When we came across this Mashable article last week about protecting your company’s image in the social media age it really got us thinking about our own clients who have unwittingly found themselves with a crisis in their social media comments. If you’re using social media and gaining fans, friends or followers, it is likely only a matter of time before your company is put on the defensive. In addition to the six steps outlined in Leyla Revis’ article, consider the following tips to help you stay in control of your brand’s image:

• Take your temperature. Read what people are saying about your company—a quick browse in any search engine on a regular basis is a good place to start.
• Take a good look in the mirror. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and walk a mile—if you get blisters, it’s time to take it seriously.
• Take care of your customers. The whole point of social media is to engage with others, so find a way to thank positive comments while addressing the negative ones.
• Do NOT just delete a negative post. This does two things – it tells all your fans and followers who did see the comment that you are attempting to cover it up or eliminate it and it also could prove to incite further negative comments from the original fan.

We have definitely seen some uncomfortable posts from fans of our clients. For example, a series of highly negative comments came after a fan visited a restaurant she thought was owned and operated by one of our clients.  This is an example that while the original comment thread was highly negative, it was also a blessing as we never would have known our client’s brand was being compromised. It turned out to be an independent restaurant that had our client’s logo all over their materials. Thank goodness that initial post came through to their Facebook page!

Other negative comments have been issues that could be easily addressed by our clients. Service that was not up to snuff, a complaint about the quality of a product received, and a competitor who wrote an inflammatory post themselves on their FB wall about our client. The formula for addressing such situations is pretty straightforward: acknowledge the negative comment, offer an apology that the fan feels the way they feel, offer a solution, and then send a message with immediate contact information for the fan to follow-up with at the company.

There are times when a FB page might be stalked. In situations like this, you can block the stalking fan. But beware, do not immediately block someone who writes a negative post. This is only going to come back as a bigger, more difficult problem down the social media road!

The holiday season is upon us, and whether you believe there’s someone watching to see if you’ve been bad or good, this time of year seems to inspire the best part of us to reach out to others. Being kind is a uniquely human instinct , so why not embrace it fully! We challenge you to consider setting aside one day in the next few weeks to host your own personal Day of Kindness and show off your power through giving freely of your time, talents and treasures. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

1. Keep extra coats, gloves, scarves or blankets in your car to give to someone who may need them
2. Collect books, canned goods and toiletries drop them off at a homeless shelter

3. Bake a few extra batches of cookies and drop them off at a soup kitchen
4. Pay for a stranger’s gas, lunch or coffee
5. Pick up trash, rake leaves or shovel snow for someone 
6. Donate blood
7. Check in on a family member or co-worker to see how they’re doing and if they need anything
8. Send someone (spouse, child, teacher, mailman, service person, etc.) a thank you card 
9. Collect toys for Christmas
10. Attend a holiday fundraising event

How else do you plan to use your powers for good this season?

Have you looked at your calendar today? Yes, we know that 11.11.11 will only come around once in a millennium, but did you notice the other thing preprinted inside the date square? Veterans Day: a day set aside every year to honor and acknowledge those who have served our country and preserved our freedom through their personal sacrifices and lifetimes of service. We are truly grateful to these men and women, so we wanted to share our 11 ideas for how we can all express our appreciation today:

* Take a moment of reflection in silence at precisely 11:00 a.m., the same time as the Veterans Day National Ceremony starts at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.
* View this video.
* Visit a local cemetery and place a memorial wreath at a veteran’s place of rest.
* Bake cookies and deliver them to the VA.
* Visit the VA and ask how you can volunteer.
* Many communities and schools host a Veterans Day celebration, service or parade—check local calendars for listings.
* Make a donation to VetDogs—an organization that uses guide dogs, service dogs, and innovative technology to help disabled veterans once again live the lives they used to.
* Host a cookout and ask your guests to bring a book to donate to the VA.
* Send a card or care package to a deployed soldier, thanking him or her for their service. Two great ones are www.givetothetroops.org and www.amillionthanks.org.
* Honor the service of our military families and veterans with community service of your own.
* Create a Butterfly Tree with your family and friends.

How will you honor our veterans this year?

We’re all looking for ways to make the most of what we have these days: weighing the long-term value of our investments and their return with up-front costs, whether we’re buying toilet paper in bulk or strategizing your next ad campaign. When trying to figure out where to put your budget (and efforts) when it comes to marketing your business, we say that small budgets and big impact can go hand in hand. There’s a lot you can do with little or no cost in time, money and effort:

1) Social Media: this is probably the most obvious on our list. Where else can you reach 1 in 13 people earth than in cyberspace?. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, are all free and easy to set up, and a very convenient way to boost a current campaign, deliver the freshest content to your audience fast, and even generate momentum for your brand.
2) Email Blasts: with services like Constant Contact, your outbox suddenly just got much more powerful.
3) Handwritten Sentiments: why not go retro and send a personal note on actual paper with real ink? Just the fact that you were willing to spend 44 cents on a stamp is sure to go a long way to show that you care, not to mention you’re supporting an American business.
4) Sponsor an event: people like to support companies that do good things. It can be as simple as writing a check or supplying in-kind donations in exchange for your logo on the event website, Facebook page, etc. expanding your reach and potential client base.
5) Speak at a local club, organization or place of worship: let it be known that you are available to speak about your area of expertise as many places mentioned are constantly looking for new topics to share with their audiences, which means more face time with potential future clients.
6) Optimize your website: search engines are always trolling for the most relevant content, so be sure your keywords are working for you.

The key to all of the above is to know your story, be aware of what’s going on around you and have an idea about where you want to go. Before you know it, you’ll be on a roll—and we’re hoping it’s the really cushy two-ply kind.

Let’s face it, your marketing budget is very different than it might have been just a few years ago. RBD Creative understands this, which is why we were the first marketing company in Southeast Michigan to offer payment plans to help our clients accurately forecast their marketing expenses by paying a set amount each month. So it might seem counter-intuitive to you that we also believe you still need to be exhibiting at tradeshows. And you not only need to be exhibiting, you need to be doing it well.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be doing it smartly. I remember working for a software company in the mid 90s that would exhibit at more than 300 tradeshows each year. It was how they obtained more than 85% of their sales leads. For them (pre-Internet) it worked. It was a logistical nightmare – shipping six booths of various sizes around the country – but it was a revenue generator. Most companies nowadays are depending far more heavily on the Internet and networking for their leads, but have used tradeshows as a secondary source for leads as well as a way to stay fresh in prospects’ minds.

Rule of thumb… If you have been present at a show at least three out of the last five years, and it has been either an excellent source of new leads or a strong opportunity for you to visit with existing clients, you need to be there this year. Number one reason? What’s the first thing you say when you realize a company you are accustomed to seeing at a show is not there one year? You wonder where they are. You wonder if the economy is keeping them from exhibiting. You wonder if they are not as financially stable as they used to be. And yes, you wonder if they are still in business. Don’t be THAT business.

So pick your shows wisely. Don’t just go to go. Make sure they have been successful for you in the past, and then exhibit with enthusiasm. Want to collect names and emails? Do a drawing. Want to drive traffic? Be the booth with the uber cool water bottles or participate in the show’s Passport to Prizes opportunity. Want to collect data? Do a survey and offer a great bistro coffee mug as incentive to fill it out.

Make sure your display is fresh and bold. This is not the time to bring out the roll-up banners and depend on the show-provided electric blue table drape. You are spending money for the space, the staff to man the booth and travel. Don’t decide to save money by not buying the new panels for the booth or saving $250 by not offering a great prize that everyone is going to want to win.

I am just finishing at the National Society for Genetic Counselors’ annual conference with one of our fantastic clients, Genesis Genetics. They spend a considerable amount for space, freight, installation/dismantling, travel and staff. To then try to save money by not finishing out the experience with giveaways, proper materials and bold graphics would be a disservice to our client as well as to the audience they are trying to reach. Needless to say it’s been a fantastic show.

So keep exhibiting. Be smart about it, choose your shows wisely and then put some moxey behind your efforts. It really does pay off, but you have to do it right.

It’s hard to believe that already two weeks have passed since the death of Steve Jobs. His profound influence on us and our daily work never ceases to amaze us. We owe him so much, like having fonts. In his 2005 commencement address to Stanford’s undergraduates, he said that dropping out of college was the best decision he ever made because it freed him up to take classes he wanted to take instead of ones he was required to, which led him to a course in calligraphy. This class would later inform the integral design of multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts on the Mac.

Of course, we totally take this for granted. But why does it matter? We agree with Jessica Bennett in her Daily Beast article who says that typography is about message as much as form: a letter’s density, its arcs and points, even its placement can convey tone, spirit or mood. That’s why we consider ourselves to be, in part, typeface matchmakers, finding the right font to pair with our clients’ messages for maximum (and desired) impact. So whether you currently worship Helvetica (who wouldn’t!) or resort to Comic Sans (let’s talk!), or are looking to refresh altogether, be sure to take the time to find your perfect type.

Tell us: What’s your type personality? Find out here, then come back to tell us!

We heart Detroit…in case you can’t tell.

But we also realize that our city needs to change radically to become the Paris of the Midwest again or even just a place that people want to visit, live in and work in. Part of our issues (and yes, there are a lot) is our homeless problem which only continues to get worse as the economy struggles to rebound.
We are particularly struck by the folks without a proper meal – the folks whose bellies remain empty at the end of the day.

There is only so much one little company can do. We recognize this. But then again, there is so much one little company can do.

So next week, RBD Creative is starting a new tradition that we plan to continue until it’s not needed anymore. We pow-wow regularly during the day to make sure client needs are being addressed, projects are on track and to brainstorm new creative. Well, we have decided to start doing this at the end of the day around our conference table, in our chairs that we each painted and while we do this, we will be making PB&J sandwiches. We will package them up in brown bags with a piece of fruit and deliver our brown bags to Cass Community Social Services three days a week.

We know we aren’t going to change the world, but we figure for a doable investment each week, we can indeed make a difference for ten, twenty, forty, or more people a week. And that’s what matters, because frankly if we all did a little more of this, then maybe, just maybe we would start to see change.

So come on down to the D and see us in the late afternoon. We might put you to work, but we know that our work will make the difference between an empty tummy and a satisfied tummy a few times a week. We believe in Detroit. We believe we can make a little difference.

Join us.

With the passing of Steve Jobs, we were all struck by the enormity of how this one man changed the face of technology and daily life.

Who knew technology could do so much? Things we never even dreamed possible. Who knew technology could be so much fun? Who knew the work we do every day could be done so seamlessly and so well? Steve Jobs knew.

And for that, we honored him today by filming a 3-word video. Yes, we will submit it to Good Morning America in response to their request for videos, but more importantly it gave us a chance to honor an amazing visionary.

http://plymouth-mi.patch.com/articles/group-honors-steve-jobs-with-video-at-kellogg-park#photo-8029288

Beyond what Mr. Jobs did for our profession and all our lives, he more importantly reminded us how to live. Live fully. So we leave you with his words which ring in our ears and will forever be imprinted on our minds…

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Yep. Our secret is out. We like to have a little fun at RBD. And we believe that having fun doing what we love makes us just plain more creative.

Perfect example was today’s lunch. Meetings back to back, a tight deadline that we made with less than an hour to spare, and an occasional housekeeping (ahem) issue, this was a busy day. Monique thankfully suggested Jimmy Johns for lunch and as my desk called to me to come check email and do the eat/work balancing act, the spectacular autumn day called louder.

So we packed up our sandwiches and sat down along the Riverwalk. It was a perfect day to enjoy the river. We did a little people watching, a little gossiping and at the end, despite the swarm of bees (okay, all two of them) I managed to attract, I think we were a little more relaxed and ready to conquer the rest of our day.

It was thirty minutes that felt like an hour. And the rest of the day has gone brilliantly. So while Stan will continue to remind us that this thing we do each day is called work, moments like today’s lunch remind us of the important things. Like just how important it is to have a little fun.

You should come to the D and join us for lunch!

Once the press release went out last week, we had a lot of questions about our decision to stay in Detroit and not find space somewhere else – say Royal Oak, Ferndale, Plymouth or Northville. Wouldn’t these be areas that would be more conducive to the creative fire we are trying to foster? Wouldn’t it be safer? Cleaner? Easier?

The answer to all these questions, at least as far as we’re concerned, is an emphatic No. We are housed in the carriage house for Detroit’s oldest building. Just a half mile East of us is Belle Isle (there is not a more inspiring field trip than sitting next to the big marble fountain and pondering creative decisions), a short walk to the South of us is the Riverwalk complete with bike rentals, a carousel and truly one of the loveliest walks you can take in Metro Detroit, and a bit West of us is the Ren Cen, Comerica Park, Ford Field, Greektown, Tom’s Oyster Bar, need I say more?

Detroit is coming back, but it’s going to take big and little decisions by companies of all sizes to realize a true renaissance. Decisions by companies like BCBS to move 6,000 employees here. Decisions by companies like RBD to keep 4 employees here.

Brian and I took our Friday Fieldtrip the other day to the Faygo factory. What a gas! On the way back we found an incredible little bakery sponsored by the Capucchin Soup Kitchen called On the Rise Bakery that teaches former inmates how to be bakers. We stopped in and bought two dozen of the best cookies I’ve had since my grandmother was alive. Check them out here. I love seeing progress like this here in the D. And I believe that with more progress like this, some of the problems that seem insurmountable will actually start to fade. Slowly, for sure, but steadily.

So we are really happy to be right downtown in the D. There’s no place we would rather call home for RBD Creative.

BTW, have you voted yet? Time is running out! We’d love to know what you think the R, the B and the D stand for! http://rbdcreative.com/20-off-offer