I was paying bills yesterday afternoon. I like to be prompt. I like to be accurate.

I had a question.

But on that particular invoice, there was no phone number, no e-mail address, no help for me, with my question.

We are all so connected with e-mail bouncing across multiple addresses and tweets and feeds from blogs to laptops to iPhones and more, that we sometimes forget to tell people how to get in touch with us, live and person. Do a quick review of the paper you generate. Is your contact information bold, complete and easy to read? Take a critical look at your Web presence, all of it. If I get to you by way of Google, can I find a "contact" button quickly? Is your phone number obvious, and not hidden behind jaw-dropping Flash?

Can I call you?

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Catalogs.com has a page on Facebook. This is new for us. We are adding fans to hear what they think about Catalogs.com, while we share news, savings offers and interesting catalogs. Catalogs.com is also connecting with our merchants by making their Facebook Pages the “Favorite Pages” of our Facebook Page.

This is how the web of Facebook works. You have to get the word out there, and keep fanning the embers. No pun on the use of the word “fan.”

Some of our merchants are visiting the Catalogs.com Facebook Page, and asking us for a quick tutorial on how to get started. They see the possibilities. They want to join the web, and connect with their customers, both existing and potential. With over 400 million active Facebook users, there is vast potential. It’s kind of breath-taking.

As a marketer, I encourage our merchants to add social media to their marketing strategies. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs are valuable vehicles for branding and building community. If we listen – not just sell – these forums can provide a perpetual focus group of those who are engaged with our products and services.

Facebook is an excellent social media starting point. Facebook allows a business to share all types of media: copy, statistics, links, photographs and video. Facebook is free. And, once it is set up, Facebook is fairly simple to navigate and maintain.

Facebook made changes to the Profile and Page layouts last week. Here is how you get started in the “new” Facebook:

1. Decide which Facebook page is appropriate.

On Facebook, a “Profile” is for a person, a “Page” is for a business or a brand, a “Cause” is for a fund- or awareness-raising organization, and a “Group” is for networking. “Profiles” have “friends,” “Pages” have “fans,” “Causes” and “Groups” have “members.”

Facebook has its own language, where nouns become verbs, as in “please fan my Page” and “invite your friends to fan our Page.”

A Page for a business or brand must be attached to a person’s Facebook Profile. The person who owns the Profile is the administrator for the Page.

2. If you have a Facebook Profile, and don’t mind connecting your business Page to your own Profile, log in.

If you do not have a Facebook Profile, or if you want to create a “business persona” to administer a business Page, create an account at www.facebook.com. Fill out the required fields. If you already have a personal Profile, you will need to create this new Profile with a different e-mail address – use your business e-mail.

Page fans will not see the Profile that is linked to the Page. You can set privacy preferences for your Profile so that it is hidden completely if you prefer.

If you just set up a new Facebook Profile following the directions above, log in.

3. Go to your Profile Home page, by clicking on “HOME” on the right side of the top blue bar.

4. Scroll down to the very bottom of the Home page, find the small blue type, and click on “Advertising.”

5. On the left side, click on “Pages.”

6. Click on “Create Page” which opens a screen called “Create New Facebook Page.”

7. Fill out the information. Name the page for your business, store, service or brand.
Check the box “Do not make page visible at this time.” This will keep the page hidden until you have added your content and are ready to go live.

8. Click on “Create a Page.” Your Page has been created.

9. Now you can start adding information: a profile picture (your logo is a good start), copy about your product or company, and basics like phone and Web site. Click on all the blue tabs along the top to load information. Add photographs or videos. Click on “Edit Page” and work your way through all the boxes, completing the information.

It’s good for your Facebook Page to be engaging, especially when the Page is new: give your first group of fans something to read, consider and click on. Add a few wall posts to make your new Page visually interesting right from the start. Photos are great – always select “Publish to Wall” when you are uploading photographs; if you upload three or more at a time, the three photos will publish in a group to the Page wall. This looks nice.

Don’t be scared: you can’t break it! If you don’t like the way something looks, delete that piece of content and start over.

10. Decide who will be allowed to post to your Page wall. At the top of your Wall, selecting “Your company + Fans” encourages interaction. It is interesting to allow fans to post photographs as well: they can model the clothing they purchase or share pictures of their decorating projects.

11. When you have content loaded, close your Page. Sign out. Log back into your Profile, find your Page and test all the tabs and links. Proofread your copy. Think about what your Fans – your customers and potential customers – will be looking for. When you are ready to go live, click “publish this Page” in red at the top.

12. Click on the “Share +” button along the left to let your own Facebook friends know about your Page. Ask them to share it with their friends. Promote your Facebook Page on your company Web site and on your printed materials, even your business card.

13. When your Page has reached 25 fans, you can set a custom URL for your Page. Go to http://www.facebook.com/username/ and select a URL. For example: http://www.facebook.com/yourfirstpage. Be certain to check the box that indicates this custom URL is for your Page not for your personal Profile.

14. Keep your Facebook Page current and engaging. Log in to your Facebook Profile to edit your Page. To get to your Page, type the name into the search bar, or click on “Ads and Pages” from your Profile Home.

Some interesting links:

Coffee Talk with Baxter: How to set up a Facebook Fan Page

Blogtrepreneur: Facebook Fan Pages

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week, we met with our new marketing team for the first time. We painted our picture, laid out the facts, discussed what we think of our opportunities and challenges.

Our new marketing whizzes? A group of undergraduates from Florida Atlantic University interning with Catalogs.com for their senior project.

The students – half my age – made me remember working on my MBA at University of Miami. We had similar case studies. I was excited to meet the executives, gather data and run with an idea before putting it to paper. I wonder if the company I used in my case study implemented any of my material.

At Catalogs.com, we are all excited to see what our marketing interns come up with. We are open to out-of-the-box concepts. After they digest the information we loaded on them in our meeting yesterday, they will be formulating a marketing plan. We left the possibilities open, not wanting to stifle creativity. We avoided filling their notepads with our ideas – and encouraged the students to brainstorm their way to something really innovative.

We want our young marketing team to push the envelope, to make us think in a fresh way. We are even open to implementing an idea, and hopeful that the real business outcomes of the students’ work this semester is as valuable to their learning as the process of drilling through the coursework and writing the papers.

I love mentoring. The time I spend with a nonprofit group, Women of Tomorrow, is very satisfying. I enjoy relating my experiences and perspective to the young women. The time I spend mentoring is extended to the commitment at Catalogs.com to open our offices to marketing students. It’s important for businesses to share their industry knowledge in order to teach young people, and it’s important to contribute intellectually content to the new talent our fields will be welcoming.

Working with student interns is a big responsibility. The interactions these marketing students have with Catalogs.com staff will be a huge part of their semester grade. We are here for them, by phone, by email and for in-person feedback. This project will give our interns real business experience that they can draw upon when they interview for their first marketing jobs or move into graduate school.

What is really exciting is how these young people make us think fresh.

After our first meeting, our offices were buzzing with the “what ifs” and “maybe we shoulds.” This will be a great learning experience for us, too.

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For a quick moment I didn’t know what I was looking at: an e-mail from someone in my office framed with a high-tech black and red blog header and a dapper gentleman’s photo. There was our company name and links and our employee’s name.

A news alert found the mention of Catalogs.com in a blog post. The blogger had copied the entire text of an e-mail received from one of our marketing people, and pasted it into his blog: greeting, body and signature line.

The e-mail is a thorough, detailed follow-up for a sales call made by a Catalogs.com marketer to the owner of a specialty clothing company. Nothing to be concerned about: the e-mail is nicely written and represents our company professionally. And although it sits a little off center that someone would post the entire context of a private email in a public forum, and ask for business input from his readers, we are not particularly concerned. We will watch for responses. Monitor the action, if there is any.

Then, we found that this blog feeds to the prospect’s Facebook fan page. And there is our Catalogs.com marketer’s e-mail on the Facebook wall. With comments from fans. Again, nothing to worry about, but a real awareness raiser.

Jeffrey Rohrs writes this week in DMNews , “A main point is to remember that any media that connects you with customers online is social. One thing that people tend to forget is that e-mail is a part of that machine. It's easy to forget that of all the sharing happening online, 50% of the sharing is happening through e-mail.”

Jeffrey is on target, and it is also important to remember that e-mail as a social connection can be forwarded, posted and shared across many forums. When cultivating your social media presence, don’t forget that every electronic communication is part of the chain.

I’d love to hear your comments. Would you use the text of an e-mail - other than a client testimonial – in your social media content?

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Sammy, Senior Editor and fashion blogger at Catalogs.com, is on her way to the Big Apple for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. She leaves sunny South Florida on Valentine’s Day, which is a lovely day for a passionate odyssey into the world of high fashion.

Sammy, writes about fashion at Let’s Talk Style. She has been putting pen, or rather keys, to virtual paper for a couple years. Sammy has a following of fashionistas who love her wit and often tongue-in-cheek view of the world populated by models, designers, awesome handbags, can’t-live-without sweaters and celebrities.

So how does a fashion fanatic go from blogging one day to jet-setting her way to the world’s greatest fashion circus?

Pretty much the same way one goes about blogging on any topic to having a real presence in the conversation: being passionate.

Sammy has a natural knack for writing – she is a published playwright – and she has enthusiastically cultivated her presence as a fashion observer. She isn’t afraid to promote herself. Her passion and her well-crafted blog served as her entrée for fashion press accreditation. Miami Beach Fashion Week, Sammy’s home turf, was the perfect starting point to create a place for herself among the cameras and beautiful people. She earned a place in the “Press Book” and kept her observations and her blog in the fray. Now Sammy’s inbox is filling with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2010 invites to shows, receptions, showrooms and boutique events.

For the next couple of days, I’m living vicariously. Fashion blogging is Sammy’s niche, not mine.

But just to tease me, Sammy let me know that Tahari is among the elite designers who will be showcasing their line at Fashion Week. Sammy has an invitation to attend the Tahari event, which I think is just thrilling.

I am a devotee of Tahari. I absolutely love Tahari’s tailored suits. I always find something perfect from the line when I have to dress for a special dinner or celebration. The company has a great story. Elie Tahari, who grew up in an orphanage and came to the US in the 1970’s, worked his way up from a boutique in Greenwich Village to running a fashion empire inspired by his vision for dressing sexy, sophisticated women with clean, straight lines. (Image caption: Leslie styling in Tahari with Senator Bob Graham.)

The Tahari Web site is super chic and tailored, too. It is not an e-commerce site, but a “showroom,” with a cool flipbook for browsing the new collection, and a very easy to use search tool for finding a Tahari retailer. Tahari is not a Catalogs.com merchant, but they certainly should be. I would guarantee my personal attention.

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am not a huge football fan.

But when it comes to the Super Bowl, oddly enough, you can’t pull me away.

Why?

I have a passion for advertising and marketing. I love the wittiness and hilarity of the ads. I am eager to see the cutting edge in much-hyped big budget TV commercials.

My favorite this year was Budweiser’s Clydesdale and the Longhorn steer. Leave off the last few words of the voice over - “not even a fence” - and the ad would have met my idea of perfection. “Nothing comes between friends” was perfect, with punch and effectiveness that made it stand out in the Super Bowl ad pack.

And the Google ad was wonderful. I type fast - yes, Google ad fast - and live my life fast, but not that fast. I laughed out loud. It was funny and sweet. We are replaying the script this morning, and the final search not one of us forgot, “how to assemble a crib.” What a great advertising debut for Google, and I am not agreeing at all with the criticism that a Parisian love story was not “Super Bowl” material.

What I found a wee bit disappointing is that this year, not a lot of the ads were really exciting. I’ve had enough bawking chickens. Babies trading stock online. Cartoon characters pitching soft drinks.

Then there’s the opposite side of the sentimental Google commercial: too much testosterone. I understand that this is the Super Bowl, the culmination of a season of head-jarring, bone-smashing entertainment. But there seemed to be an emphasis on violence. A Dorito stuck like a ninja star in a man’s neck, a semi-truck full of beer rolling over a human bridge (ouch!), sassy little children, no matter how cute, smacking an adult. And the dog that strapped a shock collar onto his owner, which made me laugh, although I’m sure the ad horrified dog trainer Victoria Stilwell, the evangelist of canine positive reinforcement and non-violent redirection.

The most fascinating “buzz” of the evening was on my laptop, though, where I was logged into Twitter and YouTube and surfing for work in between ads and plays on the field. There was an online conversation within seconds about each commercial (and probably the football plays too, but that’s not where I was tuned in) and an instantaneous YouTube replay for my favorites. These ads were not only Super Bowl commercials, they were multi-media social mega-entities. The “play” they garnered off the Super Bowl field has a huge economic reach.

And I’ll admit: I added the Google commercial to my Playlist. It’s a keeper.

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A colleague just referred me to this article from Direct: Online Marketers Talk the Talk, But Don’t Walk the Walk: Study. The article made me stop and ask myself, “Is Catalogs.com effectively using personalization tools?”

And it made me realize that we’re definitely NOT doing all we can, especially in terms of our own newsletter. Though we are doing some personalization, we are far from a stellar example of best practices. If you are a leader in a company, like I am, you might ask yourself, “What are we doing and how much more can we do?”

In the study, it was noted that three quarters of online marketers recognize that personalizing offers should be a tool, but that only half are actually using personalization tools. Years ago, Catalogs.com recognized the critical importance of personalization. We generated a personalized “savings certificate” with your name on it, stating, “Leslie, you will receive Free Shipping.” This was an attention grabbing device that immediately helped us convert that “browsing consumer” into a bon-a-fide sale.

And yet … I am now reviewing that strategy and understanding we didn’t make excellent use of personalization tools. We took the first step, or two, and didn’t go further.

Another point in the article - on performance metrics - also resonated with me, particularly for catalog retailers.

Coremetrics, specializing in marketing optimization, has discovered a disconnect between knowing and doing. Online marketers – 47% of us - reported that we would determine the success of 2009 by analyzing our performance metrics. But a whopping 62% of those of us who are looking at data lack confidence in our selection of metrics.

It is distressing to me when catalogers spend precious marketing dollars on programs and then fail to track responses and perform accurate trackbacks. In today’s multi-channel marketing world, especially in online shopping, a consumer will often go to the Web – print catalog in hand – and place their order by simply typing an item number. The entire process for the consumer takes a few short minutes.

What catalog firms are missing, tragically, is that it is critical to “trackback” where they originally got the lead: from the mailed print catalog. Just because a consumer orders online or by phone does not mean that a direct mail catalog did not prompt them to take action.

This is why tracking performance and tracking leads is so vitally important.

John Squire, chief strategy officer of Coremetrics, issued a statement, "Companies that can harness marketing technology can then get the most meaning and value out of the data they collect from it. In turn this enables companies to personalize their marketing efforts and create a competitive advantage."

I hear you.

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I keep tabulating online hours. For my kids, for myself, even for the colleagues I see on Facebook and Twitter. It is mind boggling.

A Kaiser Family Foundation study has me fascinated. The study indicates that eight to eighteen year olds spend more than 7-1/2 hours a day with media. This is seven days a week. Our kids find these 7-1/2 hours when they are not listening to a teacher, eating family meals, reading for school, participating in sports and sleeping.

This study will impact the way that those of us who use media as a business tool target young people. First of all we know that they are connected, and connected almost all the time. We know that there is a lot of information competing for our kids’ attention. Kaiser reported that young people pack 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content into 7-1/2 hours. Our children are masters of multi-tasking. Or not.

I cannot imagine that kids are absorbing and processing this content well. In the interest of getting a lot, perhaps they are not getting it well. The suggestion that they “sit down and concentrate” seems passé. Concentrate on which window, for how long?

This all makes me sad. In my house, I still cherish time spent lying in bed with my kids and reading books. NOT on Kindles or iPads, but the old-fashioned hard cover, page-turning type of books.

Our messages have to be faster, flashier and more skilled at grabbing a slice of fractured attention than the messages we created before, to do just the same thing. Our marketing efforts, and especially our educational efforts, have to capitalize on our kids’ ability to tolerate “media noise” and their inevitably waning ability to concentrate.

As our business colleagues dive into social media, and spend at least some portion of the business day flitting from Twitter to Facebook to blog, we also have to craft new strategies for attention-capturing business communication. This morning I read an interesting post by Chad White on his blog "Email Insider," on effective email marketing.

I pride myself on being an efficient multi-tasker, but this made me think about slowing down, if just for a moment. I will try to write better business emails, with meaty subject lines and more carefully crafted content. And I will write some real letters. Because although emails are extremely effective and efficient, nothing captures the attention of a business executive quite as much as a hand written note. Just an idea for future marketing … it will stand out from the clutter.

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

A colleague recently lent me a book, with an inviting red dust jacket and intriguing title, The Go-Giver. It’s a little book with a big message, she promised.

Trish Baron, Vice President of Business Development at Catalogs.com, is a big fan of Bob Burg and John David Mann's powerful book, The Go-Giver. She recently spent a morning at a Florida Direct Marketing Association program listening to Bob talk about the business philosophy behind his book: putting the other guy first.

The Go-Giver is a parable populated by characters that embody Burg and Mann's “Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.” The laws are intriguing, Trish explains:

#1 Law of Value – give more in value than you take in payment, this is the difference between price and value.

#2 Law of Compensation – income is determined by how many you serve.

#3 Law of Influence – how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.

#4 Law of Authenticity – operate from your true essence; authenticity equals integrity.

#5 Law of Receptivity – stay open to receive with belief in yourself and your product.

The simple message of The Go-Giver is inspiring. Burg’s trade secret? The power of giving.

When I spoke with Trish regarding Burg and Mann’s book, it reminded me so much of Dale Carnegie’s famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Both books start with the simple premise, to become interested in others and put others first. Part of my own business (and personal) success is due to Dale Carnegie’s books which I’ve read. I can’t wait to read Bob’s too.

Trish is one of Catalogs.com’s most successful and talented sales professionals. She instinctively incorporates many of Burg’s Laws into her daily interactions with merchants. She easily works to establish trust by focusing on the other person and paying attention to his or her needs. Around the office, all our sales professionals strive to become marketing consultants, always listening and advising, certainly not just selling. The key is to ask “feel good” questions, show that you are genuinely interested in the other person’s responses. A top marketing consultant/sales professional requires an uneven balance: 20% talking to 80% listening.
Burg’s suggestion that because we live in a low-trust society, those people who position themselves as trustworthy stand out and have the key to influence resonates strongly with the millions of others who applaud The Go-Giver.

It is important for everyone in business, even those of us who are very good at what we do, to get a refresher. We should continually look for books with messages that motivate us and find speakers who inspire us. This is how we avoid burnout and continue to evolve in the jobs that we have chosen. Next time Trish asks me to join her at a Florida Direct Marketing Association meeting, I’m certainly going to make the time.

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)