Rock on with the Right Advertising

Posted April 12, 2012, by Jennifer Hodges

So you just bought tickets to your favorite band in concert. When you get to the show you are located on the left side of the stage. The band comes out and plays mostly to the crowd in the front row … what about the people to the left and right side of the stage?red-hot-chili-peppers-799498

Sometimes advertisers can be like our favorite performer in concert, always talking to their current customers and advertising to the same audience using the same medium.

When businesses advertise using the same media they have always used they are continuously talking to the same audience. Without informing new people about your business, how will it grow? Frequency in an advertising campaign is essential. When the reach is increased, you have the opportunity to introduce your products to new customers.

At Motion Marketing & Media (M3) we like to take an integrated approach, utilizing many different types of media to increase a client’s reach. Some of our favorites include: TV, radio, print, outdoor, internet and social media. Our job is to ensure our clients are talking to more than just the people in the front row.

As a full-service advertising agency, M3 has resources to compile extensive market research, demographic research and media research, just to name a few. We offer our clients detailed reach and frequency reports that are expected for every campaign. M3 wants to make sure our clients reach their target audience successfully.

Don’t you think it’s time you and the band turn around and see the fans on the other side of the stage? They want to hear you too!

So, the next time you are thinking of placing advertising, talk to the professionals at Motion Marketing & Media and make sure your advertising reach and frequency goals are truly met.

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A Walk Through CAWLM

Posted April 10, 2012, by Jake Paquin

You’ve taken a walk through 614 Seymour, now let’s take you next door to 610, the home of Capital Area Women’s Lifestyle Magazine (CAWLM).

CAWLM was founded in December of 2007 by the president of Motion Marketing & Media (M3), Tiffany Dowling. The magazine began with the mission to enlighten, support and uplift its readers and carries that same purpose today.

The magazine has been spreading positive local news, providing advice from local experts and covering incredible stories on remarkable women for the past five years – making it the premier monthly publication for women in Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties.

Now let’s take you behind the scenes for a look at the talent that brings the magazine to life each and every month!

Video filmed and edited by Thomas Shaver

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What’s the Real Cost of Customer Service?

Posted April 5, 2012, by Peter-Ruffing

In the last two weeks I have discovered (unfortunately) that customer service is an oxymoron with a few companies I’ve had interactions with. Both companies are at the end of the spectrum in size and earnings. One company had annual earnings in 2011 of more than 126 billion dollars, the other company in the 2 million dollar range.

Lousy customer service can be prevalent in companies for any number of reasons, but in the end it’s the companies employees that have the most influence on the type of service a client does or does not receive. Employees need to bring a different mentality to their career (not jobs) if they want their company and themselves to succeed.

Think like the owner of the company. checkbook07

Companies invest a certain portion of their yearly operating budget on sales lead generation, advertising and marketing. That is only part of the investment the company owner makes. Once that prospect or lead becomes a customer the investment continues in making sure the customer is happy and satisfied with the service or product you provide.

Consider the scenario if the tables were turned and it was up to the employee to invest part of their paycheck for lead generation or the hourly wage to provide a service. Would that employee provide a different level of energy or enthusiasm to ensure a return on their investment?

Not sure where I’m headed with this concept? Let me describe how I got it to resonate with a previous company I was affiliated with.

I was running the sales and marketing division of a large-volume home building company in Indianapolis. I had a staff of twenty five sales consultants, and I would ask them the same question, but in a different way.

One sales meeting I asked everyone to bring in their checkbook. I then asked each consultant to write a check for $435 made out to Mr. Ad Vertising.

I then went on and explained that was how much it cost the company to bring a single prospect into their sales office. I then asked them if they had to write out a check for $435 every time a prospect walked through their door, and it was coming out of their own pocket, how would they treat that prospect? Would they jump up and greet them with a smile? Would their follow-up on questions the prospect had take on a new urgency? Would they do more than they would otherwise do if it was them, not the owner writing the check?

The look on their faces was priceless; picture a herd of deer staring into headlights. For the first time they understood the investment the company was making in turning prospects in customers.

It shouldn’t matter how large or small the company you work for is, think like an owner when you start and finish each work day. If you don’t think customer service is important, think again.

It’s a valuable lesson because without prospects and eventually customers, we’ve got nothing.

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CAWLM 80s Flashback Fundraiser

Posted April 3, 2012, by Jake Paquin

It was a night filled with leg-warmers, big hair and non-stop dancing. There were popped collars and bright colors everywhere. And when the lights went off, the shades stayed on. It was a party.

For the second straight year, M3 was the host of the raddest party in town – the CAWLM 80s Flashback Fundraiser.

We were able to raise money for a great cause and had fun while doing it! The money that was raised is going to help Reach Studio Art Center grow.

Without our sponsors this event wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you so much to each and every one of you:

We would also like to give a big thanks to all of those who came out and made the night the huge success and great fun that it was; including Starfarm, who kept the party rockin’ all night long!

See all you rock stars next year!

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Top 5 Reasons Every Office Needs a Receptionist

Posted March 29, 2012, by Taylor Barratt

Being a receptionist is a big responsibility. A task many have tried to tame, tackle and perfect, which is not an easy thing to do. With such a large task comes a large responsibility.

Who knows where your day will be headed. One moment you could be answering phones, then you’re filing important documents, next you’re getting coffee for your boss, tidying up the office or even cleaning up after a large event. But someone has to do it…right? Of course! Being a receptionist myself for nearly a year, I can vouch for all receptionists out there by saying this is no easy task. In my mind you’re all Gods and Goddesses, you truly tackle the tasks no one else can in their busy day.

To celebrate all of the receptionists out there here are the top 5 reasons why we need receptionists!

  • Organization is key
    Being organized is one of the things we do best. Being organized shows you can rock your duties and are able to find anything needed at the drop of a hat. It can also help show your boss how you are most beneficial to the company.
  • First impressions make a big impression
    A receptionist is the first person a client or guest sees when they walk into your company’s door. Having a polite and knowledgeable person at the front door is a great way to demonstrate to visitors just how dedicated your staff is.
  • A clean office is a happy office
    Not everyone has time to take out of their busy, meeting-filled day to clean. I mean don’t you do enough of that at home? A receptionist will never turn down putting stuff away or dusting off a few things to make things look in tip top shape for who ever decides to drop into the office and say “hi.”
  • At your beck and call
    One of the first things that a receptionist will ask a visiting client (or a staff member who looks like she needs a pick-me-up) is “would you like coffee or water to drink? Or do you need anything else?” Having someone in the officer who assures that the boss, staff and most importantly clients are well taken care of is vital. Receptionist are truly at your service.

  • All prepared
    Receptionists are renowned for being prepared, on time and timely for everything. Even when it is the smallest thing. This is so that you can also have time to be prepared and understand and appreciate what they have done. It’s teamwork at its finest, because this in turn helps the company thrive and grow. Receptionist live by the motto “to be on time is to be late, but to be early is to be on time.”

If your receptionist has these 5 simple things down your company is in excellent shape. I know I still have much to learn about being a receptionist, but with a teacher like our own Team Concierge Julia Kloeckner, I can learn and succeed quickly.

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How to Direct Traffic to Your Website

Posted March 27, 2012, by Jake Paquin

As discussed in, How to Get Stuck in Traffic, direct traffic is one of the four major ways of drawing visitors to your website.

Any website traffic that is a result of the visitor directly typing in a URL or landing on a site via a bookmarked page, is considered direct traffic.

Increasing Direct Traffic

Increasing Direct Traffic

Many people believe that direct traffic is an uncontrollable number – or at least a lot less controlling than organic, referral and campaign traffic. However, with a strategic plan, you can help keep your direct traffic up.

Here are a few tips to be sure that direct traffic is rolling a good amount of visitors to your website.

A Simple URL

The easiest way to create direct traffic is to choose a domain name that makes the most absolute sense for your business. For example, Best Buy’s domain name is simply www.bestbuy.com. Even if you had no knowledge of what Best Buy’s domain name was, a common no-brainer guess would lead you directly to their home page.

If your business name is rather long, it may be in your best interest to use an acronym. For example, Capital Area Women’s Lifestyle Magazine’s domain name is www.cawlm.com, which is much faster to type and very easy for users to remember.

A Reason to Come Back

The longer a visitor stays on your website, the greater chance that visitor will become a customer. However, in order for people to hang around your website longer, you need to give them a reason to keep coming back.

The best way to do this is to provide new content for the visitor. If your company is in the healthy habit of writing weekly blog articles, you have yourself a great start. Here are a few other ways to continually add content to your site:

  • Updated employee profiles
  • Pictures of company events
  • Videos of employee interviews
  • Video testimonials from clients

Share Your URL

Getting your company’s URL in the back of people’s minds is another great way to create direct traffic.

Whether it is on promotional products, word of mouth or social media sites, the more ways you express your URL to the public, the more direct traffic you will receive.

If you have any questions about the best way to increase traffic to your website, feel free to reach out to us for some guidance!

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Brain Babble

Posted March 22, 2012, by Julia Kloeckner

Once upon a school assignment dreary!

When Salinger passed away in early 2010, a peculiar guilt filled my head for never having read this famous novel. I felt an enormous hunger to free that guilt. A friend lent me her dusty volume and I began consuming the pages.  ryeII

Halfway through the book, I was challenged with a sense of anger. Stems from the main character, Holden Caulfield, being a downer with repetitive thought. He also believes most people are “phony.” My dreary thought, I hope this paperback gets better.

Why do I feel a sensation of annoyance, maybe it’s the realization that I can and do relate to Holden’s insane behavior of repetitive thinking. Found myself shaking the book and saying aloud to Holden, “snap out of it. How will you ever make something of yourself?” I came to realize that Holden is not a confused young man; he’s processing his life’s journey, as am I. At times, one has to rethink, process and ponder over significant decisions.

Repetitive thinking is not a bad attribute if you take that same thought and add, bend, delete or grow the subject thought. Successes throughout one’s life come from diligent consideration to other options with an open mind. The path to your own success is to stay engaged, be productive and give to others.

On average, we have as many as 60,000 conscious thoughts per day. Often mindless chatter, but once you recognize a repetitive thought, only then can you begin to change it, or learn to stop it before completion or dismiss it altogether.

Reading tools to aid brain babble:

  • HBR’s 10 Must Reads, On Managing Yourself.
  • Whose Thought Is It Anyway?
  • Law of Attraction, by Gary Evans
  • The Tao of Music, by John M. Ortiz, page 330 one sound idea; begin with stopping one thought at a time! See the four thought-stopping techniques.

As I age, my thought-count per day is noticeably down, I’m sure of it. However, my thoughts are sweeter and gentler. I roll with positive thinking which means I’m staying away from Salinger.

“Only one thing registers on the subconscious mind: repetitive application – practice. What you practice is what you manifest.” - Fay Weldon.

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A Walk Through M3

Posted March 20, 2012, by Jake Paquin

You’ve seen our desks up nice and close; now prepare yourself for the tour.

But first, let’s get you up to date on how Motion Marketing & Media (M3) grew into what it is today – a full service advertising, marketing, public relations and social media agency located in the middle of the mitten, Lansing Mich.

In 2002, Tiffany Dowling set out to start her own marketing firm – M3 – and that is exactly what she did.

As time went on, M3 took on more clients; and with more clients, M3 hired more employees. Thanks to its continued growth, during the past 10 years M3 has seen three different homes.

Today, M3 resides at 614 Seymour, just a few blocks from the state capitol.

Now, get to know us a little better as Ami takes you on a tour of M3.

Up next a tour of the Capital Area Women’s LifeStyle Magazine offices!

Video filmed and edited by Thomas Shaver

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Nobody Wants to Look at That: Top 5 Reasons Service-Based Advertising Shouldn’t Show Equipment

Posted March 15, 2012, by Julie Becker

Most businesses earn money in one of two basic ways: selling products or selling services. For many service-based organizations, traditional media can be a great way to consistently reach multiple targets in a consistent way.

While it’s not uncommon to see product-based businesses throwing burgers or the latest car model up on a billboard, there seems to be a trend among service-based organizations (think medical and technology-sector businesses) to show the tools of their trade in advertisements.

Please, just stop.

Here are my top five reasons why service-based organizations shouldn’t show equipment in an advertisement:

1. People don’t know what they’re looking at – even though you may be close to the tools used in your service industry, not everyone is. And even if you use/waste space in your advertisement to tell audiences what it is, take a step back and ask, “do people care that I’m showing them this?” Chances are, they don’t, and here’s why.

2. Equipment (especially complex medial instruments or machinery) can be scary – If I’m going in for a medical procedure that I have to be sedated for, I don’t want your ads to lead with the equipment that’s going to be probing my chest cavity.

3. “Cutting-edge” equipment means little to the end user – technology is constantly changing. If your advertisements boast the most technologically advanced, cutting-edge <insert industry equipment of your choice here>, it’s practically irrelevant by the time it hits the streets.

4. Industry-related equipment is not relatable – Advertising 101: your audience should be able to relate to something (hopefully the central image) of your advertisement. I don’t relate to riding lawnmowers, so if you want to sell me your landscape services, show me an immaculate lawn or handsome pool boy, please.

5. Equipment doesn’t build brand equity – Effective advertising should make a promise. Consumers need to know what they can expect every time they use your service. Think rewards, benefits and outcomes … not equipment, tools and machinery.

If your service-based advertising strategy has fallen prey to this ineffective trend, don’t worry – there’s always time to turn it around. It’s not easy to rebuild brand equity, but it can be done.

Consider your target market, and what they will relate to in an advertisement (hint: it’s not tools or equipment). Think about showcasing your service benefits; even though you provide a service, there is an end result … what does that look like? Finally, what differentiates your service from that of your competitors (we call this your brand differentiator). Make a promise to deliver this differentiator and communicate that promise to your audience – in every ad, every time.

If you still feel lost, you can always give us a ring. We’re hip to service- (and product-) based advertising so don’t be shy, drop us a line today.

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How to Get Stuck in Traffic

Posted March 13, 2012, by Jake Paquin

I’m a big fan of traffic. Don’t judge – let me explain.

Think about it, hundreds and thousands of people all heading to the same place! It’s fascinating to think of how so many people got on track and landed at the same destination as you.

How to Get Stuck in Traffic

A lot of people often wonder, “Where does traffic begin? How did we all get here?”

Well, some knew right from the get-go exactly where they were heading and took the most direct path, while others saw signs that led them into that specific direction. A good amount of the folks heard it from a friend who heard it from another friend. And there is always those people who took an unexpected turn that led them there.

See! Isn’t WEB traffic awesome?

Here are 4 major ways to draw traffic to your website and a great free tool to help you keep track of where those visits are coming from:

Direct Traffic

People who land on a website by simply typing in the URL or via a bookmarked page.

Campaign Traffic

A paid form of landing people on your website. Whether it be paid AdWords or an email blast.

Referral/Social Media Traffic

Other websites and social media platforms that include links leading back to your website.

Organic Traffic

Visits coming from unpaid, natural rankings determined by search engine algorithms.

Google Analytics

Google analytics is a free web analytic tool that shows you how many visits your website received, who visited, where they came from and much more.

Stay tuned for more detailed explanations on ways to drive people to your website! Until then, enjoy the traffic!

Photo by: riclopes

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