My friends and fam often ask where I get my information on marketing & social media trends, as well as keeping up with my past life of politics and international affairs. Well, I read a ton. Probably a couple of hours a day. All my current reading is done through my Google RSS Reader, with the exception of The Economist, and now my friend Colin Alsheimer has given me inspiration (not too long before I wrote this) to put them into shareable formats, so here they are:

Feeds

News is pretty self-explanatory.

Technology is where I get all my news on the latest innovations in science, technology, and the interwebz.

Small Business is more of repository for startup and small business operations insights. It helps me to think about my own businesses, and how to make them better.

Politics and International Affairs and Economics overlap with News a bit, but they tend to contain more long-form commentary than breaking news.

Marketing & PR and 14 Day Social Media Challenge are a hodgepodge of digital and traditional marketing, advertising, and PR sources. 

Design also includes a little fashion (The Sartorialist) and cultural trendspotting. 

Books

In addition to staying on top of current events and trends, I spend time reading actual books (weird, I know). Being so busy, I only read a book a month now, but I am part of a monthly literary discussion group, as well as a new little writing group. I use Shelfari to keep a record of my complete library of books online.

So, that's how I stay mentally and intellectually sharp. What are you reading these days? If you think I'm missing any blogs/news sources, let me know in the comments section. While you are at it, you should follow me on Twitter here. Enjoy this post? Please consider subscribing to this blog in your RSS reader of choice.

photo credit: gizmodo.com

When we think about practice, we usually conjure up images of sports, and mantras like "practice does not make perfect, only perfect practice makes perfect" from the legendary Vince Lombardi. In fact, sports analogies dominate the business landscape ad nauseum. I'll give you a couple of seconds to recall your old faves.....

However, as much as I like sports, I would like to think of practice in an alternate sort of way. You see, doctors (and lawyers) also practice, but in a different sense. They repeatedly come upon different situations, they diagnose the root problem, and then they get to workin'. The process of diagnosis is the same, but the remedy depends on each patient. And, as technology gets better and better, and as research becomes more and more accurate, they have different solutions, different cures. At the same time, new diseases and mutating viruses make it a constantly changing game, and they in turn are adjusting, fine tuning, or scrapping whole procedures. You get where I'm going with this, don't you?

As marketers, consultants, and small businesses who are marketing, we have to approach our craft in the same way. While we can't take for granted what we learned in school, true learning comes in (marketing) residency, and in continued practice and research.  The game is always changing, and the technology/tools get better and better, so we constantly need to be adopting, adjusting, or scrapping things when they aren't working anymore (see keyword stuffing for SEO).

Here are a couple of guidelines for us practitioners to keep on following:

When a client comes in with a hurt knee, don't immediately perform orthoscopic surgery.

Just because a client wants a website, it doesn't mean we automatically give them a website. Bad tactics usually are symptoms of bad marketing strategy, which is usually a sign of bad planning and objectives. Take the time to see whether something else is causing the problem: the wrong message, to the wrong audience, with ineffective tactics. Sometimes a bum knee is caused by a bad back, not by the knee itself. When you are holistic in your approach, you just might find yourself with a much larger, more in-depth case. And if the client still wants orthoscopic surgery, then it's their choice (painful as it is).

Tell the patient what you are doing, while you are doing it.

The best dentist I've ever known talks to his patients while he's all up in their grill. He tells them what he's about to do, what he sees, and tries to ask yes/no questions during the procedure to involve his patients. He's knows they're not stupid, that they can be a part of the long-term solution, and that they are relaxed by such great bedside manner. In the same way, we should think about our stakeholders/C-suite/clients, continually communicate with them what's going on in our marketing execution, give and solicit feedback so they are a part of the solution, and enstill in them confidence that we know what we are doing. They'll appreciate it.

Tylenol, Advil or Motrin? Yes. It depends.

There's usually more than one solution to our clients' problems. We should be creative enough to find alternate ways to get our clients' message across, be humble enough to realize the input of our clients and our team around us, and be flexible enough to try new tactics if our first/second/third options aren't working. Also be willing to prescribe something smaller than what was originally envisioned before you started the diagnosis. When you do that, your stakeholders/clients will realize that you just saved them a ton of money and are looking out for their business' best interest, not just yours.

Immerse yourself in scientific journals/latest findings

Stay on top of your game by subscribing to, and conversing with, the best and the brightest, in our game and in other industries. You will see what's on the cutting edge of marketing and pick up insights on the failed/successful experiments of others. Try these new strategies and tactics out, see if they work the way the inventors intended, and then try using them in a totally different way. Make them your own unique tool. "Practice" is an active, evolving experience. And while we are practicing, here's the kicker: we need to share it. Publish it. It helps the whole community out.

And here, I'll insert the only sports analogy of the post (can't resist): Wayne Gretsky said that what made him so great was that he didn't skate to where the puck was, he skated to where the puck was going to be. See where the market might be headed in terms of opportunities, strategies, and tactics, and then see how you can get there ahead of the puck.

What do you think?

You should follow me on Twitter here. Enjoy this post? Please consider subscribing to this blog in your RSS reader of choice.

Photo Credit: martinca via Flickr

It's no secret to my friends and colleagues that I love me some coffee. Every morning starts out with a French Press full of my favorite bean, and I do most of my work from various coffee shops around town (including the Ski Lodge at Watermark Church). I try to support local businesses up against the Chain Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned, and there are, in my humble opinion, three top-notch shops who all have loyal customers and evangelists of their brand. Together, they make a great case study of how small businesses are striving to make it in this economy, all while doing it in different ways. Three different audiences and strategies, same results.

Crooked Tree Coffee
Owned by some friends of mine from Texas A&M (whoop!), Crooked Tree has promoted (via Twitter, FB group page, and their website) a locals only, comfy couch, live music vibe coupled with GREAT coffee. Partnering with Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters, a local bean roaster, and serving some tasty vegan-friendly baked goods (that phrase rarely, if ever, comes out of my mouth), they have a super loyal following among college students and the artsy crowd, and strategically located themselves in the historic section of Uptown. Their marketing strategy: using word of mouth, invitations to aspiring visual and musical artists, some good earned media, and prolific use of social media tools to achieve their overall objective of organically grown, repeat customer base.

Drip Coffee
If you are in the Highland Park/Preston Hollow area, you've no doubt heard of Drip Coffee. Steve Thatcher, a 15-year veteran of the coffee business, is the man in charge. He's managed to attract a totally different crowd: entrepreneurs, investment professionals, the commercial real estate crowd, and the Highland Park mom set. How? Well, location is one reason, but from the start, Steve wanted Drip to be known for its high-quality, hand-roasted coffees from around the world. The roasting is done on-site and in small batches to keep the coffee uber-fresh. I love stepping out of my car and smelling the roast wafting outside in the parking lot. A panel of international judges have twice awarded first prize to Drip's Costa Rican coffee, and in a local online competition, they won a Golden Local for Best Coffee Shop in Dallas. The kicker: they don't have a social media presence AT ALL. No Twitter, no Facebook, no nothing. Their website reflects their decor and their business approach: clean, simple aesthetic that allows the coffee to do the talking. Their marketing strategy: using a great, great product to produce and support a natural word of mouth campaign and local community champions. It supports their business objectives perfectly. And it doesn't hurt that they are right next to Yummy Donuts (makers of the delightful Fruity-Pebbles-covered-blueberry-cake donut). My favorite bean, in case you are interested: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Tanzanian Peaberry is a close second.

The Pearl Cup
Last, but not least, is the Pearl Cup. Located in the up and coming section of Knox Henderson, it has a great vibe for freelance designers, artists, and the fashion crowd. It's definitely a community feel in there, and the walk-up, waist-high, long-ass counter serves as a natural conversation center with the folks behind the bar. The coffee is great, the pastries yummy, and they support the visual arts crowd heavily. They even have a little give-and-take library in the back for the avid readers, but most of the time, you'll see a barrage of Mac laptops opened up to take advantage of free WiFi. Their marketing strategy: using Twitter, a Facebook page, intentional fostering and creation of community, and solid customer service to keep folks coming back for more. And their signature Pearl Cup Latte? Oh. My. Lanta. My wife makes me drive down from Lake Highlands to bring her some of that sweet nectar of the gods. Hot or iced, I don't know what they put in it, but it's highly addictive. I think they partnered with the Triumvrate and Col. Sanders, with his wee beady eyes. Not surprisingly, it was awarded the Best Latte in Dallas by D Magazine.

In summary, all three shops are surviving and thriving because they accurately identified their audience, their competitive advantage and value proposition to that target market, and then capitalized on it from a focused business and marketing perspective. I know there are a number of other shops out there (like White Rock Coffee) but these just stood out. Support them; they need and deserve the business.

I would love to hear your thoughts on their approaches, and if you want to talk marketing strategy and tactics, you should follow me on Twitter here (or find me at one of these shops!). Enjoy this post? Please consider subscribing to this blog in your RSS reader of choice.

Here are some great blog posts that I've found since starting the 14 day Social Media Challenge by Colin Alsheimer.

• One Thing that Will Completely Change Your Life — Matt Cheuvront

• Why You Should Care About Foursquare – Part One — IncSlingers

• A blogging tip: get your reps in batches — Tim Walker

• Pay for Play: New York Times and the Definition of Content — Alyssa Gardina

• 3-Minute WOM Lesson: How to keep your word of mouth simple — Gas Pedal

• Defining Who You Aren't - Brains on Fire

• The Four Agreements to Powerful Email Marketing - Blue Sky Factory

• So, you think social media has no merit, eh? - Gangway Advertising

• The 7 Ways To Get More Followers Nobody Will Ever Tell You - Tremendous News

• 13 Ways Businesses Can Leverage Foursquare and Gowalla - Mike Merrill

• How to Set Up the Ultimate Listening Station Using Google Reader - Colin Alsheimer

About the Social Media Challenge

The Social Media Challenge is a 14 day quest to find the hidden gems of the blogosphere.  Participants start at any time and select 10–15 blogs not found in the top 150 of AdAge’s Power 150 list or within the top 100 on Technorati.  The goal is to diversify the content that is shared through Twitter and give some deserving blogs a leg up.

Follow #smchallenge on Twitter, or check out the Twitter list for more participants.

Enjoy this post? Please consider subscribing to this blog in your RSS reader of choice.

Related Post: Blogs I'm Following For The 14 Day Social Media Challenge

A lot of what we hear about marketing these days, and social media in particular, is that you have to be authentic and genuine in your online dialogue, because people can spot fakers and posers a mile away. Well, I'm a part of a little reading group, and this little tidbit from Woodrow Wilson - who guided the US during the first World War, envisioned the forerunner to the UN, and who was the only President with a PhD - rings true in life and business today, as much as it did in 1897. 

Let us remind ourselves that to be human is, for one thing, to speak and act with a certain note of genuineness, a quality mixed of spontaneity and intelligence. This is necessary for wholesome life in any age, but particularly amidst confused affairs and shifting standards... We expect what we call genuine to have pith and strength of fiber. Genuineness is a quality which we sometimes mean to include when we speak of individuality. Individuality is lost the moment you submit to passing modes or fashions, the creations of an artificial society; and so is genuineness. No man is genuine who is forever trying to pattern his life after the lives of other people—unless, indeed, he be a genuine dolt. But individuality is by no means the same as genuineness; for individuality may be associated with the most extreme and even ridiculous eccentricity, while genuineness we conceive to be always wholesome, balanced, and touched with dignity. It is a quality that goes with good sense and self-respect.... That character is genuine which seems built by nature rather than by convention, which is stuff of independence and of good courage. 

How-To's Are Great, But They Aren't Everything

So, you are asking, what does all this mean for us, as we try to communicate and stand out in the increasingly noisy interwebz? You can follow all the "How To yada Twitter yada yada" and "5 Steps to Online blah blah" ad nauseum, but unless you mix in "spontaneity and intelligence", you won't find your voice or your story for your business. Follow what is tried and true, and then throw your own personality into it, or just throw out steps 1-4.  And just because you are genuine, it doesn't mean you have to be over-the-top, or involve all the latest novelties. In fact, while novelty is good, it wears off pretty quickly. It's good to be on the cutting edge, but the true voice and cuture of your business will carry on far longer than the latest eye-catcher. My friend Cameron calls it the "shiny object" syndrome.

A good example of this is Zappos. They don't use the latest greatest social media tools and gadgets to "fire for effect", they do it because it's an extension of who they are and what they want to do.

The 'real' social media to Zappos – and the way the company really builds relationships with customers – are the telephone call and the email conversation, as this downloadable ZDNet case study shows. Twittering and blogging are just for recreation. It’s kind of hanging out under a shingle that says, hey, we’re playful folks. Let’s waste a little time together. Let’s entertain each other. And not try to sell each other anything.        Source: Zappos.com

So, whether you are running a lemonade stand or running a huge shoe company, be you, which is to say, be genuine. And read the rest of Wilson's essay. It's that good. And while you are at it, you should follow me on Twitter here. Enjoy this post? Please consider subscribing to this blog in your RSS reader of choice.