MarketingMel

MarketingMel celebrating ten years of Tri-Cities TN/VA P.R.S.A. with other co-founders Bob Feagins and Dr. John King.

Working in public relations is like baseball. There is no way you can achieve a win completely on your own. Rather, it takes a group of creative people and approving clients to make it happen. I have several people to thank for their roles in helping MarketingMel capture six awards at this year’s Tri-Cities TN/VA chapter of the Public Relations Society of America awards banquet in Kingsport last week.

Throughout my career I have loved creating and starting things. It was truly an honor to be recognized for being a part of the founding board of the Tri-Cities TN/VA  P.R.S.A. Together, I served with Bob Feagins, our first president, Dr. John King and Jon Lundberg (who missed the meeting because he is serving in the legislature in Nashville.)  We were honored with a cupcake surprise and a round of “Happy Birthday.” MarketingMel, in business just over three years, captured six awards at the Tri-Cities TN/VA Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s annual awards dinner that was held April 17 in Kingsport.  The firm won two “Awards of Excellence,” the highest award given, for Collateral Specialty Item/ Financial Legal Solutions Logo developed for Blackburn, Childers & Steagall and Audio/Visual Productions for “MarketingMel’s Top 10 Tips to Feel Comfortable on camera.”

MarketingMel took top prizes for a logo and video

I teamed with designer Theresa Bellamy to create the logo for client B.C.S., that had to tie five separate companies together under one distinct brand. “The logo had to be non-specific and had to work with any of the five companies as a whole or any combination of the five,” said BCS Marketing Director Kendra Hopson.  “The MarketingMel team also worked well with a large group of business partners with distinct opinions. Each of them wanted something different, and, in the end, it was a unanimous decision.”

The second “Award of Excellence” was for a video, that I created along with Kyle Long of Digital-Fridge. I saw the increase in people using the medium of video on the web and, with my background in television news, decided to create “Top Ten Tips to Feel Comfortable on Camera.” The video, originally created as a guest vlog for Maria Peagler of Social Media Online Classes, was picked up by major P.R. services including PR Daily and has now been seen by thousands of viewers across the world.

Our team took two “Awards of Quality” for Wolfe Development’s Website (developer Jeffery Moore) and for feature writing for a Business Journal article on CapTeeVation’s owner Joy Humphreys. The company also received two “Awards of Merit” for the MarketingMel brochure (designed by Monique Carr) and the MarketingMel e-newsletter.

In the student print category, MarketingMel’s former intern Sarah Rowan, recently hired by the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce, captured three awards for her writing about community activities. Sarah won the student “Award of Excellence” for her news release concerning the Johnson City Public Library board of directors, of which I am a member. Sarah received the Award of Quality for her work with the Johnson City Up and At ‘Em Turkey Trot 5K that MarketingMel helped sponsor. Sarah also received the Award of Merit for a news release about MarketingMel’s attendance at the Inbound Marketing Summit. Congratulations and thanks to all!

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In his book,”The Thank You Economy,” Social Media Champion and Wine Library entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk makes the case for engaging customers through authentic conversations in social media. I just finished it and it is a fairly quick read. Some of the book’s key points might be considered “no-brainers” to seasoned marketing/public relations and social media pro’s. However, some professional business people still fail to see the benefits of the two way conversation that the new economy provides.  Vaynerchuk calls Chapter Three “Why Smart People Dismiss Social Media, and Why They Shouldn’t.” He outlines 11 excuses company’s use for not taking part in social networking. Do you see anyone you know in any of these excuses?

1- There’s no ROI- Gary argues that because word of mouth is so strong all companies should be thrilled at this opportunity to gain advocates.

2. The metrics aren’t reliable- Actually the tools for tracking success are getting much better and sure beat the old ways of advertising (remember throwing against the wall and hoping it will stick?)

3. Social media is still too young- “The longer you hesitate the more you will struggle,” says Gary who compares diving into social networking with his 11th hour decision to gain friends in high school senior year. He says the students who started out making friends freshman year were more popular and had more invested.

4. Social media is just another trend that will pass- As Gary points out that’s what they said about radio, TV and oh, yes the internet too!

5. We need to control our message- As he points out companies rarely sink under the weight of one Facebook post. Ongoing customer service is the key.

6. I don’t have time to keep track of what every Joe or Jane says, and I can’t afford /don’t want to pay someone else to do it. Gary says do not dismiss any customer or what he/she says because the power now rests with them.

7. We’re doing fine without it. Really? How do you know?

8. We tried it; it doesn’t work. As Gary says, social media is a long-term commitment and requires patience, commitment and strategy.

9. The legal issues are too thorny- He says that a company ”should reflect the DNA of its leader, not its lawyers.”

10. It takes too long to pay off- He calls social media “a marathon” and says you cannot reach the finish line “without patience and determination.”

11. Social media works only for start-up, lifestyle, or tech brands. Gary says regardless of the size of your business social media allows you to “take your business to its fullest potential.”

Do you know people who still dismiss social media without seeing it as a valued communications strategy? Or do the business people you know see it as an ideal way to communicate and thank  their customers for their business?

As a side note Gary Vaynerchuck is scheduled to speak in Greeneville, Tenn. in June. If I’m in town, I will definitely be there!

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My sister, Ann Marie Plubell, holds pandas at Wolong Reserve, Sichuan China in 2000

My sister, Ann Marie Plubell,  is in China preparing to give a presentation at IPv6  and she’s asking her family members for last minute advice.  Now, speaking in the United States, generally before peers and fellow English speakers can bring about its own case of the butterflies. But the thought of presenting in English while simultaneously being translated into Chinese could make even the most confident of speakers downright queasy!

My brother and I both jumped in to assist her, making a few comments on her slides and passing along a couple of  our favorite presentation videos. I shared one from Guy Kawasaki. The social marketing guru has become synonymous with the 10-20-30 rule. I got to hear him present this information live when I met him at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston last fall. He is so “enchanting” when he presents, he keeps the audience mesmerized.

My brother, Phil Plubell, a veteran teacher, provided the following outstanding suggestions:

1. “Take notes when the other panelists are talking and refer to some of their points in your presentation, if possible.  “As Mr. X pointed out …”  That shows respect for your fellow panelists.  It also demonstrates to the audience that this is a “live” performance, and that you are not just “reading the slides.”
2. Never appear to be rushed.  The impression is bad.There is a tendency to “rush through” a slide show when the time limit approaches.  If it looks like you are going to run long, right-click for the shortcut menu, then “Go to slide” and jump ahead a few slides if necessary.  This is more elegant than rushing through the slides.
3. Have a strong opening and a strong close.  
4. Don’t worry about “flop sweat” or “opening night jitters.”  All speakers experience it. My brother has taught thousands of classes.  Yet he still wrestles with; “Will the audience finally figure out I’m a fraud, and I’ve been in the wrong field all my life?” anxiety every time he teaches a new class. His answer to the self-doubt “Am I good enough?” is “I might not be the best, but I’m the best available to do this particular presentation right now.  It’s showtime!”

Then my brother suggested the “Ba-Da-Bing” video where the instructor illustrates her example by using the simple method she designed to help children craft sentences and stories. Love that teaching concept and it may prove helpful to my sister as she visualizes her presentation.

What are some of your favorite presentation tips? I don’t know if my sister will be able to read your comments in time for her speech in China, but surely we can help her (and others) for the next time! Thanks for participating. I’d love to hear your stories of what works for you.

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Editor’s Note: This launches the first in a month long series  on Relationship Marketing.

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ (asked Alice.)
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat. 
`I don’t much care where–’ said Alice. 
`Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

Ryan Sauers, MarketingMel and two Milligan students, Lauren and Brittany

Recently I had the opportunity to hear Ryan Sauers speak to the Knoxville Social Media Club. Ryan, a consultant who’s an excellent communicator and speaker, gave us the highlights from his new book, Everyone’s in Sales. He began by discussing the era of “transformational change” that we live in and the fact that, “We are all communicators. Right now there are 23 ways to communicate with me.”

Did all of this technology cause us to gain more hours in the week? No.

“168 is the great equalizer,” says Ryan. “That’s how many hours we all have. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from or how old you are. It’s not that you didn’t have time, it’s that you didn’t make time. You have a choice. ”

“Be unique and be authentic it all comes back to real world relationships,” says Ryan. ” You are not filtered anymore. The world is so wide and yet more connected than ever.”

Here are some more great comments that Ryan made during his talk:

• Don’t become complacent! In life you are either going forward or backwards.
• Your brand is what people think about when your name comes up. Tell me about your company, engage me!
• Reputation, attributes, name and distinctiveness Be purposeful deliberate and intentional in all your communications. Think it through.
• The longer a problem sits the worse it gets. Decision by indecision is bad. Paralysis by analysis is bad. Sometimes it’s ok to get a B plus.
• As the Cheshire cat said to Alice (above) when she asked, If you don’t know where you’re going then any road will do

Ryan reviewed the 5 Cs of effective communications

1. Clarity: Are you clear in using clarity on every post? In what you are trying to communicate?

2. Consistency: Are you consistent in what you do day after day? Can people count on you and your message and tone?

3. Content: It’s  what you’re writing about, your core

4.Connections: Do you work hard to connect others?

5. Creativity: Allows you or me to be you or me.

Reframing communications as sales as he discusses in this short video that I conducted with him.

Ryan concluded there are three types of communicators: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and  those who wonder what happened.”

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