If you’ve spent any time on Google lately (and let’s face it, who hasn’t?), you’ve probably noticed the evolvement of local search. Local-based results now occupy a majority of the first page, stealing prime real estate from both paid and organic results—not great news for advertisers who have invested a lot of time and money into paid and organic search efforts for localized keywords.

Don’t get me wrong, paid and organic search are still very effective and should be embraced by advertisers. It just surprises me that local search—perhaps the easiest, most inexpensive category of search—is so often overlooked by businesses.

Last month at TechCrunch Disrupt, Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of location and local services, revealed that 20 percent of searches across Google properties are local in nature. Even more impressive: that number doubles to 40 percent when referencing mobile searches. Talk about opportunity.

Get started by verifying your listings with the major search engines. Create accounts with Google Places and the Bing Business Portal, and follow the steps to control your listing in local search results. You’ll want to dress up your listing by adding a business description, photos, videos and any other content that might attract customers. Make sure to select relevant search categories where you want your listing to appear. If you have multiple business locations, don’t fret—you can add multiple listings under a single account. And the best part? It’s totally free!

Once you’ve tackled the obvious ones (I suppose Yahoo! Local should also fall into that category, though enhanced listings are not free), expand your listings into other local business directories, such as Yelp and Citysearch. Customers will search for and—very candidly—discuss local businesses in these popular environments. Advertiser fees and capabilities will vary by platform.

The number one rule with local search is to pay attention! Not only should you maintain your listings and keep your information up-to-date, accurate and consistent across directories, but also be aware of and respond to customer reviews. As consumers, we all know the impact that both rave and negative reviews can have on our purchasing decisions. Thank your advocates and appease your adversaries.

Let’s be honest here: this very blog doesn’t exist just because we think it should.

The Flint Group has a blog for many reasons. Here, we share work that excites us. We celebrate our clients’ successes. We chat about our industry. We want you to know us. The real “us.”

That’s why we blog. We have a strategy, a purpose, a reason for its existence.

But even with a smart strategy in place, it’s easy to let a blog slip into the shadows. Blogging takes time and effort and some serious dedication.

Blogging is hot right now. From teenagers to dads, from small startups to Fortune 500s, everyone’s doing it. Writer or not, if you have a keyboard (or a smartphone or a tablet), you can have a blog.

Every once in a while you hear the rumor: blogging is dead. Riiight… That’s simply not true. In fact, blogging is booming. Take Google’s platform, Blogger, for instance. Users are writing 250,000 new words a minute. That’s almost 5,000 new novels a day!

Needless to say, blogging is freakishly alive. In fact, we’ve barely even scratched the surface.

Well, I think I’ve reached the mini-skirt level. What’s that, you ask? In the words of our friend Jay Baer:

“A blog post is like a mini-skirt. It has to be short enough to be interesting, but long enough to cover the subject.”

Outdoor billboard advertising continues to be popular, especially during an economic downturn. They can have steady, continuous impact compared to broadcast messages for example, because the boards are always “on.” Impact that is, IF the message and design have been created effectively.

Look around and you’ll see many advertisers treating outdoor as an oversized print advertisement or expanded business card. BIG MISTAKE. Like all forms of communication, you have to develop your message and design to fit the media – not the other way around. Here are some tips that every advertiser should follow in order to get the most impact out of their outdoor media investment:

1)      Keep it simple. Your audience is on the move, so your message must be brief and eye-catching. You only have FOUR SECONDS to capture attention and have your audience understand the message.

2)      Tell them the most important information ONLY. A billboard is not meant to give great detail. Extra copy takes too long to read, clutters the sign, and can’t be understood in only 4 seconds.

3)      Billboards should be visible and understandable at least 500 feet away.

4)      White space is good. Don’t try to fill it.

5)      Avoid metaphors. Comparisons can be clever but should be immediately obvious.

6)      Be creative. Attracting attention is important – just be sure not to compromise your message.

Here is an example of a poorly designed billboard:

The board calls your attention with TAKE A CLOSER LOOK, but after that there is no message. The graphic provides no hint of the board’s purpose, the logos are too small to decipher who is sharing the message and the URL is much too long to recall with a 4 second glance. Simply designed, but no impact.

Another example:

The board calls your attention with the company name but after that the message is lost. Too many elements and too much information to process. Give yourself 4 seconds to look at this example. What do you remember? What is the key message? In this case white space would be very helpful.

Now here’s an example of a strong billboard:

Message is crystal clear, product is obvious and the company logo is easily identifiable. Clear message, obvious impact.

And one final example:

Clear, understandable, and done CREATIVELY enough to capture your attention.

Don’t get hung up on the fact that the last two boards are done by large corporations. It’s the message and delivery that’s strong. Any advertiser can create a board with impact – just follow the six steps. Get rid of the clutter and tell the world what you have to say. Your customers will appreciate you for it.

I see about 1 great billboard to every 9 cluttered, aimless ones. Which group is your company among? It’s time we change this ratio for good!

Dr. Colin N. Clarke is a senior strategist with the Flint Group. Follow him on Twitter @colinnclarke or on Facebook at Facebook.com/cnclarke

When a customer makes a decision to purchase from you, it’s usually based on some belief that your product will meet their needs. It could be your presentation, delivery, reputation, marketing materials or the product itself, but there will be something that causes them to choose you over someone else. They now have a set expectation and you need to deliver.

Every day companies just like yours make a “promise” to their customers in some means or another, and over time customers grow to count on certain things when they interact with your business. Whether you intended to or not, your customers have formulated a “brand promise” about your business.

A little example… I’m a big fan of McDonalds hamburgers. You know, $.89 with ketchup, pickles and onions. I love ‘em. And over time I have grown to expect that hamburger to taste the same way whether I buy one in Anniston, Alabama or Spokane, Washington. To ME it is part of McDonalds’ brand promise of consistently delivering the product, regardless of location. I’ve grown to expect that consistency.

So here is the issue that you face as a leader in a growing business; can you deliver what your customer expects on a consistent basis?

Over the years I’ve witnessed numerous businesses that have grown on the shoulders of strong product quality and innovation, attracting new customers and business along the way. And as these companies got busier they made changes in their successful processes to keep pace with the growing demand – different people, different inputs, different control measures, etc. The risk? Changes in those successful processes lead to decreased quality and chance of failing to deliver on the brand promise… the same promise that brought them success in the first place.

Too many companies have grown aggressively while losing sight of the success factors that brought them there. As your customers formulate their own beliefs in what your brand promise is and the front door starts to swing open more often, keep close watch on quality. The fastest way to destroy your pristine brand promise is by failing to meet customer expectations.

Stay focused on your brand promise, grow carefully and maintain quality and your customers will believe in your business for many years to come.

Dr. Colin N. Clarke is a senior strategist for Flint Group. Follow him on Twitter @colinnclarke or on Facebook at Facebook.com/cnclarke

In no particular order, here are 10 things we’re giving thanks for this holiday season.

1. Family. Both our families at home and our second family at work.

2. Food. Because who isn’t dreaming of turkey, dressing and cranberries right now? Not to mention, the pies we enjoyed last week.

3. Warmth. The warmth of inside on a snowy winter day, and the warmth of the people (like you) we do business with.

4. Passion. We do what we do because it doesn’t feel like work to us. We’re passionate, and it makes coming to work a pleasure.

5. The unknown. Social media enhances the fear of the unknown; however, it’s always been present in marketing. It’s the unknown that keeps us on our toes and having fun.

6. Teamwork. Our industry is rapidly evolving, creating a need for specialists. We’re thankful for these nine new hires and two promotions, as well as our other 133 talented employees.

7. Creativity. Clever, unexpected, purposeful communication fuels us. Like this and this and this (and even creative Halloween costumes, like this).

8. Our clients. Of course! For their intelligence, insight, trust, wit and willingness to take risks we’ll be forever grateful.

9. Having plans. Because personal, professional, communications, marketing and business plans make the world go ’round.

10. Movember. Because, why not? (Here’s Eric, digital marketing strategist, sporting the style of the season.)

We wish you a warm and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

I’ve had the good fortune of collaborating with the folks from Street Smart Strategic Planning recently. It’s provided a refreshing perspective on the value and raw power of the customer’s voice in marketing planning.

Many companies barge into their marketing efforts believing they know what the customer wants to hear and how s/he wants to reached. Business people often LIVE in their industry category and know the business inside and out but overlook the fact they are not the customer (although they might try to tell you they are).

Most businesses tend to zero in on tangible differentiation – features and benefits, as a means to try and convince customers to buy. But “bigger, better, faster and more” can only carry a business so far – it becomes too easy for competitors to match features or price. The challenge is to uncover a truer differentiation that will resonate more closely with the customer’s desires. And this is where the voice of the customer comes to life and demonstrates its power in marketing planning.

By undertaking the right kind of customer investigation, businesses can begin to discover more emotional routes to the customer. Look at how customers view themselves when they use the product: What image do they project or portray? Do they like what they see? Discovering what appeals to the customer beyond basic product specifications provides tremendous insight.

Another area to explore is a customer’s perceived utility or benefit of using a product. Too often marketers get so wrapped up in describing the product itself that customer benefit is overlooked. One basic means to begin discovery is to simply ask the customer: “What would your life be like if you no longer had access to product X?” Now we can begin to explore the deeper benefit to the customer.

The folks at Street Smart approach these three areas as MIND, HEART and SOUL. In general terms MIND refers to product attributes, HEART to emotional appeal, and SOUL to product use and utility. Many marketers forge ahead with their planning completely aiming at the rational MIND and wonder why campaigns fall flat in a short period of time. In order to find deeper success marketers must tap into the power of the customer’s voice, listen, and begin to understand what motivates purchase behavior. Only by listening to the customer first will a marketer begin to successfully integrate messages that appeal to the MIND, HEART and SOUL.

Ask the customer what’s important instead of guessing what you think they want to hear. What you discover will return huge benefits to your marketing planning process.

Dr. Colin N. Clarke is a senior strategist for Flint Group. Follow him on Twitter @colinnclarke or on Facebook at Facebook.com/cnclarke

Today, humans are more powerful than ever. They can publish anything at any time online. From a brand management standpoint, it’s a beautifully scary thing.

Word of mouth remains the most powerful and trusted form of advertising. Simply put, friends trust friends. This is true of real-life friends, Facebook friends and blogger friends.  As more people continue to share their thoughts and opinions online, you can’t ignore word of mouse.

So how do you begin to navigate the vast blogosphere?

An interesting case study has recently emerged in New Zealand that underscores the power of social media… and how it must be wielded CAREFULLY.

National Business Review (NBR) chose to leverage social media to promote its 40th Birthday via a competition of sorts. Entrants were asked to submit a brief story on how they would celebrate winning their own weight in Veuve Clicquot Champagne. The entry implied a popular vote process, and entrants jumped on board via their social networks to solicit support for their entry. A brilliant move by NBR and by Veuve Clicquot – to motivate its audience to leverage their social networks to promote the 40th Birthday. Cheers from here for the idea!

But the story does not end so well for National Business Review (or Veuve Clicquot). After one particular entrant appeared to run away with the popular vote, NBR indicated it would take the top ten voted entries and have a judging panel choose a winner. Fair enough except… NBR did not make this clear to the entrants in advance.

What is one of the most important elements of a social media strategy? TRANSPARENCY. And this is where NBR failed.

The fallout is beginning to reach a fevered pitch in New Zealand as bloggers and mainstream media are now berating NBR for its lack of transparency. True to the nature of social media, the court of public opinion is speaking out and it’s not pretty. A few comments from blogging community:

“My message to the National Business Review is that you have lost something infinitely more valuable than my subscription. You have lost both my respect and my trust. That is hard to do, and even harder to undo.”

“I cannot put up with a tawdry run competition which had the entire blogging and related Facebook communities, engaging and participating. The amping up of the competition to boost their online stats for advertisers. Then the invoking of the most pitiful of terms and conditions…”

“Quite sim­ply NBR and Veuve Clic­quot can no longer be trusted as either a source for news or as a decent lux­ury brand when they bla­tantly make up rules as they go along…”

“Who can trust the National Business Review? …it seemed that while the NBR were happy enough to lead people on with it, they were only doing so to milk as much attention and traffic to their website as possible.”

The postings continue and now a dedicated Facebook page has been created as a result of the situation, with further comments propogating throughout.

Do you suppose this was the result that NBR anticipated when it launched the campaign? NO. Could this have been avoided? YES.

NBR failed the transparency test when it built the campaign. If there is one thing we learned from the TGI Friday’s “Woody” campaign of 2009, it’s that you must set clear expectations and be able to deliver upon those expectations. It took TGI Friday’s 10 days to fix their redemption mistake, but they made good on EVERY promise… even though it cost them a few extra $$ along the way.

NBR and Veuve Clicquot opened the social media door when they created the campaign. The best move they can make now is to create extra space on the podium, include the popular vote winner and celebrate. Maybe next time they will plan their social media strategy more thoroughly, and make sure that the rule of TRANSPARENCY is heeded.

What failed social media campaigns have you experienced? How did they fail you?

EDIT - Five days after the social media eruption occurred, NBR posted this apology and awarded the popular vote winner a grand prize as well. A graceful apology with a bit of humor, it is interesting that NBR states it did not intend to “compromise transparency.” No doubt a lesson learned by NBR in how to properly engage in the social media environment. 

Dr. Colin N. Clarke is a senior strategist for The Flint Group who studies how and why people choose to consume information. Follow him on Twitter @colinnclarke or on Facebook at Facebook.com/cnclarke.

Every couple months I remind myself to watch this video. I use it to help refresh my thinking and be inspired about the work I do. I hope the video has the same effect on you and helps you ask the question why.

Simon Sinek has developed an inspirational leadership philosophy called the “Golden Circle.” The video below is from a conference he spoke at in 2009 where he explains the Golden Circle in depth. The basic premise is that in today’s world, people tend to come at problems or develop products with a tactical approach, or just telling us “what” they are selling. Simon shows us some relevant examples from throughout history, from The Wright Brothers to TiVo. I highly encourage you to watch the 18-minute video and then think about the why in everything that you are involved in.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the video.

When it comes to creating a social media strategy, there is one, often overlooked piece of the puzzle that falls through the cracks. The who is doing what piece of the puzzle.

I work with clients to create communication plans and digital strategies that usually include some form of social media. I often get an objection when the social elements of the program are introduced. Something along the line of “we tried a blog but it wasn’t a success” or “we have a Facebook page, but it isn’t doing anything for our business.”

Who’s Doing What?

Digging deeper into the failure, many times it is because the business did not understand who is doing what. The blog was a failure because posts were not written on a regular basis. The Facebook page was a failure because they were not engaging their audience, they were just collecting names. As my colleague Jay Baer preaches, social media is not about collecting names, it is about activating your fans. That can only happen if you know who is doing what.

It can get complex depending on the size of your social media program, but here are some tips to help make sure you’re managing social operations appropriately:

• If you are blogging, create an editorial calendar. You don’t need to know the what, just the who and when.
• Again with the blogging, make sure your blogger or bloggers want to do it, if they are forced into it, you won’t get your posts on time.
• If you have a Twitter account, set up a CoTweet account to help manage interactions, and define who is responsible for interaction.
• If someone asks a question in a social space, make sure you have an expert on hand that can answer the question if it gets too technical for the day-to-day social listener.
• If you are being badgered by someone that continues to post off-topic or negative comments in your space, what is the plan to engage them, and who is going to do it?
• If you have a Facebook page, know who is responsible for engagement. Who is responsible for adding content? Photos? Videos? It might be different people for each task.
• Who is monitoring social spaces where you don’t currently have outpost? There are tons of free and paid tools out there that help you to monitor the conversations taking place.

Take a look at the Social Media Responsibilities Worksheet we use at the Flint Group. Hopefully it will help you figure out who is doing what.

Social Media Responsibilities Worksheet