RyanShell.com

Marketing, public relations, social media... and a little of this and that.

Big Media Hits = Big Excitement

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I have a passion for all aspects of marketing, but media relations is an area of particular interest. Maybe it’s the thrill of taking a story from start to finish – I’m not quite sure.

Securing a story with a major outlet isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it sure is fulfilling when it happens. If you’ve done it you know exactly what I’m talking about.

The Thursday before Labor Day weekend I was asked to pitch a New York Times reporter that I’d previously worked with; although, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Fortunately he found the pitch interesting and the end result was a story that landed smack on the front of The New York Times Business Day (September 13) section. It’s titled “Fastest Net Service in U.S. Coming to Chattanooga” and you can view it online by clicking here.

Between that and the fact that I’m going to  the Eminem / Jay-Z concert tonight at Yankee Stadium, you might say I’m having a great day.

Google Instant – Example of Advertising Impacts

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Google Instant is all the rage at the moment, and rightfully so. Everyone and their grandmother has been worried about things such as SEO as of late, but has that been tossed out the window?

Some say yes, but I won’t be jumping on that bandwagon just yet.

I do think Google Instant will be pretty impactful when it comes to advertising with Google. Part of the game will now be to figure out how to make your add show up before others, and keep it on the screen while additional words are typed.

Allow me to show you an example. Let’s say I’m interested in going to Miami Beach. The first full word typed is “Miami” and the second is “Beach.” Here are two screen shots; each was taken after a complete word was typed.

Search for "Miami." Click to enlarge.

Search for "Miami Beach." Click to enlarge.

Click each of the photos above and take note of the ads that come up in the right sidebar.

If a Miami hotel (or anything else Miami related you might think of) wanted to have an advantage they may consider figuring out what it takes to show up in the ads that come up when the word “Miami” is searched. Note: If you aren’t familiar with Instant, the search results and ads change as words are typed.

I’m simplifying this discussion in a big way, but this example should give you an idea of how Google Instant changes the game a bit.

First we worried about showing up. Then is was about showing up first. Now we have to worry about showing up before the user has finished typing whatever it is they are searching for.

Facebook Place Page and Standard Page Merging not Possible?

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Shortly after Facebook Places launched I started the process of claiming a location for a business.

I received an email yesterday from Facebook letting me know the Place page request had been approved and how it could be updated. One thing the email didn’t mention, nor was it mentioned on the Place page, was how to merge the Place page with an existing standard brand page.

The business in question only has one location and per previous Facebook documentation would have been a good candidate for the merge option. I became curious and replied to the email  previously sent by Facebook; here’s what I asked,

“How can I merge the Place page with our existing brand page?”

And guess what? They responded. Here’s the message I received.

“Unfortunately, the functionality you are requesting is not currently available. We will keep your suggestion in mind as we continue to improve the site. Let me know if you have any further questions.”

Given that response I’m not remotely confused. Facebook has stated that the two types of pages could potentially be merged, but the email message you just read states the functionality isn’t available.

Hmm…

Facebook Places Would Rock at Large Events if…

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I, along with thousands of others were at the US Open last night, and I thought it would be fun to check in with Facebook Places and to see what others were saying about the events of the evening.

Allow me to highlight my experience of trying to use Places with my iPhone last night by showing you a few photos (pay attention to the time at the top of each photo). Note: this went on for several minutes before I decided to start taking screen shots.

It's thinking about working.
Still thinking...
Not happening.

In the end, I never did manage to check in with Places. But hey, Facebook Places would rock at large events if… the network you relied on actually worked.

Don’t put the Cart Before the Horse

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Some folks that are just getting their social media start see companies with massive numbers of Facebook likes and Twitter followers doing elaborate campaigns and get in their mind that they should be able to do the same.

It’s just not that simple. Or, let me rephrase that. You can mimic campaigns all day long, but without the mass audience the results will drastically differ.

As a marketer, I think it’s crucial to remember that providing proper guidance is part of the job. Sometimes you have to step back to the fundamentals and remember that creating a strong base will be wildly beneficial down the road.

Creating a base… that’s something that worries me. How many marketers actually know how to create a social following from scratch? I bet the numbers are far more upside down than you might imagine.

I love big ideas as much as the next person, but I also love sustainability and creating campaigns that aren’t going to let out an audible “thud” after being launched.

Starting at the beginning, or circling back to improve missed opportunities isn’t the most glamorous thing to do, but sometimes… it’s exactly what is needed. What’s that old saying? “Don’t put the cart before the horse.”