Writings from Force 5 Basecamp

04/21/11

A friend sent me this article from Rafe Needleman entitled, Facebook: Liked to Death.  It appears that advertisers in an effort to gain coveted Facebook Page ‘Likes’ are offering consumers premiums (or access to content) if they will visit their page and give them their valuable  “Thumb Up.”   Sounds like a good marketing strategy … or does it?  I invite you back to Economics 101 where you may have been introduced

04/20/11

In the business world, preparation is key to many forms of success. Enter DECA (formerly known as Distributive Education Clubs of America). DECA aims to give high school students the skills needed to enter the workforce prepared and ready for that success. What is DECA? DECA is a global high school business organization whose main goal is to prepare emerging

04/19/11

I recently read an article in Marketing Daily, about the growth in private-label products. No surprise there, right? The figures were pretty compelling with consumers saving 33% off their grocery bills by purchasing all private-label products. I have followed the trend, trying more private-label products than I have in the past. While I haven’t gone all private-label, I have more

04/19/11

Going Mobile? Listen to this projection…. A recent study by Morgan Stanley projects mobile internet users to exceed desktop internet users within the next few years. (2015) Yikes! – – Powerful stat. Believe it or not, the question isn’t “Should you go mobile?” but rather “Can you afford not to…?” Here are some more mobile stats for our Force 5

04/15/11

 I found this video to be a  really helpful explanation of social marketing business strategy.   Scott Stratten, you rock! Force 5 would be happy to answer any questions you have about Social Media marketing, just drop us a line.

04/14/11

The latest data from Experian Hitwise shows that the number of keywords typed into search engines is declining.  Longer searches, those of 5-8 words, were down last month 3%.  As the data table shows,  1 word searches comprise a full 24% of all searches. 2 word searches are a close second.  When it comes to people finding your business or organization organically on the web,

04/12/11

The use of smart phones to scan barcodes (1D, 2D, QR) is happening now with growth rates hitting over 800% from a year ago according to the latest report from ScanLife.  Some highlights I found interesting: The most popular 2D bar code campaign was for Film.  Codes were placed primarily outdoor and online. Beverages are amongs the items most scanned.  Books are

04/04/11

Mobile browsing is here and now.  With estimates that over 50% of all mobile phones sold this year will be smart, preparing your website to become an amazing internet experience on these devices can be challenging.   As mobile technology continues to evolve into tomorrow, keeping it simple today is a must.  How simple?  Think Cave Man simple. Here some things

03/29/11

I remember walking into Joe’s office pretty frustrated.  I’d had one of those days – the bad kind.  Actually, I’d had about 10 of those days in a row, placing me exactly halfway to a pretty lousy month.  I had recently accepted a new role leading a new team and things were just not happening the way I had envisioned. 

03/28/11

Just like in the ole West, or at least as our Western movies tell us, Black hats are villains – and usually up to “no good”. The New York Times recently noticed something odd when performing Google searches on terms as diverse as bedding, skinny jeans, area rugs and grommet-top curtains. “You could imagine a dozen contenders for each of

03/15/11

In the dreary days of January and February, many of us find a boat show on the weekend—letting us dream of warmer days, sand and sun filled holidays, and hours on the nearest lake. Sitting on a boat inside a convention center doesn’t quite fill the bill—does it? This year, Starcraft Marine decided to help boating enthusiast get to that

03/04/11

I’ve worked for a lot of years, enjoyed a lot of roles in my career, and had a lot of supervisors who imparted their wisdom to me.   I thought I would share some of their best stuff with you in this series of posts called, “The Boss Rules.” Rule #3:  Become an “Owner” Sometimes the best things a boss can