At the risk of being a downer this happy holiday season, now is the time to think about bad news. That is, to think about avoiding bad news in the coming year.

Every organization has vulnerabilities for criticism – deserved and unwarranted. What if those vulnerabilities became public knowledge?

If you wait until the sky falls, you’ll likely waste the all-important first few minutes or hours covering your head and running in circles. If you acknowledge potential crises now, you can make the easy fixes and prepare to address the more difficult situations.

So make a “I wish this never happens” list and give us a call. We can help you take care and prepare – and tie a nice little bow on your corporate peace of mind.

In business, everyone is constantly looking for new markets, searching high and low to find additional audiences to target. But what if the audience you have searched for has been right in front of you the whole time? Well, at least accessible from the computer in front of you.

Social media outreach strategies have been all the rage since the possibility arose to use the sites as targeted marketing tools. Many approaches look to connect with the Digital Age users, or those who have grown up with this communication channel at their fingertips, but what about those who are relatively “old school” when it comes to social media? The market of older adults and seniors is one that has been expanding online, and devising a plan of action about how they can impact your business could be extremely fruitful.

According to statistics gathered by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, there are three you might want to consider when using social media to engage with prospective business.

1.    50 percent of older adults (50-64) and 34 percent of seniors (65+) who use the Internet access some form of social media on a regular basis.

2.    The Baby Boomer generation controls roughly $7 trillion in wealth, making them a viable audience to consider when looking to present your product or service to them.

3.    With the multitude of products and services they come into contact with (healthcare, insurance, legal, etc), there is opportunity to find a niche where your business could plug in.

Bridging the technological gap is easier than ever before with the convenience of constant connectivity. Are you doing everything in your power to prosper from these possibly untapped opportunities?  If not, we can help you create a comprehensive plan for social media marketing across demographics and consumer needs.

Heard much about “native advertising” yet? If not, you likely will. Touted as a “game-changing” marketing trend for 2013 by Inc. magazine, native advertising is simply advertising that follows the format, style and voice of whatever platform on which it appears.

It’s also another example of content management as the key to effective outreach.

The fact is that consumers are spending more time than ever online, but most have developed enough savvy to quickly click past/block banners and pop-ups. The juxtaposition of these trends has led some marketers to look for new channels of outreach, seeking to connect with people via corporate web site content and social media.

The goal is for browsers to see the advertising as something integral to, rather than an intrusion on, their overall experience of the site – and to give them reason to want to share what they find. Thus we’re talking about things such as blogs, videos, white papers and webinars vs. dancing animals and floating blocks vying for the reader’s attention.

Sure, it will take some effort to keep content fresh, but there are ways to simplify the process and even “outsource” some of the work to consumers themselves.

Need help with your content management in 2013? Give us a call. We’d be happy to assist.

The Next-Mark team recently wrote, designed, produced and edited a powerful campaign video for our client, Nuance Healthcare, a division of Nuance Communications.

As a marketing communications company, we develop many videos each year, working collaboratively with our clients to create an end product that is representative of their product or service offering.

This experience has shown us that there are five key elements to creating compelling and memorable video content. They are:

1. Have a solid team – Understand that this is a collaborative effort that requires concepting, writing, creative production, special effects and other talents to deliver an outstanding product.

2. Always start with an engaging, yet concise, script – We live in a sound- byte world of short attention spans. Thus it is important to keep the narrative simple, to the point and under three minutes ,whenever possible. This will make it more likely your audience will process the information and remember your message.

3. Remember that your brand identity is integral to the look and feel of your video production – Whether you have a formal brand book in place or a just a logo, your video production should be a mirror of your brand identity.  Understand your brand constraints and exploit every creative opportunity to fully represent your brand promise.

4. Use dynamic production techniques as your budget permits – Every day, new video technologies are introduced. Monitor these tools, but keep your eyes on your goal; don’t add unneeded bells and whistles that don’t enhance the communications experience.

5. Distribution is critical to overall success – Once your video is produced, it is imperative that you map out a solid distribution strategy, whether you are posting your video on your website, sharing it in social media or producing DVDs. The more exposure you receive, the more successful your video project will be. Leverage every opportunity to gain the exposure you need!

Prospects are people, too. And even the most solemn among us need a break now and then. More and more marketers are finding they can provide that respite with humor. What they often have trouble with, however, is getting their organizations to break with tradition – the belief that a “serious” business has to be exceedingly dull and joyless to be perceived as professional.

Think about it:  Even Stephen Hawking makes jokes. And you can’t get much more serious than Theoretical Cosmology.

Marketing today is all about creating relationships, and companies need to be the type organizations that prospects can relate to – especially in competitive fields. That means businesses have to become more personable.

So ask yourself: Is your organization ready to lighten up? It is appropriate? Is it worth it? Getting to those answers can be difficult and often requires professional advice. While you ponder, though, here are a few guidelines for engaging in humor:

• Don’t make humor your goal. It should be part of your brainstorming mix, tested against other concepts and approaches. Otherwise, it could be forced and cringe-worthy awkward.

• You don’t have to get a guffaw; a smile will do. The main thing is to get the reader/listener/view to (1) find it humorous (2) share it with others and (3) like you (and we’re not talking just clicking a Facebook icon).

• Make sure your humor is consistent with your brand. It might be funny to point out the foibles of a wayward starlet, but does it push the product?

• Be relevant for your audience. Let them feel joy of being in on the joke, and you’ll make that all-important connection. Otherwise, the joke’s on you.

• You can insert humor around serious topics, especially in B-to-B. Sure, the physicians reading your white paper are saving lives every day, but they share the same frustrations in the process. You can show empathy for the latter through humor, while maintaining the dignity of their field.

• Be product specific. Seriously, how many times have you loved an ad but couldn’t remember what it was promoting?

• Remember: There’s an extremely thin line between “edgy” and offensive. Don’t get too cute or too cool or you might isolate a segment of potential targets.

There are a lot more, of course. Even humor has its boundaries.

But at least think about it. The worst thing that could happen would be a smile on your face.

This past week we launched our first Big Picture Marketing seminar.  Entrepreneur and social media guru, Veronica Pastore and I hosted a group of budding entrepreneurs, business leaders as we spent a day sharing a wealth of knowledge and insights into driving business forward through marketing success.

I wanted to share a summary of key points we left with the group.  These truly apply to business professionals at all levels.

1. A Brand is a Unique Promise – You are inseparable from your brand. Always build a brand Identity and understand the value of your brand equity- BRANDS MATTER!
2. Discover the “Power of Words” – Always spread the word and tell your story.  Hold your team accountable for strong communications – words do matter.

3. Marketing is NOT a “Quick Fix” – Remember, there is NO silver bullet or crystal ball in mapping your marketing direction.  You CANNOT predict behavior.
4.  Referrals Matter – Build a referral program, nurture every referral opportunity.  Be sure to manage the process and always monitor results.
5. Perception is Truth – Perception is the way we receive and translate our experiences – how and what we think about them.   Work to discover how you are perceived and gain invaluable insight into others’ truths. Work hard to transcend the limitations of perception!
6. Be Aware of “Gimmicks” – Focus on long-term results versus short-terms gains.  Quality will always transcend Gimmicks!
7. Internet: Be Strategic – Invest!  Balance content, design and technology, and remember to manage the “back-end” of your website.
8. Build your Social Media Program – Leverage a clear strategy, be clear in your message. Be consistent and explore all channels
9. Invest – Overcome the fear and apathy of launching marketing programs – be practical – beware. Monitor marketing activities like any other aspect of your business.
10. PLAN! GROW! BUILD!

We will be offering the Big Picture Marketing seminar again in 2013.  Details to be announced soon.

Many years ago, I was explaining to a friend the magic of the VCR, with which the viewer could view tapes, stop them and – wonder of wonders – even run them backwards to catch something they might have missed. (Yeah, it was that long ago.)

When she asked if it could be used with regular TV programming, as well, I smiled and assured her that that was impossible.

Idiot!

Me, that is.

If I’d stopped marveling at the present, I might have seen into the future. If I’d somehow acted on her idea, I’d be wealthy beyond my wildest dreams. And if I had broadened my mind, I might have expanded my boundaries.

Admittedly, it’s unlikely that I could have invented TIVO and all that came after, but at least I eventually did gain from the interchange.

Creatively, there really is no such thing as a bad idea – just ideas that can be improved, built upon or used to pry open new windows of thought before being put aside.

So, the next time someone suggests what seems impossible, at least think about it a minute or two. And maybe even jot it down. After awhile, that idea – or some version of it – might not seem so impossible some day, and you’ll have a visionary product, service or campaign to show for it.

Does your web site’s About Us page really answer that question? Oddly enough, many don’t.

As noted in a recent article on Inc.com, though the About Us page is among the most-visited pages on any site, it’s often the weakest, mired in phrases such as “global solutions provider” and “world-class services.” That is, the type of writing that translates to visual white noise and doesn’t work to create relationships.

But you can fix that, as the article notes, by taking an approach that focuses more on your prospects and their needs and supplying facts vs. superlatives. There’s a lot more, but we encourage you to take the time to read the article and take it to heart.

And, of course, we stand ready to deliver an effective web site and an About Us page that gives the right answer when prospects ask, “Who are you?”

After all, they really wanna know.

Jason Ryan Dorsey, author of “My Reality Check Bounced,” gives presentations on how the various generations communicate. This is important for organization as, for the first time, four generations are working together in the marketplace. Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing Institute attended one of those lectures and took it further, noting that this phenomenon has great impact on how we market to this wide variety of people. According to Pulizzi, Dorsey explained the current generations as:

Generation Y (born 1977–1995)

This group has grown up with the feeling of entitlement, which has created, in many of them, the idea of delayed adulthood and a belief that one truly becomes an adult at the age of 30.

Generation X (born 1965 – 1976)

This group is naturally skeptical. Its members believe that actions speak louder than words. Gen X is also the most loyal generation, not to brands or organizations, but to individuals.

Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964)

Mantra: Baby Boomers judge success by work ethic. How hard do you work? How many hours do you work in a week? Baby Boomers believe there are no shortcuts to success.

Traditionalists (born before 1946)

Mantra: Extremely strong military connection. Traditionalists are, and always have been, comfortable with delayed gratification.

So how do you communicate to these disparate groups in the ways that foster relationships and convey your understanding of them?

Honing in on Gen Ys, Pulizzi notes that they are the texting generation, advising that companies start there and then go to email – though this group generally only reads the subject line. Whatever you do, however, don’t call them, as they see it as an invasion of privacy, and don’t use calls to action that ask them to call YOU, as real friends text.

There’s more, of course, as Gen Y and every other generational group learns and consumes information their own ways and with their own preferences.

This means that now, more than ever, you have to ask: To whom are we communicating and are they getting our message? And, as always, the multi-generational Next-Mark can help.

My new favorite authors are the people at Groupon, an email service that provides deep discounts on products and local services.

Maybe their sense of humor wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but it makes me read the description of every item for sale on that day’s email – and tell others about them.

I mean, who wouldn’t be interested in kitchen tiles “in the forest pattern, hand-picked by squirrels” or a spa treatment that makes you feel like royalty “without the hassle of posing for playing-card portraits”?

In addition to merchandise and experiences, the site also offers advice, for instance, a recent “Guide to Kindness,” which advised: “Adopt a pet! It can be someone else’s pet if you’re like 90% sure you’ll do a better job.”

There’s a public service aspect, as well, such as the cautionary note provided for visitors of Dade City Wild Things, reminding us that: “Lions are unpredictable creatures, which is why you should never approach them in the wild or depend on them to babysit your pet gazelle.”

When I think of the writers, I see them as people typing away at their keyboards and laughing at their own tortured jokes. But the important thing is that I think of them as people, not a corporation.

The point is that, backed up by some great service, the site has made a real connection with me and keeps me coming back to see what’s new and, yes, to buy stuff. Wouldn’t we all like customers and prospects like that? Is there something to be learned here?

I’m not saying that all corporate communications, web sites, blogs, etc., should be funny (although it might make the world a better place), but they should be human – and maybe even occasionally surprising.

Think about it. I, myself, am going shopping.