One of the biggest and best-known companies to weather the Great Recession of the past several years is Google Inc., the online advertising and search giant. So it stands to reason that when the company dispenses business advice, it might not be a bad idea for the rest of us to pay attention (and just forget about that little thing called Google Wave).

Recently, a set of commandments came down from the Mountain View, California company, etched not on stone tablets, but rather, developed to be viewed on mobile tablets. To call The Mobile Playbook a mere “eBook” would be inaccurate and perhaps even dangerously myopic. While you can download a static PDF, you’d be doing yourself and your organization a favor by viewing this treatise via its mobile-optimized Web version.

What is The Mobile Playbook? Basically, it’s Google’s interpretation of the business world’s increasingly mobile present and future. Thesis statement: if you don’t develop ways to engage consumers on mobile platforms such as smartphones and tablet PCs, you’re going to get left in the dust. My spin on Google’s spin: the mobile Web is at about the same stage as the regular Web circa 1999 or maybe 2000. In other words, early-ish adopters are all over it and seeing some success already. Laggards or anyone foolish enough to still think it’s a fad or that it doesn’t affect them will be sorry, later.

Quote, from the Googlers themselves:

“At Google, we believe that mobile represents a sociological shift with how users relate with both the digital and physical world. Businesses that understand this will win.”

The Mobile Playbook offers a few key things for people to consider before rushing headlong into building a mobile site and bunches of apps. Two of the biggies:

1) Determine the value proposition you can offer your mobile consumer

2) Build a mobile-optimized Web site (or risk having mobile customers abandon yours); if you don’t have the talent in-house, you can find someone out there to help you – though, don’t expect it to be as simple or cheap as building a regular, desktop website.

From my perspective, there was one pretty big oversight in the report, or perhaps it was merely a room-occupying elephant the authors chose to ignore. Most or all of the examples cited were large companies and organizations with undoubtedly large marketing budgets. The report recommended “talking with your agency” about developing marketing strategies, on the apparent assumption that readers could afford outsourcing their mobile marketing. Unlike building a desktop Web presence, developing sites for mobile remains notoriously expensive. Creating mobile “apps” such as games or electronic tools also costs lots of money.

Flash, the formerly-undisputed multimedia format champion for the Web, famously doesn’t get along with some mobile devices. That and other competing mobile standards mean a compatibility headache for developers. Android? iOS? Windows for Mobile? Without singling out any particular handset or tablet, Google’s guide slyly suggests building first for whatever platform is most popular with your particular audience. For a consumer packaged goods company it might be a no-brainer to build for the wildly popular iPhone first. If, however, you’re a technology company that caters to geekazoids, the best ROI might come from releasing an Android-compatible version initially.

The Mobile Playbook should give anyone with a business or in charge of marketing for a business plenty of food for thought. Whatever you do, don’t wait too long to get started with mobile – you could be losing tons of prospects who abandon your site because surfing it via mobile is too painful for them.

To view online or download Google’s The Mobile Playbook, go here.

To see how your site looks when viewed on a mobile device, plus tips to improve it, click here.  

Akweli Parker is founder of Digital Delta Media LLC, a content marketing consulting firm. Join him on Twitter, where he is user @aparkerddm

When used as marketing tools, white papers and special reports serve to educate potential buyers about high-value products and services. People responsible for or capable of buying said products and services are usually sophisticated, time-pressed, and in search of specific answers to immediate problems.

Find out more about this versatile content platform by checking out the DDM infographic: Hitting Prospect Pay Dirt with White Papers.

View as an image

Download as a PDF

Ah, those naughty phishers just won’t let up. This past week I got an email from a “wAccounts@VerizonWireless.com,”  telling me my cell phone bill in excess of $1,000 was “ready” for payment. Had I been an actual Verizon Wireless customer, and a heavy cell phone user, this might have actually been a convincing forgery.

The language, graphics and fonts were spot-on. They even paid the courtesy of including a link to the real company’s privacy policy. (How considerate!) As a trained editor, I can usually sniff out such fakes from a mile away because of misspelled words, odd punctuation, or other discrepancies that would never make it past a major corporation’s communications department. To the untrained, unobservant, or simply harried eye, it’s easy to see how these legit-looking lures can (and do) make a killing.

Were this a company that I actually did business with, the phishers might have reeled me in. There was at least one tell-tale mistake they made, however, that screamed “fraud.” The hover-over address that appeared in my browser showed a United Kingdom domain name. Nothing against our fine friends across the pond, but it just seemed highly suspicious that a U.S. company would re-direct its customers there online. (See screen shots).

If you see a destination address like this when you hover your mouse ... don't click!

The point? As they used to say on a certain cop drama remembered fondly by those of us “of a certain age,” be careful out there.
 
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And join me, Akweli, on the social network of your choice – just click on the icons at the top right of this page!

Twitter recently put out this guide on how to use the micro-blogging social media service for small business. Whether you’re new to Twitter or an old pro, you’ll likely find some helpful hints.
 
Naturally, there’s a little bit of stuff about using Twitter’s paid services – hey, they’ve gotta pay those server bills and keep the Fail Whale from surfacing somehow, right? But it’s mostly a content-rich tutorial that should help you squeeze out more social media mileage per tweet.
 
To get the guide, you have to let Twitter harvest you for data – there’s a fairly probing personal information form to complete before you can download. Yes, most of us enjoy those forms about as much as a trip to the proctologist. But the way I look at it, this is info I’d provide publicly anyway as a business proprietor. You can also find a wealth of information on Twitter for business without divulging any info at all — just peck around on the Twitter for Business sub-site.
 
So check it out, and if you’re on Twitter, hit me up and add me at @aparkerddm !

Anyone who’s been struggling to find work out there knows it’s no longer adequate simply to be “good.” In many cases, even being “great” isn’t enough to get hired. Not if the people you want to hire you don’t know you’re great.

With that said, it’s also easy to create the exact opposite effect of what you intend: no one will want to touch you either if you come off as a braggart and a blowhard everywhere you go. Is there a happy medium? You bet. It’s called “being a recognized expert,” and it lies at the core of content marketing. That’s right, content marketing isn’t just for big companies with huge marketing budgets – it’s for us little guys and gals, too.

For at least a couple years now, the advice has been “keep a blog and comment intelligently on social media and Web sites so that prospects and recruiters can see what a swell thinker you are.” And that’s not bad advice… as a starting point. It’s just that everybody’s doing that nowadays. How do you step it up a notch? Several notches?

The answers to these questions are revealed in my latest book, 41 ¼ Creative Content Ideas: Ingeniously Clever Small Business Marketing Moves for Capturing More Clicks, Clients, and Cash! While it specifically references small businesses in the title, it’s actually applicable to anyone who has to impress an audience of potential buyers. That includes anyone who considers herself or himself a job seeker.

It’s like having me as your personal content consultant, but at nowhere near my going rate.

Although I enjoyed sharing what I’ve learned by writing the book, I can’t say that I’m thrilled about the need for this book. It comes at a time when the realm of gainful employment is no longer a meritocracy. Getting or staying employed – or in business – is a marketing-ocracy. He or she with the most visible, presentable story in the marketplace wins. Viewed through that lens, everyone who wishes to make a living for the long-term is a self-contained business.

I do realize that times are tough and budgets tight for many people, especially for my peers in growth businesses.

That’s why you can download the first half of 41 ¼ Creative Content Ideas for free. If you like it, please click the Tweet button near the end of the eBook and consider purchasing the full version: as either a print book from Amazon.com or as a download for your Kindle e-reader.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

There’s a good chance you’re already an expert at what you do. Share it. Show it.

The following content marketing tip is from my upcoming book, 41 1/4 Creative Content Ideas — Ingeniously Clever Small Business Marketing Moves for Capturing More Clicks, Clients, and Cash! It will be available on Amazon.com next week, and I plan to make the first several chapters available for free right here – so you can try before you buy.   

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy (and put to good use) the tip in this post!  

Coming up with content ideas is tons of fun. You get to go into a conference room, perhaps order pizza, and go wild with funny-smelling markers and flip charts. 

Creating the actual content is not always as pleasant. No matter what the format – video, PowerPoint, podcast, there’s always lots and lots of writing involved. Independent research and conducting interviews may also be necessary. In other words, creating the actual content may constitute what many people consider a “slog.” It’s challenging work intellectually, and from a carpal tunnel risk standpoint, it’s challenging physically as well!  
Fortunately for everyone involved, you, dear reader, do not have to perform all the heavy lifting on making content. In fact, it’s highly advisable that you don’t, for a couple reasons.  

First, your offering will benefit greatly from having the perspective, insights, and experience of others. A CEO blog, for instance, is one of the most brilliant content devices a company can deploy. It serves as a direct, insider’s peek at management’s hopes, motivations, and concerns. Customers and employees alike appreciate that type of transparency from and access to the top.  

Another possibility is to have operations people weigh in and blog from their expertise – the head of legal writes about changes in healthcare reform; the chief technology officer writes about the importance of smart computing security practices. These pieces, by the way, can be directed internally toward employees or externally, as “thought leadership” pieces. It really just depends on your strategic objectives.  

You can no doubt come up with lots of creative ways to delegate the production of content to staff (and perhaps contractors). It’s important to note, however, that ultimate responsibility for all such content communications needs to rest with one individual. In some organizations that might be the chief marketing officer. In others, it’s the vice president of marketing.  

No one likes a micro-manager, but there are a few situations – such as the broadcast of social media updates – that warrant very high-level sign-off before distribution. It only takes one insensitively worded tweet to bring a P.R. disaster upon an organization.

Chances are your organization is chockful of valuable insider knowledge and insights. Free up some of that value, and some of your time, by letting others do the writing and talking.

Walt Disney

When I began seeing online trailers for Disney’s fantasy science-fiction film John Carter a several months back, two thoughts immediately leapt to mind: wow, how unabashedly derivative; and I have no idea what this movie is about.

The feature film is now in theaters, and the meh opening weekend box office confirms that many would-be moviegoers shared my initial, underwhelmed reaction. But to hear professional critics and general public movie enthusiasts alike tell it, the movie itself is actually pretty enjoyable. Nonetheless, analysts have said Disney may have to take a $150 million write-down. If that indeed happens, it wouldn’t be the first time a good product or service fell on the sword of its own misguided marketing.

To be sure, keeping a $250-million-plus production from becoming completely unhinged is a big job – Disney’s behind-the-scenes woes with the movie have been well-documented. And hey, studio politics aren’t anything new. But it was quite surprising the House of Mouse took the less-than-coherent marketing approach it did, given the quarter-billion dollars it had on the line. Hollywood scuttlebutt has it that director-studio conflict was to blame for the muddled marketing. Whatever its cause, we marketers and business owners can all take a few lessons from this moment the New York Times has less charitably labeled “Ishtar Lands on Mars.”

1. Don’t get too artsy or abstract with the trailer (pre-launch buzz)

Do use it to actually tell a story and to build anticipation. The movie Avatar’s trailers did this exceptionally well. Also, make the story (product) seem fresh, even if it isn’t. Even though Avatar turned out to be “Dances With Wolves … in Space,” the trailers led you to believe you would enjoy a unique movie-going experience.  

By comparison, many people found the John Carter trailers (and other marketing, such as billboards) at once cliched yet puzzling, based on most peoples’ lack of familiarity with the source material. Many noted the seeming pastiche of sci-fi iconography that composed the John Carter trailers: the floating desert barge, the gladiatorial arena filled with fantastic beasts, the sand-swept battlefield … were they rip-offs of Dune, Star Wars, Gladiator, even?

Turns out just the opposite was true. All of those sci-fi masters of the twentieth century cribbed their concepts from Edgar Rice Burroughs’s 1912 story A Princess of Mars, in which John Carter is a main character. The work of Burroughs (a man perhaps better known as the creator of Tarzan), is worshipped and rampantly “re-imagined and re-purposed” in the science fiction community. But you never would have guessed it had you relied on Disney’s cryptic, non-referential marketing of the film adapation. Which leads us to Point Number 2 …

2. Know and pitch the strengths of your movie, (or product, or widget).

John Carter was directed by Andrew Stanton, who helmed well-regarded animated films Finding Nemo and Wall-E. And as mentioned, the imagery spawned from the mind of Burroughs is stamped indelibly upon the modern science fiction genre (Disney also missed the chance to appeal directly to the original books’ enormous, built-in fan base). The director, reportedly, did not want his previous films mentioned in promos lest the new movie attract young kiddies. Many Internet posters considered that a mistake, since those animated movies’ greatest strength was their powerful storytelling.

 Rather than making trailer watchers scratch their heads and wonder, “who or what is a John Carter — and why do I care?” the film’s makers could have used that valuable 120 seconds to supply some interest-stoking context.

Instead, in one TV spot, Disney pointed out not-so-helpfully that its film was “The First Blockbuster of the Year.”

3. Choose titles (or product names) that help create mental snapshots.

Punchy titles can be both brief and descriptive. Take, for instance, *Coach* Carter, Panic Room, The Help. But they can also backfire. Much to-do has been made about the choice of using the concise but vague (to most people) John Carter as the movie title instead of, say, John Carter of Mars. Note that there’s no need for Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood-descriptive. Just enough to create a cognitive spark of connection – a positive one –about the subject. 

A Fan-Made Trailer that Actually Makes You Want to See the Movie 

End of Disney’s Mars Experiment?

Some have already predicted that talked-about sequels for John Carter are DOA. Disney execs, in sullenly worded statements, sound almost resigned to let the bloated and embattled project suffocate under its own weight.

And yet, I wouldn’t lower Captain Carter’s casket into that arid Martian soil so soon.

Many well-known and popular brands and franchises have bounced back from their earlier marketing missteps. Look at the Apple Computer of the 1990s compared to the transformed company in the aughts and today. Or how about Korean automaker Hyundai? Shrewd marketing, backed by an outstanding product, has taken it from entry-level laughing stock to laughing all the way to the bank.

Likewise, there’s a fair chance the John Carter franchise can escape the gravitational pull of its corporate parent’s lackluster release efforts, through the redeeming power of word-of-mouth marketing.

But clearly it’s best to simply get these things right from the start.

None of the tips mentioned above are revolutionary. And that’s the point – marketing fundamentals including storytelling, credibility, and establishing connection still apply … even when the setting is the reduced-gravity surface of Mars.

What are some other big pre-launch marketing boo-boos you’ve observed? What could the people responsible have done better?

It's back-to-school time.

Synopsis: Do you need to become more digitally literate, in a hurry? In a bit of good news for cash-strapped job seekers, entrepreneurs, and employees with plain ol’ tight-fisted bosses, low-cost and no-cost training options are starting to explode online. For your test-driving pleasure, here is a list of a few:

Once upon a time — when the economy was booming — companies of all sizes would send their employees to training, pay their way, and give it nary a second thought.  

It made everyone happy, for the most part. Employees gained valuable new skills and insights and continued their education for free. Companies got a great return too, in that they could update and modernize their work forces without the massive expense of having to search for and hire new people with the right skills. 
 
Today, it’s an entirely different story. Training budgets are wisps of what they were 5 to 10 years ago. Companies expect – often unrealistically – for new and prospective hires to come in off the street with the complete and precise qualifications set forth in the job description specs. (After all, the U.S. job market is just oozing with MBA-holding, JavaScript-, C++, and Unix-programming, management experience-having, sales “rock stars” who, in addition to possessing great communication skills in their native English, fluently speak Mandarin, French, and Swahili. …Isn’t it?) 
 
The answer is obvious to anyone caught amongst the teeming hordes on the other side of the velvet rope, longing for entry. Fortunately, the options for educating yourself on your own dime (or even less than a dime) are exploding online. If you’re interested in online digital stuff in any capacity, you probably get bombarded with the same kind of online ads I do – attend this Social Media “Summit”; sign up for our Facebook webinar series; become a member of our marketing “community.” 
 
Many of these programs are quite well-conceived and -executed. You can extract some amazing value from them, as the presenters often live and breathe their niche topics. I’ve certainly plunked down a a few wild nights in Vegas’s worth of change on such programs in order to stay current. The only issue I have with many of them is their expense: $200 or so in the case of many online “summits” (which also can hold you sporadically captive for a week or more); and on into the $1,000-neighborhood and above for in-person events, such as conferences. 
 
Yes, I realize that much of the “value” in these outlays comes from the networking and relationship-building they permit, whether it be virtual or in actual meatspace.  My point is that for entrepreneurs, and even large organizations, sometimes money is an object, and then some. Cash flow considerations for us are king. Cash is The Precious. To be guarded jealously. It’s like blood. And the less of your own you have to spill to achieve your ends, the better. 
 
With that colorful analogy as our guide, I present to you this by-no-means comprehensive list of low-cost and no-cost online Web media training options. I include their price ranges and any other attached strings that stood out. These are services/sites that I’ve personally tried out to at least some estent, and found to have outstanding value-to-expense ratios in terms of time, money, or both.
 

Codecademy

http://www.codecademy.com
Description: Looking for a job? Learn JavaScript. As programming languages go, I’d say JavaScript lies toward the more graspable end of the spectrum for ordinary people. And yet, jobs go empty at many companies across the land for want of good JavaScript code jockeys. Don’t believe me? Just look on any jobs site!
 
Not that I plan on switching vocations any time soon, but these days there’s no such thing as having too much technology training. So I’ve been nibbling away  for a few weeks now at the self-paced JavaScript courses available through Codecademy. The interface is no frills and no thrills, but there’s something endearing and even addictive about its simplicity. Like some other sites, Codecademy borrows a few tricks from game mechanics to keep you hooked on learning. I found myself saying, “OK, just one more lesson,” repeatedly during multi-hour sessions. That either makes me an even bigger dork than anyone first suspected, or these folks at Codecademy are on to something.
 
If you’re brand spanking-new to JavaScript, it may be difficult to complete the tasks and proceed. I really had to think my way out of a few JavaScript jams in order to continue, and I’ve actually had some exposure to the stuff over the years.  If you’re a rookie, and you’re committed to learning this, it may be a wise idea to purchase a “noobs’ guide” book as a course companion. Assuming Codecademy has or will come up with a sustainable business model, one can probably expect lots more coding language courses to join its roster.

Cost: FREE

Veri 

http://www.veri.com/
Description: Remember back in the day, when you had to do all that book-learnin’ in school and it often seemed horrendously, even criminally dull? Were I still being formally educated, Veri would be the antidote to those state-mandated theft-of-life sessions. Veri makes feeding your mind fun, by treating learning as a game. Points leaderboards let you know who the top dogs are on any given topic. It’s also integrated with social media, so you can brag about share your accomplishments with friends, if you so choose. The subjects are all over the map, but they include a fair representation of “courses” that digital media enthusiasts would find useful. Also, site co-founder Angela Kim is pretty swell – she promptly, cheerfully answered a couple questions I submitted about the sign-in process.

Veri.com combines learning with friendly, social media competitiveness.

 
She assured me that the registration by mandatory email or Facebook sign-in was for user convenience, and not as creepy and controlling as I had feared … I’m guessing there’s other stuff going on behind the curtain – as my former journalistic colleague JoeD might say, “if you want the real story, follow the money.” But I mean hey, everyone lets applications access their social media accounts and opens themselves to data mining and other shadowy purposes, right? It’s the in thing to do.

That said, running an operation like Veri ain’t easy, so I appreciated Angela’s personal commitment to keeping visitors happy.

Cost: FREE

Lynda.com

Lynda.com -- costs money, but could be perfect for consultants or organizations that need a "crash course," completely on their schedule.

http://www.lynda.com/
Description: This all-you-can-eat buffet of online, video-based training covers subjects including 3D animation, business skills and software, social media, photography, videography, programming languages, and more. You may be thinking “why not just go to YouTube and teach yourself for free?” YouTube does indeed pack lots of mind-blowing instructional content. The problem is you have to wade chest-deep through dreck to get to the good stuff. So there is still value in paying for content, after all. And that value is it’s been subjected to a higher quality standard than the shaky cam lameness of videos allowed on the ‘Tube.

Cost:   $25/$37.50 USD per month (regular/premium membership) or $250/$375 per year

W3C Schools  

http://www.w3schools.com/
Description: It’s free, it’s self-paced, and it’s all online. Learn to build Web sites in HTML. Then, if you’re feeling really adventurous, get down and dirty with the virtual Babel of scripting languages. A feature they’ve added since the last time I visited was online certification, which costs money. I’m actually OK with that, because for better or worse, my sense is that employers will feel more comforted if you can provide a piece of paper that validates your claims of coding competence.
 
Plus it’s a way for these guys to make a little scratch, which has been rightly earned for all the free value provided on the site.
 
Cost: FREE to learn, $95 for certification (obtained after passing a Web-administered test)

HootSuite University   

Screenshot of the HootSuite University curriculum. Yowza.

http://learn.hootsuite.com/
Description: Darn your cuteness, Owly!!!  I’m a bit embarrassed that I was so easily sucked into the HootSuite marketing vortex by Owly, the company’s cartoon mascot. But hey, owls are the symbol of wisdom and sound decision-making, so it’s all good, right? HootSuite also happens to make a pretty mean social media dashboard, which I do in fact, recommend.
 
But we’re here to talk about the online instruction. It’s pretty simple, really. You pony up an Andrew Jackson and some change per month. Take the video-based training and partake of enriching webinars at your convenience. Take tests and quizzes online. Get a nice, shiny “HootSuite Certified” badge for your Web site. At the time of this writing, HootSuite was offering its “Pro” package (required to enroll in HSU) free for one month, so the cash drain is not as acute as it could be.
 
I’m just now signing up, and the curriculum looks pretty intense, but manageable. Naturally, I’ll be providing my observations about HSU in coming weeks.
 
Cost: $21/month for users of HootSuite Pro; $26.99 for HootSuite free users (automatically enrolls you in Pro)

Khan Academy

http://www.khanacademy.org/
Description: This one is a bit of a stretch, at present, from our theme here of technological teachings. However, entrepreneurs in particular might be interested in the lessons on business funding including how to raise capital.
Cost: FREE

Finally, you may already be aware that many top-tier universities are making their course work available by audit to anyone with an Internet connection. The good news is, we’re truly seeing the start of quality education being democratized. It’s pretty well-proven by now how rates of higher education affect the economic prospects of an entire nation. Here in the United States, incidentally, we’ve been slipping behind other developed countries precipitously.
 
The sobering news is that you don’t get a sheepskin by taking those auditable courses. Universities, in the United States at least, are still in the business of making money after all. And color me cynical, but I don’t think most employers, in their current hive-mindset, are likely to be impressed without the piece of paper.

That said, with more individuals turning to entrepreneurship and free agent-dom, the discriminatory whims of picky employers could become irrelevant. Cutting-edge, just-in-time, Web-based training may even represent a mortal threat to traditional, slow, and increasingly expensive colleges. Note to self, blog about that at a later date!
 
My listing above only includes sites that teach specifically about the digital and online space. To try and broaden it to include all cheap Web-based learning sites would have meant this post never got published! Those listed here just happen to be a few that have caught my eye in the past year or so.
 
So what are your thoughts? Are you a fan of any of these online learning sites? Is there one missing that you think should be here? If so, sound off in the comments!
 
Akweli Parker is the founder of Digital Delta Media LLC, a content marketing services firm. Follow him on Twitter at @aparkerddm

If you spend even a modest amount of time online, you’ve probably noticed the abundance of animated content used to educate, entertain and advertise. Cartoons, CGI modeling, and animated typography, among other things, are enjoying a rennaissance thanks to digital production techniques.

Animation is cool because it grabs people’s attention in a message-cluttered marketplace and it’s relatively cheap. You don’t have to get models or actors to sign releases. As a result, you don’t have to feed them, either, when your shoots inevitably take longer than originally expected!

So what if you’d like to use animation to spice up your presentations, liven up your online videos, or enhance your promotional DVDs? Yes, you could hire a video production company and subsidize its investment in expensive equipment and software.

Or, if you have a modicum of talent and a lot of creativity, you could try developing some animations of your own. It’s really not that hard anymore.

Though trained as a writer, I’ve always held a passion for, and fascination with, animation techniques. Chalk it up to the primitive, easily distracted part of my brain that says, “oooh, bright flashy thing … me likey!” In addition, more than one person in my lifetime has offered the dangerous suggestion that I am a halfway decent doodler.

After toying with a succession of cheesy animated GIF-making programs in my first decade or so online, I sobered up to the realization that the state-of-the-art had changed. Thus began my quest to find an animation program that was neither too hard to learn, nor too lightweight to use professionally, nor too expensive for my writer’s budget. And, just to be clear, I wanted to be able to purchase it legally – I’m well aware that virtually any software package can be had free of charge to anyone desperate enough (but at too high of a moral price for my tastes). I settled on a program called Anime Studio Pro by Smith Micro. You can read my review of Version 6 here.  At this writing, Version 8 was available for a little more than $100, and the few reviews I saw of it were highly favorable.

I’m also embedding a video review that would not upload to Amazon.com for whatever reason, but did take on YouTube.

There are a couple other animation and effects suites that I’m eager to crack open and create with, but just need to find the time for learning and experimenting: Blender and HitFilm Ultimate. Blender is a (free!) 3-D animation program that lets you make Pixar-like movies, but the learning curve is Kilimanjaro-steep. HitFilm is a much more affordable version of Adobe’s Premiere (video editing) and AfterEffects (special effects compositing) programs. It too, takes some dedication and perseverance, but in the hands of a master, the results can be breathtaking. I should hasten to mention that user-made tutorials on all of these programs flourish on YouTube like spores on soggy pumpernickel.

Used in concert with your other video-creation tools, programs like this can help you make some pretty slick productions – and help you look much larger and bigger-budgeted than you really are. More importantly, they can better reinforce whatever message you’re trying to get across to employees, customers, or prospects.

(Long Before You’ve Ever Written a Book)

One of the core principles of my upcoming marketing minifesto (that’s a manifesto, but in miniature) The Content Commandments, is the idea of perceived ubiquity. In other words, creating the virtual illusion of being everywhere your prospective audience turns.
 
A great example of this non-marketing style of marketing is Michio Kaku, the famous theoretical physicist. In case you don’t know, he’s one of the co-founders of string field theory. Seems like everywhere I look, this guy and his silver mane are staring me in the face, talking about disruptions in the space-time continuum, the feasibility of faster-than-light travel (Mr. Gaeta, spin up the FTL drive!) I’ve seen this guy while surfing through the Discovery science channels, the History channels, even TLC (don’t make that face, I was just surfing through), and I’m guessing he’s all over the regular networks whenever something even remotely science-y happens in the news. He’s all over YouTube, too.
 
And interestingly, whereas many of us think of physicists and those in related fields as fashion frumps, I always see Kaku stylishly outfitted – sometimes a leather jacket, sometimes a tasteful suit, but always with that distinctive, silver smartmullet. Hand it to him and his publicist, if he uses one, for their media savvy. Well played, sir.
 
For most of the rest of us, without a well-respected career in theoretical physics, getting an audience of thousands or millions on television will be extremely difficult. But I’ll propose a way that you can still gain a humongous audience, and make it consist of much more highly targeted (and relevant) viewers in the process. It’ll also help you get a little bit closer to “mindshare” omnipresence.
 
Put yourself on Amazon.com.
 
Not as an author – although it would be very wise to make that move at some point as well. Not yet, though.

You want to be all over this.

First, keep in mind that being a book author – a good one, anyway – requires that you do lots of research in order to be able to provide people real value. What better way, then, to get loads of insights and research material than to read tons of books in your field?
 
But don’t just read them, share what you thought about them! If you have an Amazon.com account (and gosh, please say that you do by now), it’s a simple matter to create a reviewer profile, which you can link to your Web site and social media accounts. And of course, you’ll find plenty of room to wax poetic about who you are and what you do.
 
Read and review as many books (or other products, such as DVDs) as you feasibly can … while still providing enough depth to create value. Remember, the primary purpose of writing reviews isn’t to thump your own chest – it’s to help strangers decide whether to spend their hard-earned money (and irreplaceable time) on items in a crowded marketplace.
 
By all means, focus the lion’s share of your reviews on books and other media that pertain to your field. Not only will you sharpen your own expertise, but you potentially expose yourself as an expert to others who may be in a decision to do business with you. You never know.
 

The Amazon.com reviewer profile page.

ROI

OK, so what’s the return on investment? Here’s where the math gets a little fuzzy. I personally can’t say at this point that any one Amazon.com review has led to my getting hired for one assignment or another. But I do know that every item of content you publish – online, in print, on video – is like a little “reputation soldier.” You send it out from the base (your brain). If you equipped it well, with good ideas, correct grammar and spelling, and so forth, it brings back value to you: enhanced reputation in the marketplace, 24/7 advertising for “brand you,” and more search results with your name in them.
 
What I can say for certain is this – any time after leaving a helpful, well-thought out review for an even semi-popular non-fiction book, my requests from people to connect on social media experience a good 30% or so spike for a week or two after. So add to the list of benefits, “building your tribe.”
 
Keep in mind too that you’re now able to post video reviews. The jury is out on whether they receive more attention from potential buyers than regular text reviews. But we do know what a force multiplier video is for selling merchandise, in general. I’ve done a few video reviews, despite the greater amount of time they require. The general response, in the “comment on this review” section, has been quite positive. I even heard personally from Scott Stratten, the author of Unmarketing: Stop Marketing, Start Engaging.
 
So let’s review some of the reasons you should post reviews on Amazon.com as part of your overall marketing strategy:

• You’ll become better at what you do by reading, then actually writing about what you thought were the most important ideas, features, benefits, or even flaws

• Lots of people will see your review and read your name. Some of them may be people in a position or with an inclination to do business with you

• Amazon has unbelievable Google Juice. If someone searches for a popular title on a major search engine, an Amazon result will likely show up near the top. Ride that wave!
• You’ll be genuinely helping people to make a purchasing decision – in essence, you’re consulting, delivering value. Even if you’re not getting paid cash outright, that’s good karma!
 
Just one caveat: please make sure your review adds value to the discussion. Check your grammar, spelling, and all that good stuff. Don’t write in TXTing gibberish. Don’t talk about how fast it arrived or didn’t arrive – this isn’t the venue for that. Do provide a detailed but brief synopsis of your personal impressions, as people are scouring the reviews looking for others’ opinions. Tell the truth. If it sucked, or parts of it sucked, explain why you thought so.
 
Yes, it’s work; but it’s one more way to get you in the habit of publishing – that is, contributing – regularly. Your homework assignment: pick up a book – from online, from the store, or from right off of your bookshelf; read it; write a three- or four-paragraph summary of your impressions; post to Amazon. Repeat in a couple weeks or so. Happy reviewing!

Akweli Parker is the founder of Digital Delta Media LLC, a content marketing services firm. Follow him on Twitter at @aparkerddm