Brain Bucket

Augmented Reality Kills The QR Code Star | Fast Company

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:21:13 -0500

Go Fast Company! Go!

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Change: Lessons on What's Next

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:21:25 -0600

Here’s an article by Brian Solis (briansolis.com) about three serious innovative thinkers. These guys take a simple idea and dig down deep. They are thinking small…how to connect with friends…how to accept credit card payment anywhere…tell your friends where you are…

These are small, local, single little ideas that have ended up changing the way you and I work and live and buy and share.

How do these ideas impact YOUR business?
They are impacting you right now…did you know that?

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Elevator Speech Examples - The most common mistakes | Marketing Action Club BLOG

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:38:53 -0600

Once Again! Jerry Smith tells it like it is. Take a minute and go to his Ezine Article (see the link below). Jerry is all about keeping your elevator speech relevant, personal, and real. You should also Friend Jerry Up on his Facebook Page at http://facebook.com/marketingactionclub

Go to any networking event and you will hear them – elevator speeches. They are the staple of organized as well as open networking events.

There are many ways to do this well, but 5 extremely common ways businesses typically sabotage their efforts to grab attention with their introduction.

1. Talking About Yourself

2. Assuming Others Understand You

3. Irrelevent Information

4. Trying to be Cute

5. NOT Trying

For a longer article on what these are, plus tips to avoid making them here is a link to our full length article in Ezine Aritcles:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Elevator-Speech-Examples—The-FIVE-MOST-Common-Mistakes&id=4806450

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Small is Beautiful

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 09:15:16 -0500

Small numbers are important. Online Marketing…Emerging Media…Social Network Marketing…has for too long been focused on the “top of the funnel”, or the big numbers.

I don’t care about the big numbers…and if you have a business … and if you have decided that emerging media is important…and if you are looking for a metric to measure… and if you need more people to to know who you are…neither should you.

You should care about the small numbers.

This is not mass media…this is small media.

For my Topeka Subways client…I need to try to get a regular customer to come back in to a place they already know and love two more times per month. And while we WANT every customer to do this…to show growth I need a relatively small number of people to do so. This is why it is significant that in the last 30 days they have added more than 20 Foursquare friends (Topeka Foursquare)…this is why it is huge that they have 180 Facebook fans (Topeka Subways) that are beginning to interact more…this is why it is noteworthy that they have 151 Twitter followers (@Topekasubway)… and important that we have around 650 people on our email list who receive an email every couple of months.

These are not big numbers…once upon a time I would have never shared these! The key is…these are the right people. These are people who want to hear from us…who eat the food…who are already customers AND who happen to also use one or two of the online tools that we do.

Developing the power of small numbers is community management…it is one on one interaction…it is knowing who you need to talk to and how many people you need to buy from you.

Is there a small number that is beautiful for you?

How admin privacy works on Facebook Pages (video)

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:11:23 -0500

via johnhaydon.com

Page and Profile privacy on Facebook! Here is another nice video from @johnhaydon … Thanks John!

John, as always, keeps the focus on using the tool in your hand correctly. Interact and connect…this is now your job. Try hard not to get too scared about interacting with your supporters…It is well worth it!

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"How to Handle an Employee's Controversial Online Comment" : from American Express OpenForum

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:33:26 -0500

This article is from Sharlyn Lauby from Mashable (just click on the VIA openforum.com). Super good and useful stuff! Even though common sense SHOULD be a guide for folks making comments online…one person’s common sense is another’s “holy crap! I can’t believe you just did that!” Social Media tools are becoming more and more essential for business. And even though you may not “get it” yet…you need to take the time to be knowledgeable about options, information, tools and how your employees could and probably ARE using these things. This article is a great start.

via openforum.com

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Scramble For The Future... Support the Kids at Gordon Parks Elementary School!

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:15:49 -0500

Gordon Parks Elementary School is the beneficiary for this event. Altrusa is an international service organization, and their Kansas City chapter has supported Gordon Parks for many years.
Please take a minute to learn more about this event, and consider putting together a foursome. You can learn more about Gordon Parks Elementary School at their website: Gordonparks.org Altrusa International of Greater Kansas City’s
14th Annual Scramble for the Future Golf Tournament
Monday, July 19, 2010
1:00 Shotgun Start
Box Lunch and Dinner Included
Creekmoor Golf Course
1112 E. 163rd Street
Raymore, Missouri 64083

Click here for registration form

via altrusakc.org

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7 Reasons Social Media Just Isn't Working for You | Media Emerging

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:03:04 -0500

via mediaemerging.com

This is a blog post from Media Emerging…click on the “via media emerging” link to read the whole thing. It is very good!

Managing expectations, and getting people to really hear you when you say, “this takes time and effort!” is a big challenge.

I focus on the merits and power of the indirect route to interaction and engagement. Let’s use these tools as they were designed to be used!

Twitter is not a radio ad. LinkedIn is not simply a way to stalk your sales prospect!

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OMG the Vuvuzela Really IS Powerful | SPURspectives

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:22:43 -0500

Read Dave Svet’s Article OMG The Vuvuzela Really IS Powerful

Thanks David! I hate those horns, and love your B-flat information!

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Emerging Media Toolbox On LazyFeed

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:02:38 -0500

Emerging Media Toolbox On LazyFeed:

I love this tool! It is called LazyFeed and you can create “channels” of feeds and share them. You “post” to these channels by making a comment or observation about other’s blog posts. Here is the widget for my LazyFeed.

Now…if I could only edit the width of this widget so I could display it in the narrow sidebar on my Tumblr theme…I would be over the moon!

YouTube Blog: Edit video in the cloud with the YouTube Video Editor

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:40:11 -0500

via youtube-global.blogspot.com

OOOHHH…now this looks interesting.

Edit your videos “in the cloud” … without having to have a lot of expertise…

Has anyone tried this out yet?

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How CEOs are Using Social Media for Real Results

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:00:37 -0500

via mashable.com

From Sharlyn Lauby at Mashable is a nice blog post about how C-Level folks are using Social Media. These are people who demand real results.

One of the standout points from this post is that engagement can have other benefits and can result in something valuable other than a sale. Of course, the sale or signup or customer in your door is the ultimate end result we are looking for…however, good will, a stronger brand more word of mouth…these are also what we are searching for.

Nice article…please take a look!

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Social Media Measurement Should Focus on Outcomes, Not Output — Very Official Blog

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:27:13 -0500

via veryofficialblog.com

What a terrific blog post and video. Please take a few minutes to digest the information here!

One of my favorite take aways from the video is the idea that you can’t Pay to Play anymore…You have to actually PLAY to PLAY.

The first example in the video is Gary Vaynerchuk. He built his success through intense, personal interaction. And he does it EVERY day.

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Current Project: Topeka Subways

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:58:36 -0500

Buying a sandwich from Subway isn’t really something you make big plans to do. I’m hungry, I want to eat healthy, I see a Subway…I go get a sandwich.

I like the way you can see the ingredients, the way the people there…The Sandwich Artists…care about what they make for me.

Brain Bucket is currently working with the great folks at Topeka Subways, Emporia Subways, and Junction City Subways.

The Big Idea:

The Subway customer is very tech savvy. They are particular about what they want. And, there are “regulars.” I suggested that these franchises need a way to engage with their customers without doing empty, repetitive and ineffective “campaigns.”

The Approach:

A) Engage people on a very local level by studying community relationships the franchisee already has, and use a few social media tools to broaden the reach / visibility. Thus, Topeka Subways will be a sponsor at Heartland Park this summer in a number of ways…more on that later!

B) Time the launch of online properties with efforts already happening during the Subway National advertising windows. For example: timing the launch of the launch of a new local website with the national advertising push for breakfast offerings.

C) My customer also wanted to create an email list, in order to time email marketing with the advertising windows. Thus, we created a give us your email for a cookie push in his Topeka locations. This has resulted in collecting approximately 500 emails in less than two weeks.

Online Properties:

Topeka Subways.com

Topeka Subways Facebook

Topeka Subways Twitter

Emporiasubways.com

Brain Bucket Toolbox Blog

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:01:32 -0500

Brain Bucket Toolbox Blog:

Posterous is a very cool blogging tool that I like to use. The Brain Bucket Toolbox is where I take a look at what should be in your toolbox if you are a business and you are trying to tackle marketing online.

Google Search Gets a Major Overhaul

Wed, 05 May 2010 14:55:00 -0500

via mashable.com

Here is a quick review of Google Search and what is new.

Check out the left hand navigation and Google’s work to make search a more “unified” experience.

I am sure that there will be a Facebook group soon… “bring back old Google” … but I think that change and a focus on simple design and presentation + making search more about ME and what I want is a good thing.

Look for more ideas about how this will impact your business soon!

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How Facebook Community Pages Undermine Nonprofit’s Official Pages in Facebook Searches « Nonprofit Tech 2.0

Wed, 05 May 2010 10:08:00 -0500

If you maintain a facebook page for a company or a non profit…you need to take a look at this article. You need to know that Facebook is reshaping how it ranks and displays search results. You need to know that ANYONE can set up a “community page” with some variation of your company’s name in it. I will post more strategies and possible solutions as I find them. For now, please read this article and reply here if you have encountered an issue like this.

via nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com

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Facebook's Open Graph Personalizes the Web

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:10:28 -0500

via mashable.com

Facebook is aiming to connect your business with the social web. Check out these announcements they just made regarding features and new additions.

I know people are concerned about security with these new products…so protect yourself. Do you KNOW what is public and what is private on your profile right now? Do you know how to find out? I will post some quick hints in the coming days.

In the meantime, please click on through to the Mashable article and check out Facebook’s new stuff! Then post comments and questions here at teh toolbox. How do you see this impacting your business? It will! Let’s keep an eye on that together!

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Social Media Marketing: 5 Steps to Tell if Your "Expert" is a Phony | Business @ Level 6

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:17:43 -0500

via cerconebrown.com

I love this list! Thank you to Business@level6…#4 is really important! But so is #5…I can’t guarantee what will happen, because your emerging media plan is only going to bring people to your door…what you do with them once they raise their hand and say they are interested in your service is what YOUR company is all about!

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5 Unique Ways to Use Twitter for Business

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:42:00 -0500

**This series is supported by the Social Influence System and WE twendz™ pro, presented by Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. To learn more visit Waggeneredstrom.com/nozombies.

Customer service, recruiting, contests, giveaways and promotions — these are all standbys for businesses using Twitter as a medium to connect with customers and fans.

Given that Twitter as a platform supports nearly limitless applications for business use, we thought it time to highlight some of the newer Twitter-for-business opportunities that aren’t so obvious.

From pitching your followers and rewarding Twitter loyalty, to keeping a trained eye on the Twitterverse, targeting smaller communities, and adding metadata to tweets, here are some unique ways to use Twitter in your social business strategy.

via mashable.com

Leave it up to Mashable and Jennifer Van Grove to put this post together. Twitter is not just the fire hose, or as one friend (@jerrryskc) put it, the sewer hose. There are many unique ways to use this tool.

When you start with a business goal, and take a look at Twitter (or any other tool for that matter!), there are many ways to use it for business purposes.

There is not just one way to use Twitter. Check these uses out, and then please share any others you use.

Thank you to Jennifer Van Grove and Mashable for another great post!

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