We are so excited to announce that we have expanded into the Netherlands.  Why the Netherlands?  And what does expansion mean?  Ok, one thing at a time so let’s first get to why we chose the Netherlands.

Nicoline Maes, Director of Business Services (and most recently Director of Business Development/Netherlands as well), moved with her family from the Netherlands to the U.S. in 2006 and in 2007 came on board to Creative Concepts.  At this time, Nicoline began working on developing our client reporting tools and then added working with David Borzo to the mix where the two became a very effective content management team.  Together David and Nicoline have managed our writer assignments and schedules as well as having developed content topics while editing drafts of blog entries, Facebook updates and more.  While Nicoline was helping to bring success to our clients she became a true believer in the power of social media as well as our other services: public relations, design and branding, events and video production.  When the opportunity came for Nicoline and her family to go back to her homeland in the Netherlands, she happily made the move and took with her the goal of expanding Creative Concepts internationally.

On a Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago, I happened to peruse a blog entry on Mashable about a site called StyleOwner.  I read about a lot of new sites and apps and always investigate them as possibilities for Creative Concepts and/or our clients and this time was no different.  As Mashable explained, you could create your own online boutique drawing from many established and up-and-coming designers the site has negotiated a relationship with and by selling your picks, you could earn 10% of sales.  Instantly, I felt that this was a winner which was strictly instinct as I hadn’t even gone to the site yet.  And this wouldn’t be for me because I don’t need another business…Creative Concepts and a new sister site being developed is quite enough thank you…but this might be fun as a mother/daughter project for the youngest entrepreneur in my family, Olivia.  As a side note, when Olivia was in 2^nd grade, she created a store in our family room selling her stuffed animals for hugs and when she decided to hire her older brother to play cello to bring in customers (us), I knew that marketing and doing business were a part of her being even at that young age.

So it didn’t take much to get Olivia on board:

Me: “So, Olivia, do you want to pick out some cool clothes and accessories, sell them to your friends, and make money?”

O: “Sure Mom and can I get an iPad to help grow the business?”

Me: “Oh boy!”

So despite the perceived need for new tech toys from Olivia, I emailed StyleOwner for an invite (they are still in Beta) and within ½ hour we got the OK to build our site and boy what a joy it was and is!  Once we got our code, StyleOwner asked us to go through some very simple steps where we got to choose the name of our store and then we had the chance to design all the elements of the store from music that plays on our homepage, to the font and the background design where we had many options and styles to choose from.  Some elements we were able to pull from our own archives like the profile picture and a bigger picture that sits on the homepage so the setup of our store ended up being a nice combination of personalized elements and their templates which totally worked for us!

Next step was up to Olivia.  She built the store.  Styleowner has merchandise from a range of 75 individual brands she could choose from to help create a fashionista’s online dream.  From men’s and women’s clothes to categories like hats, scarves, jewelry and more, there was no doubt a store could be built that would provide a solution to everyone’s dressing needs.  Olivia took two days to go through every item that the site had laid out perfectly for the “stylist.”  While choosing an item to put into her store, she could click on an arrow to add to her store and she could click on a bubble to add a personal note about that item.  Other options allowed Olivia to choose from designers, categories of items or items based on pricing…so easy even a 6^th grader could set up a store if they have an eye for fashion and a heart for sales.

So here is where the site gets super fun with the social commerce side of the business.  They have easy ways to share updates about your store on your Facebook and Twitter profiles (Olivia: “hey look Allie (a good friend), I found the perfect necklace for you!” which posts right to Olivia’s facebook and twitter profiles with a link to that necklace so Allie can see it).  Olivia can also create recommendations for her friends and share with them once complete.  Maybe Olivia’s sister needs some options for the prom so Olivia, with her “recommend” tool, could grab dresses, jewelry, and shoes so her big sis doesn’t have to go through Olivia’s whole store.

While Olivia was still in set up mode, I found a little something to buy because the item was cool (can’t say what it is because it’s a Christmas gift and others are reading this) and I wanted to test out the site as a shopper.  Again super easy.  I chose the item I wanted, added it to my shopping cart, bought it, got a confirmation email and within days received the item directly from the designer.  We realized that Olivia and other storeowners don’t have to mess with ecommerce and shipping and handling themselves because it’s a built in feature.  The ecommerce is managed by StyleOwner and the shipping is handled by the brands.

Other helpful tools provided for the “Stylist” is a forum to share your wishlist and problems (it is in Beta after all), incentives for selling like $25 gift cards after five sales which is big for a 6^th grader, a blog for talking more about your fashion know-how, and amazing customer service which might be tested once they get more stores up and running but it works perfectly now.  There are some much needed elements like SEO for each store and analytics so you know if anyone is visiting but I am hopeful that those goodies will be provided for down the road.

As an up an coming business person, Olivia couldn’t have it better with this site (she has already made her first commission…ok, it did come from me but still…).  She has to be in tune with her potential customer,  keep an eye out for new designs provided by Styleowner.com that appeal to her clients and she has to continually market the site to preteens (her group), teens (her sister’s peers) and to the mom’s watching over their kids’ shoulders (do I have to say this is my peer group?).

With high quality products, responsive support on the backend for the store owner, and lots of room for personal expression and style from Olivia, the store owner, I am thinking she might just be paying off the mortgage soon with all that she can earn selling from her store, Liv2Shop.  Check it out and let us know what  you think!

Valorie
Founder, Creative Concepts

There’s nothing like a sweepstakes or contest to get people talking about your brand! When you offer a prize through Facebook, Twitter or blog, you not only increase your fan base but often times these new followers ramp up the conversation as we have seen with client Bigelow Tea on their Facebook page and client Ecover who showcased a fantastic contest called 30 under 30 which garnered hundreds of mentions on all channels.

With numerous client prize winning adventures under our belt, we at Creative Concepts, are supporting The Children’s Aid Society Recipe Contest which helps to promote one of their missions: healthy eating for kids and their families. Submissions for original and healthy recipes are being accepted on Facebook only until July 24th which is just one way The Children’s Aid Society is hoping to expand their online community to those who care about needy kids and their families in the New York metro area. Winners will receive gift certificates at some of New York City’s hottest restaurants like Four Seasons, Gramercy Tavern, PRINT, Mae Mae Cafe and Al Di La in Brooklyn. We’re also using this opportunity to tap into the powerful mom blogging community, by asking the Meal Makeover Moms to be on our panel of judges in addition to Julie Negrin, Erica Wides and Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez of PRINT. And the final fun detail: on July 29th, we’re announcing the winners at New York City’s famed Union Square Greenmarket, where local and organic fare is the name of the game.

A successful contest in today’s social media landscape not only helps draw new fans, but it also solidifies a brand’s core values so please help support The Children’s Aid Society and enter your recipe today!

You should follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Fast forward just six short weeks.  A series of social media missteps has tangled the skirts of a few prominent fashion brands, and it may take some time for them, and the industry, to figure out how to better manage the new norm of transparency and authenticity in a traditionally closed, secretive world.

Kenneth Cole Cairo Explosion

In early February (actually before Fashion Week), just as Egypt was exploding, shoe and clothing designer Kenneth Cole waded into deep Twitter muck with an ill-conceived tweet suggesting that the Cairo uprisings were somehow related to the release of his Spring collection. Within minutes the Twittersphere was all abuzz, with outraged bloggers and influencers taking to their tweetstreams to put Mr. Cole in his place. A parody Twitter account, @KennethColePR, even popped up to take advantage of the situation, ensuring that the gaffe got maximum attention for the better part of the month.

John Galliano’s Firing From Dior

While designer John Galliano’s firing was his own undoing (he made blatantly anti-Semitic remarks, on video, which of course ended up on YouTube), it was Twitter, again, that amplified the message.  Non-fashionistas and fashionistas alike took to Twitter, and when Natalie Portman, Jewish spokescelebrity for Dior, weighed in and was broadcast all over social media – it was truly over for Galliano at Dior.

Marc Jacobs Intern Melts Down

The CEO of Marc Jacobs, Robert Duffy, had been at the helm (inexplicably) of their Twitter account for some time. In mid-February, they advertised for a new Twitterer – applications via Twitter only, of course. While they were looking, they installed an intern in the job. Um, not so smart. On March 25, said intern melted down via the company’s Twitter account, letting out a series of tweets berating the boss and firmly sinking any chance of him ever working in fashion again.

Brands make mistakes and brands recover from mistakes….and fashion is no exception. But, based on these gaffes, there will unquestionably be a “new norm” in the future for formerly freewheeling designers and fashion personalities when it comes to their social media presences.

You should follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

But in our post-9/11, post-Hurricane Katrina, post-An Inconvenient Truth society, something changed.  Suddenly, people were concerned about the environment, and about energy, and about the impact their daily actions might have on the planet’s future.

In the aftermath of this green awakening, people needed a way to ask questions, share suggestions, pitch policy reforms and raise environmental concerns.  Thus, from blogs to YouTube to Facebook to Twitter, social media became the hub for a wide array of environmental discussions — and today their collective conversation is louder than it’s ever been.

Blogs: The Spark for Green Journalism

Before the mainstream news media embraced the green movement, impassioned individuals were using blogs to bring attention to the environmental issues they were personally concerned about.  These grassroots movements flowered, and today some of the most trusted (and highly-trafficked) sources for green news are blogs like Grist, Sustainablog and TreeHugger.  In turn, larger news organizations like the New York Times and the Huffington Post now have blog channels dedicated to green content, further validating the environment as a mainstream subject.

Green News Travels Fast

A simple search of Twitter hashtags like #sustainable, #green and #EcoMonday reveal that hundreds of green conversations take place on Twitter every day.  Equally impressive is how often brands and corporations enter those conversations to share related tips (and to promote their related products and services).  This real-time information exchange helps brands monitor topics of interest to their customers, but it also means that breaking news like the BP gulf oil spill quickly becomes common knowledge (and stays in the public eye for months), making it harder for companies to manage the spin.

Common Bonds Create Communities

As young mothers become increasingly aware of the ingredients they’re introducing into their children’s lives, “green mommies” have become a swiftly-growing subset of the “mommy blogger” community, championing a renewed emphasis on natural and organic foods, fibers and cleaning products (like those made by our client, Ecover).

This same unifying “green” thread can be found in other eco-responsible communities, including designers, chefs, fashionistas and anyone seeking a little lifestyle improvement.  This provides consumers with universal access to information, support and resources, and it provides ecological brands with unified audiences to poll, connect with, learn from and sell to.

Greenpeace vs. Nestle: When Facebook Becomes a Battlefield

Sometimes, brands who use social media for sales and marketing find themselves trapped in a PR conundrum because they forget a basic online truth: they don’t control the conversations that happen on their channels.  For example, when Greenpeace activists hijacked the conversation on Nestle’s Facebook page, Nestle was slow to respond (and clumsy when they did), which caused the company to seem both evasive and dismissive.  News of their snafu spread like wildfire, causing Nestle a lengthy and time-consuming PR headache — and, ultimately, led to Nestle agreeing to meet Greenpeace’s demands.

It’s hard to imagine that kind of outcome occurring a decade ago, before social media provided the green industry with a collective voice.  And it’s fascinating to wonder where such a hyper-connected green future might lead both a green-obsessed world and the ecological companies that serve their needs.

You should follow us into the future on Facebook and Twitter!

Image by Ken Colwell via Fickr.

While the merits of that question can be debated endlessly, we here at Creative Concepts do know one thing for sure: whatever “wrong” happens to be, it sure feels good to know we’re doing something right!

Sometimes, validation comes from metrics.  Social media can be unpredictable, so when the numbers prove that our theories (and campaigns) are bearing fruit for our clients, we feel good because they feel good.

Other times, validation comes directly from the clients themselves.  We’ve been working with some of our clients for more than 5 years, which means our methods are working for them.  And every time we sign a new client, or expand our responsibilities with an existing client, we know that we’re all moving confidently forward in a positive — and profitable — direction.

And then there’s the validation from our peers.  For example, when we read Mashable’s recent list of 10 Tips for Posting on Your Brand’s Facebook Page, we digitally high-fived ourselves because we already do each of these things for our clients. (See for yourself on their Facebook pages.)

Client love, new work and metric boosts are what keep us active and engaged, but there’s still nothing like reading a major advice column and realizing we’re already ahead of the curve.  (And we haven’t even had our coffee yet!)

Wondering what else we know?  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

You may use social media to increase brand awareness, build a loyal community or manage customer service, but make no mistake: you are always selling.

Every tweet you send is a pitch.

Every Facebook status update is an advertisement.

Every YouTube video is a commercial.

Your company’s social media presence might provide the most friendly, engaging and community-oriented experience any human being has ever had online… but it’s still a sales tool.

This shouldn’t be surprising.  Think about your brick-and-mortar store, or your corporate headquarters, or your fulfillment center.  Why do any of those facilities exist?  To sell products.

Your store is a point of sale.

Your office is where you manage your employees… so they’ll increase sales.

Your fulfillment center is where product is shipped… completing sales.

Your customer service center helps keep customers happy… so they’ll buy more.

So while social media may be about “conversations” and “communities” — and we’d never deny that those are the social structures which make these tools useful — when it comes to brand interaction on these channels, the bottom line is always, always sales.

You tweet to give your followers a snapshot of your company’s personality… so they’ll buy more from a company they can relate to.

Your Facebook page gives your customers a place to ask questions and provide feedback… so you can optimize the sales process.

Your YouTube videos can be funny, informative or inspirational… as long as they incite viewers to buy what you’re selling.

Be as social as you want.  Be talkative, personable, informative and entertaining… but always be selling.

Because just being interesting won’t keep the lights on.

Learn more from us on Facebook and Twitter!

Image by Gerard Stolk via Flickr.

If you think writing novels (or blog posts) is hard, try tweeting for a living.

In most forms of communication, the audience invites you to spin your story and enchant them over time.  Even a 30 second TV commercial gives you half a minute to make your pitch.

But on Twitter, you only have milliseconds to capture someone’s attention as they scroll through a nonstop litany of links, promotions, inside jokes and regurgitated news stories, desperately in search of something interesting.  If you’re not immediately captivating on Twitter, your boring tweets will be buried under an avalanche of similarly blah messaging in the blink of an eye.

So how do you manage to stay interesting on Twitter, day after day?

Here are 11 tips that we at Creative Concepts have developed internally on behalf of our clients to help them stay competitive in Twitter’s attention market:

1. Every tweet is a headline. For centuries, newspaper editors have been writing great headlines to draw attention to dense blocks of text that might otherwise go overlooked. Imagine that every tweet you send is going on the front page of The New York Times, and that you’re single-handedly responsible for increasing the paper’s circulation.  (No pressure, right?)
2. Be useful. “Interesting” is always a matter of perspective, but “useful” actually provides a service.  You may not be dazzled by the prose of a tweet, but if you want (or need) to know what it’s pitching, you’re far more likely to click.
3. Be direct. Addressing someone with the @ symbol in front of their Twitter handle ensures that they’ll see what you have to say.  (Now, just don’t be spammy…)
4. Be brief. The shorter your tweet is, the easier it is for others to add their own commentary as they retweet you — and people love adding their own two cents to your discussion.
5. Solve a problem. We search Twitter to find out what kinds of problems our clients’ customers (and potential customers) may be having, and then we help our clients offer their customers solutions via links to products, blog posts, or just good old-fashioned advice.
6. Remove doubt. People like to know what works. By sharing the positive reviews and accolades that others have tweeted about your products and services, you’re letting potential customers know that your existing customers would recommend you — because they just did.
7. Say thank-you. When you see kudos about your brand, thank that person directly. They’ll appreciate knowing that their kind words helped make someone else’s day.
8. Become an information resource. What are the hot topics in your brand’s industry right now?  What is everyone talking about? What is no one talking about? By sharing information about those topics great and small, your brand becomes your customers’ curator for a larger conversation about the field or the industry itself.
9. Be funny. Humor travels fast on Twitter, and while everyone’s sense of humor is different, a brand that can laugh at itself is a brand that others are more likely to take seriously.
10. Be positive. Twitter is occasionally a traffic jam of complaints and customer service debacles. Be the upside that cuts through the clutter and you’ll stand out simply for taking the high road.
11. Be yourself. What you say is important, but so is how you say it. No one stops to read a brochure, but they’ll linger to overhear a private conversation. Deliver your messages honestly and authentically — and in your own voice — and you’re less likely to be confused for an easily-ignored marketing robot.

Want to stay ahead of the attention curve? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Image by Angie Muldowney on Flickr

If anyone can publish a blog, create a video or launch a meme, you’d think that Twitter, Facebook and YouTube would be the empires of the new, with the latest self-made stars forever in control of the cultural conversation.

And you’d be wrong.

A recent report from HP Labs confirms the exact opposite: the most popular sources of information on Twitter are actually traditional news media outlets like CNN, ESPN and (egad, a newspaper?) The New York Times.

Why?  Because people like to share information that impacts wide audiences, and because traditional media still has information-gathering resources and robust distribution platforms that “new” media can’t live without.

In other words, no matter how easy social media makes it to talk to others, people still need something to talk about.

Is that “something” your business?

It could be, if your brand is worth the buzz.  But even topical companies need more than just a social media hook to catch and hold an audience’s attention.

A tweet is gone in an instant.  A Facebook update crawls off the page and out of sight.  A YouTube video might be shared for weeks, months or years as new viewers continue to find it… but what’s driving them to it in the first place?

Periodic fame is always the cumulative result of widespread general awareness — and that includes mainstream publicity.  Is your company poised to take long-term advantage of short-term PR success?

Ask yourself:

• Is your social media team working hand-in-hand with your traditional PR and marketing teams?  (Or, even better, are they fully integrated?)
• Do you share your brand’s mainstream media mentions with your social media audiences?
• Are you trumpeting your online successes in offline media?  (Don’t forget: newspapers and magazines still write about the Internet.)
• Does your media contact list include reporters from all branches of journalism?
• Do your print ads include icons and URLs where interested customers can find you on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.?

Remember: whether it’s physical or digital, all ink is good ink, as long as it gets people talking about you.

And you can talk with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Image by Blue Mountains Library on Flickr.

As an industry that’s built entirely upon the exchange of opinions, the fashion world may seem like a field where social media would naturally take flight.  After all, aren’t terms like “word of mouth” and “viral buzz” the same keywords that signify success on both the catwalk and on Twitter?

But there’s a catch: the fashion world is actually built on a scarcity of opinions.  It relies on the reputations and influence of a select few tastemakers to tell the rest of the rabid audience what they’re supposed to like (and not like), and when.

So how did an industry that benefits from the existence of gatekeepers learn to embrace a new technology that essentially renders gatekeepers obsolete?

By turning their own world upside-down and offering everyone access.

In 2010, the vaunted New York Fashion Week — an event once so exclusive that access to it has been proffered as the grand prize on every season of Project Runway — went social in a big, big way.  Brands like American Express, Womens Wear Daily and Aveda helped sponsor a Twitterizing of Fashion Week, which spurred a wave of tech industry buzz.

Although the fashion world’s initial Twitter experiment was the source of much discussion, the model was reversed in 2011: instead of Twitter providing a top-down information hub, veteran (and aspiring) fashionistas seized the day and curated their own views of Fashion Week, resulting in a more vibrant variety of fashion coverage.  (Our clients Ouidad and Ecover even got into the mix!)

Today, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week fan page on Facebook currently boasts more than 85,000 fans.  And while this year’s migration of fashion brands to Tumblr has had its share of ups and downs, the future implications of fashion’s affair with social media are clear: this once-insular industry is now actively seeking new ways to build buzz, generate awareness and connect with the general public.

As for fashion’s gatekeepers, they’re certainly not obsolete.  In fact, their expertise is actually even more valuable now, as a filter to help the public make sense of the flood of available fashion information that was once so highly restricted.

Who knew the industry that generates so much of the world’s art, imagery and gossip could get even bigger simply by opening their doors, pulling back their curtains and pressing the “share” button?

You should follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Photo from 2010 Fashion Week by j-No, via Flickr.