This week, I’ve been managing the production of a fashion brochure. I do it twice a year for an established company run by a couple of good guys. A successful kiwi fashion label.

The brochures are printed four colour process and it’s a job that I look forward to – we have multiple plate changes for the addresses of a fair number of Australasian retailers – suffice to say, it’s a pretty comprehensive packing list. A goodly-sized print run.

Some brochures are shipped overseas and quantities are also dispatched for magazine insertion.

In my industry, some will say it’s rather risky to mention the name of the client, however I’m guessing that a few will already know that I’ve been handling the Verge job for  some time – 10 years, in fact.

Yet, here I am again, checking the lays on the press – I do it every time.

This job needs to be perfect and I like to get it right every time. I like a happy customer and I don’t take things for granted.

Yes, I am putting myself out there by posting this but I hope it also shows a little faith. The decision was also partly due to the comparisons I’ve been drawing with social media and how it is starting to work for me.

My client is a satisfied one - I know this because we communicate. I seek feedback, I provide the best value and service that I can - and I remain honest. We trust each other. It works.

We also have a little fun on the way through.

These are the ingredients that seem to work well on twitter  – Putting yourself out there. Sharing and enjoying the process. Doing the best you can and being honest . Engage with your audience, provide value and have a little faith.  And a little fun.

When you get these things right – good stuff starts to happen.

When I was a kid learning the drums, my muso step dad  introduced me to two legendary American jazz drummers - Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.

I remember my Dad - especially in April

On April 23^rd 1945, Neil Treacher of Hastings, New Zealand and his fellow prisoners of war were liberated from Stalag IVB, Muhlberg-on-Elbe, Germany, by Cossacks of the Russian Army  - That special day was also his 23^rd birthday.

He had been incarcerated by the Germans in September 1943 having survived the harrowing experience of having his aircraft  blown out of the sky over Mannheim on the night of September 6^th. It was their 19^th mission.  Both port engines had been blown off the wing by flak and the crippled plane pirouetted into a violent spin. Dad had tried in vain to free one of his crewmates from a jammed gun turret and despite frantically attacking the mechanism with a fire axe, he was eventually forced to bail out of the flaming, spinning aircraft at just 500 feet, only seconds before it hit the ground.  Upon landing on German soil, it was very much a case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire" and he and the few surviving members of his Stirling bomber crew were very fortunately captured and arrested by the authorities before the axe and pitchfork-wielding villagers could gather their nooses. Soon he was  transported by rail in a cattle car for interrogation by the Gestapo before being sent on to the POW camp which lay south of Berlin and north east of Dresden by the Elbe River

The celebrations of this Liberation day more than 18 months later however were short-lived as the prisoners soon realised that the Russian army now posed a  greater threat to their safety than their fleeing German captors.

The war wasn't yet over and the surrounding woods of Muhlberg-on-Elbe were still a very dangerous place. Stalag IVB camp remained the safest option and only the very bravest ventured from this sanctuary for food or to make their escape to the west.

The Russian army had been out of control. The nearby towns and villages were ransacked, officials were shot, houses looted and women raped.  Even unfortunate starving POWs, desperate for food were on occasion, shot. Through the grace of God and a jammed Russian rifle, my father and his Australian mate narrowly escaped that fate after being caught with two dead chickens.

As the war drew to an end and with the very welcome arrival of the American allies, it was only then that the men could feel the joy of liberation and know that they would soon be returned home to the safety of England.

Sadly, memories of the war haunted my father for the rest of his life and, just two weeks before Christmas  1968, events conspired to totally overwhelm him and he decided he'd had enough.

He was 46 and I was 8.

As we approach Anzac Day, please remember the sacrifices that so many brave men and women made for us all during those war years and the deep scars it left on the hearts of the families touched by those dark events so long ago.

Pause and consider too, the families of those with loved ones in Afghanistan and other centres of conflict around the world, we pray that they can be returned to their homes safely very soon.

On April 23^rd 2010 my Dad would have turned 88.

Thank you Dad, I love you and I miss you.

I remember you.

The rise and rise of social media.

Social media

According to Wikipedia, social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many).

 My take on how social media marketing can work for you

Who would argue that word of mouth isn't the most powerful selling tool? 

In April 2007, a Neilson survey proved just that. Across all forms of advertising, 78% of the study's respondents based their decision making upon recommendations from consumers - or word of mouth. (Source: Neilson Online Global Consumer Study April 2007 / Base : All respondents)

Since then and with the explosion of Social Media sites such as twitter, facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, it becomes pretty obvious where the clever communicators and businesses are starting to direct their attention.

Social media, let's be clear, is just one channel in the growing digital marketing phenomenon. Digital marketing encompasses channels such as search engine optimization (SEO) for your website, blogging, mobile marketing and email marketing.

Social media can very quickly provide insight into what the market thinks of your brand (both personal and business). Social communities share information, opinions, excitement and disappointment. There are more and more examples being reported of how social marketing has resulted in  a profound effect on a product or service eliciting immediate response  -  even a movie launch (anyone remember the panning  of the movie  - Bruno - which spread like wildfire via  social media?)

Using twitter as an example : 

Twitter is a free social networking and micro blogging service

Evan Williams, the CEO of twitter describes it thus:

"What we have to do is deliver to people the best and freshest most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as it's not a social network, but it's an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world."

I have spent several months familiarising myself with the dynamism of twitter and now understand  that if you really want to know what the market thinks of your brand, then you need to at least, connect - But if you want to build brand loyalty,  then you need to engage.

But be warned,whilst twitter is a free service - there is a cost, - time. Many business owners simply do not have the time to build up a sufficient base of followers. It is therefore essential that a strategy is formulated and adopted to generate acceptable ROI (which in turn needs to be measured). It can take time and lots of it.

However judging by the take up of so many high profile national and international brands and business organizations such as Coca Cola,  Air New Zealand, TVNZ, Vodafone NZ and  even individuals such as President Obama, Bill Gates, NZ's PM John Key, Oprah Winfrey or even Ashton Kutcher  - there is sufficient evidence  to suggest that the investment is worth it.

In my opinion, twitter epitomizes the shift in thinking from late last century to today where Greed is now bad and Sharing is now very good. The current growth and future potential of Social Media is phenomenal and I believe firmly that you now need to be where your customers are because it is they who will drive your business forward. Here is the opportunity for your customers to know what you think and how you feel. The opportunity to inform, promote, engage, influence, respond and react.

Digital marketing spending will increase 17% in 2010 as marketers move away from TV, print and radio advertising to social media, mobile search and email marketing. Two out of three of the 1000 Marketers surveyed recently by e-mail service provider, US-based ExactTarget and internet marketing  and e-commerce consulting firm, Econsultancy indicated that they intend to increase their digital marketing budgets. Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget's director of research and strategy says "Interestingly, brand reputation is becoming a more significant driver of the migration to digital marketing, particularly when it comes to Social Media"

Remember that word of mouth is still the most powerful selling tool. Remember also to engage in social media - you must Be Social.

This youtube video has been out for six months or so,  but is still relevant and most impressive none the less.

For those who haven't seen it, - it's a Must - See