Take It Face To Face

Giving away samples is an easy way to get a product out there and maybe even hook a customer in. I know and have witnessed my friends, family, and strangers purchase products they have sampled. Samples are such a simple, genius way to market a product; they do all the work for you. No need to convince us that your product is good, let us taste it or try it on.

Some of my sample stories:

At grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s, Stew Leonard’s and Whole Foods, I have often bought items that I was able to try in the store. I wouldn’t normally buy mango salsa, frozen lasagna, or a broccoli and cheese quiche had I not been able to try a sample and gotten hooked.

When I pass by the Farmer’s Market, I immediately purchase fruits I normally wouldn’t pick up in a grocery store because the sample of a slice of pear or peach is so incredible.

Sephora.com gives away three free samples with every order, and they are usually so great that I have to buy the products in their full size.

With all of the products I have sampled, and how successful I know they can be as a marketing tool, I was shocked at what happened to my friend the other day. She was walking passed IceBerry and stopped in because she had never had it before. She asked to try the green tea frozen yogurt and they said “we don’t do samples.” So she left, angered by spending 4 dollars and change with the possibility of simply throwing it away because she didn’t like it.

Why would they not do samples? I understand if an ice cream place has 50 flavors and you don’t want the customers trying 5 flavors each, but why not one? And IceBerry only has 5 flavors to begin with so it’s not like a customer can endlessly ask to sample flavors.

What do you think about samples? Have you bought anything because you sampled it?

I have always been a very picky eater, you know, the typical nothing green on my plate type of eater. I don’t know what happened, if traveling Israel and Europe evolved my taste buds, or if now at 22 my taste buds finally decided to grow up. Either way, I enjoy trying new foods and therefore have become an avid lover of restaurant week.

I like not having the option of my go-to foods, the ones I know I love. Instead, the fixed-price menu, for the most part, forces me to try something completely different. I may have the braised short ribs with butternut squash, spinach, mushrooms, and truffled potato espuma, instead of a cheeseburger. And maybe I’ll order the crispy tofu with wok tossed bok choy, ginger, cilantro and sesame chili sauce instead of the grilled chicken sandwich.

My girlfriends and I have two reservations, one at Zengo and one at Café Atlantico. These are both very expensive restaurants, which we get to enjoy for 35 dollars, not including alcohol. Who knows if we would spend the same, less, or more on an ordinary night, but no matter, restaurant week is an excuse to splurge a little.

Ready for the best part? There is none of that should I or should I not order dessert. It’s already in the cards!

Are you a restaurant week lover as well? Have any reservations?

Self-branding may be hard, but it is skepticism about the online community that prevents people from going further with it. It is important to remember that all you have is an opinion and networking is the only way you will get anywhere. Selling yourself is a skill that takes work and time. Some tips on how to get better at self-branding:

1. Bark loud, even if your bite isn’t quite as bad.
2. Do not post anything on the Internet that represents something you do not want to be known for.
3. Self-branding is about portraying yourself as an expert and making your voice heard.
4. Your opinion is more important than what people think of your opinion. Negative attention is still attention.
5. People will believe what you say and want to know you if even if you still learning to be an expert.

Marius Chitosca blogs about how the government and people of the law can portray a positive image of themselves and maintain it. He asks why can’t an individual trying to brand herself do the same thing?

After the groundwork is laid down by creating a social network of all sorts of people, the rest plays out on its own. That network of people can be taken anywhere and can be used for multiple purposes for whatever it is you want to pursue.

A good example of this would be the music industry. Diddy is known widely to be great. Whether or not you like him or his music, his confidence in what he does and how he does it makes him great and his self-branding is successful. There are tons of examples that give the same idea. If you think you are good, then most likely other people are going to think you are good.

I am personally exploring Twitter as my first attempt to branch out into the social media world. That is just my first step to self-branding.

Self-branding is not only about self-confidence, it is about the illusion of self-confidence. What can you do to make yourself look good? Find something you are passionate about and work it.

Americans love fast food. I must admit, I have been to 30 different countries in my life, eaten just about everything that is edible, but for my money there is nothing better than cheap, fast, American fast food. I can hear it now, I have no class or I haven’t had “blank”, but on a daily basis I don’t eat “blank” I eat fast food (every day my friends).

Corporate personification in fast food is nothing new; The King, Dave, Ronald McDonald, that stupid taco bell dog, and my favorite Jack are staples of the fast food franchise. For my money none do it better than Jack from Jack in the Box. If you have never had Jack in the Box make your way over to the left coast and grab an Ultimate Bacon Cheese Burger and become a convert.

As you can see in the picture Jack is well Jack. He is the president and founder of the company and is married to a lovely woman. He has a couple of kids and lives on a ranch in Colorado. I know all this because I subscribe to Jack’s MySpace Page. Sure there are a ton of other social networks out there that Jack could be on, but he has over 100,000 followers and updates pretty regularly.

Jack is a true personification of the restaurant Jack in the Box. He has a personality, and champions the cause of his restaurant. By using Myspace, Jack is able to extend his reach far beyond that of his restaurants. I can watch Jack running for president, play with his kids, or even try to get him to send me an antenna ball.

Jack could really start breaking into social media by hoping onto twitter or starting a new blog. I would subscribe because Jack is fun to interact with. By making Jack fun to follow the marketing department has found a way to drive me to their marketing. I don’t care what Wendy is doing, or what craziness McDonald is getting into, but I love getting updates from Jack.

Do you know of any other companies using social media to personify their brand? Would you follow Jack knowing it is all just a big marketing play? Should The King have a Facebook Page?

I am coming into the world of marketing and PR as an intern. I have expected one thing and seen another. Part of my indoctrination is to create a list of goals that pertain to marketing/pr and social media. I have found that my goals are on par with the goals of any PR/Marketer interested in finding out about social media.

As a “newbee” I would like to start off by laying out five goals to calm my nerves while entering the world of social media. Coming from a predominantly academic background, I tend to over-think things and write with that academic flare. I have a few goals that I would like to follow and at the end of this internship I would like to see how or if I have reached them.

1. Put Academic Writing Styles Aside.

While still being a student, I intend to lose that AP style writing while in the workplace and become more of a conversational writer.

2. Read. Read. Then Read Some More.

I would like to read up on and learn as much on social media and how to be successful as I possibly can. I want to follow trends in the media and see what works and what doesn’t.

3. Pretend You Are Already Where You Wish To Be.

I want to start thinking less like a student and more like a professional in the field. By this I mean by pretending I am already in the field I can get more out of the experience.

4. Practice Gains Confidence, You Don’t Know Unless You Try: Be Open.

I wish to become a great blogger and I think that practice will only help. I think by experimenting with as many different facets as I can I will eventually find my niche. I am open to anything.

5. Keep Track of Things…Follow Your Progress.

Lastly, I would like to keep a journal of how I am doing and what I am learning in order to gain more insight as to what to write and what I do or do not like about social media.

By following these steps, I think that I will ultimately become more successful in this field. I am open to new possibilities and as the world of social media changes, I fully intend to change along with it. Do you have any suggestions on how best to set my goals for social media?