marketing
Apple and Microsoft Keep It Fun
11/06/09 05:00 PM Filed in: Humor/Random
I love the competition between Microsoft and Apple. Their products, strategies, business models and promotional tactics vary so much for products that can be seen as so similar. Whether you’re a mac person (that’s me) or not, there is much to study and learn from the both of ‘em. It can be argued that they both get a lot of things right a lot of the time.
Here’s a video comparing the two over the years from The Big Money:
Here’s a video comparing the two over the years from The Big Money:
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Mini Twitter Explosion
04/15/09 11:49 PM Filed in: Personal
I haven’t figured out why yet, but in the last few days I’ve had 16 people add themselves as followers to my twitter account (@TheFatTrainer). Perhaps it is my previous blog post about Social Media? Perhaps it is my comment on a friends blog? Perhaps it’s just one of my recent tweets? Perhaps it’s just coincidence...
Well, whatever it is, thank you for following me. I hope I add value to your twitter experience. I feel like I’ve learned a lot in the past month or so that I’ve been on Twitter. I started out just doing updates of when I was going to the gym or what the weather was like, but now I try to be relevant to my book and personal brands and provide useful information or links.
In my opinion, if Twitter will ultimately succeed, it’s users must be useful and relevant to followers.
Thoughts?
Well, whatever it is, thank you for following me. I hope I add value to your twitter experience. I feel like I’ve learned a lot in the past month or so that I’ve been on Twitter. I started out just doing updates of when I was going to the gym or what the weather was like, but now I try to be relevant to my book and personal brands and provide useful information or links.
In my opinion, if Twitter will ultimately succeed, it’s users must be useful and relevant to followers.
Thoughts?
Social Media for Small Business
While looking for another video on AMEX’s OPEN Forum to show some coworkers the other day and found this video and thought I’d share. It is a quick couple of minutes relating to whether or not small businesses should use social networks to market their products/services.
I agree with the comment that small businesses should use social media marketing, but the communication should be authentic, relevant and useful to their audiences. Engagement, openness and dialogue should be the goal, not selling.
If you’re real, the awareness and revenue will come. (At least that’s what I’m hoping.)
Here’s the video (sorry I can’t embed it - shame on you AMEX!)
http://www.openforum.com/marketing/video_socialgood.html
I agree with the comment that small businesses should use social media marketing, but the communication should be authentic, relevant and useful to their audiences. Engagement, openness and dialogue should be the goal, not selling.
If you’re real, the awareness and revenue will come. (At least that’s what I’m hoping.)
Here’s the video (sorry I can’t embed it - shame on you AMEX!)
http://www.openforum.com/marketing/video_socialgood.html
Whirlwind Week
04/04/09 11:19 PM Filed in: The Book | Humor/Random
Well, it has been a whirlwind of a week. I was so crazy busy getting the book released on time, but even after it was released, I’ve been go, go, go to fill in all of the marketing cracks.
I’m getting close to getting the book on Lulu for self publishing. They have a bunch of options and I’m just trying to be sure I choose the best one for The Fat Trainer. Plus, I’m having some issues getting my InDesign file to upload correctly to their site as a PDF with a full bleed.
I’ve also been working on Facebook marketing at the personal level, and that is fun. The thing I’m still trying to figure out is Twitter. I try to tweet useful things, but also keep it at the personal level. It is a fun challenge to have.
It has been a great week. Be sure to tell your friends and acquaintances about the book now that it is released. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. Thanks!
I’m getting close to getting the book on Lulu for self publishing. They have a bunch of options and I’m just trying to be sure I choose the best one for The Fat Trainer. Plus, I’m having some issues getting my InDesign file to upload correctly to their site as a PDF with a full bleed.
I’ve also been working on Facebook marketing at the personal level, and that is fun. The thing I’m still trying to figure out is Twitter. I try to tweet useful things, but also keep it at the personal level. It is a fun challenge to have.
It has been a great week. Be sure to tell your friends and acquaintances about the book now that it is released. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. Thanks!
BOOK RELEASE
04/01/09 01:24 AM Filed in: The Book
Hello! I am back. I had to descend into the cave of getting the book ready for yesterday’s release. Well, after hours and hours and hours of work, the time is finally here. The book is done and is available for sale now.
I am really excited to have that portion of this journey done with and am now looking forward to spending more time promoting the book. I need your help though. Please tell all you know about The Fat Trainer.
I am working on getting a physical copy available to be purchased, the book Kindle ready and even an audio version. I still have lots to do.
Anyway - take a look at the book. It’s only $1.29 as a limited introductory special. Let me know what you think.
I am really excited to have that portion of this journey done with and am now looking forward to spending more time promoting the book. I need your help though. Please tell all you know about The Fat Trainer.
I am working on getting a physical copy available to be purchased, the book Kindle ready and even an audio version. I still have lots to do.
Anyway - take a look at the book. It’s only $1.29 as a limited introductory special. Let me know what you think.
Green Apple
03/04/09 02:19 PM Filed in: Humor/Random
I love Apple (the computer company). I’ve been a Mac fan since 2003, when I bought an eMac. I do all of my personal and professional work on a Mac. It is just a great machine and I love the ‘intuitiveness’. I of course have an iPod (5G) and an iPod Shuffle for working out.
They just released a whole bunch of new desktop computers and have been touting their ‘greenness’ recently. I think this is a smart tactic, a tad bit late, and about time. Apple prides itself on innovation and being the leader in the technology world. They received some pressure last year from Greenpeace, and did a good job of reacting to it.
Anyway - it is interesting to see how corporations are trying to be green and still make money in this economy.
They just released a whole bunch of new desktop computers and have been touting their ‘greenness’ recently. I think this is a smart tactic, a tad bit late, and about time. Apple prides itself on innovation and being the leader in the technology world. They received some pressure last year from Greenpeace, and did a good job of reacting to it.
Anyway - it is interesting to see how corporations are trying to be green and still make money in this economy.
Passion
03/03/09 02:36 PM Filed in: Personal
I was thinking about this whole experience (writing the book, making the website, doing strategic marketing, etc.) and am just happy about it. To me it is a lot of fun. It really is a combination of many of my passions. I like to write, I like developing strategy, I like helping people, I like communicating, I like fitness, I like sharing things that I’ve learned, etc. All of these and more are being combined with this project.
Probably the most difficult things are staying balanced among all of the components and putting into structured sentences all of the thoughts and ideas I’ve had for this book. But mostly this is just a lot of fun to me.
I hope through this, I can inspire others to not just get and stay in better shape, but to find their passions and then figure out a way to do those. Life is just so much more enjoyable when you’re doing things that are, well...enjoyable.
Probably the most difficult things are staying balanced among all of the components and putting into structured sentences all of the thoughts and ideas I’ve had for this book. But mostly this is just a lot of fun to me.
I hope through this, I can inspire others to not just get and stay in better shape, but to find their passions and then figure out a way to do those. Life is just so much more enjoyable when you’re doing things that are, well...enjoyable.
Archer Farms
02/24/09 10:45 AM Filed in: Nutrition
I had Archer Farms Instant Oatmeal for breakfast this morning and I tweeted about it on Twitter. Wasn’t sure if they spell it “Strawberry Creme” or “Strawberry Cream” so I did a quick search for it at Target.com (it’s a Target brand). As it turns out, it is called “Strawberry Créme”.
Anyway, while I think the food is good and tasty, I was thinking about how Target does a great job with their image. We are big Walmart shoppers in our house (to the chagrin of some of my college buddies
) but we love Target. This Archer Farms store brand is a great example of how they do just the little bit extra to give the perception of higher quality. They also have the “lower quality” brand of Market Pantry, which is imaged in a way to give the perception that it is good quality, but not quite as much because of its packaging.
Walmart actually knows exactly what they’re doing with their image (I think). Their discount brand “Great Value” looks like it should be the least expensive and it is (typically). If it was packaged the way Archer Farms is, I think many of its purchasers would feel alienated in the sense that they couldn’t “afford” something that was so “nice”.
It brings out the point that while there certainly are advantages to purchasing the “higher quality/more expensive” brand from time to time, a lot of it is just positioning and marketing to different audiences. Take a few minutes to get to know the products you buy frequently. Read the nutrition label and the ingredients list. These are the best clue as to the real quality of products.
p.s. Walmart does have a higher quality brand called “Sams Choice” that is packaged and positioned to compete against the name brands with more unique product offerings.
Here are some images from Google Image search of some of the brands listed above:
Anyway, while I think the food is good and tasty, I was thinking about how Target does a great job with their image. We are big Walmart shoppers in our house (to the chagrin of some of my college buddies
) but we love Target. This Archer Farms store brand is a great example of how they do just the little bit extra to give the perception of higher quality. They also have the “lower quality” brand of Market Pantry, which is imaged in a way to give the perception that it is good quality, but not quite as much because of its packaging.Walmart actually knows exactly what they’re doing with their image (I think). Their discount brand “Great Value” looks like it should be the least expensive and it is (typically). If it was packaged the way Archer Farms is, I think many of its purchasers would feel alienated in the sense that they couldn’t “afford” something that was so “nice”.
It brings out the point that while there certainly are advantages to purchasing the “higher quality/more expensive” brand from time to time, a lot of it is just positioning and marketing to different audiences. Take a few minutes to get to know the products you buy frequently. Read the nutrition label and the ingredients list. These are the best clue as to the real quality of products.
p.s. Walmart does have a higher quality brand called “Sams Choice” that is packaged and positioned to compete against the name brands with more unique product offerings.
Here are some images from Google Image search of some of the brands listed above:
HFCS
02/19/09 07:09 PM Filed in: Nutrition
I was just thinking today about an ad that has been showing recently supporting HIgh Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). While it is almost impossible to eat food that doesn’t have HFCS in it, we rarely eat the altered sweetener. Originally, I was just going to mention how well structured the campaign is. Take a look at this ad:
While I completely disagree with how the ad minimizes the effects of HFCS, I think it is very well crafted. This is because it gives the uniformed viewer the impression that HFCS is really no different from natural sugar and that any hype that is going around has no foundation. It says that we have no idea why HFCS is bad for you so therefore it isn’t.
But, as I was looking for the above ad on YouTube, I found a video response. It does a great job at answering why to avoid HFCS. Enjoy:
While I completely disagree with how the ad minimizes the effects of HFCS, I think it is very well crafted. This is because it gives the uniformed viewer the impression that HFCS is really no different from natural sugar and that any hype that is going around has no foundation. It says that we have no idea why HFCS is bad for you so therefore it isn’t.
But, as I was looking for the above ad on YouTube, I found a video response. It does a great job at answering why to avoid HFCS. Enjoy:
Add-ons
02/16/09 04:36 PM Filed in: The Book
I haven’t decided how or when I’m going to do it exactly, but there are a few things I’d like to do to expand the offering for The Fat Trainer.
For example, I would like to do an audio-book version, Kindle format, iPhone format and offer the book in printed format too. I know how to make the audio part, although it’d be best to get it into the iTunes store. I need to do more research on Kindle and iPhone eBooks. Physical copies also can be done at a handful of places. I’ve taken a gander at blurb and lulu.
I’m excited to see where this goes.
For example, I would like to do an audio-book version, Kindle format, iPhone format and offer the book in printed format too. I know how to make the audio part, although it’d be best to get it into the iTunes store. I need to do more research on Kindle and iPhone eBooks. Physical copies also can be done at a handful of places. I’ve taken a gander at blurb and lulu.
I’m excited to see where this goes.
And I'm actually blogging
Well, it is official. I am making a website, writing a book and am doing the marketing myself. And I’m actually blogging. It is pretty cool actually. Hopefully I can pull this all together and give the world a high quality product at a respectable price. I probably wouldn’t be doing a blog, but I watched this video and decided that he is probably right.
(It’s actually a pretty good video - but in case you don’t wanna watch it - the guy says you should do a blog because it helps you think, it helps you work through processes. I’ll give it a go.)
(It’s actually a pretty good video - but in case you don’t wanna watch it - the guy says you should do a blog because it helps you think, it helps you work through processes. I’ll give it a go.)