So have you heard the word meme? It gets bandied about in social media circles but, really, I don’t think most people know what it means. A meme is new word (surprise!) used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly via the Internet.

Last Friday I got tagged by Jason Baer, our digital guru, on a meme making the rounds in which you post seven things about yourself that people probably don’t know. I usually do what Jason tells me to (except if my husband says no) cause he’s pretty smart. So here it is:

1. I’m a high school drop out. It was soooo boring!

2. I used that time to travel as much as possible, including 3 months at an ashram in India. Now you know why I stay so calm and centered…

3. I sneeze in multiples of three, which is fine, except when I’m driving. Then it’s scary.

4. The primary pet in my home is a very large, very ugly African frog named Tady. Tady has eaten all the lovely fish I have ever put in her tank (yes, she is a she). Now she gets minnows for company.

5. I should have had Dorie Greenspan’s job. I am a frustrated baker who takes it out on her family and friends with high calorie treats.

6. When I was a teenager, I was a member of an African dance performing group. It was the 70s.

7. I couldn’t do what I do without the support of my two husbands. Jon Bailey, my day husband going on 14 years, makes me laugh everyday. Paul Bowers, my night (and legal) husband supports me in ways I didn’t even know I needed. I love them both. Madly.

Part of this meme is to tag 7 other people. So here’s my list of people whose lists I’d like to read. Sorry guys. It’s actually painless.

Caron Golden

Alice Q. Foodie

Brian Branca

Paul M Bowers

Steve Cody

Matt Kucharski

Erin Reilly

Here are the rules.

1. Link your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.

2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.

3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they’ve been tagged.

Some things are just funny. And they manage to be passed around by email to thousands and/or millions of people. But sometimes you’re left wondering: who’s behind this anyways?

This is the blessing, and curse, of viral marketing. Your message, application, widget, video or website has made the cyber space rounds, but no one knows who’s behind it. If this is the case, have you succeeded?

In light of the holiday season, the hilarious and successful Elf Yourself is making the rounds again. And it’s been evident people are still a bit confused on who’s behind it by the numerous tweets (there we go referencing twitter again - are you on yet???) in the past few days about people linking to Elf Yourself and posing the question. The answer is Office Max. And due to the success of the promotional viral video site, perhaps OfficeMax should have brought it to life in its stores for some PR or incorporated dancing elves into its ads. Really tie it together so the millions of people who have and will forward their Elf’d selves know they are able to do so courtesy of OfficeMax.

And since I couldn’t resist, a little something for your viewing pleasure: Carrie the dancing Elf

Here at Bailey Gardiner, we’ve formed an online specialties group. Each person is responsible for becoming an expert in one specific online specialty. One of our social media and online consultants, Jason Baer, has helped each of us find specific ways to help our clients grow through doing more online marketing, SEO, etc… The area I’ve been becoming an expert in, is email marketing.

I’ve learned, it’s pretty amazing how much companies can benefit from just making a few simple tweaks to their current emails. Of course, if you really want your open-rate, click-through rate or even your profitability off of emails to skyrocket, you really should contact us. But for now, here are a few simple tips to help you send more effective emails:

1)  Send your email to half of your list on one day and the other half on another. I recommend Wednesday or Thursday as those two days have the highest click-through and open-rate. This will allow you to see and test what day of the week your target audience is most likely to open or click-through an email.

2) Subject lines are key. People are more likely to open an email if the subject line relates to the company or a specific product, not the actual promotion. Try testing a couple different subject lines on the same day and see which one is more effective at reaching your target audience.

3) For the best results, add 6-10 links per an email. Don’t over do it, but make sure all relevant information has a link, ie “click here for products”, “$10 off”, etc… Make sure each link goes directly to the page they are wanting to see and not just to your homepage. That involves more time, more clicking and could potentially result in losing that customer.

The amount of marketing emails people receive every day is outstanding. Just look at my Yahoo! inbox. I haven’t even clicked on one of them…

Make your email be the one that stands out!

Either you’re already following the Bailey Gardiner troops on Twitter, or you’re tired of hearing about it. Chances are if you know what it is and you’re tired of it, you’re not on it. So to simplify the trial and error process, here are a few steps to get you started. I promise it will take no more than 10 minutes. Need some convincing? Here’s 12 reasons to join Twitter.

1. Go to http://www.twitter.com. Enter your chosen user name, and I recommend making it something easily recognizable. So, if for example your name is Jon Bailey, I’d recommend using the name “JonBailey.”

2. Let twitter search your contacts to start you out with some familiar faces to follow. Spare your friends and skip the invite to those in your address book who aren’t already on Twitter. It’s like AA, they’ll get there when they’re ready.

3. Now you have an official account and it asks you, “What are you doing?” Don’t answer that. Nobody cares what you’re doing. Give us something good, like a helpful link, a comedic realization, a timely piece of news.

4. Write something! First note that your name is no longer “jonbailey”. It’s now, “@jonbailey” and I’m “@lizzied.” So if you want to say something to someone in particular, you write just that, “Hey @lizzied, nice blog post - look I’m on twitter!” Remember, you only have 140 characters per post.

5. Follow and be followed. What does it all mean? The great thing about twitter is that you don’t get littered with info you don’t want. You pick who you want to receive info from (follow) and others choose to follow you. So everything you post is visible to only those who follow you and those who search you. Use the search tool to find people talking about your interests. Find people in your industry and look at who they’re following and who is following them - go ahead and snag a few of them for your own. If you want to be followed, just write some interesting things and consider your key words if you want people with common interests to find you. Chances are once you follow someone, they’ll return the favor.

6. Try a direct message. Being that anyone can find you and read what you’re posting on the World Wide Web, if you want to say something private, follow this format, “d jonbailey Don’t tell jamieortiz that I put all her office supplies in jell-o molds.” Because of the “d” no one but @jonbailey will get that message.

7. If you’re unlike me and you sometimes leave your computer, consider clicking the “settings” tab, followed by the “devices” tab to set your twitter account to your phone. You’ll only receive direct messages to your phone, but you’ll be able to twitter your messages through text message.

8. And my best tip of advice for getting started: Go to http://www.twhirl.org and download the time-saving platform that feeds your twitter feeds into an Instant Message-like platform, eliminating the time it will take you to continually check the twitter website.

Now you’re tweeting, but you’re a novice. In the words of @samirb, “Once you set up a twitter account, remember there’s a short learning curve, like going from a PC to a Mac.”

Have no fear, I’ll be back with some best practices in a following post.

What questions do you have? Don’t ask me what that picture is, you’ll figure it out on Twitter.

It’s hard not to get stuck in the day to day chaos of the economy and all the factors that go into the mix.  I find myself looking at each market change under a microscope, wondering what it means to my clients.  Which is why I’m relieved to have some retrospective, bigger picture data about the housing industry.

A little over a week ago, the National Association of Realtors released their 2008 home buyer and home seller survey results.  The results reveal broad trends that shed light on where we’re moving within the industry.  Here are some stats I found interesting:

• 87% of people who researched their home purchase online also used a real estate agent
• First-time home buyers have increased significantly due to tax credit and improvements to the FHA loan program
• Percentage of buyers who purchased a home in foreclosure increased 600%
• 41% of buyers said commuting costs were “very important”
• 90% of buyers said environmental features were important to them

Although this survey is industry-specific, it also shows marketing trends that can be applied to clients across the board.  For the quick marketing bullets and charts, check out this blogpost.

A couple of months ago while the agency went through a brand redesign and web redo, our Executive Creative Director sprang a doozy on us. “I know this may sound a little weird,” he began, “but I want to put a Love page on our site.” Huh? As he explained it, every agency on the planet lists its past client experience. What about the clients you want to work with? The clients you would LOVE to work with?

Thus the Love List was born. We selected a few of the brands we love the most. The ones we would climb mountains to work with.  He figured, maybe it won’t work. But what if it did?

And you know what? It did.

A couple of weeks ago we got an email from the interim CMO at Aptera, a very cool new car concept being born right here in San Diego, that is on our list. Someone at Aptera is plugged into the Internet, cause they found us. And they’re coming to the agency this week. Isn’t that cool?

Last night, post election results, I was reading the latest Seth Godin book “Tribes” and was struck by the similarities between what Godin was saying, what some of us have been saying about social media, and how Obama and his team ran their campaign. I believe this was one of the most successful examples of a political social media program in history and there’s a lot to be learned from it.

In Tribes, Godin writes that to turn a group into a tribe you need two things:

• A shared interest
• A way to communicate

Obama presented a consistent message that resonated with people who shared an interest (whether they realized it at the time or not).

The campaign then executed a sophisticated social networking program that is unprecedented in any  marketing campaign - political or not (this is the ‘way to communicate’ part).   This week AdAge named Obama Marketer of the Year, and clearly he (and his team) earned it. From email to online banners, from blogging to Facebook, from Twitter to texting, this campaign used it all. And then the tribe took over.

Godin goes on to say that “a leader can help increase the effectiveness of the tribe and its members by

• transforming the shared interest into a passionate goal and desire for change;
• providing tools to allow member to tighten their communications; and
• leveraging the tribe to allow it to grow and gain new members.”

The Obama website provided just the sort of tools a passionate tribe member would want by first asking how you wanted to get involved and then matching the resources to your desire. Ask yourself what your customers really want and then give it to them. They will reward you with loyalty.

Godin writes: Every Tribe Is a Media Channel.

Never was this more true than watching the Twitter streams and reading the blogs about Obama. The tribe was on its way and sharing their feelings and passion was a daily adventure. People like Erin Kotecki Vest, whose blog is Queen of Spain, spent two years as a passionate media channel. She was a tribal leader, no doubt.

Certainly, with all the challenges our new president will face, there may be some mistakes along the way. Godin has a short chapter called “How to Be Wrong” and it reminded me of something that we at BG have believed for a long time. If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t taking enough risks. Just be sure that you learn from them. Godin says the secret of being wrong isn’t avoidance, but being willing to be wrong and realizing that wrong isn’t fatal.

And finally, Godin writes about hope. “Leaders…have hope.” If there was one thing that the Obama campaign hammered home month after month, it was the message of hope. It’s a powerful thing and in marketing it’s part of the emotional connection you have to make with your customer.

Our client Vet-Stem sells the hope of a healthier pet. Del Mar Racetrack sells the hope of walking away a winner. And beautyencounter.com sells the dream of a more beautiful you. Thinking about what your brand promises leads to the hope you sell.

Whether or not Obama was your candidate, there are a slew of social media and branding lessons to be learned from this campaign that I think will be studied for years to come.

It’s not often that a homebuilder is open enough, honest enough, brave enough to try his hand at blogging.  (Let’s face it — this is not a group known for its transparency).  But that’s just what Brookfield Homes San Diego President Steve Doyle has started to do, and in my humble opinion he’s off to a pretty great start.  Steve launched expectmoreinahome.com/blog recently, and he presents a unique voice amidst the jabber of a million real estate opinions.

In an industry that has been widely vilified in the local and national media, blamed for the downturn in the economy and taken its share of hard hits financially, Steve’s voice remains clear and true.  His leadership and opinions about things and subjects much broader than today’s home prices help us all see there is a bigger picture.  And what a picture it is.

Steve covers subjects like our region’s shrinking water supply, and how that affects the way we will live in the future.  I like that Steve isn’t afraid to address tough issues like the economics of housing, or green building - WHICH HIS COMPANY DOESN’T EVEN DO (YET).  Obviously, his mind works beyond just self-serving fodder designed to sell his houses.  His opinions run deep.  And this is a subject worthy of digging.

Keep up the good work, Steve.  We’re listening.

Seaport Village’s Ben & Jerry’s locations are giving away free ice cream cones on election day from 5-9 p.m. as an “Election Confection” celebration.

In-the-know coworker, Callan let me know that Baskin Robbins was also doing some great work with the elections, so I checked it out. Not only are they doing great work with the elections, but with social media and branding overall. It’s a natural fit; people like to talk about stuff they love, and who doesn’t love ice cream!?

Check out The National Flavor Election Flavor Debate ’08. The Republican “Straight Talk Crunch” flavor vs. the Democratic “Whirl of Change” flavor. If you look to the cold and creamy to make your election decision, it looks like Obama will be running the country thanks to peanut-nougats, chocolate-covered peanut brittle and a caramel ribbon.

More importantly, Baskin Robbins and their Flavor Debate made all the right moves.

• Their Facebook page has 54,996 fans and they’re interacting with the brand through hundreds of wall posts and pictures.
• I took 2 minutes to type “Baskin Robbins” into monitter and people are talking! They weren’t talking casual mentions of BR either. They were talking about the Flavor Debate ’08 – exactly what BR’s smart PR folks wanted them to talk about!
• They’re represented on Flickr
• They’re talked about on Youtube
• They run a twitter account
• They’re saved on delicious
• And – they have a strong Wikipedia page

Ben & Jerry’s isn’t doing so bad themselves. With similar social interaction as Baskin Robbin’s and a heated debate on ice cream’s involvement in politics (2 subjects I never thought I’d combine in one sentence) their Facebook page has 287,819 fans!

So what are you doing to become one of these fine examples of successful social media campaigns?

Today is the official launch of Seaport Village’s new and improved website. Working with 1011, the new site design takes a cue from the look and feel recently developed by Bailey Gardiner for Seaport’s new advertising campaign.

Among other features, the site boasts a time lapse video of a day at Seaport. When you visit the site during the day, the time lapse goes from night to day, and when you visit the site in the evening the video plays from day to night. The video was shot by photographer Paul M. Bowers and the photography he created for the new ad campaign is also featured throughout the site as well as in SV’s outdoor and print advertising—sample pieces below.

Other website features include a slide show of images of Seaport as well as an updated nav bar and homepage that showcases the latest posts from Seaport’s favorite blogger, “Boardwalk Betty.”