My Birthday with my daughters...

I spend every birthday with my daughters. Spending time with my girls is something I put before all else. They are teenagers now and being a divorced Dad it can be challenging to continue to reach out, put them first, and maintain this in the face of their occasional lack of interest and the roadblocks so easily put in place by their Mom.

I believe being a Father transcends how we feel moment-to-moment. We have to remember that everything we do is being observed, recorded, and processed in the present, and the future, and will be a key component of our children's emotional development... especially for children who are the products of divorce. They are always watching/observing, and although they cannot truly understand it all now, our interactions are being stored for future analysis... whether conscious or subconscious it will all affect the way they view the world, friendship, love and affection.

This is the thought process that guides the way I behave, the face I reveal to them, and how I impress upon them my values and attitudes about life, friendship and love. My father used to say... "do like I say, not like I do." I say... "do like I do!" :-)

Social Media... maturing as an advertising medium

I'm really looking forward to the day when social media matures as an advertising medium. I feel as though social media advertising is currently pigeonholed into the same boat as mobile (which has been in the same boat for the last four years): it's about one to two years away from maturing as a medium for advertising.That doesn't mean that social media (or mobile, for that matter) is not a strong marketing medium. It just means we have to be honest about what needs to be fixed -- or else bad ads will continue to happen to good people.

We also have to be clear on the differences between advertising and marketing. Advertising is defined as a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services. Marketing is defined as an integrated communications process through which individuals and communities are informed and persuaded that their needs can be met by products or services.

The primary difference, when you break them down, is where your money goes! Advertising really means paying to broadcast or display a message, whereas marketing refers to all the differentiated components that allow a brand to convey a message to a consumer, of which advertising is just one tactic. Marketing is the umbrella term.

Currently, social media ads are inexpensive, untargeted and not as effective as they could be. Social media is great at marketing (when used properly), but it currently falls down when it comes to paid advertising. From a marketing perspective, it is a great way of engaging/interacting with a consumer through presence and seeding: creating a presence for the consumer to interact with and inserting (seeding) into existing conversations that may be of relevance to the brand.

Moms pride themselves on being savvy consumers

This is what I have learned from my association with a large group of Mommy Bloggers over the past year and from being the CMO of e.l.f. Cosmetics.

Moms pride themselves on being savvy consumers who can sniff out a poseur brand. Brands need to be the conduit for information to moms from other moms and from experts, but be wary of star power... celebrities don’t cut it. Marketers that have a mom’s trust have worked to earn it, by making good products, offering relevant advice and engaging those moms. All peers have influence to some degree... especially when marketing to women so the more you understand the relate to the community the better off the brand. If you market to women recognize and benefit from the value women place on authenticity. Women are busy with multiple responsibilities so keep your site's navigation intuitive and simple, and keep your message clear and concise.

The bottom line: Brand marketing (especially to women) in a social media world... it's about relevance, transparency and authenticity.

The Future of Social Networking/Marketing 2010

The next important growth feature for social networks will be ubiquity. Social networks must be woven into everything we encounter and social media/marketing should be integrated into the fabric of all marketing channels, strategically managed from 360 perspective. Social Media is a platform... Social Marketing is how it is leveraged by a brand.

It may expand to the point where we choose to allow profiles to be shared among users of different social networks. I believe that even if we develop a portable profile that allows us to have a single access and to pick and choose where and when to share it on different social networks, we will want to have separate identities for different social networks. What will evolve is the ability to manage our identities in a unified manner and to have the kind of openness that would allow us to map our friend’s list across different services.

Another stage of evolutionary development will be the transformation of the communications layer embedded within social networks. The wall on Facebook has become a single messaging area of a user’s profile page, where other users can post comments. It is the wall that keeps users coming back to check for new messages again and again. Although there is a need for many compelling reasons to attract users, communications improvements, such as seamless widgets or video will be important to the social fabric. This goes beyond mere stickiness or growth through user-generated content. It becomes the future portal to every type of conceived, and yet-to-be-conceived communications technologies as they emerge including Twitter. Many misunderstand Twitter... it is not a broadcast tool and not a standalone for marketing, but an enhancement and extremely valuable networking, experimenting and seeding tool.

Nothing speaks to the opportunity of social networking more than the opportunity to leverage these relationship into online sales. The value of contacting me on the web within my contextual area of choice, provides a powerful means of monetizing my social interactions. Much as Google now uses my contextual online search experiences to target advertising to me based on that context, each person’s social profile will carry a CPI, Cost per Individual that will far outperform any CPM or CPA basis for valuation. Businesses that integrate with social networks could activate better recommendations from the group dynamic and generate more revenue. But more importantly they will also be able to target, cherry-pick and activate valuable members and fans.

e.l.f. Cosmetics, EyesLipsFace.com... Social Media/Marketing

e.l.f. Cosmetics growth and marketing was built on what I call social media 1.0... email, blogs and reviews, then onto MySpace and FB, and felt that moving into the more scaleable environments that interact and take advantage of the viral nature of the social graph was the obvious next step.

Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Bloggers have become our primary focus with respect to ubiquitous social media platforms. The tweeting is done by a team that reports and is monitored daily by me and my Director of Marketing. I have an individual who takes primary responsibility for each handle and I jump into both at appropriate moments. I am very hands on and totally manage the message. There is no official policy... as it evolves as we move forward and is very fluid.

Every month the referrals to our site from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube grow, in addition to their conversion rate to customers. We keep a watch on chatter about our brand which is also growing at a rapid pace fostered by our involvement in these spaces, and daily outreach to and with the blogging community. We have also directly incentivized and created sales with the tweeting of coupon codes and contests and placing similar offers on Facebook.

Twitter and other engagement platforms work hand in hand with the word of mouth marketing upon which we have built e.l.f. from the beginning. We will leverage and grow any such opportunities that present themselves in the future and plan to expand our use of and involvement with the YouTube and Twitter platforms as well as aggressively working with and courting the Blogger community, especially Mommy Bloggers.


Twitter http://twitter.com/askelf - makeup tips, coupons, promos, fun, engagement
Twitter http://twitter.com/eyeslipsface - product of the day, reviews, pr, & comparisons
Our Fan Page: http://facebook.eyeslipsface.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/eyeslipsfacedotcom
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/eyeslipsface

http://Askelf.com
http://elfBeautyNetwork.com

elfonomics… Why Pay More? "SPREAD THE WORD"

Social Media & your Brand - getting started

Who am I:
Ted Rubin Chief Marketing Officer e.l.f. Cosmetics EyesLipsFace.com… we consider ourselves a Social Commerce site. “We allow women to spoil themselves without going broke”
Our products sell for $1, $3 & $5 and we compete directly with the prestige brands.

Challenge:
Finding enough hours in the day to take advantages of the opportunities to grow our business in the current economic environment. Where to we put our resources where they benefit us most taking market share from the prestige brands.

Myth vs. Reality:
Myth… Nobody had figured out how to monitize Social Media

Reality… it is the Social Media sites who are having a hard time monetizing their eyeballs and traffic. Brands, such as e.l.f., are monetizing Social Media every day. We started in what I call social media 1.0 by building our brand through our blog, content, and email. 2.0 brought us into the realm of reaching out through more and more mediums and watching our customer/members on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc, and now in what I believe is the 3.0 stage we are building engagement using these assets and others and building/showcasing our own within our own platform.

Metrics:
The mistakes I see being made is trying to measure Social engagement with the same tools we measure every other digital touch point. In my view email, search, even banner ads, have spoiled marketers into thinking everything can be and must be measured with the metrics used to gauge success in other mediums. I am not sue of what the next stage will be but right now as we are building our Social Media audience, and testing, I have three stages with which I measure… #1 is Audience growth, #2 is Reactivity… getting them to take an action, and #3 Stickiness… keeping them coming back, engaged and interacting. After we achieve all these I feel measurement will easily follow.

Interview With Ted Rubin from e.l.f. Sunday, November 29, 2009

Below you will find my interview with Ted Rubin, the Chief Marketing Officer for Eyes Lips Face (better known as e.l.f.) cosmetics

I met Ted at the speed networking round at BlogWorld and I was impressed by his energy (he talks and acts fast) and I was inspired in his belief in social media and blogging. Please note that you do not have to be interested in cosmetics to gain knowledge from the interview, there are many practices that can be used in many industries.

In Ted’s own words, “Social media is the cornerstone of what we do. This company was found on social media 1.0. We were one of the first companies who blogged four years ago. Recently, I implemented a seven day a week blogging rule, everyone in the company must blog every day.”

Here is one of my favorite quotes from my conversation with Ted regarding social media… “This is an engagement world and people want to have some place to go. When a brand puts things out, people respond, and it keeps going.”

How did you get involved with e.l.f. (eyeslipsface.com)? My career as an online marketer started when I worked with Seth Godin at Yoyodyne (the first online Direct Mail company, it was purchased by Yahoo in October of ‘98). e.l.f. believed because they were a beauty destination site, that an online marketing professional was more suitable for the marketing position rather than a traditional a cosmetics marketing professional. (Ted started with e.l.f. about 18 months ago).

How Does the e.l.f. Marketing Work? e.l.f. does not have a traditional marketing budget; all of the marketing is done with partnerships, co-promotion & social marketing. (I personally found this to be very interesting).e.l.f. has “members,” how one becomes a “member” of the e.l.f. site?If you purchase from the site, you automatically become a member. There is no fee to be a member, anyone can just sign up and become a member without a purchase. You can be a member without making a purchase, but you cannot make a purchase without becoming a member. Members receive emails with specials and advice; there is less than a ½ percentage of drop out of email rate.

I asked Ted for some examples of successes: The “New Face of e.l.f. for 2010 - Beauty at All Ages” competition is quite popular at the moment. Women can enter to become the face of e.l.f. Four semi-finalists will be selected: a woman in her teens, one in her 20s, 30s and a woman who is 40+. There will be one popular vote winner of all of the women. Ted explained that the “popular vote winner” will not necessarily be the “new face” but potentially could be the “new face” of e.l.f. (There is a clause in the contest rules that allows a judging panel to select the winner, or model, for the advertising or social media campaign). The popular vote winner will win a Family Vacation for 4 to Beaches Resorts and e.l.f. make up. The winner may potentially receive a contract to be the “face” of e.l.f. e.l.f. is partnering with Exploremodeling.com for the Beauty of All Ages competition, using their platform for the contest. Exploremodeling.com will put together an engine, run it and promote it through Social Media.

What type of response would be expected from this sort of campaign? On an average month, e.l.f. receives 60 to 80 Public Relations related posts in relevant beauty and fashion magazines. Why this sort of positive attention?

Ted explained that he believed it was a combination of a timely product that women love, that is able to compete head to head with prestige brands from a quality standpoint. Ted pointed out that e.l.f. has won several Allure awards.

More successes… Warner’s Bras recently had a promotion with e.l.f. in JCPenny stores. A hang tag was placed on the Warner’s Bras where consumers would receive a free French manicure kit from e.l.f. with a $20 purchase. This was a big win for e.l.f. because their product is not carried in JCPenny stores (e.l.f. is not in JCPenny’s stores because their cosmetics department is operated by Sephora). Warner’s purchased the French manicure sets from e.l.f. and gave the product away as a gift with purchase. Additionally, e.l.f. is currently partnering with large brands like: Virgin Mobile, Hearst and Conde Nast. Partnerships with various other brands are the main focus of e.l.f. marketing, “I do not spend one dime on ads” said Ted.

Ted went on to explain that the brand "allows women to spoil themselves without going broke" and this is attractive to their various partners.

Does being a discount brand hurt the perception of the brand? Ted corrected me and said that their customer was the “value” community not the “discount” community. The brand has made a big push during the current economic environment. Answering the question, “How good could it be for $1, $3 or $5?” The answer is: a great product with a smaller budget for packaging, manufacturing, and marketing.

What other types of marketing or grass roots efforts do you take part in? e.l.f. will donate product for giveaways either as a favor, for a charitable event, or a quid pro quo. At times, e.l.f. will participate in an event where people are personally giving away their product. “For example, mommy bloggers are huge (we don’t pay them), they write about our products and we do giveaways for them. The reason they (the mommy bloggers) worked with us in the past is because they love our product and they love our price and we support their efforts.”

Make Up at Home (a program run by e.l.f.)Make Up at Home is an offline promotion that was launched at BlogHer. e.l.f. brought together top mommy bloggers and beauty bloggers to have make-up parties in their homes. Ted explained that “By the end of 2009, we will have hosted a total of 50 parties.” Allure magazine provides the content for the parties that the bloggers organize (make up kits, magazines, guides, information, printed up all collateral materials). The ladies take photos of the events, share them with their friends and blog about the parties. e.l.f. works with SheSpeaks – WOMM agency for women to assist with the operation of this campaign.Due to the popularity of Make Up at Home parties, some bloggers have decided to host events on a larger scale. In Los Angeles, bloggers are hosting a house party for 75 to 100 women. The party will appear on MomTV and have media present at the event. In 2010, e.l.f. is hoping to roll out the Make Up at Home campaign and host 1000 parties. They are currently looking for a sponsor for the 2010 parties who is interested in piggybacking on the engagement the makeup home parties create .

Some e.l.f. stats... Currently, the e.l.f. site has in excess of two million members. The site receives a few hundred thousand “uniques” (unique page views) and 10 – 12mm page views each month. 65% of all sales take place on website. As of March, Target is carrying e.l.f.'s $1 line and their studio line in 75% of their stores nationwide.

Demographics Billed as 18 to 34 originally and now their mean customer is 36.
Broadest part of demo is 27 to 45
11% sales are women 50+

Ted seemed both excited and a bit surprised that his consumer base was “everywhere” – all over the US. “Mid America mostly but we’re going east coast, we are going everywhere.”

Social Media stats (as of November ‘09) 33,000+ Facebook fans (US & UK)32,000+ Twitter followers between all presences 1000+ videos on YouTube with 100,’s of thousands of hits

I asked Ted how they manage their FB page and blog, what do they do to keep people interested? “We provide a lot of content on our FB page. Most of it is NOT about e.l.f., it is about our partners and cool stuff we found on the street. Our creative director may be out and about and find something that was cool and we write about it. We talk about our virtual make-over, we post your own pics or celebrity pics. We promote Facebook only promotions on the page and we have certain content that can only be found on Facebook.“Twitter is our strongest presence, we give beauty tips, make-up tips, we give promos, coupons, etc. Answer questions about the product or we send them in the right direction if we can. We also launch new initiatives via twitter. We try to send people to Target. We promote people posting pics and videos on YouTube through our twitter pages.”

On YouTube, e.l.f. has a well organized presence, currently they have their incentive video “Our Definition of Beauty” and the tag line is: “We’d love to see your definition of Beauty.” Consumers then submit their personal videos of their definition of beauty and add to e.l.f.’s YouTube presence.

Affiliate Marketing“Our Affiliate Program is run through Commission Junction ‘they blow LinkShare away’. We’ve more than doubled our business since we left LinkShare. We have an agency BlueCherryGroup who manages the whole process for us. They give us reports. 80% of our business comes from 20% of our publishers. We try to build the programs up with our middle guys. We find everyone is looking for aggressive promotions these days – Coupon sites work well for our affiliates.”

Because this post is on e.l.f. cosmetics, I thought I would include some links for you anyone who may be interested in some current promotions that e.l.f. is running...

e.l.f. Face. All Powder, Blush, Cover Sticks Only $1!Cyber Monday Special! 70% Off Minerals One Day Only! Use code CM70MINAll Mineral makeup 25% Off! Use Coupon Code EGMINERALC With Any Order Of $25.

PROSPECTING NEW NAMES

Going for the homerun! One of the reasons prospecting gets the short end of the stick when it comes to the attention we give it, is because we treat it like it is the fast track to the end goal of sales. We swing for the homerun, rather than a first base hit. Prospecting (as we defined earlier) is an "exploration" process. Sure, when prospecting for minerals, the ultimate goal is finding gold. Just like when prospecting for customers, the ultimate goal is landing sales. Still, prospecting for gold involves more than sticking your pan in the water. You must first sift through the other items you pull from the river in order to find that nugget you seek. In sales, the same applies. Consider prospecting a sifting process and not your end your game, and you'll be more successful with it.

Five Reasons Corporations are Failing at Social Media

I thought this article by Amy Mengel written October 11, 2009 was worth passing along... right on point:

Social media isn’t complicated. When you boil it down it’s about listening to your customers, being helpful by offering your knowledge and giving them interesting content to share and thereby advocate for you.

So why is it so difficult for so many companies to successfully integrate social media?

1. They can’t talk about anything broader than their own products

Chris Brogan shares how Citrix Online created the Workshifting community to address the rise of telecommuting and remote work. Sure, it ties in with Citrix’s GoToMeeting/Webinar/PC product line, but the blog isn’t a commercial for its products. The same holds true for Kodak’s photography blog that Chief Blogger Jenny Cisney talks about. It’s about photography and creativity in general, not about Kodak cameras. Greg Matthews shares how Humana developed the Freewheelin bicycle sharing communities with plenty of online and “real life” components to the program. Bicycles don’t have much to do with health insurance specifically, but they are about being healthy. If a company is only talking online about its specific products and not looking for ways to connect to the bigger picture, it’s pretty difficult for people to be engaged.

2. They listen to customers but don’t take any action

If you’re going to listen to your customers, you’d better be ready to do something about what you hear. Valeria Maltoni notes that if a company creates an online presence that’s open and allows customer feedback, it creates the expectation that the company is going to do something with that feedback. Worse than not being heard is being heard and then ignored. Paula Berg from Southwest Airlines shares how a simple blog post stating the airline was considering assigned seating amassed tons of customer comments showing a lack of support for the idea. This feedback changed the direction of their internal debate and led to a new boarding procedure that maintained the open seating arrangement.

3. They aren’t calibrated internally with the technology

Jason Falls chastises corporate Web sites for being little more than online brochures. Customers expect interaction. Content creation is key to social media success, and every company should have a Web site with a content management system that allows for quick, easy content creation without the IT department needing to recode a Web site. Anyone in the organization should be able to publish via a CMS. And companies can’t expect to have a strong social media presence when social sites are blocked internally to employees.

4. They’re not framing risk accurately

Dharmesh Shah reminds us all that a corporate blog has never been fatal to an organization. NBC cameraman Jim Long says that often a company’s entry into social media is a clumsy, shotgun blast and that there’s an equal chance of looking foolish by having a ham-fisted marketing department launch a social media presence as there is if a rogue employee “goes off” on Twitter. The risk of social media is not abated by not participating. And really, while there have certainly been some hiccups and miscues along the way, social media has yet to be the undoing of any company.

5. Their internal culture isn’t aligned for social media success

Shiv Singh discusses how the customer should be at the core of the brand. When policies, procedures, products and processes become more important than the customer, there’s no way social media efforts can be effective. When your employees are more concerned with what’s in or out of their job description than doing the right thing to help the customer, that’s not a culture that’s likely to build trust and advocacy for your brand. Yes, Zappos was cited time and again as a case study, but largely because it has a culture that makes social media work. All of its employees are focused on customer service at the core. The same holds true for Southwest Airlines.

I could go on and on. So many share simple, effective social media strategies that have humanized organizations and allowed them to build better relationships with customers. But time and again companies are either rejecting social media or participating in a way that defeats the purpose.

Brand Marketing to Women in a Social Media World

Moms pride themselves on being savvy consumers who can sniff out a poseur brand. Brands need to be the conduit for information to moms from other moms and from experts, but be wary of star power... celebrities don’t cut it. Marketers that have a mom’s trust have worked to earn it, by making good products, offering relevant advice and engaging those moms. All peers have influence to some degree... especially when marketing to women so the more you understand and relate to the community the better off the brand. If you market to women recognize and benefit from the value women place on authenticity. Women are busy with multiple responsibilities so keep your site's navigation intuitive and simple, and keep your message clear and concise.

The bottom line: Brand marketing (especially to women) in a social media world... it's about relevance, transparency and authenticity.

e.l.f. Cosmetics, EyesLipsFace.com Social Media/Marketing

e.l.f. Cosmetics growth and marketing was built on what I call social media 1.0... email, blogs and reviews, moved onto MySpace and FB, and felt that moving into the more scaleable environments that interact and take advantage of the viral nature of the social graph was the obvious next step.

Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have become our primary focus with respect to ubiquitous social media platforms. The tweeting is done by a team that reports and is monitored daily by me and my Director of Marketing. I have an individual who takes primary responsibility for each handle and I jump into both at appropriate moments. I am very hands on and totally manage the message. There is no official policy... as it evolves as we move forward and is very fluid.

Every month the referrals to our site from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube grow, in addition to their conversion rate to customers. We keep a watch on chatter about our brand which is also growing at a rapid pace fostered by our involvement in these spaces, and daily outreach to and with the blogging community. We have also directly incentivized and created sales with the tweeting of coupon codes and contests and placing similar offers on Facebook.

Twitter and other engagement platforms work hand in hand with the word of mouth marketing upon which we have built e.l.f. from the beginning. We will leverage and grow any such opportunities that present themselves in the future and plan to expand our use of and involvement with the YouTube and Twitter platforms.


Twitter http://twitter.com/askelf - makeup tips, coupons, promos, fun, engagement
Also now at http://twitter.com/eyeslipsface - product of the day, reviews, pr, & comparisons
Our Fan Page: http://facebook.eyeslipsface.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/eyeslipsfacedotcom
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/eyeslipsface


elfonomics… Why Pay More? "SPREAD THE WORD"

Marketing in a Social Media World

Experiment means try different approaches until you hit the one that works. To often "strategic planning" means setting a course and sticking by it no matter the feedback. The benefit and beauty of social marketing is the ability to experiment in a new environment and chart a course that may otherwise have never been discovered. Time to come out of that BRAND controlled shell and allow the engagement and user generated content/feedback that can drive the business of the future... don't be scared, it will only hurt a little and the benfits can far outweight the pain.

e.l.f. cosmetics to launch @ home makeup party campaign

New York, N.Y. July 22, 2009 - This weekend e.l.f. Cosmetics kicks off a new direct-to-consumer initiative by hosting a launch event for internet bloggers at the BlogHer convention in Chicago. The cosmetics brand hopes to jump start what they anticipate will become a popular consumer program by engaging independent bloggers attending the Chicago event on July 24th in a concept called MakeupAtHome. MakeUpAtHome is a program that – in a nod to Tupperware in the 70’s and Pampered Chef in the 90’s -- encourages real women to host beauty parties in their home or an alternative venue. The company envisions lively “girls’ nights in” where beauty tips are shared, popular trends are discussed and women engage in product trial on themselves and each others. e.l.f. plans to provide a full line of product for trial. This is a fitting concept from a company who built its highly devoted -- and demographically broad -- consumer base primarily online and with a very unique positioning: the majority of products are sold for only $1… the single item price points for the three lines are $1 (standard line), $3 (Studio line), and $5 (Mineral line).

This weekend’s event represents phase one of the e.l.f. MakeupAtHome concept, and, initially at least, relies on a contingent of 40+ influential bloggers from around the U.S. Some will be anointed the brand’s designated “intitial party hostesses” and encouraged to introduce e.l.f. – and the MakeupAtHome concept -- to their friends at social gatherings with the intention of getting new users to try products without having to commit to a purchase while also generating buzz.

“It made perfect sense to launch at the BlogHer conference,” said Ted Rubin Chief Marketing Officer. “These bloggers are extremely influential leaders in the online community and function as an effective entity for building awareness and further promoting the viral nature of the e.l.f. brand.” Rubin continues, “but the real benefit of the MakeupAtHome program is that it encourages potential e.l.f. shoppers to test-drive the products and experience their high-quality formulations and on-trend palettes despite the almost surreal price point.” This unique and immersive brand experience will get e.l.f into the hands of key consumers and render it easy for them to share and inspire their friends.

BlogHer.com, a community designed to bring all women bloggers together, hosts the annual event as a "crash course on the best practices for reaching the most influential and powerful consumers -- women online -- in the quickly evolving social media world.”

In addition to launching at the BlogHer conference, e.l.f will also work closely with SheSpeaks – the leading insights and word-of-mouth network - to handle planning and outreach for the MakeupAtHome parties, and Allure Magazine, which will have a presence at each event and providing content for distribution materials.

How does it work?

SheSpeaks and e.l.f. will target and enroll party hostesses who will be asked to invite 10-12 of their friends.
Each hostess receives a Party Pack with all the elements required to execute her MakeupAtHome event. These will include product for demonstration, guest freebies, and door prizes.
It’s time to party! The hostess will throw her event and offer guests the option to buy product at a discount and with free shipping if they order as a group. This is not a direct sales model and the hostess with not be selling, but compiling an order for all, pass along coupons and share in the excitement of the e.l.f. brand.

e.l.f. Cosmetics was created in the belief that every woman should have the opportunity to experience luxury cosmetics without sacrificing budget. Since the brand’s introduction five years ago, the e.l.f. Cosmetics website (http://www.eyeslipsface.com/) has grown to include 2 million members and is a popular destination for beauty fans looking for quality, affordable cosmetics. In a short period of time, e.l.f. has earned the reputation of delivering a competitive product to the prestige brands at a fraction of the price.

Had to post from "Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim," / So Timely

Marketing Pilgrim Published: “Twitter Takes to the Air.”

Twitter Takes to the Air
Posted: 17 Jul 2009 02:28 PM PDT

We are all getting comfortable with the place that social media outlets can have in the business process. Public relations, human resources, legal and sales can all benefit. At the present the most common application is customer service. While customer service is always important, the advent of social media has created customer service in ways that most companies never imagined.

The airline industry has had a virtual crash course in handling customer issues via social media outlets with Twitter leading the charge. One main reason for this is the fact that frequent travelers are likely to be heavy smart phone users and what else can they do while suffering thorough a delay? Complain of course. Now just going to the desk at the gate and airing your concerns is mere child’s play. Why not tell all of your friends and followers about how terrible the airline is that you are having trouble with? How airlines handle this can determine who that flyer decides to go with in the future.

It looks like the winner thus far is Southwest. I learned about their particular approach to social media at a conference in Dallas and it was impressive. An Ad Age article tells more by showing how the airline used Twitter to diffuse the situation from earlier in the week where a foot wide hole ripped in the fuselage of a Southwest flight but was safely landed enventually.

Shortly after the plane landed, the tweets began pouring in from those who heard the news: “Emergency landing for a Southwest flight … A one ft by one ft hole in the fuselage is to blame … yikes.” The incident was documented by those on board via Twitpic and YouTube. The airline’s lead “Twitterer,” Christi Day, immediately began posting updates that included links to an official company release, a statement that all planes would be inspected overnight and news that all passengers on board would be refunded.

“It was important for us to set the tone as soon as we saw those conversations begin online,” Ms. Day said. “We were able to distribute factual information to our customers before they saw it on the 10 p.m. news, which is extremely powerful.”

Nice job. Now the other side of the same coin; Delta.

On the more serious matter of customer service, the airline took a bit of a bruising yesterday on Twitter, following a letter Andy Azula, the creative director at the Martin Agency and the actor in the UPS Whiteboard commercials, wrote to Delta that he posted on his blog and linked to on his Twitter page (he has since taken it down). Apparently Delta delayed Mr. Azula’s flight, keeping him and his family waiting at the airport for 13 hours and causing him to miss a number of meetings and a family gathering. The airline didn’t offer any type of compensation in the end. Not only did the link get re-tweeted dozens of times, but people started adding their own commentary, such as “Yep. Delta Airlines is screwed if they don’t rectify this.” The airline did not tweet any type of reply.

Delta responded that they are developing their social / emerging media processes. Not exactly the sharp witted response you need when you get hammered by someone in the advertising industry who knows how to work this stuff.

So here are two pretty distinct sets of results. Our question to Pilgrim readers is where are your strategies? Do you even have any? Do you feel the need for them? Are they more industry specific than general? Tell us your stories. One of the best ways to maneuver through this new area is to share successes and failures. Maybe we can even help each other in a friendly, social media, community kind of way?

Two more things that are so important for many to grasp...

Social marketing takes time to deliver meaningful results. Build your presence, extend your footprnt and gain traction. Don't be impatient and rush.

and...

Why is social media/marketing the future of marketing? Teens today are intense about sharing and colaboratng, the very princpals of social media's foundation, and this will extend into their future, and the future of marketing.

Definition of Marketing in Today’s Social Media World

The founders of a major public broadcasting network were recently asked to explain the success of their programming. Their response was that because they were operating in a non-commercial environment, they were free to experiment and be creative without the risk of commercial failure. The same opportunity exists for any application of marketing principles to the world of social media: Marketing = experimentation.

Using old marketing tactics in this new media can fail without clarity on the reasons for their failure. It is much more likely to find new approaches to communication that are meaningful in a contextual and appropriate way.

Just as testing has always been a critical part of developing marketing strategies, experimentation will be the lifeblood of successful results when expanded to reflect the new opportunities and venues created by the proliferation of social media.

Businesses need to take initial proactive approaches to social media, using it for branding the way they use sponsorships. They cannot let fear or embarrassment over mistaken initial steps stop them from attempting other approaches.

It is a mistake to presume that businesses need to have a resident expert to enter the fray, just as it is a mistake to presume that they need a young intern to handle this newest of media. The principles of trial and error, moderated by a good marketing instinct are the critical skill sets for success.

In fact, companies can be active in social media without writing a blog, tweeting - or even using a computer. The challenge is to effectively get others to blog or tweet about you. Developing the right strategic relationships can go further than the largest marketing budget in extending a company’s reach into social media. In essence, by definition social media requires creating a campaign that is viral in nature.

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 persevere. It is easy to fall into this rut and believe it is the proper course, the only way to go, and all we have to hope for in the future.

I say NO. "Action is the active ingredient that transforms goals into reality!" Let us never forget that we can always improve the situation in which we live, make a better life for ourselves and the ones we love, and effect/fight for change even when the odds are against such change. Being courageous enough to act on your goals/desires/needs to make a better life, better widget, better business and/or better world, is the first and most crucial step in making your goals into reality.

I experience this realty each and every day in business and personally. I am 51 years old, have had big wins and big losses in business, and know that the game is far from over. There is huge opportunity presenting itself today in this new social media world and I am determined to not let it pass me by and finish with that desperately needed win. YOU CAN DO THE SAME.

In addition I face serious challenges in my personal life that many would walk away from, as I have been told over and over by those who would and many who have seen those who do; but I am determined to have a positive effect on the lives of my daughters and face those challenges head-to-head each and every day. Although this is exhausting mentally and physically, I do not bow in the face of the onslaught and odds that have been against me from the start.

Therefore in the face of all these financial and personal challenges we all face... I declare MY PERSONAL "Independence Day," and you need to do the same!

Important Reminder

Long hard few weeks, thought a reminder was in order... THE LOVE YOU GIVE IS THE LOVE YOU GET!

Twitter for e.l.f. and other Brands

Twitter helps to build a brand organically. It is supposed to illustrate e.l.f.'s relevance and keep e.l.f. top-of-mind among our followers. It's also a valuable way to support and grow the brand, and an invaluable way to maintain a dialogue with our consumers. There's no better feeling than to get an excited response via Twitter from a customer or fan about one of our services and/or products.

Again... Listening and Learning will start the Relationship off Right

There was a high level (by title only) marketing/salesman who worked for a sports team. The guy was considered a very good salesman. He dressed the part and worked an event room like a pro. A big part of his job included entertaining on game day and that was really his realm... great on his feet and always presented himself well. A business associate of mine went on a sales call with him to pitch a major piece of business. Now this guy was an opener and could always get in the door, but that is where the professionalism ended. He was a winner when working with a product that sold itself, but as soon as he was picked up and selling for a new player in the market he fell way short of expectations.

When this guy started a meeting he handled the introductions very well, but then he launched right into his pitch. No small talk, no questions about the potential client's business... no listening whatsoever. He did not ask one question, did not pay attention to any cues from the client, and simply told them over and over how great his product was for their business. The meeting ended and he did not learn one thing about the company he was pitching. Incredible that this supposedly senior sales guy barely acknowledged the people he was trying to influence.

When you are meeting new prospects, on a sales/marketing call, or simply meeting new people, you should be like a sponge and try to learn as much as possible. That is the key to building a brand, making a sale, building your network. Yes... you want to peak their interest in you, your product, service, and what you have to offer, but if you do not listen... you lose.

The key to developing any relationship is give and take... adding value is everything! You want to learn as much as you can in that first meeting... especially if it is you trying to peak the interest of the other. Wait to tell your story until after you hear theirs.

The guy/girl who talks the others ear off on the first date without hear anything the other has to say will be left standing at the door. The best sales/marketing/networking call is when you get invited in on the first date.

Social Media and Marketing

Social Media isn't a box to be checked, or department to be manned or even campaign to be launched. It's about thinking differently about marketing, customer service, the entire business.

Consumers are now running the biggest recommendation service in the world, they will define your brand... get on board now or play catch-up later!

Social Media... piece of the puzzle or the straw that stirs the drink?

Social Media isn't a box to be checked, or department to be manned or even campaign to be launched. It's about thinking differently about marketing, customer service, the entire business.

Consumers are now running the biggest recommendation service in the world, they will define your brand... get on board now or play catch-up later!

Twitter and Small Business

Twitter has not been readily accepted as a small business tool yet but there are those who are having success using it. So why should small business be using social media at all? The most prominent reasons are responding to customer questions, networking and education... but there's more.

What most, to date, have not been doing is looking to sell through these channels which is interesting considering some of the success that can be found with a small business that gets it. And for those who do, and execute effectively, the opportunity to directly facilitate and create sales are out there and have the potential to be huge.

So what’s it take to get the little guy involved? Well, extra time, money (but really not much) and people. With social media being so time intensive the barriers to entry get higher as a business gets smaller, but not really insurmountable for those willing to put in the time. In the future it is going to be critical for small businesses to decide where they want to put their scarce resources so they can maximize their ROI. With a constantly moving target however that is increasingly difficult so the future of small business and social media will be interesting to watch. Although with social media the bang for the buck can be enormous.

My vote is study up on the cause and effect, tools, and basic concepts. Develop a basic strategy of what ustility or value you want to offer. Then hire a smart young intern (many available at a mere $10/hr, and some simply to fulfill college internship requirements) to execute with your hands-on guidance.

Don't Chase Latest Technology

Gen Y, X, Z or W... does not matter who you are looking to attract, it is engagement and listening to your audience that will create true value.


Saying that "you should forget about chasing the latest hyped technology," just because the group you are trying to attract is not swayed by that particular subset at the moment... is ignoring the rising tide of social integration and the exponential potential of the social graph. Be careul what you ignore, it very well will come back to bite you in the a__!

Innovate or Follow... but be sure to evolve

Everyone in every business is tempted to continue doing what works, maintain the status quo, don't rock the boat, etc.

Embracing this strategy might seem to work for giants like Cisco, Microsoft, and now Google (although I doubt they will take this approach), but most companies, especially those trying to surprise (and surpass) the “giants” and disrupt the market or simply stay ahead, must innovate and by doing so shake the grounds of the market they work in. If you do not have it in you to innovate, then be sure to watch the market closely and get on the heels of those that do!

If you do not evolve your approach and look to get on the cutting edge of the new... you will be left behind. Maybe not today or tomorrow... but too soon.

Twitter's Attrition Rate

Please keep in mind that Twitter's attrition rate is most probably far from the numbers being published since the tracking apparently does not take into consideration other utilities used to manage your Twitter account... and the majority of users make use of Twitter using one or more of those utilities, not the Twitter site.

I read today that unless your efforts create a new "useful" utility for users/followers you are wasting your time.Please remember that Value and Engagement... are intrinsic utilities. So if your Social Media strategy delivers some added value to your audience (whether it be tips, coupons, or simply fun) and creates engagement of some sort with the brand, then you are on the right track.

Keep in mind the train is leaving the station... do you want to be the one left behind?

A special note for my daughter...

Dani… even before I held you in my arms, I held you in my heart. That is where you began and where you will always be. I wish I could collect the perfect words, place them in your hands, and close your fingers around them… so you could truly know.

When you were an infant you would curl up on my shoulder and I couldn’t move, I would kiss the top of your head. I had no doubt that these would be some of the sweetest moments in my life.

No man can possibly know what life means, what the world means, what anything means, until he has children and loves them. And then the whole universe changes and nothing will ever again seem exactly as it seemed before. In my eyes… that goes double for having a daughters. Especially daughters as special and loving as Dani and Niki.

I want you to know that I love you every bit as much today as the day you were born. And though I may not hold you in my arms the way I did then, I always hold you safely in my thoughts and in my heart.

There is a poem that has always reminded me of you… “Happiness happens wherever she goes, thoughtfulness shines through the kindness she shows, whatever she’s doing, her sweetness comes through, she’s a beautiful person, she’s a daughter… she’s you!”

Now what would a speech to your daughter be without some advice…

- Love yourself. Make peace with who you are and where you are at this moment in time.

- Listen to your heart. Make time for yourself. Enjoy YOUR company.

- Try. Take chances. MAKE MISTAKES. Life can be messy and confusing at times, but also it’s full of surprises. The next rock in your path might be a stepping stone.

- There aren’t any shortcuts to tomorrow. You have to make your own way. To know where you’re going is only part of it. You need to know where you’ve been too. And if you ever get lost, don’t worry. The people who love you will find you. Count on it.

- When you don’t have what you want, want what you have. This is one of the most important things I share with you and a secret of contentment.

Dani… what am I wishing for you? Strength for the future, the feeling of seeing a prized dream come true, a bright carefree spirit, but also the wisdom to know in your heart what is most right for you. And always, I’m hoping that you will remember the most important by far… how much you are loved, how proud I am always, how wonderfully special you are.

Danielle, Doodlebug… I want to close with just one small simple wish… that whatever life brings, you will share all the goodness and grace that’s inside you and… always be HAPPY! Remember… you and your sister are the light of my life and the warmth in my heart.

I love you both dearly.

Major rethinking of advertising's fundamental premises

The good news is that we're on the verge of a major rethinking of advertising's fundamental premises. One of the biggest challenges facing the industry is ad credibility. Consumers don't trust ads, but they do trust their friends, and telling friends about the products they use has never been so easy. Through social nets, credibility now has a channel for mass distribution.

Businesses have to be thinking about how to incorporate the social map into the way they deal with customers and prospects. This is going to be huge, and the opportunities are immediate for those who act, lead the pack, and try new strategies based upon the new social media tools/platforms available to them.

Don't wait... start incorporating a strategy to incentivize engagement with your fans, customers, members, and prospects NOW!

Business and war have much in common

In war, it is axiomatic that the victors of the last war fight the new one with the same tactics of the old. Having won the victor is content with what won for him; but the vanquished wants to know why he lost.

Business and war have much in common. Entrenched companies keep doing what got them there. Upstarts introduce/discover new methods and vanquish the victors.

What worked before does not always continue to be effective. Best practices evolve and change. Look for and/or discover those changes... evolve or perish!

"Being defeated is only a temporary condition, giving up is what makes it permanent."

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark. In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but never have been able to reach. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours." --John Galt

Thinking of using Social Media tools to reach out to an audience?

If you are thinking of using Social Media tools to reach out to an audience, the first steps are to determine your goals and your audience. Who are you trying to reach? What action would you like them to take? Once you determine your outreach/communication goals, consider the various social media tools to decide which one (or more) will help you reach those goals.

Just remember most importantly that a social media presence is more about giving than receiving. You want to make information available and provide benefit to those who choose to follow, friend or become a fan. If you provide value and information your ability to influence and get people to act will grow with your visibility.

As you build your Social Media audience I have three stages with which I measure… #1 is Audience growth, #2 is Reactivity… getting them to take an action, and #3 Stickiness… keeping them coming back and engaged.

How well do you listen; I mean, Really Listen?

What if your point of difference was an acute ability to listen? What would that look like?

In his highly-rated article about marketing yourself, my friend Joe Hage (http://budurl.com/First3) asks, "What's your point of difference?" I have an idea. What if your point of difference was your acute ability to listen?

Yes, I recognize listening alone may not set you apart from the competition. But among service providers, you may win more business using your ears and eyes than with any other marketing strategy. That's because, with listening, you can understand your prospect, and that understanding wins business. I've lived it.

The Art of Listening
With all the sales training offered out there, the most often overlooked and simplest to execute is the "art of listening." Listening carefully attracts more clients and closes more sales than talking constantly about anything to do with you or the service you offer.

Unfortunately, the typical sales person always has something more to say and a difficult time closing the mouth. With practice, it's possible ... I know.

The following can improve your listening skills:

• Listen with your eyes as well as your ears. Use your eyes and ears to show interest in your discussions with prospects. While listening carefully, your eyes can detect body language that can communicate information about what the person is saying and thinking.
• Don't "overpower" prospects. You will meet prospects that you know you can win over with your intelligence, charisma, and confidence. If you treat these prospects with condescension because you know immediately they are within your grasp you will overpower and lose them. To truly listen to a timid or meek prospect, make the prospect feel vital, happy, and comfortable.
• Don't argue with prospects. If a prospect makes a statement that you strongly disagree with, do not get into an argument. Diplomatically and respectfully discuss your opinion. Your sincere respect for his or her point of view will build admiration and loyalty. Your purpose is to encourage your prospect to speak freely and opening… making you a friend and confidant.
• Never knock the competition. Remember that your prospects might be good listeners too. If you speak negatively about others, prospects may be uncomfortable giving you information about themselves. Avoid attacking others to raise your status. This tactic only makes you look petty, lacking in confidence in your own skills, and will most certainly backfire.
• Listen more than you talk. A sales call should be a dialogue -- with your prospect talking more than you. Listen to every requirement, objection, and make note of as much personal information as possible. The only time you should monopolize the discussion is when you're sure you have what they are looking for… and even that discussion should involve questions and answers from the prospect.

As you can see, listening does not simply mean keeping your mouth shut. The true value in listening is what you learn, in addition to making your prospect feel like they are being "heard."

Listen, interpret, and display understanding. Concentrate on your prospect's tone, inflection, body language, and breathing. With these clues, you'll better understand the prospect, the needs, the wants, and how you can satisfy that need.

Good selling!

Before bed

This blog with serve as a place for me to post quotes I love, thoughts I have day to day, and to share my feelings about various subjects when inspired to do so. Stay tuned...

In the beginning

"A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality." - John F. Kennedy

At least my personal morality.