I have an iPad and can tell you from first hand experience that it has completely shifted how I consume information both for work and for play.  At first I had assumed it would behave as a very light weight email/browser device, not replacing my MacBook Pro laptop (which is my primary computer).  How wrong I was.  I work. I read. I play. I learn. I listen. Even my husband and kids have claimed it as their own (especially my kids, they have just as much loaded on the device as I do).

Reading the latest statistics from eMarketer on iPad usage for both entertainment use and for news consumption I wasn’t surprised in the least.  Where I do think there is room for improvement is with web browsing, which is why whatever company can crack the non-Mac (and non-Flash) touch tablet market will have an amazing consumer base to pick from.  Chances are when HTC, HP and Dell comes out with a comparable device, we will have one in our house (and office) and then we can really take a look at information consumption on a mobile/tablet device without the restrictions of Apple.

The one thing that keeps the iPad (and possibly other tablet devices) from completely taking over the world in my opinion is the fact that the majority of websites are not optimized for mobile viewing.  While I have strong hopes for HTML5 as a Flash-killer, I still regularly come across websites that are not only all-Flash (thus making it all but invisible to my iPad Safari browser) but still using some of the horrific designs from the early web (for example, blinking scrolling text and butterflies that follow your mouse pointer – seriously!).  Now while the Internet does contain a vast wasteland of deserted sites that no one tend any longer, there still is a large number of companies/websites that are not just one iteration behind on website upkeep – they are DECADES behind.

What’s happening here?  If between 24% and 31% of iPad owners in the UK are using the devices for entertainment and news, it can’t be far off that a similar number are using iPads for ‘everyday’ business and personal browsing.  While for the past few years it was acceptable to have a website determine if you were a mobile browser or desktop and ‘dumb down’ the layout and graphics for the mobile users (and trust me, not many did), you don’t have that crutch any longer.  More and more information is being consumed on large screen mobile devices (the iPad is just the beginning) and you need to keep up with the demand.

Personally, if I come across a website that doesn’t load in my iPad, or has difficult navigation that I can’t access with a touch screen – I immediately go somewhere else to find the information.  Most likely a competitor to the site I originally reached out to.  Having a web presence means constantly monitoring it to be sure it is the most useful it can be for your intended audience.  They are moving at lightening speed with technology, and you don’t have the luxury to lag behind any longer.  On a weekly basis I come across businesses that invested “damn good money” three, five, or even ten years ago for a website design.  Guess what? You will eventually need to do it all over again.  And again.  And again.  A web design that was constructed three years ago most likely doesn’t even take into account iPhone / smartphone use, let alone large screen mobile usage.  Don’t even get me started on websites from a decade ago…

From the outside, it sometimes seems that social media marketing is a bit like boiling a big pot of water, dumping in all the half empty boxes of pasta in the pantry, and throwing it all on the fridge and seeing what sticks.  We are pretty sure the thought of this would make our CEO faint, because she’s a cut-from-the-cloth technical project manager and thrives on Gantt charts, milestones, deliverables and deadlines. Besides, all those boring analytics and whizbang charts is how she can actually PROVE that the work actually works.

Experimentation is fun and fine in social media channels, but doesn’t make for good business.  Every project should (and does) have some wiggle room to play, experiment, fail and learn, but on a whole clients hire us for results not ‘trying a bunch of stuff and hope that something sticks.’  It takes a lot of time and energy to boil an entire pot of water to cook several pounds of pasta.  If all you are hoping for is a few pieces to stick (work), you will have a very hungry dinner table and a tremendous amount of waste.  Our motto has long been ‘we like to eat’ so you can see how producing a lot of work for very little result could keep you hungry.

As far as social media marketing goes – this isn’t our first rodeo.  We’ve been down this road before with a different set of technology and communications needs every time.  In the end, for us it all boils down to process and results, and the ability to reproduce the process and results.  Solid business development, unique and creative digital marketing savvy, and in-the-trenches social media experience are all required to produce results.  Being ‘shiny’ on Facebook is not.

Want a peek into how we tick?  The philosophies and methodologies below – along with a combined experience of over 50 years in communications, technology, business development and management – is how we kick ass and take names on a daily basis.

SMARTER Methodology

Working SMARTER is our general philosophy for GSD (getting *stuff* done) and helps define the overall structure for our client projects.  We feel that solid project skills are vital for everything from grand social media marketing endeavors to negotiating with our spouses about buying a new car.

• Specific : When you ask the universe (or your customers) for something, be very specific.  “I want to sell more widgets” and “we need more customers” are not very specific.  Part of what causes people to not be specific is the fear of failure.  If you set out to sell 30% more widgets, and you only sell 29% more, have you failed?  No, you just sold 1% less than you planned for.  If you set out just to sell more, no number of more will ever seem to be enough.
• Measurable : If you don’t know exactly what you are working for, there isn’t anything to measure.  By wanting to sell 30% widgets, you have concrete numbers to work towards.  This of course makes our CEO happy, because you can chart +30% on a graph, but you can’t chart more.  This is also the point in the process we point at when the bean-counters stream ‘ROI’ at us.  Showing the numbers is easy, but in the end it’s up the business to determine how much a particular action is worth.
• Attainable : Here’s where reality sets in.  Online, everything seems to be Facebook, unicorns and glitter and everything seems possible.  If your company has traditionally experienced a 5% growth in sales per year, planning (and relying on) an increase of 45% is unrealistic and dangerous.  We work hard to make sure that planned actions and results are humanly possible, financially feasible, and within the universal constrains of time and space.
• Relevant : Just because you can does not mean you should.  Does what you propose have a direct link to an action, outcome, or process?  Does it matter NOW?  Does it have anything to do with business goals?  These are questions we throw on the table quite often.  Nowadays, everyone wants to be on Facebook, but when asked why, most times the answer comes down to ‘because it’s there’ or ‘because our competition is there.’
• Trackable / Timeboxed : Again, back to the idea that success, failure, and progress should be measurable, you need to show the path from A to B.  Without seeing the steps, you have no way to find a fracture point or reproduce the results.  Time is a very important dimension to our work as well.  Selling 30% more widgets over the course of 30 years really isn’t helpful to a business, but selling 30% more right before your IPO – THAT matters.
• Evaluate : We don’t work in a system that delivers a product and walks away.  We are not advertisers (no offense).  Our medium is not a billboard that you can put up on the highway and forget about until it’s time to change it.  Our ‘product’ is a living, breathing, feeling entity that needs to be nurtured and fed.  In professional circles they call this process ‘evaluation.’
• Re-Evaluate : Sometimes when you are in a relationship it’s hard to take a step back and see if it’s working.  It’s hard to change if you become too emotionally attached to something, social media marketing is no different.  Because we are working in a medium that revolves around relationship building and community, it can be hard to cull out the efforts that don’t produce.  At the same time, if when platforms and technology evolve, it can be seen as wasteful to change focus.  The ability to stay flexible and be ahead of the curve is what we do.

GHOST Process

Further proof we love checklists and bullet points – except for in slide decks, then it’s evil.  Our GHOST process needs to be SMARTER.  We like acronyms too.

• Goals : WHY.  Everyone has to work towards something.  Why work if you don’t know what you’re working for?  Why is this needed for your business.  Most times, this is the hardest idea to formulate.
• Holistic : DO.  Here we have to make sure what we do, what everything DOES, serves a greater good, not just for our company, but our clients, their clients, and honestly, the whole Internet.  Our team works very hard to make sure everything we do is fair and balanced, and produces no foreseeable harm.  Our work has to provide positive benefit for everyone involved – from our client’s bottom line to our employees happiness and well-being.
• Objectives : WHAT.  These are very specific actions that will reach a goal.  If objectives are written SMARTER, results will follow.  5% of Facebook Fan Page user interaction per week to be obtained in 120 days.  Specific tasks that can be measured and assigned worth.  Trust us when we say this is hard.
• Strategy : HOW. So you want to get 5% of your Facebook Fan Page population to interact with you?  HOW do you intend on doing that exactly?  Release a video per week, run a contest, give out insider tips and tricks?  This is where we bring the sauce…
• Tactics : WORK.  This is where most people enter the social media game.  Tactics are specific actionable and assigned tasks that you can put a check mark next to on a list.  This is the actual WORK of the entire plan.  It feels productive here, because this is where you DO things.  As you can see, without Strategy, Objectives, Holistic, and Goals, no amount of work will produce results.

5C’s of Digital Engagement

Purple Stripe Productions has devised these five unique trigger points that we have researched over the past three years of working with clients that reflect the reasons people (both in professional and personal capacities) engage online.  With a bazillion people interacting online, what exactly are they doing, why are they there, and what do they want out of it?

• Consume : One way conversion coming right up!  On a very basic level, people online want to find and digest information and entertainment.  Television, newspapers, books, movies, YouTube, blogs – for the most part these information carriers can be operated in a receive-only mode.
• Create : People come to the Internet – social networks and social media specifically – to create content and share ideas.  Blogs, podcasts and web video are all extraordinarily easy to create.  With today’s modern soapbox of the Internet, everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame.
• Collaborate : Coming together to create something greater than the sum of its parts is what fuels some people online to provide value through their joint work with others.
• Contribute : To be part of a village (or a digital tribe) you need to add value by contributing.  Comments on a blog, Likes in Facebook,and ReTweets in Twitter are examples of how the general population online love to give their $0.02.
• Connect : Drawn together by common interests, professions, hobbies, history or location, platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook thrive on the basic need of people wanting to connect with other people.  The need to connect drives everything a digital community does.

Secret Sauce

When you take a step back and look at our process at Purple Stripe, it may seem very easy to cut/paste our formula and get to work yourself. If that were the case, you should also be able to take the processes above and architect an amazing website, write a novel, build a house or even produce a movie.  The point being, you still need an immense amount of talent and experience to pull it off.  That is where we shine.

Our team are huge fans of CopyBlogger, and today an article up on their site really hit home.   The Internet seems so *FREE* now.  Free news, free entertainment, free email, free networking.  What’s happening is the perceived value of these products, services, and information is being cheapened by the fact that they (can be) easy.

People, especially ones that are in charge of small to medium size businesses, have started to fall for the trap of FREE and GOOD ENOUGH.  We’ve had business cards handed to us from owners of multiple car dealerships with the Vistaprint ad on the back.  We’ve seen doctors offices with AOL email accounts.  We’ve seen professional athlete sports training facilities with websites from Yellow Pages.

Is that really how you want to do business?

Fast / Good / Cheap – pick two.  (But it will show…your customers can tell…)

#3: Looking like a cheapskate

It’s so easy to set up an online business these days — just whack up a WordPress.com or Blogger site and off you go.

Need graphics? Pick up some clip art. Logo and website header? $50 should take care of that if you outsource to the lowest bidder. Business cards? You can get freebies from Vistaprint, why pay money for a designer and printing? Newsletter list? Send that from your desktop with Outlook.

The only problem here is that your business looks cheap. And the overall impression visitors and potential clients get is that you’re (a) broke, (b) cheap and (c) unprofessional.

There are some things you can do free or low-cost and no one will notice. Your website is not one of them.

Don’t get me wrong here, you don’t have to go to the other extreme and mortgage your house to pay for the website. You do have to make sure that your site has a clean, professional look, that it’s easy to navigate, and that your web presence makes you look worth the prices you charge.

Tickets for PodCamp 2010 are now available for purchase!

October 2nd & 3rd @ Temple University

Be sure to sign up for this year’s PodCamp Philly 2010 & celebrate our 4th year together! For a trip down memory lane, check out the slideshow & video pages for PodCamp Philly 2007 – 2008 – 2009 to see how much fun we had! Can’t wait to see you this year!

Would you rather be rich or famous?  Happy or popular?  Healthy or beautiful?  Every one is a trick question – why can’t we have both (or all) of the options?  While outwardly we may pick the answer that is more accepted by the public – rich, happy and healthy – most times people crave famous, popular, and beautiful.

Now take a step back and think of your business.  Would you rather have your business be profitable or popular?  Much of what companies do in social media is aimed at becoming popular.  If your Facebook page has more ‘likes’ and fans, you can be popular.  If more people follow you on Twitter or YouTube, you can be popular.  If you have more subscribers and comments on your blog, you can be popular.

We know it’s exciting to be popular, especially in social media and networking platforms.  You have a bigger megaphone and a higher soapbox.  ‘Internet famous‘ people mention you or add you to their very small list of connections.  Maybe you are even invited to conferences to speak.  Chris Brogan, C.C. Chapman and Brian Solis like you, they really really LIKE you…

But are these things making you profitable?  Sometimes they do.  Most times they don’t.  After the initial quick hit of ‘friending’ you have to provide constant quality content in order to keep the attention of those you’ve wooed.  It takes a considerable amount of time to develop trust and relationships that lead to profits.  Being popular on social media networks has hardly ever lead to profits without a plan.

Instead of worrying about the easy things like the numbers of fans, followers, friends, hits, and click-throughs you get, think about attracting the right audience in the first place.  Operating in a frantic mode to acquire higher numbers for the sake of more numbers produces short-term success.  Why not focus on producing the very best content to attract and keep the types of people that will best lead to profits for your company?  With focus your job gets easier, you become more efficient, and your efforts will produce more results.  The climb may seem a bit slower, but it will be build on a solid foundation of people that are genuinely interested in what you have to say and offer.  With that comes profits.

Profits don’t always have to tie directly back to money, but can translate to other measurable items like downloads of a whitepaper, signups for a webinar, opt-ins for a email newsletter, and yes, even a new customer.  Of course you need to know what you want out of the system before you start on the journey and keep focused on the long term.

Now of course if your company enjoys popularity on social media outlets, you need to figure out how to convert that into profits before your audience moves on to the next hot thing – or your competition.  Have you figured out a way to pull out those people that can turn into customers while still keeping the general public feed, cared for, and entertained?  It is a difficult task without a plan.

The lesson here?  Being popular sure is nice, but without profits to back it up, your 15 minutes of Internet fame are almost up.

A question on LinkedIn spurred a bit of topic here.  What happens when a company is currently & successfully engaged in social media marketing?  What’s next?

Here’s a great idea.  GO OFFLINE. Analog. Old school. Yes, really.

All those people that you have been talking to online and that act as purple cows (affiliate link) for your products and services? MEET THEM. Host and sponsor blogger events, Tweetups, sponsor industry events/conferences and cross-promote your online involvement – take your relationship to the next level and do something offline.

Don’t loose site of the fact that your goal is to sell. Retailers want people to walk though their front door.  E-tailers want people to click “order.”  B2B’s want their phones to ring.  Just because you can talk to customers online doesn’t mean the relationship should stay there.

As brilliant as I think the new Old Spice Man is it was professional content produced by an agency. Now, some amazing ‘user generated content’ appears that may just dethrone the viral Old Spice spots.

OhDoctah (video link) & Alyssa Milano (video link) **both videos “Not Safe For Work”** have both come out with rebuttals to Old Spice Man that are taking Twitter by storm.  Personally I love OhDoctah’s video, I’ve met Owen in person and he is very very funny and charming.  He knows a thing or two about the social space online and obviously knows how to make an impression!

What’s your take on the whole thing? Personally I love how the public finally has a chance to ‘talk back’ to the television and add their $0.02. What I’m most curious about is if Dove (referenced in OhDoctah’s video) will love it or hate it since it’s not sanctioned by the company.

Quick chat about why it’s important to customize your message for each social media platform you engage with – and what happens when you ignore a conversation YOU started.

Purple Stripe Productions is a quickly growing firm looking for an energetic, motivated Sales Account Executive with a proven track record of successful sales to sell our company’s services and products.  Purple Stripe specializes in interactive media marketing, including social media strategy, content management systems, and digital brand management. We work with clients in several industries, including retail, conferences / trade show, higher education, banking, pharmaceutical, publishing and the B2B sector – as well as augmenting services from larger interactive digital agencies.

Responsibilities:

• Be responsible for developing new relationships with clients and partners
• Work closely with owners of the company and other team members
• Learn the services and technical solutions our company provides
• Be capable of writing, editing and talking through sales proposals
• Meeting individual quarterly and annual sales goals
• Regularly contribute to the company blog and other social media channels
• Be a fast learner and have the ability to clearly articulate the value of our product

Skills & Experience:

• Minimum of 2-3 years sales and/or account management experience, preferably in an interactive or digital agency environment
• Working knowledge of web and content management system development, web design and digital marketing
• Excellent organizational skills, ability to manage multiple clients simultaneously
• Works well individually and in a team environment
• Proven track record of securing client contracts
• Excellent oral and written communication skills for effective communication to clients and team members
• Ability to maintain a positive, upbeat, passionate mentality internally and when interacting with clients

Our company operates differently and we prefer to take a look at your skills and experience in a non-traditional manner. Make it thrilling and exciting. Make us LOVE you. Grab our attention by Twitter (@PurpleStripe), Facebook (facebook.com/purplestripe), or even email (opportunity@purplestripe.com). Be creative, it shows us you can woo a client as well. If you are so inclined to send a traditional resume, please send a copy to opportunity@purplestripe.com along with relative work experience. References from former employers and clients are required.

This position requires the ability to work off-site (telecommuting), but candidate must be available to meet at our Trenton NJ office twice a week.

While it’s impossible to know the inner-workings of Google search, outsiders can take an educated guess. What exactly happens when you click Search? This infographic from PPCBlog helps visualize the process – that takes just ONE SECOND to complete.

Infographic by PPC Blog