Straight Talk Blog
Ted Rubin
Introducing my new best (travel) friend… from @BriggsandRiley #BRXTravelGear
You might think that with a life so focused on social media, my business travel would be limited… but I practice what I preach about balancing online and offline presence and spend a LOT of time traveling. I just returned from a fantastic trip to Colombia for...
Café de Colombia – Branding at Its Best
I met Juan Valdez -- yes, the “actual” Juan Valdez -- this week (more on that at the end of this post)! The fact that I am genuinely excited about this, and that you likely know who (and what) I’m referencing here says a lot about the success of this brand. Café de...
How to find the online/offline balance in marketing
With the ongoing emphasis on maximizing marketing campaigns by using online communication and tools, we need to remember that consumers still exist – and often still operate in – the bricks and mortar world. Marketers/Brands must carefully blend both online and...
How Social Media Can Generate Real $$$
Yes, social media can generate business dollars -- very real and measurable dollars. As I said in a recent Tweet, “… Awareness=Revenues. Differentiators=Margins. Authenticity=Loyalty. ALL measurable.” The concepts are similar to traditional media marketing, but they...
12 Most Significant Reasons I Love Bloggers and You Should Too
Bloggers are amazing people who add a great deal of value to my life and work – and in my social media saturated work/life, that means a great deal! Every day I am thrilled to be part of the awesome blogger community, and here’s why you (and your brand) need to love...
Is Your Marketing Igniting Shopper Purchase …or Shopper Spam Filters?
Marketers used to be able to get away with intrusive advertising, placing online ads as pop-ups, highly distractive Flash animations, and a variety of other methods designed specifically to grab shoppers’ attention. However, consumers have changed and are no longer...
12 Most Important Ways to Build Brand Advocates
Successful social media marketing is all about relationships, with the highest ROR (Return on Relationship) coming from relationships with your Brand Advocates -- those people who are so delighted by your product/service/brand that they can’t wait to tell their...
A Consumer-based View of Data Gathering
The more social media use becomes a way of business and a way of life, the more we are seeing – and will continue to see – issues around data collection and user privacy. It of course makes sense for marketers to leverage this data, but in my opinion, we’re going...
Think before you discount
Until recently, “social media fatigue” has been the most dangerous “condition” that we social media marketers have had to combat. Now, however, with the recent trend toward frequent deep discounts and coupon offers, we are risking an even more serious condition of...
Are You Laying the Groundwork Your Brand’s “Infinite Moments of Truth”?
Moments of Truth are well-known concepts in the marketing world, from research (Zero Moment of Truth)… to shopping (First Moment of Truth) … to owning/using a product (Second Moment of Truth). Now, in a recent blog post, David Berkowitz introduces one more: the...
Title: Google+: A Platform, Not the Message
Google+ is here — what do you need to change about your brand message to leverage this new tool? Nothing! Now more than ever, your brand message needs to remain strong and consistent, and your focus needs to stay on building relationships. Don’t let new tools (like...
Is your brand relevant to your social media audience?
Since social media makes it so simple (quick and easy) to post your message (content) in numerous social networks, it can be tempting to spray your message around the cybersphere as far and wide as possible. However, that method keeps you at a surface level of...
The science of social media marketing: experiment, experiment, experiment!
There are no true experts or gurus in this social media space – we are ALL still trying to figure this out. When I said that at the 140 Character’s Conference: New York City (#140conf) the audience applauded… because we all assume that someone else has all the...
12 Most Important Ways to Build Relationships and Get ROR (Twitter Hashtag #RonR)
If you want to continue to reach your market in this social media age, the marketing focus needs to be on building relationships, and metrics need to expand beyond ROI (Return on Investment) to include ROR: Return on Relationship™… simply put the value that is accrued...
The 4th of July – “INDEPENDENCE DAY” – Declare Yours!
The thought of Independence Day brings to mind the current economic environment as well as personal family challenges for me. Many of us go through our lives, day to day, thinking that our only recourse is to put our heads down, one foot in front of the other, and...
Don’t overlook the Baby Boomers!
If you think that the place to reach Baby Boomers (born between 1946 – 1964) is anywhere that does not include technology, think again! Boomers in the U.S. are technology-savvy enough to comprise 1/3 of all TV viewers, online users, social media users and...
Have you heard about cb.Socially?
If you haven’t heard, Collective Bias is expanding! Social Fabric is at an all time high, the CB team is growing monthly, and now we have a new division! cb.Socially, a services division of Collective Bias, will provide turn-key conversational media management,...
Collective Bias Opens New Division, cb.Socially, and Signs Webtrends as First Client
06.14.2011– June 14, 2011, Bentonville, Ark. – Collective Bias, LLC, a leading shopper media company, has opened a new services division called cb.socially. The division is devoted to conversational media management, engagement, interaction and relationship building...
My father taught me the value of friendship…
12 Most Important Lessons We Learned from Dad via 12most.com #10. Ted Rubin My father taught me the value of friendship, at all levels, and how important it is for you to be a friend first without expectation. He was always doing things for our neighbors… cleaning up,...
It’s Time to Give Your Brand Advocates a Promotion
Marketers are starting to realize that Brand Advocates are important enough to be part of our marketing strategies… but in my view, we need to take this beyond our Advocates just being “a part” of what we do. We need to value our Advocates enough...
The importance of brand “appeal”
More and more, I like the word “appeal” and its implications for marketing and facilitating the building of relationships. The definition of “appeal” (according to the World English Dictionary) is “the power to attract, please, stimulate, or interest.” So, if we apply...
Ted Rubin, Return on Relationship at the Smart CMO Forum
#140conf: ROR… Return on Relationships
Ted Rubin – Social Media and Return on Relationship Pt 1
Ted Rubin – Social Media and Return on Relationship Pt 2
Authenticity increases ROR (Return on Relationship™)
“It’s not authentic if everyone loves you.” – Stephen Strong (Alberto Culver) at theChicago Brand Advocacy Series. That is a message that every marketer needs to hear loud and clear, especially as the focus on social media gets stronger and recommendations carry more...
What is Your Social ID?
Brand identification is changing right along with the other shifts social media has brought about. It is no longer as much about the company logo, the colors or whether we use our middle initial in visual materials or not; it is now about “Social I.D.” – our voice...
The Importance of Brand Humility
Even if you are absolutely certain that your product/service is one of the best on the market, what you think of your brand is not nearly as important as what your consumers think of it and say about it. They are, after all, the market! “Brand humility is the only...
Recommendations Are the New Advertising
Visa gets it – that the marketing world has changed significantly, and even the big players need to change along with it. In fact, Visa’s head of marketing, Antonio Lucia, reported that Visa has increased their digital media investment from about 11% to at...
Joining Collective Bias as Chief Social Marketing Officer…
I’ve been working in digital marketing since 1997, and each year I believe more strongly in the power of relationships for effectively connecting brands with consumers. Back then, I never could have imagined the incredible connection-building possibilities provided...