Working with any sort of programming is like reading another language, but regular expressions are like trying to figure out ancient Sanskrit.  So what are Regular Expressions in relation to programming? Well it isn’t a set of facial muscles that display your current disposition from day to day. They are a series of scribbles that provide a concise and flexible means for matching strings of text. You may program a lot and never use regular expressions or you might need to and use something else to avoid banging your head on the desk. I say face your fears head on and tackle the challenge of Regular Expressions, I also say that Google is your best friend when trying to figure out something. With that in mind I will leave you with a great tutorial on these cryptic runes from NetTuts: http://blog.themeforest.net/screencasts/a-crash-course-in-regular-expressions/

If you have already conquered your Regular Expression tribulations please send me a note and guide me as I continue to forge ahead on this adventure!

I have to admit, I’m not a fan of the “all online” “go paperless” “exclusively digital” revolution I’m living in. Going green is great, but I like when things are tangible. I like making a list of tasks for the day and crossing everything off – nothing beats the satisfaction of finishing that tough job, and scratching it out on the To Do list. It’s the perfect icing on the cake.

Call me old school, but I like a folder I can hold in my hand instead of lost in cyber space, a phone number dialed from memory not automatically from my contacts list, and edits written on the page in red pen (gasp!) instead of changes tracked on a Word document. A hard drive with 600 gigabytes of saved files is just begging to crash, and an average of 150 emails a day means you’re bound to accidentally delete or overlook at least one.

So I ask you, are you embracing or fighting the digital revolution? Do you have a secret app that helps you stay organized? And, most importantly, when you have that very imperative message to get out, how do you make sure it doesn’t get lost in the daily electronic shuffle?

On Tuesday April 12th the nominees for the 15th Annual Webby Awards were announced, with the Old Spice Guy, Fruit Ninja and Justin Bieber among the list of nominees.

What is a webby you ask? Well, that depends entirely on who you ask. Around these parts a “webby” would be either Ed or I, but to the general online community a Webby is defined as: “an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile” – thank you Wiki!

Each category has two winners, one selected by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and one selected by the public. So what are you waiting for? Go vote for your favorite, and then on June 14th you can come over to our web cave and we can watch the awards show live on the web…I’ll bring the popcorn.

May the best video remixes/mashups viral video win!

Want to boost the results of your next marketing campaign? Give customers a choice in how to respond. You might be thinking, ”that is silly, we put our phone number and web site on all of our communications.” But that’s not enough to grow your response rates. You need to consider your target audience and make it as easy and convenient for them to respond as possible. After all, unless you have a polished list or impeccable timing, most of what you are sending out is just unsolicited junk in the consumer’s eyes.

Match the avenue to the consumer, for example:

• A retiree might not respond to a personalized URL, but might make a phone call.
• Generation Y consumers, who might never make a phone call, might respond to a Facebook invitation.
• An executive might not take the time to log into a URL, but might snap a QR code to view an offer on his or her phone.
• A mom might not pick up the phone, but might log into a personalized URL where she can use survey buttons to generate personalized information without the pressure of a sales call.

Phone calls are difficult to track without the support of an advanced call center. Personalized URLs, QR codes and other techniques give you a way to track who is responding. This not only tells you how effective your campaigns are, but helps you determine where to spend your marketing dollars and which medias are most effective.

What QR codes can do for you!
These two-dimensional codes (most often in black-and-white but sometimes in color) that you scan or snap with your cell phone camera take you to a marketer’s Website where you can access content, get discounts, watch videos, and experience a wide variety of marketing content right on your phone.

What’s exciting about QR codes is that they grab the viewer’s interest at the very moment it is piqued—wherever they may be. Your customers don’t need to go anywhere. As long as they have an Internet-enabled phone, they can snap a picture of the code  and access the content right away.

The QR codes can do more than just take customers to the Web. Here are a few examples of what they can do:

Email: Want people to respond to a promotion by email? When the user snaps the code, this automatically launches the email application and populates the “send to” address with the email address you choose.

Phone number: Want people to respond to a promotion by phone? When the user snaps the code, it displays the phone number and automatically launches a button for the user to dial. No more lost sales because the prospect dialed wrong.

Plain text: Users can access plain text too. They can scan the code to view exclusive portions of an interview or access a discount code. If they are visiting a trade show, they might see a booth number.

Business card: With one snap, you can populate the user’s mobile phone contacts with your name, address, phone number, email, and URL.

Calendar: Want to remind users about a scheduled event? Once they snap the code, your event’s date and time are stored in their phone. If they have a calendar app, users can select the reminder function so their phone alerts them when your event comes up.

So, if you’re looking to grow your response rate, think beyond your phone number and web site and focus. Know your audience.

There’s one thing that I encourage every one of our clients to make sure they’re doing – strategic planning. Doesn’t sound so simple does it? But it can be if you just take a little time to Write It. Share It. Visualize It.

Write It. – As the leader of your organization or your division, you certainly have a strategic plan in your head…along with the million other important items on your mind. It’s important to take the time to write out your strategic direction. That doesn’t mean that you need to draft a 20 page strategic plan. It can just be the 5 key things you want to accomplish this year and how you want to do that. Leaders need to get the ideas out of their heads and documented.

Share It. - Now that you’ve written down the direction you want to see the organization head, sharing it with key individuals or the entire team is critical. If your employees don’t know where you’re headed, they can’t help you get there. They don’t need to know all of the details, but they do need to know how they can help in being a part of the strategic direction of the organization.

Visualize It. – Don’t just write down your strategy and put it on the shelf. Keep it handy. Reference it when you’re making key decisions. One simple thing that we encourage our clients to do is to visually display their strategic objectives for the entire organization to see. Whether it’s a banner in the break room, a screensaver on all of the computers, a progress chart shared at quarterly meetings, or simply a 1-page infographic, find a way to easily and visually keep the strategy top of mind for everyone on your team.

And of course, for those organizations that need help with facilitating a strategic planning session, determining the strategic direction they should take and how they can most effectively reach their goals, Willow Marketing is here!