As I become more involved with trying to decipher the social media mystery and how to use it effectively in marketing I thought I would really hate TWITTER. I figured it would be just another social media distraction in my already crazy busy day. I have found just the opposite to be true. Just like Flower, Thumper and Bambi, I am twitterpated. You know, that flighty exciting feeling you get when you think about the object of your affection. Twitter is not as all consuming as I thought it might be. People are not just posting tweets about what they are doing at the moment. They are posting helpful, insightful tips and useful links. It is a tool where you can connect with all kinds of people in a quick, professional way. I find that I am excited to check what new info is waiting out there provided by people that I know have similar interests. In the last year the number of people in the U.S. using Twitter has exploded. According to statistics from compete.com the site grew from 4.1 million monthly visitors in February 2008 to 54.2 million last month.

In reading other people’s tweets, I have run across many interesting articles. One of which is about the many ways social media is changing the way we, as designers and marketers, work.

Check it out: The 10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2009

This one gives good insight into The 90/10 Rule of Successful Twittering

While reading Frank Lane’s, “Killer Brands” the other day I learned that slogan originally meant a Scottish battle cry. So I am now imagining Pi Design’s new marketing campaign…a panty-less Mel Gibson rallying the design troops to meet the impossible deadlines whilst screaming something about FREEDOM OF DESIGN. Everyone waves their X-Acto knives and T-squares in the air furiously as they prepare for the battle against time.

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It’s that time of year when many New Years resolutions have already been broken. I made a simple one this year to just say NO to time commitments that do not benefit my family or business. So far, so good.

Here at Pi Design we would like to help everyone keep their business resolutions. Many people have their 2009 marketing plans completed and are well on their way to fulfilling the January goals…right? Did I hear some groans and sighs out there? If you are one of the people who hasn’t gotten around to preparing the ever-daunting, time consuming 2009 MARKETING PLAN, we have just the thing. Check out THE SIMPLEST MARKETING PLAN EVER. We have created an online tool that will allow you to develop a simple plan for the ONE most important marketing item on your list by just filling out the online form. It will email you a nice PDF that you can print out and and hang it on your wall, carry it in your pocket, staple it to your forehead, tape it to your steering wheel—do whatever it takes to remind yourself every day what you need to be doing to grow your business.

Come back and use it as often as you like for as many marketing ideas you may have. Let us know what you think, what we should change or add and we will keep updating this tool throughout the year.

As 2008 comes to a close and we wrap up another year, we here at Pi Design would like to wish you the happiest of holidays – whichever ones you may be celebrating. As times change and cultures come together, more and more holidays are being noticed publicly around the world. It’s a wonderful thing to partake the different customs and celebrations that the diverse inhabitants of our planet enjoy.

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We sometimes get people who show up in our office and say, “I need a website.” They don’t really know what exactly they want or how many pages it will be. So we talk to them for a while to get the details all down on paper and then we struggle to provide what we think is an accurate quote only to find out they realized that they will need to add three more pages or they decided a CMS feature on the home page would be cool. And, oh by the way, could we provide all the content too? All the confusion could easily be avoided with a well thought out design brief. So I thought it would be a good idea to provide some simple guidelines to make the process much less painful for everyone and allow us to drive straight to the design part as soon as possible.

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“A Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 Range Air Rifle with a compass in the stock.” Remember in the movie, “A Christmas Story” how Ralphie tried everything to get his parents to buy him one of these cherished items? Doesn’t every little boy want a BB gun? It’s “the Holy Grail of Christmas gifts” according to Ralphie Parker.

Well, I can’t wait for Christmas this year. I found a classic Red Ryder BB gun at the swap meet. It’s all worn out in just the right places and has the engraved logo on the stock.  It even has the neat fringe thingy hanging down one side. I am going to mount the gun and add a little plaque that says, “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out, Kid!” then give it to my older brother, Scott (who, btw, still acts like a little kid most of the time). He ought to get a real kick out of it as this is one of his favorite movies. I should probably give him some eye protection too, just in case.

What cool items have you found at swap meets or garage sales?

A stroll through the Ventura County Fairgrounds at the recent swap meet yielded me several “treasures.” I put the word in quotes because the phrase, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” kept running through my head. At first I was overwhelmed with the vast amount of junk people had stuck price tags on. There were torn posters from bad forgotten movies, a puppy pepper shaker without its matching mate, old shoes and 8 track tapes galore. I was deliberating whether I should have spent my $10 on Venti Double Vanilla Latte rather than on admission when I saw something that really caught my eye.

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People are hanging onto their money more tightly now so businesses have to tug harder to get them to part with it. Smart business decisions during slow times can keep your company in the forefront of consumers’ minds so they’ll remember you when things improve.

Resist the temptation to cut your marketing budget. People won’t remember your company over your competitors if you don’t keep your name in the marketplace. Here are some inexpensive ways to keep your marketing efforts in full swing in a slow economy.

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