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The lazy days of Summer seem to have arrived a bit early here in Northeast Ohio, but the marketing world is not slowing down. And here at The Claymanite, the smell of freshly cut grass and fragrant flowers isn't slowing us down either. The marketing world is all a'twitter about Facebook's ever-changing privacy policies. Blogs are still being launched. Ideas that were discussed in the latter part of 2009 are beginning to blossom, and we are already turning our attention to what 2011 may bring.
With all of this in mind, it is not so suprising that we chose Facebook privacy and planning as two of our topics for this e-newsletter. We also are continuing our "how-to" series on Blog Development, and we have a special guest - we interviewed Blog expert Denise Wakeman on what to consider when designing a Blog. We hope you enjoy, and as always, feedback is always welcome! |
It's Never Too Early For Planning Season
Around our office complex, there is a crew that mows the grass throughout the summer. By "throughout the summer," we mean that they have specifically scheduled days on which they perform their duties. They perform those duties whether it is hailing, sunny, warm, cold, or rainy. There could be nothing but dirt left and they would still probably come to mow the grass just because it is what they have always done.
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 Protecting Your Privacy on Facebook
Recently, there has been much debate over Facebook and its privacy changes. In one of our previous e-newsletters we introduced you to Facebook's "open graph," which expands your Facebook activity to the entire world. (Click here for more information). Along with this new "open graph" feature, Facebook also has significantly added to its privacy policy. In fact, the privacy policy is now longer than the United States Constitution. The unfortunate fact is that without news coverage on this topic, many Facebook users would have no idea about these privacy changes. You really need to search to find it within Facebook. In this story, we are going to discuss the recent privacy changes and the amount of work needed to be done in order to secure a Facebook account.
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Five Steps For A Great Blog Design
 You've heard us say it before, and you'll very likely hear us say it again. Everything about Social Media requires careful thought. Much like a duck floating on a pond, your appearance should be "smooth and effortless," but your feet should be paddling like mad under the surface. Blogs are no exception. To get the low-down on key things to consider when beginning to design your Blog, the Claymanite staff interviewed Blog expert Denise Wakeman. She said she recommends starting with five key elements that will help ensure that your Blog will achieve everything you and your company desire. |
Continuing Blogs from a Mad Man
Solutions to big problems aren't always as easy as they may seem. Read Larry's blog and voice your opinions! |
It's Never Too Early For Planning Season
Around our office complex, there is a crew that mows the grass throughout the summer. By "throughout the summer," we mean that they have specifically scheduled days on which they perform their duties. They perform those duties whether it is hailing, sunny, warm, cold, or rainy. There could be nothing but dirt left and they would still probably come to mow the grass just because it is what they have always done.
If you've worked with us for awhile, you know that when the Summer is sweltering in late July, it means you are going to get a call from Clayman asking if you have given thought to what your objectives are for the following year. This sets us on our way to start working on our proposed marketing plan. Why do we do this? Because it's easy to fall into an easy, automatic schedule. "We did six ads in this publication last year and we're still standing. Let's do that again." We believe that while you don't want to throw away experiences from the past, every year should start with a blank slate. We believe you might not want to cut the grass based on a particular day but rather based on whether the grass really needs to be cut.
Every Year is a Winding Road
A lot can happen in a year. Publications can launch and fail. Websites can launch and fail. Heck, really anything can launch or fail. Sometimes the same thing does both in the span of a year. It's a lot to keep track of, and the devil is in the details. Did a publication cut circulation to a demographic that was important to your company? Did the editorial staff decrease from a full staff to a single person? Is your competitor still on that website?
If you don't approach a marketing plan from a fresh perspective, you can end up mowing grass that is already dead. You can end up trying to seed a parking lot while there are plant beds all ready and waiting just a few yards away. Increasingly, simply revisiting the same plans year-by-year can be deadly.
The scary thing about the new world of marketing is also the great thing. Almost everybody has the chance to try something new. This is a time for not just crawling out of your comfort zone - this is a time for exploding out of your comfort zone. Is it time to invest in some Social Media research? How can a campaign include a YouTube video, a press release, and a direct mail piece?
Expanding marketing horizons is not just healthy for a company. It is quickly becoming essential in a competitive sense. Investing in minimal marketing, or investing in the same kind of marketing that was relied upon as little as three years ago, is like being the neighbor who has dandelions taking over the yard while everyone else's yards are perfectly manicured. A company that does not keep up with these changes, technological and otherwise, is going to start to appear either weak, lazy, or simply behind the times.
This is why we say it's never too early to start planning. We are ready to travel with you to the wild frontier, and we have a lot of ideas. The first step, though, is for us to talk about how you want your company to be perceived in the coming months and years. What are your objectives? What do you want to accomplish? It's a lot to think about. As we listen to the sounds of the grass being cut as it rains, we can tell you that getting into a rut can be downright silly. Let's talk about your plans and how they intersect with all that's new. |
Protecting Your Privacy On Facebook
Recently, there has been much debate over Facebook and its privacy changes. In one of our previous e-newsletters we introduced you to Facebook's "open graph," which expands your Facebook activity to the entire world. (Click here for more information). Along with this new "open graph" feature, Facebook also has significantly added to its privacy policy. In fact, the privacy policy is now longer than the United States Constitution. The unfortunate fact is that without news coverage on this topic, many Facebook users would have no idea about these privacy changes. You really need to search to find it within Facebook. In this story, we are going to discuss the recent privacy changes and the amount of work needed to be done in order to secure a Facebook account.
As noted above, Facebook did not disclose the new privacy settings anywhere on the login page or the main page once logged in. In order to secure settings, users had to manually opt-out if they wished to keep their information private. Otherwise, most of their information was public by default. In other words, some personal data, if not manually changed, is now being shared with third-party websites.
As a result, Facebook has taken the wrath from privacy groups, government officials, and users of Facebook. These people are arguing that the new privacy policy is confusing and the new opt-out settings are too time-consuming to figure out and use.
According to an article in the New York Times, the new opt-out settings are extremely complex. Facebook users who hope to make their personal information private should be ready to set a considerable amount of time aside to click a lot of buttons. Believe it or not, in order to opt-out of full disclosure of most information, users must click through more than 50 privacy buttons. Those 50 buttons then require users to choose among a total of more than 170 options.
All of these different buttons let users decide if they want only friends, friends of friends, everyone on Facebook, or a customized list of people to see things like their birthday or their most recent photos. In order to keep information as private as possible, users must choose "only friends" or "only me" from the pull-down menu for all the choices in the privacy settings. If users do not chose either of those two options, their information could be shared across the world wide web.
Even if a user changes all the settings under the privacy settings tab, certain pieces of information will still be shared with third party sites. Deep into the account settings tab, which is completely separate from the privacy settings tab, there is an option to share information with advertising networks and friends. In order to keep your information private, you must either select ad networks, only friends or only me. This tab is exceptionally deceiving since most users think this kind of setting would be under the privacy section rather than the general account settings.
If Facebook continues to add to its already 5,830 word privacy policy, users may question whether they still wish to participate in the Social Networking site. Will this cause Facebook to take a step back and be a little more honest with its users? Do you think Facebook is invading the privacy of its users or do you think anything put on Facebook is public domain? We'd like to hear your thoughts. |
Five Steps For A Great likely Design
You've heard us say it before, and you'll very likely hear us say it again. Everything about Social Media requires careful thought. Much like a duck floating on a pond, your appearance should be "smooth and effortless," but your feet should be paddling like mad under the surface. Blogs are no exception. To get the low-down on key things to consider when beginning to design your Blog, the Claymanite staff interviewed Blog expert Denise Wakeman. She said she recommends starting with five key elements that will help ensure that your Blog will achieve everything you and your company desire.
- The Header: Wakeman's first key element is a graphic header with the name of your Blog, your company's tag line, and the author's name. Who will the author be? This is something that should be decided before the launch of the Blog.
- Subscribe Form: Always make sure that people who happen upon your Blog can have an easy time finding it again. Wakeman recommends an email subscription form. When using Blogger, there is also a "follow" form that visitors can fill out. RSS feeds are okay, but it's beneficial to offer alternatives.
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"About" Page or Profile: Element number three on Wakeman's list is an "about" page or profile page, including a photo of the author. As Wakeman notes, "People want to know who you are and what you offer." A profile page is also important because you can feed it keywords that will help your Blog show up in a strong position on a Search Engine results page.
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White Space: Just as there should be easy-to-read text on a website, a good Blog design depends on copy that is not too crowded, too small, or too hard to read. A Blog asks visitors to read, potentially a lot. If a visitor finds the page too cluttered, he or she will likely not come back.
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Let It Be Shared: Finally, Wakeman advises that visitors to your Blog should find it easy to share a post that they like. There are lots of ways to do that now. Wakeman notes that a "retweet" button works well for this. Blogger offers a Twitter "share this" widget. There are always ways for your readers to share the post on Facebook, on the bookmarking site Delicious.com, and on ranking sites like Digg.com. Let some of your readers do the footwork for you.
Like the advice she gives, Denise Wakeman's list of five elements to consider is practical and incredibly user-friendly. It also is just the beginning. Once these five necessary elements are in place, other considerations need to follow. What is the look and feel of the Blog going to be? Are you going to use colors associated with your corporate brand or with a leading product (if they are different)? Before reaching these steps, though, a solid foundation for the design must be in place. Following Denise Wakeman's advice regarding Blog design is a great place to start. |
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Sincerely,
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