Susan Finch Solutions

The little red devil on the shoulder is winning.

Those of you old enough remember the cartoons with the angel and devil on the shoulders of Popeye, Tom the Cat, Daffy Duck and the rest as they had to make a hefty decision:  Listen to your conscience and do what is morally right or go the easy, convenient route. 

In this current economy we're seeing that filters are off. Or, in golf terms, the "governor" is off the golf cart.  This bad behavior was kept under wraps because things were rolling along smoothly.  Either people listen to their conscience and abide by it all the way through, or they use it when it's convenient.  Those are the ones we are seeing more of.  It isn't convenient to have integrity for some folks right now.  I don't see it in any of my clients (very grateful, kissing the ground); but I'm seeing it in THEIR clients and vendors. 

The problem with bad behavior is that it begins to snowball. One decision leads to the next. It becomes easier and less gut wrenching each time that path is chosen.  They also link together. This is the avalanche effect.

I won't go into a big morals conversation, but it does come down to those basics. 

Do you listen to that gut feeling before you treat someone a certain way or conduct yourself with certain behavior?

Or, do you stuff it down and rationalize it into acceptance to make the outcome more in your favor?  Please read the rest of the article and the linked Marc Brownstein article on this subject.

On Twitter Trending and White Noise

The overwhelm I feel as I filter through trends, topics and techniques for my clients invades my sleep at times.  The result is an exhausting night of chaos and fitful rest.

I participate in the online communities in fits and spurts, but mainly fits as I get distracted.  Not great for an OCD person like myself.  Any variation from the linear can wreak all sorts of havoc during my limited social media time.  I am not alone.

From AdAge:

The Twuth About Twitter Twends Revealed
(by Brit Living in Shanghai)

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Twitter prides itself on taking the true pulse of cyberspace. Trend-watch on Google, the thinking goes, and you're behind the curve. Trend-watch on Twitter, and you're jacked into right now!

Only problem is, right now, as seen on Twitter, is increasingly a total mess. Part of the issue is that the universe of Twitterers has grown so rapidly that the baseline noise in the signal-to-noise ratio sometimes gets almost deafening.  Read the full story here >>

Helpful site for deciphering Twitter Trends and topics:  What the Trend

Seen any good books lately?

Not only am I working on a new book, but I have the privilege of helping an author promote his new book and manage his marketing sites.  I've been exploring creative ways that the self-published set promotes their work and thought I'd share this with you - Book trailers are a great way to preview a book.

What triggered this two hour distraction on YouTube was an email from my cousin asking me to vote for her in a book trailer competition, in which she was a finalist.  I'm old-fashioned.  I read the book reviews in the New Yorker, on Powell's website, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  I walk into bookstores; yes I do,, walk into book stores and read the reviews, pick up the books and read random sample pages to see if I can embrace the author's style.

After reviewing the other finalists in the book trailer competition I started to poke around and searched YouTube for "book trailers children" to see what the competition was in the category of my project.  I was amazed at the treasures I found there.  Some of them I wouldn't not have found at Powell's without it being on an endcap display.  It was fun and much more useful than the movie previews that shout at me in the theater.

Try this search in my favorite category: biographies >>  Results above the line, "Playlist Results for..." are paid advertisers.

You might find a treasure. I know that it adds one more task for my illustrator partner and I before we publish our upcoming children's book. 

New Ad Agency Embracing Twitter and It's Working.

We are fans of MadMen in this house. We can't help it. We both come from and advertising agency background.  This series is so right on the money for how the advertising biz was in the 60's and 70's.  This captured my attention and I thought I would pass it along. 

Building a Twitter-Based Ad Agency for Entertainment Companies
Tweeting Star Carri Bugbee Explains Her 'Mad Men' Success

If you have not seen this recent Advertising Age clip (PRSA included it in their post today as well), Carri Bugbee talks about how she received a Shorty Award for creating a Twitter persona based on the MadMen TV series, and how she’s designing a new ad agency around using Twitter for business.

In the wake of her high-profile promotion of the AMC series "Mad Men" on Twitter, Carri Bugbee is building a Twitter-based ad agency for entertainment clients. In February, the first Knight Foundation-backed Shorty Awards honored Ms. Bugbee's "Mad Men" character tweets as the year's best Twitter advertising campaign. In this nine-minute video interview, she discusses the details of how she did it as well as how she's working to parlay that success into an expansion of her 15-year-old PR business.  >>

To Tweet or Not To Tweet: Is Twitter right for your company?

This may lose me some business, but I have to agree with this article in AdAge. Twitter isn't for EVERYONE and every company.  There are some things to think about before you jump into yet another social marketing venue.  In addition to the tips and questions in this article, think about time-management and who your customers are. If you sell yarn - are crocheters and knitters apt to be looking for you on Twitter and will that affect your sales or their loyalty?  Probably not.  The time would better spent writing creative articles to submit to club and craft sites.

When you read the article, I take exception to #4.  The comments at the end lead me to believe most people do, as well.

Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn't Tweet:
Everyone's Talking About It, but Should You Be Doing It?

Posted by B.L. Ochman on 04.07.09 @ 09:16 AM

Mainstream media has gone ga ga about Twitter, which grew more than 1,200% in the past year, doubled its members in the past few months and attained 14 million members in March, according to Compete.

Everyone and his dog seems to be tweeting, from CEOs, celebrities and not-for-profits to venture capitalists, banks, business services, government and, well, dogs (and cats and the random parakeet, too). Should your business be tweeting? Twitter is not for everyone. Here are the "Top 10 Reasons Not to Tweet."  Read the full story here >>

Facebook is a copycat, Facebook is a copycat

Between the folks who don't understand how free services sites, like Facebook, evolve regularly because of the mounds of input they get and their own insider geek mentality, change comes with pain.  I've read more whiners about how they "hate" the new Facebook.  Get over it. Move on.  It's free, it's fun.  Adjust.

Part of the changes come from Facebook trying to copy our favorite little microblogging site - Twitter.
I thought you would enjoy this article from AdAge

What's your office policy on surfing during work?

It's been many years since I've had to deal with an office situation.  I never had the cubicle structure.  We were in an open office with chair mats so we could roll quickly around the room and collaborate on projects.  There was no privacy and we didn't care.  We stayed after hours if we had private projects and during the day surfing was encouraged to see what was happening in the world and our industry.  We were a mature enough bunch that didn't have to be told not to go to "the dark places" on the Internet.

What is your policy?  Are you permitted to spend a bit of time catching up with local favorite sites?  Perhaps posting a quick blog or twitter update. Or do you have to sneak and quickly hide what you are doing?  If so, that's too bad. I'm sorry for you and the corporate mentality that stifles creativity, research, and exploration. It's also pretty petty. 

This article was posted in AdAge today. I thought you would find it interesting.

PDD and You, Your Clients, Your Friends - there is help

After escaping to the grocery story the other night I called a girlfriend since I could talk, uninterrupted.  What I always have to be aware of is that I'm not in an empty store.  There are still people to interact with.  There are employees trying to help me. It is their job. 

My job as their customer is to focus on my task and allow them to help when I need it and to be attentive when they are doing their best.  At that moment at the deli counter I told my dear friend that I needed to go so that I could give the deli person my attention.  This made my friend giggle and she understood.  It also made the deli person stand up a bit straighter and smile.

I did the right thing.

Domain Name Questions - .lifeinsurance?

We have all been trained that .com is always the preference for a new domain.  Hopefully you can secure your company or product name without the use of hyphens and never with odd spellings.  If you can't get your .com, we usually choose .net next, .us. biz.  But what if you had a new option - create your own ending that told more of the story.  What if you could get mcdonalds.burgers, josecuervo.danceontables.  This is the new debate coming through Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit agency that oversees the distribution and policy of domain names.

Paid Blog Posts Catch Google's Ire - From AdAge magazine

I love it when my husband/business partner finds these gems. I felt the need to pass along as we are all getting creative with marketing and income sources. Be careful what you accept in exchange for your blogged opinions.  The only credibility you can hurt is your own.  This article is from AdAge by Rita Chang.