If you are viewing this site from a mobile phone click here!
Welcome To My Den
This is the new, improved and reincarnated Dunn's Den. This blog is about marketing, advertising, social media and the goings on in my local community; from MY VIEW!
I look forward to connecting with you!
This is a repost from our friends over at Blankstage Productions. I hope you enjoy!
Blank Stage Productions has teamed up with the social media marketing wizards of “SONARconnects” to form a powerful 1-2 punch social media punch.
In this video meet Scott and Brent as they discuss the alliance and past projects they have developed for clients.
Clients who want professional video combined with a killer social media marketing strategy can come here to get their marketing efforts off the ground. This team takes the stress off of marketing so that the business owner can focus back on their business and building relationships with their customers.
Everyone is doing business online, and starting to use social media to market themselves and no one knows and understands this more then SONARconnects. SONARconnects is skilled in developing on-going, engaging social media conversations and building followers and fans for their clients. This strategy has lead countless success stories for Scott Dunn and his team.
“What is sad is the bushiness who spends thousands of dollars on a state-of-the art website, only to have a horrible video represent themselves. To many people think video is video. Brent and his team use improv and their stable of screenwriters to develop content and engaging video concepts for our clients.”
- Scott Dunn, President of SONARconnects
“This is exciting. Scott and his team have developed powerful, on-going social media strategies that continue to get results for clients. This is a powerful distribution component to our commercial video clients. In addition to connecting their content for TV we can now leverage social media to create buzz, creditability and ultimately more customers. Scott does a terrific job in narrowing down with the client a marketing strategy that makes the most sense.
- Brent Brooks, Owner of Blank Stage Productions
For years Scott ran the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce meetings. There he got to understand what it takes for a business and business owner to succeed. He learned the best techniques in developing one’s “USP” or unique selling proposition.
Brent has worked in the entertainment industry for years. He has developed 3 Indie films, runs screenwriting and acting classes. Brent loves nothing more then developing a professional video product that works.
Scott Dunn: results@sonarconnects.com
Brent Brooks: Brent@blankstageproductions.com
Being an agency gives us the opportunity to work on a myriad of projects and allows our creative process to flow. As anyone in the advertising business knows, you live and die by the creative your team produces. That marrying your creative to your clients comfort zone can be the most challenging aspect of the whole process.
Very rare indeed does the phone ring and a client truly give you full creative control on a project.
A couple of weeks ago my phone rang and such an opportunity presented itself.
What you see below is a compilation of three days of ”running and gunning” at Emory Johns Creek Hospital. Our team had full creative control of the project and to be candid with you more hours of video than we new what to do with. This, in my opinion, is what every agency lives for…The ability to create something from nothing and have your client excited they hired you!
The project scope was this: Create a video that show cases the employees at Emory Johns Creek Hospital “having fun on the job”, enter the video in the Purple Glove Dance and win. So far, we have accomplished the first two and are still working on the later.
Thank you Emory Johns Creek Hospital for the opportunity to produce this video and the latitude you gave us in your hospital. We hope you and your staff had as much fun as we did during our three days of shooting.
It seems like yesterday, when I would bring up ideas like You Tube, Facebook, Podcasting or Blogging to a client and get laughed out (read thrown out) of their office. Why you ask? Simple…Social Media is a fad. After all Scott my high school kid is on facebook so it can not be used as a business tool and besides I don’t even know what You Tube is. Lets buy a billboard.
Now everywhere I turn I am asked to follow a company on twitter, facebook, linkedin or you tube. It seems this whole socail media thing might have caught on…or not! Am I saying that social media is the end all cure all for your business advertising and marketing problems? NO I am not. As I have been writing for the last few years, social media is nothing more than a way for you to connect to your target market and build relationships.
Some of you have grasped that simple concept and are carrying your brand forward, while others of you are still struggling with your “Old School” tactics. Anyway, this post is not about social media and should your business use it. This blog is a video on social media being a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution. (By the way, I am always amazed at how many people have not seen this video.) If you are still on the fence, take a couple of minutes and watch this video.
Most people are familiar with the basic features of LinkedIn such as connecting, groups, answers, applications, etc. There are some cool features that often get missed by the average user. Here we look at five under-utilized tricks you may not be familiar with.
One of the benefits of writing a book (in my case two books which were released on June 1st) is that you reacquaint yourself with some features that are not always top of mind. These five feature won’t make or break your LinkedIn experience but they are useful. Drum roll please…
Add a You Tube Video to Your Profile
You can do this with either Slideshare or Google Presentation. My perspective was that Google Presentation was a little faster, but you should try both to see what works for you.
Here is how you would add a video using Google Presentation:
~Add the Google Presentation application
~Go into Google Docs and create a new presentation
~Click on Insert (top link) and click on Video
~Search for your video on YouTube and choose your video
~Click on File (top link) and choose Rename – rename your presentation
~Go back into Google Presentation from your Profile
~Click on your video and Post to Profile
When the slide show is clicked the video will play.
Create an Email Signature on LinkedIn
You can use LinkedIn’s Email Signature Tool to add a LinkedIn signature to your Outlook (2003, 2002 XP, and 2000), Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Yahoo email accounts.
To create your signature do the following:
1. At the bottom of each LinkedIn page there are three rows of text links. Click on ‘Overview’ at the bottom of your home page in the ‘Tools’ row.
2. Click on the ‘Try it Now’ button in the ‘Email signature’ area at the bottom of the ‘LinkedIn Tools Overview’ page.
Once you fill in the information you would like to include click the text link “Click here for instructions”. This will open up a pop up window with the html code and instructions.
Customize your Search Views
When you conduct a people search or a Group member search you get a list of the results. At the top is a drop down to choose how to view the results. You can choose Basic, Extended, or Create a New View. Choosing the New View opens a pop up window that allows you to include what you would like in your view.
This is a Premium feature that is available for a time to all types of accounts. Use it while you can and don’t be surprised if one day it disappears if you have a free account. LinkedIn wants to suck you in and once enough people use it, it will become a carrot to get you to upgrade to a paid account
Have new questions emailed to you based on a topic
Track topics based on keywords and categories in LinkedIn Answers to review and respond to questions posed by other LinkedIn members. When you look at a category on the right side at the bottom of the Browse box is a text link to “Subscribe to new questions in” whichever category you are currently viewing.
Add Personal Contact Information to your profile
At the bottom of your Profile Edit page is a space to include the following information:
~Phone number
~Instant Messaging ID
~Address
~Birthday
~Marital Status – do I see an eHarmony tie in coming down the road?
There a lot more relevant information that LinkedIn should allow you to share so let’s hope they expand this down the road.
I look forward to your comments and connecting with you! If you need help with your social media strategies or tactics feel free to visit our website or give us a call. SONARconnects helps businesses leverage social media to create communities, build trust and connect with their target markets.
Also, I would like to thank Sean Nelson from SONARconnects for his time, energy and input on this post!
I often write about things you should do on LinkedIn to maximize your effectiveness. Today we’re going to look at the other side of the equation…the mistakes. The five mistakes listed here are related to your ability to eventually monetize LinkedIn.
1. Not Having a Purpose or Not Understanding Why You Are On LinkedIn
Quite simply if you don’t know the answer to this question then how do you know what actions you should be taking on LinkedIn? There are numerous reasons to be on LinkedIn and you may have several. The actions you take should be done to support your purpose.
My ultimate goal is to grow my business (make money) so I focus on growing my networks and communicating my message as often as possible. Because I know my purpose, have determined what actions support this purpose, and implement my strategy on an ongoing basis, I have been successful in developing new business clients.
Action Steps:
Write down the top 3 reasons why you are on LinkedIn
Determine what actions will support each reason
2. Failure to Participate
There are 41 million people on LinkedIn and a large majority does not interact with others on a consistent basis. This is a direct result of mistake number one. Without understanding your purpose you can’t know which actions to take that will produce a positive outcome.
There are only so many hours in a day and people tend to repeat what works. Social media marketing rarely provides quick results. Most often success is built over time only after people get to know you, like you, and trust you. You have to have the patience to continue participating when you’re not seeing the results.
There are no guarantees that your efforts will produce results, but if you do not participate consistently, I guarantee that you will not find success.
I spent almost a year providing value and interacting before I started seeing results.Now I can count on several inquiries each week from potential client’s looking to engage my services.
Action Steps
Commit to taking action on a weekly basis
Schedule these activities
Post them next to your computer or in your electronic calendar
3. Presenting an Incomplete Picture
On LinkedIn people get to know you through being connected, belonging to common groups, the information your share, and your profile. People want to look at your profile and have a clear understanding of who you are and how you might be of service to them.
If you don’t provide enough information for them to know those two pieces they are unlikely to go looking for the information. You need to make sure you have a detailed profile. You need to include a professional photo. You need to have links to your websites, blogs, etc.
If you’ve been fortunate enough to get them to view your profile, you’ve accomplished the hardest part. It would seem a shame to lose them for simply failing to provide enough information.
Action Steps
Look at 20 profiles to see how others are presenting themselves
Spend an hour each month working on your profile
Personalize your profile–add keywords, personalize your public URL, and Change your Web URL’s to the name (go to edit and choose “Other”)
Look at the LinkedIn application to see which make sense to add
4. Not Sharing Information or Providing Value
Mistake number three is about people getting to know you. Number four is all about getting people to like you. It’s a simple fact: If you provide value to others without asking for something in return people will start to like you.
The quickest way to generate goodwill on LinkedIn is to provide value to others.Directly this might be responding to a connection or introduction request. You can also build goodwill by providing thoughtful responses to questions in Answers and in group discussion posts. Another great way to provide value to others is through writing recommendations for those who have provide great service or assistance to you.
Everything you do on LinkedIn either adds to or subtracts from your online brand so make sure you put some thought into what you say. Participate consistently and you’ll notice that your profile visits increase and people will start interacting with you.
Action steps
Find at least two connections to introduce each week.
Answer at least three questions each week
Identify connections that deserve a recommendation and write it. Try to find at least 15 people to recommend. Make sure these are 15 people that deserve it.If you can’t find 15 now, build this up over time
Failure to Build Credibility
By addressing the previous four mistakes you will have reached a point where people know and like you. You may have even started to build some credibility. There are six ways that I document to build your credibility. These include:
A. Your Profile: first impressions count.
B. Answers: In number four we addresses answers from the perspective of providing value. This is also a great way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. Whenever you answer a question it is available for anyone on LinkedIn to view. Your Direct connections are also notified that you answered a question on their Home page.
C. Recommendations: Nothing beats having another sing your praises. I have found that my client recommendations have been a huge part of building my online brand.
D. Your connections: Who you are connected to can have an impact. When I seek to connect to others I will often reference a common connection in the invitation.
E. Your Groups: With groups you have something in common with fellow members. I reference common groups in invitation requests as well.
F. Providing Value: This will help others grow to like you but it also is very helpful in building your credibility.
Action Steps
a. Answer at least three questions each week in your field of expertise
b. Try to get 10 recommendations. You can request recommendations but only do so from people you know that you have provided great service or help to. If you don’t have 10, keep providing great service and you’ll get there. When you do, join The “Top Recommended People” group on LinkedIn.
c. Grow your connections based on your connection strategy
d. If you don’t belong to 50 groups find 50 that are relevant and join.
e. Seek out every opportunity to help others.
Wrap Up
There are many other LinkedIn mistakes I could mention including avoiding typos, having multiple accounts, etc. These 5 though are fundamental mistakes that will impact your ability to monetize LinkedIn.
I’m a firm believer that the true value in LinkedIn as a vehicle to add to your bottom line. You may have joined to network, to find a job, or to advance your career…all are great reasons… and all that at the end of the day are about monetization.
It’s OK to be on LinkedIn to make more money. It’s what will keep you coming back and participating, which in the end helps every other person on LinkedIn.
Alpharetta, Ga.,—SONARconnects announced today it was chosen to be the social media agency of record for the Lenny’s Sub Shop franchises. SONARconnects will develop, execute and leverage the social media strategy for the 160+ restaurant franchises nationwide, including writing and posting blogs, developing and distributing tweets, and managing the company’s Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
“SONARconnects has a heavily-referred track record of success in the social media realm,” said Holly Baker, director of marketing, advertising and public relations at Lenny’s Franchisor. “Lenny’s Sub Shop continually strives to exceed our guests’ expectations, and SONARconnects will enable us to reach them in a rapid, highly-effective and cutting edge manner.”
While the basics of selling remain the foundation for SONARconnects’ advertising and marketing efforts, the organization has cornered the social media market with a strategic format for turning marketing tactics into dollars. SONARconnects creates content for clients and helps them build trust and communities within their target markets. These efforts are monetized when the content is distributed through social media outlets.
“Our diverse client base that ranges from hospitals and medical personnel to restaurants to lawyers demonstrates our ability to leverage our social media strategy into almost any industry,” said Scott Dunn, president at SONARconnects. “Our expertise at incorporating traditional communications tools into this new world of social media gives our clients a leg up when it comes to building their brands and increasing visibility.”
About SONARConnects
SONARconnects is a total communications agency offering traditional advertising and marketing services, social media marketing and social media training. The organization prides itself at being the expert in every phase of the new marketing scene. The basics of selling are still the company’s foundation, but its knowledge of the new Social Media sets it apart. Blogs, micro-blogging, pod casts and video can help clients connect and build relationships with their customers. For more information, visit SONARconnects.
About Lenny’s Sub Shops
Since the beginning, Lenny’s commitment to quality and attention to detail has gone into every restaurant and sub sandwich. This dedication has helped Lenny’s to become one of the fastest growing sub sandwich chains in the country. Today, Lenny’s Sub Shop continues to expand throughout the United States by offering franchise opportunities. Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks & The Deli Fresh Experience™ are reasons why our loyal guests say they prefer a Lenny’s sub hands down to our national competition. Why? Lenny’s puts back what has been missing in the sub sandwich business—More Food, More Taste, More Personality!® Lenny’s Sub Shop
I speak one language. I did learn a few word of Latin in my freshman year of college. And growing up in New Orleans and spending time in Lafayette, La I learned a few choice words in Cajun French. But for the record I claim just the one.
I don’t know a single shortened word of Text (as in to txt). No desire to learn the first. But Twitter is simple enough that even I can figure it out. For those of you still working on speaking the native language of Twitinese, I offer this basic primer course.
Tweet
A tweet is simply a statement, message, or string of words composed of a 140 or less characters. It’s a slightly elongated headline, but like a headline, the more interesting the tweet the more likely someone will react and take action with it.
@username
This is your handle on LinkedIn. I’m old enough to remember when CB radio’s were the hot thing (Think Smokey and the Bandit) and every trucker and some other interesting people had creative handles. “That’s a big 10-4 Big Momma, I’ll catch you on the flip flop”. CB’s were the Texting of the 70’s.
Want to send a tweet to someone use their handle. Respond to a tweet and it adds the @ of the person you are replying to.
Unfortunately there’s a downside too. @’s done solely for the purpose of getting your marketing message are @ssinine. There enough to make me unfollow someone. If your message can’t gain traction in a regular tweet what makes anyone think it will do better by adding my @seanenelson.
Direct Message or DM
A good idea, that isn’t much use if you have a couple of hundred followers. When I first started on Twitter I tried to look at and reply to direct messages. Now the only time I do is when I’m waiting for an oil change and have nothing better to do with my iPhone.
Automated replies when you follow someone pretty much killed DM. If you want to send someone a message you’ll have better luck putting a message in a bottle than sending a DM on Twitter.
I speak one language. I did learn a few words of Latin in my freshman year of college. And growing up in New Orleans and spending time in Lafayette, La I learned a few choice words in Cajun French. But for the record I claim just the one.
I don’t know a single shortened word of Text (as in to txt). No desire to learn the first. But Twitter is simple enough that even I can figure it out. For those of you still working on speaking the native language of Twittinese, I offer this basic primer course.
Favorite
This is Twitter’s bookmark function. If you want to save a tweet to reference at a later time simply highlight the tweet and click on the star to the right. Now you can reference a past tweet. It’s also a great way to quickly find a profile.
Retweet or RT
Gold. Money. Bullseye. Retweets are one of my favorite parts of Twitter. When I write a new blog post I can somewhat judge it’s effectiveness by the number of Retweets. This is a great way to share information and recognize someone for putting good tweets out there. The viral nature of Twitter rewards interesting tweeters
Hashtag (#)
This is the Dewey Decimal system on LinkedIn. When you tweet there isn’t a category that you assign to your tweet. So if you want your tweets to be viewable based on specific searches use a hashtag.
I try to keep up with tweets about LinkedIn. At least once a day I search the term LinkedIn. I also add the #LinkedIn hashtag when I release a new LinkedIn related blog post.
TweetUp
An excuse to hit the bar on the way home from work. A TweetUp is simply a meeting of folks that see an announcement and show up at the designated location to network and share a beer .
Tiny URL
This is simply a service that allows you to shorten a URL so that you have more characters to convey your message. I’ve seen URL’s out there that wouldn’t fit on Twitter without a trim. There are several different services that will create these shortened URL’s.
Spam
The universal word for garbage. It means the same thing here as elsewhere. Another good definition of spam is “an ineffective marketing message that actually decreases your brand value and results in being unfollowed”.
That’s the basics. Learning to speak Twitinese is easier than learning Pig Latin. Now that you can speak the language fluently get busy building your community, communicating your message, and interacting in 140 characters or less.
I’m sure I’ve missed a word or two so feel free to share.
If you need help learning another language such as LinkedIn”dia”, Facebook”en”, YouTube”ish”, Flickr”oan”, and Blog”istan” call me at (404) 663-3997 or visit the SONARconnects site for more info on how we help our clients become fluent in social media/networking.
Gone are the days of idle teens and all night web-dwellers posting petty comments alongside relevant articles. Blogging is a sensation that businesses turn to as a method of smart, relevant, and budget-friendly advertising in a careful attempt to navigate their growth and survival. Today’s savvy business owners use blogging as a method of communicating carefully planned and enticing information that is designed to reel in customers.
A shop may communicate a new product, a restaurant–live band night, a bookstore–book signings. Professionals, too, can use blogs to establish credibility or relevancy among their consumer base. Doctors may use it to communicate useful information to their practice such as medical opinions concerning vaccination and autism, or to communicate timely information such as symptoms that should prompt a medical visit when the Swine Flu was spreading throughout the U.S.
But effective blogging takes time, a keen sense of business, and an intuitive approach to what customers need to hear. Hiring a professional to maintain your blog can do wonders for your business and reputation.
The benefits of maintaining a business blog are:
Search engines will rank you higher based upon your readership and how recently your content was updated. Higher rankings mean more visitors, resulting in more clients and more dollars.
You can communicate instantly and effectively with your client base, many of whom will come to rely upon your blogs as their information source.
Clients can reach you about topics relevant to them, providing feedback they may not offer in person.
You establish credibility and create a connection with your consumers, showing you are an astute and thoughtful human versus a big, inaccessible corporation.
The casual nature of blogging allows your company to gain recognition for things that may have no place in mainstream advertising. (I.e., charity work, employee profiles, product reviews, industry advice.)
Blogging communicates the culture of your organization and builds both trust and authority with your readership.
Blogs should always contain:
Relevant Information
Accurate Communication
Timely News
Frequent Updates
Proper Grammar and Spelling (limited abbreviations)
Text that is Casual and Friendly in Tone
Do you have a business blog? How are you using it as part of your social media strategy?
Leave a comment and include your business blog and I will add it to my blog roll.
Iran couldn’t keep the news out. They blacked out the airwaves, banned reporters, jammed the internet, and crushed heads.
But the new tools of technology—the Social Media—prevailed, and the whole world watched and listened as the Iran Thugocracy was revealed.
The information age is here, and there was nowhere to hide. Twitter, cell phones, Blackberry and all the rest put an unyielding spotlight on the evildoers.
The genie was out of the bottle and the tyrants couldn’t stuff it back. Social Media is a tool for freedom. It gave everybody a voice.
The Iranian people were heard, not just because they protested, but because their message was powerful. The message was not about the election: it was about freedom.
There are lessons here for marketers. First is a new definition of “transparency.” Now the beams you send come right back at you, reflecting your warts. No make-up can hide your blemishes, no spins can deflect your misstatements.
Second, the sounds you utter are amplified, and you’re in an echo chamber.
Marketers aren’t on a stage any more; they’re out in the audience.
And third, no matter how new the media, the message is the key.
Social Media gives people a new voice, and it’s virtually free. Freedom of speech can’t be denied, but there’s no guarantee that anyone will listen, or react. Why should the audience give attention, why should they care? The Iranian people had something powerful, interesting, and universal to say: we are oppressed and we demand our rights.
What is the key benefit that a marketer wants to convey? Why should anyone pay attention and care enough to buy their product? Social Media can make new connections, but by itself can’t deliver new customers. The Iranian protesters had a worthwhile cause to communicate, and they did it. What is so important about our product, and how can the new Social Media connect to new users for us?
Great news. You woke up this morning and a video produced about your brand has over 760,000 views in a 24 hour period. Twitter is a buzz about your brand, your video is being translated in every language imaginable and your brand has truly gone global. You now know what it means when a video goes viral. Congratulations are in order, right?
Wrong!!! See, the problem is this. All of the hype about your brand is negative. Yes, you read it right, negative. Neither you nor your ad agency produced the buzz. Instead, a couple of employees with a little bit of time and a $150.00 camera made the video about your brand, posted it on You Tube and the world watched.
Think it can not happen to you and your brand? Do you still think social media is a fad or something your kids do for hours on end? This is exactly what Domino’s thought until it happened to them.
Last week, Donino’s Pizza faced a truly trying time when a video was posted on You Tube showing two employees defacing its food. In a 24 hour period, the video went viral and social media sites were a buzz. With 760,000 views on You Tube, it is enough to make any marketing executive shutter.
Another case in point is Aston Martin. Someone on Twitter decided to set up an account using their name and started tweeting (sending out messages) as Aston Martin. To make a long story short, the tweets were not all good. Aston Martin found out their brand was hijacked and contacted Twitter to have the account shut down. How many tweets did Aston Martin (the hijacked brand) send out? Enough that people took notice and objected to the comments.
Bottom line: Social Media has arrived. Will it have the same look and feel next month, next year or ten years from now? No, it will not. Social Media will continue to evolve as we will. These are exciting times to be in the advertising and marketing world as the industry is being turned on its heel. Change is inevitable; how you handle it is up to you.
What is your plan to protect your brand? Do you have a process in place for what to do when your brand comes under fire? Your brand will come under fire. Will you be prepared when it does?
Take action today and put together a list of the major social media sites and actively monitor these sites. Google has some great tools that will help you to do this. Find out who you need to contact at each of these sites and what the process is to have your hijacked brand removed from the site. How can you leverage the same sites to help you in your campaign?
