t cried through the Stray Rescue commercial with Randy Grim talking about Stracks? When you see an ad for an organization like Crisis Nursery, doesn’t it make you thankful the organization exists? Each child, dog and family served through this public awareness is a win. Each volunteer recruited, and every dollar raised is a win.

Regardless of the reason, the bottom line is that businesses and organizations use advertising (typically in combination with other tactics like PR, direct mail, web & social media, etc.) because they have something to say, they want large amounts of people to know about it, and they want those large amounts of people to act on it.

All that being said, the real question becomes … how do YOU react or respond to advertising? Has advertising ever been the initial spark which caused you to visit a business, use a product or service, or become a supporter of an organization? What was it that caught your attention? We’d love to hear your feedback!

Scott Kolbe’s secret to maintaining his boyish good looks: sensible shoes

I’ve only been a member of the KolbeCo Crew for about two months (You might wanna check with Erin Celuch to see if it’s official) and they’ve already let me in on ALL their secrets. I’m not talking about how Scott Kolbe keeps his boyish good looks. By the way, stop rubbing it in so much, Scott! We can’t all be born Prussian royalty!

No, I’m talking about our secrets to success. How do we consistently churn out strong, creative work that not only resonates with the target, but increases the brands’ reach? One word: cohesiveness. I know what you might be thinking: “Oh, wow, Cory. What a shocking revelation. Everyone’s success is contingent upon a team’s ability to work together.” Yes, and most of those teams creatively burn out over a period of time.  Why? Let me explain…

A brand is more powerful when it’s personal, right? When its message strikes an emotional chord with the target, it forges a lasting visceral bond that supersedes any tagline or logo. The same rule applies to building a strong team.

We’ve seen a slew of creative teams come and go in St. Louis and yet we’re still here. Why? Because our unit consists of not only creatively rad people, but people who share the same professional mission: help brands tell their story.  That’s what we do—tell stories. Whether it is through our whimsical words or our illustrious illustrations our marketing messages increase brands’ reach and show results!

If we all just clocked in and out every day and treated this job like nothing more than a paycheck, do you think we could do good work? For a while, yes, but creatively things would begin to sour over time.  We have found our best ideas come from the infusion of all our ideas. We all bring different skills to the table and when we put them together our productivity shoots through the roof.

I’ve worked on several great teams in my day, but I can say—without question—the KolbeCo Crew takes the cake. I can only imagine what the future holds.

We recently met with a prospective client that was referred to us by one of St. Louis area’s talk radio stations. We are always appreciative of the recommendation and referral.

So why were we referred? They were looking for a new direction that was creative but was also thinking about the brand strategy. The problem is that the messages that were being promoted in the past were not consistent with the brand or the actual user experience. So, we have a problem. Actually the brand has a problem.

Their target demographic is men. But in today’s advertising world the way many seem to want to market to men seems to be one of 2 things:

• Make men look like they can’t accomplish anything on their own and they are incompetent
• Call out their manliness if they haven’t wrestled and killed a 200lb tiger.

The reality is while men have many dreams, whether that is to go mountain climbing or sky diving, many men also savor the time with their kids. I think of the Craftsman tool ads that show the son handing their dad a tool while working on a project. This is the type of emotional connection that can really appeal to men. Most men savor the little time they have to work on a project with their dad. This is a positive emotional connection that can be tapped into to create loyalty.

The reality is this brand is focused on showing men the way things used to be in a classy, retro way. The goal is for men to get away and relax in a good way, such as a nice private country club. But the previous advertising said the complete opposite.

How would an ad feel with a father and son spending time with the product and service together? Branding is about appealing to emotions. While the intention of these videos and ads was to appeal to men, I think it actually reflects in a negative manner on the product and appeals to a negative emotion.

The videos and ads that were created made it seem as though you did anything with the women in your life you were not a man. In my world, most men would do anything for the women in their life. Does that make them any less of a man?

The problem these videos create is that it makes it seem like there is a war between men and women. 80 percent of men want to live their lives their way and not be stereotyped as a buffoon or as prize fighter.

In the end when marketing, always map your campaign back to the brand strategy to keep things focused and avoid confusing your customer. If you don’t have an overall brand strategy then now is the time to put one in place. Make your advertising dollars more effective.

If you would like to know more about emotional branding, check out Daryl Travis’ great book, Emotional Branding: How Successful Brands Gain the Irrational Edge.

If you live and breathe, chances are you’ve heard of Pinterest. According to Experian Hitwise, a tracking service for online trends, Pinterest is the fastest growing social media site EVER. They launched in March 2010 and have been growing like wildfire ever since.

Pinterest can be an amazing tool for promoting your business and gathering ideas.  Here are some simple tips to keep in mind to get the most out of your pins:

1. Be precise  -

As a business on Pinterest, you want to bring traffic back to your site. Be as specific as possible when pinning photos. If the photo is from a blog, pin it from the specific blog post page, not the blog home page. You want to make it EASY for visitors to find the photo and/or content they are looking for.

2. Detailed descriptions –

Pinterest is becoming a one-stop-shop for inspiration. Rather than surf the web, many users are going straight to Pinterest. So much for going to the source!  …but that’s okay. With a little attention to word choice, you can bring the pinners to YOU!  The key is in the descriptions you write for your pins. Use keywords and common phrases relative to the photo you’re pinning.

Source: http://www.countryliving.com/homes/house-tours/farmhouse-decorating-ideas#slide-1

For example, if I was pinning the photo above, I could caption it as “country kitchen with custom island, cream cabinets and white subway tile backsplash,”  I could even go a step further and talk about the pot rack, shelf above the sink or the glass front cabinets. …and check out those great stools!  Any (or all) of those keywords are going to better the odds of this photo showing up in someone’s search results on Pinterest. Don’t get lost in pages of “country kitchen” search results. Dive in and get descriptive!

3. Do your homework

One of my favorite things about Pinterest is being able to see what people pin from my site. Sound vain? Well maybe… but it’s also helpful! Figure out what’s popular for Pinterest users. We want to increase traffic so identify what people are pinning and cater to it!

How do you know what is being pinned? The easiest way is to type http://pinterest.com/source/INSERT_YOUR_DOMAIN.COM  into your browser. It will pull up all Pinterest pins that link back to your site. Fun right!?   If your latest bathroom remodel was a Pinterest hit, or maybe your new product is showing up often, you’ll know you’ve captured the attention of users and can build upon it.

These are just a couple tips to get you started. Have fun with Pinterest and pin to your heart’s content… but don’t blame us if you get addicted!

Don’t have a Pinterest account?  We can help!  The easiest way to get an account (and avoid the wait-list) is to be invited by an existing member. Send an email to dana@kolbeco.net and we’ll send you an invite right away!