JephMaystruck.com | A Regina Marketing Consultancy

Episode #8 – An Interview With a Professional Wordsmith, Linden Wilcock

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:11:40 +0000

Episode 8 – Linden Wilcock on Twitter, Facebook, the Tweetup and the future of Social Media

Enter Linden Wilcock. He’s about to graduate from the Hill School of Business at he University of Regina. I met Linden on Twitter and several Hooka Lounge nights later a friendship was born.

Linden is working on Social Media strategy and implementation over at Highland Mortgage Partners. He’s smart. He gives presentations regularly on Twitter and Facebook. If you want to attend one you should ask Linden (tell him Jeph sent you and you’ll get a free session).

Linden thinks differently, he’s not afraid to disagree with you and look at a problem or situation in a completely different light. He thinks beyond today and tomorrow and tries to understand the future implications of implementing ideas. I enjoy talking to him because he makes me look at problems differently. I think you’re going to learn something from him in this episode.

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Running time: 22:52

In this Episode:

What is a Tweetup?
What happened at the last Tweetup in Regina?
What goes on at a Tweetup? (Hint: its not just a bunch of people Tweetin’ away on their phones)
Who goes to a Tweetup?
Tweetup’s are a great place to meet a wide range of people, you never know who you’re going to get in a conversation with
Linden tells us about the first day he joined Twitter
How Twitter has affected Linden’s life
How Linden uses Facebook
How he’s changed since the beginning of his Facebook career
I ask him “If you had to explain Facebook to a person who’s never seen it before, how would you do it?”
How could a business use Facebook?
How could a business use Twitter?
What other platforms Linden’s on (Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, ICQ?)
I talk about how Zlatan from Lookmatters gave a Social Media presentation and talked about how Hillberg & Berk use Pinterest. Very interesting example
What other companies could make a win out of Pinterest?
What does marketing look like in two years?
How will the younger generation continue to push the envelope on how we marketing ourselves?
Why Greg Hluska is the man
What Linden loves in life (and writes about in his blog

Episode #7 – Poking on Facebook & How Squareflo Looks at Your Website Feat. Derek Wu – Part 2 of 2

Episode #6 – Who’s Derek Wu? – Part 1 of 2

Episode #5 – What Does The Vintage Tea Room & The Imax Have In Common?

Episode #4 – Ryan Holota On Why Your Marketing Strategy Needs To Be Risky

Episode #3 – Nothing’s Impossible, For The Regina Symphony Orchestra

Episode #2 – Why would a car dealership use social media?

Episode #1 – Your Corporate Twitter Account is Boring

Episode #7 – Poking on Facebook & How Squareflo Looks at Your Website Feat. Derek Wu – Part 2 of 2

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:10:28 +0000

Episode #7- Poking on Facebook and Squareflo Websites Feat. Derek Wu – Part 2 of 2

In Episode #7 on the Marketing Revolution Podcast I talk to Derek Wu, again (with much better sound quality this time). That’s right, find Part 1 of 2, “Who is Derek Wu?” right here. The first one is more about where he came from, lessons he learned early on, and how he began the behemoth social butterfly he is today (haha sorry Derek, told ya I could get behemoth into your title).

This episode is different. Derek spills the beans on some very smart tips for your website, the future of them, how Squareflo looks at them, and some take-a-ways that’ll make you smarter. If I were you I’d stop reading this now and hit the play/download button. Go on now.

Running time: 34:26

Subscribe to The Marketing Revolution Podcast in iTunes

In this episode we talk about:

How does Squareflo look at a website differently?
User experience is the number one goal
“Within the first 30 seconds of being on your website, people should be able to accomplish exactly what they set out to do.”
How could you measure offline advertising on your website?
Jaco (one of the owners of Squareflo) is the brains behind Squareflo’s design
They study how the user physically looks at a website and try to make a better experience every time.
Do you know where the most important place on your website is for accomplishing your over all goal? Derek shares some information that taught me something about my own site.
Every website could look amazing, but your website needs to be consistent with your offline brand. Squareflo takes the time to understand their client’s offline personality and tries to infuse that into the websites they create. A very interesting approach to web design and development
Derek talks about websites in the age of search engine optimization (SEO)
What you need to know about Google and SEO
Derek tells about the future of websites and what might be the focus (it’s not the traditional robust cookie cutter website)
I ask him what does the next 6-12 months hold for web development (yes I ask him to predict the future)
He talks about how websites, micro-sites and Facebook app and page integration will become seamless (or already has)
The future is integrating Facebook with your website, if you aren’t already
I ask him how he got to 3900 Facebook friends
How a certain Dawna Harmen can’t keep up with all her friend requests
“Facebook isn’t a place to connect with people you don’t know, that’s what Twitter is for.” -Derek Wu
We talk about how inter-connectivity has it’s detriments too, people on Facebook know everything about what you’re doing (especially when you have 3,900 friends)
Remember: When you use a service that is ‘free’, they’re making money off you in another way (Ex: Selling your information to advertisers)
He talks about a relatively new social integration on websites they’re designing using Facebook. You can checkout how Facebook Connect works on: I Love Live Music website or The Interview Season 2
Derek shares what else he “does” in his spare time, from construction to slinging drinks at Pure Ultra Lounge, he doesn’t really have spare time
My last question for Derek is “why dif he gave up a BMW car to drive an old truck instead?”

Find Derek at:

Squareflo New Media

On Twitter @DerekWu

Poke Derek on Facebook here

Episode #6 – Who’s Derek Wu? – Part 1 of 2

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:17:37 +0000

Episode 6 – The Derek Wu Story Part 1 – The Marketing Revolution Podcast

This week on the Marketing Revolution Podcast I talk to Derek Wu. I’ve had the pleasure of being friends with Derek for a while now and have worked with him several times. Of everyone I know, no one knows more people than Derek Wu. And not in a sleazy used car salesmen type way. Derek sincerely takes the time to get to know people every day.

I try to understand how he does it. How he began growing this tribe of people who look up to him, myself included. It’s a fascinating story about how socializing and partying ends up helping charity’s, and how the guy at the centre of it all, was doing it for the right reasons.

Part 1 of 2, this Podcast includes:

How he began networking/reinvented networking
The evolution of a party. It began with Cabarets, moved to Gringo’s, then Derek took over the Distrikt and left his mark as the go to guy for a night out on the town.
The Cabarets supporting charities began in a very unusual way. You’ve heard of companies trying to create goodwill, how about a young teenage kid trying to impress a judge during his next court appearance by doing a good deed.
We discuss his 3,898 friends on Facebook. Yeah that’s correct, three thousand eight hundred and ninety eight. Probably over 3,900 by the time you read this.
I find out how he remembers the names of at least 90% of the people he knows.
Derek Wu on Twitter

Subscribe to The Marketing Revolution Podcast in iTunes

Episode #5 – What Does The Vintage Tea Room & The Imax Have In Common?

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:27:41 +0000

Episode 5 – Collette & Greg on Imax Popcorn and Future of Social Media <–Click Here

This one goes for almost an hour long, I’d suggest putting it on in the background and doing something else on your computer (or download it in iTunes and listen in your car). There’s some very smart points made on the future of social media and marketing in general, you’ll want to hear what Collette and Greg have to say. Enjoy.

I had an absolute pleasure talking to Greg (@Hluska) and Collette (@colletteparks), both are quite fascinating individuals. I met them on Twitter and since have seen them at Tweetups, and have lunch from time to time. Greg is the Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors but really has a love for entrepreneurship and web development. Educated as a marketer but really in an technology practitioner. You’ll enjoy the stories Greg shares in this podcast. Visit Greg’s website www.Hluska.ca.

Collette Parks is the Manager of Marketing & Communications at the Saskatchewan Science Centre. She’s a very smart marketing professional that takes a different approach to social media. See her website here: www.ColletteParks.com. When she started on Twitter with the Science Centre she listened to what local people were saying and tried to determine ways she could add to their conversations. Collette also approaches Facebook differently as she believes it’s an entirely different audience then Twitter. Take note (this is very smart). and she has taken Facebook on as her 2012 project.

In this Podcast we talk about:

Does everyone need a Twitter account?
What types of businesses could a Twitter account really benefit
How Mom and Pop shops could utilize Twitter
At the core of social media is word-of-mouth, if you’re good, people will tell people about you. If you suck, people will tell many other people that you suck
Greg tells the story of an amazing magazine he started and transformed some lives while doing so
Collette tells her story of meeting astronaut Chris Hadfield
We also talk about how Collette knows one of my favorite authors Julien Smith
Julien wrote “The Flinch“ – it’s free on your Kindle or Kindle app
Collette’s thoughts about Social Media summed up: “Don’t worry about what you’re supposed to be doing, just do what you think makes sense to you, share what you’d want to see.” Brilliant, simply brilliant.

Episode #4 – Ryan Holota On Why Your Marketing Strategy Needs To Be Risky

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:05:11 +0000

Episode 4 of The Marketing Revolution Podcast Featuring Ryan Holota <–Click here

I met Ryan Holota roughly three years ago on Twitter. Since then we regularly go for coffee or a lunch sharing ideas on how we’re using social media. He’s very smart. I have a lot of respect for Ryan and his thoughts on social media are bang on. If you’re looking for an expert on writing and social media in Regina look no further, Ryan’s the best, I’d definitely hire him.

Visit Ryan Holota on Twitter and his website here.

Ryan talks about the beginning of his writing and marketing career
On writing: “Don’t expect to have a masterpiece every time you sit down to write. Just like the marathon runner gets up every morning and stretches before they run, you must practice your writing like a professional for a long time to see results.”
Books on writing “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield, “Accidental Genius“ by Mark Levy
Ryan predicts 2012 “the year of mobile” for the third year in a row and adds that next year will probably be “the year of mobile” as well.
Social Media isn’t new, people have shared media throughout time. It’s just easier now. Communication doesn’t wait for a story to be printed in the weekend paper, we share media in real time.
He talks about how companies could use social media platforms much more effectively.
At the core of your marketing strategy, Ryan says there’s one great way to tell if you’re effective, increased sales.
We talk about how agency’s are going to withstand the new social/digital marketing convergence and if having an agency manage your social media strategy implementation.
How do you ensure your company or marketing department is still relevant in the next three years? “Don’t be safe”. Experiment, take risks, test things out, never assume your marketing is flawless.
We talk about how Christopher Penn experiments on his blog and Twitter account with extreme transparency and he shares the results of what he finds.
We talk about the infamous “Kenneth Cole Tweet” that created an uproar early last year.
Near the end I ask Ryan “does sex sell?” based on a blog post he wrote on the topic.
He also shares how he works, the life of a writer and what his days are usually like.

We also talk about these three articles:

6 Potentially Wildly Inaccurate Observations about Tostitos and Social Sentiment – How do you know your message is resonating with the right demographic? Is “everyone” your target market?

Direct From Google: How To Build A Quality Website In 2012 – What do companies need to be looking at in a website this year? Ryan shares some ideas on improving your website strategy, if you’re building a new website this year, this conversation will definitely help you in the planning.

How People Watch TV Online And Off – Contrary to what you’d think, the US is watching more TV than ever, but they’re also watching it with another screen in there hand more than ever. An interesting discussion follows.

Episode #3 – Nothing’s Impossible, For The Regina Symphony Orchestra

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:13:37 +0000

Episode 3 of the Marketing Revolution Podcast – Nothing’s Impossible for the RSO <– Click Here

In episode 3 of the Marketing Revolution Podcast I talk to Taron Cochrane (@taron_cochrane), the self proclaimed “music fanatic” is the creative marketing and promotions manager of the Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO). Taron loves music, it’s his passion and just talking to him for a few minutes you can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice, music is a major part of his life. Other than working for the RSO Taron also is a freelance writer for the Leaderpost, Horizon’s magazine and also is a graphic designer. See Taron’s Website.

Total running time: 49:30

In this episode:

We talk about how Taron manages The RSO on Twitter - @ReginaSymphony
How he approaches the The RSO Facebook Page – www.Facebook.com/ReginaSymphony

Why they aren’t on Foursquare anymore.

Why they don’t have a blog…..yet.

How he does all this work within social media without a cell phone. Yes, Taron doesn’t have a cell phone, I’ve made it a personnel goal of mine to get him a cell phone this year. So Sasktel or Rogers, if you’re reading this, Taron would be a great guy to sponsor with a cell phone, he has a very loud mouth. (wink, wink, nudge, it should pretty obvious by now)

One of Taron’s biggest accomplishments of 2011 was being in the top 24 finalists in the SocialFresh.com contest for the Top Ten Twitter Brands of 2011. An amazing feat being one of the only Canadian brands to make the list.
He tells a story about the legendary Walter Ostanek and how he tried to get Canada’s Polka King a Juno. Using social media, Taron ends up on the CBC National, gives his Grandma a wonderful gift and receives a heartfelt thank you from Walter Ostenek him self.
He talks about the most important lessons he’s learned, “there is no such thing as a crazy idea” and “nothing’s impossible”. These have been a part of Taron’s mantra when he goes about planning his social media strategy. Taron has had many ideas, he tried many different things and to succeed online he believes you must try doing things outside your comfort zone.
In Taron’s opinion, the biggest thing to focus on in 2012 is to have a unique idea, to create something that no one else has ever done before. Originality says a lot.

I ask Taron:

Can you develop a strategy around creating something that is “viral”? Why/Why not? In regards to The Viral Marketing Cheatsheet
What are your thoughts on Mobile? See the article: The Year Of Mobile? Sounds Like The Month Of The Smartphone
The majority of the time, businesses pay lip service to customers much in the same way politicians make promises to voters prior to each election. Is this true? Could there be a digital evolution going on? See: Brian Solis on Digital Darwinism and Customer-Centricity (http://www.conversionation.net/2011/12/brian-solis-on-digital-darwinism-and-customer-centricity/)
The book Taron mentions several times is “Anarchy Evolution” (Amazon Link)

Taron really does go above and beyond for the RSO, they’re very lucky to have a guy with his skill set and ambition. He’s a fascinating gentlemen, if you ever have the change to have a coffee of a beer with the man take it! Also, I am looking into a cell phone sponsor for him, do contact if interested.

Episode #2 – Why would a car dealership use social media?

Jeph Maystruck — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:00:20 +0000

Click here –>TMRP Episode #2 – Why would a car dealership use Social Media?

In this episode, the brilliant Mitch Gallant and I talk about how Capitol Ford (@CapitalFord) uses social media within their marketing mix. Mitch heads up the online marketing for Capitol Ford. Along with a star studded team, including @Kiley_G @theRealBernando and himself @mitch_4.

I grill Mitch on his best moment of 2011, how he manages Capitol Ford’s online marketing entities and his (questionable) opinions on mobile (said in a very sarcastic tone). Also, Mitch tells how he prioritizes projects using a football field on the wall in his office, an amazing example of how to manage online projects when you want to implement everything you come across. Near the end Mitch shares what he thinks the most important thing marketers need to focus on in 2012.

Finally, Mitch recommends some books to read for young, aspiring marketers, Unmarketing by Scott Stratten, Six Pixels of Seperation by Mitch Joel, All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin, The Thank You Economy and Crush it! by Gary Vaynerchuk.

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Episode #1 – Your Corporate Twitter Account is Boring

Jeph Maystruck — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:36:57 +0000

Episode 1 – The Marketing Revolution Podcast – Your Corporate Twitter Account is Boring! <– Click here

In this episode @Lindenwilcock and @Kiltedbroker join myself for a conversation on corporate and local Twitter accounts. Should you have a separate company Twitter account? Why not? If all you’re using Twitter for is another mega phone to “get your message out there”, please stop. You’re wasting your time. The solution conceptually is quite simple. Just add value, that’s it. Conceptually simple but realistically very difficult because we perceive value differently and what one person loves another may hate. So how do you implement the right strategy?

We talk about @TeamGBIS, @reginapolice @ReginaSymphony @EarlsVicEast @codaclothing @HickoryGrill what’s good about some of these accounts and a couple stories on what not to do.