Archive for December, 2011

How To Succeed In Social Media Without Really Trying

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December 28th, 2011

Be Active

Consistently updating your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages and posting new content demonstrates to fans that your business is in-tune and engaged.

Be Accountable
Constantly scan your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for recent posts/comments/tweets and any other feedback related to your page. Never forget that your Facebook wall and Twitter feed are public domain. It is up to you to police your page and be reactionary.

Be Accurate
Always make sure to check your spelling, check your grammar and check your facts before making any post public. The quickest way to lose the confidence of your consumer and the faith of your fans is to overlook errors, even as small as a typo.

Be Connective
It’s important that your business does not lose its identity by having a disconnect between the content and information supplied on its networking pages. At the same time, the content should not be identical on every page, or your fans and followers will view your company as uninspired and lazy. Your social pages should act as sisters, not twins.

Be Humorous
Informative tweets will win you credibility; humorous posts will earn you retweets, reposts, buzz and coverage. Find a healthy 50/50 balance of funny and informative and the fans and followers will come flocking.

 



How To Manage Multiple Campaigns Without Breaking A Sweat

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December 11th, 2011

In a creative agency, every week is a busy week–and then there are weeks where it seems like every client is running three campaigns and time-management skills are stretched to the the limit. Don’t tell clients ‘no’ because a workload seems overwhelming or impossible. At Beyond Traditional, we are strong believers of ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ Here are three best practices we use to expertly handle the needs of our clientele.

Be A Masterful Multi-tasker

Here at Beyond Traditional, we aren’t strangers when it comes to tackling several campaigns at once. Prioritization and day-by-day planning have helped us stay on top of multi-campaign workloads. We optimize our performance by taking on the most pressing projects first so we are able to address unscheduled wants, needs and fire drills without added stress.

Hope For The Best, Plan For The Worst

Disciplined organization and communication are key when it comes to executing multiple campaigns. For each event/campaign, we recommend organizing all event plans/schedules/routes/maps/contact numbers and background information into folders for each team member. As plans are updated and changed, it’s essential to make sure everyone on the team has the same information.

Think ahead to what the next steps are beyond what’s right in front of you. Planning improves actuation and leads to accomplished goals and bolstered metrics of success. Even the smallest of oversights can mean a disaster for a campaign–which is why it is important to have Plans B, C and D ready for activation in case Plan A hits the fan.

Trust Your Team

Even though you’d like to be in the middle of all the action, at some point you need to accept that you cannot be in 20 places at once. Trying to micromanage every single event will only lead to high blood pressure, lack of employee confidence and a soured reputation for your business. Loosen the reigns, take a deep breath and prepare yourself to handle the occasional curve ball, knowing you have a solid support system to back you up and be decision-makers when you aren’t available. Empower your teammates to be accountable leaders and instill that you are all working together toward a common goal.

Finally, never be afraid to take on new challenges and push yourself and your business to strive for higher goals. You can’t be the best without working to get better every day.

 



Beyond Traditional Glams It Up At Glitter Gala

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December 6th, 2011

Last month, the Beyond Traditional team supported Seattle Goodwill‘s Fourth Annual Glitter Gala for the fourth straight year. The food was spectacular, the fashions were fantastic and the entire team was dressed to the nines, not that we don’t look extremely fashionable on a daily basis.

The Gala included a silent auction of designer and rare items donated to Seattle Goodwill and featured a runway show of couture gowns designed by students from the Art Institute of Seattle. The student fashion show is one of our favorite segments of the annual event–it’s a great way for us to draw inspiration and devise potential campaigns for fashion giants like Kenneth Cole and Hugo Boss.

All of the items up for auction were dazzling–while our president, Chris Schuler, and his wife walked away with an avant-garde glass cowboy boot vase, we’re still kicking ourselves for not bidding on the antique popcorn maker–it would have been a great addition to our conference room!

 



Mission Possible: Cavalier Campaigns Leave Lasting Impressions

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December 1st, 2011

How do you encourage out-of-towners to travel and spend their money in your city? If you want people to come to your town, you have to think outside of the box and entice them by first bringing a little bit of your city to them:

If you’re trying to invite people in Cleveland to come to New Orleans, why not unleash beignet-wielding brand ambassadors and jazz quartets out onto the streets of Ohio? If you want Portlanders to fly down south and shop in up-and-coming, chic Atlanta boutiques, why not launch a runway show of Georgia’s hottest fashions in the middle of PDX’s hippest neighborhood, the Pearl District?

It’s that type of different thinking that led to our partnership with premier local advertising agency, Copacino + Fujikado. As a part of a joint venture, Beyond Traditional helped build and launch a mobile ‘snow globe’ for Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau to encourage people to spend the holidays in Seattle. Over the course of six weeks, the snow globe made stops in Seattle, Wash., Spokane, Wash., Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, B.C.

The results? At the Rogers Santa Parade in Vancouver, B.C., the Seattle snow globe vehicle was a show-stopper. At Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, tens of thousands of Portlanders were convinced that a trip to the Emerald City for the holidays should be on their Christmas lists.

When it comes to promoting tourism, don’t shy away from brazen,  guerrilla advertising techniques, don’t be afraid to explore uncharted territory –that boldness could allow your client to become the star attraction of another city’s holiday parade!