We thank you, clients…

We wouldn't be a very gracious agency if we didn't take advantage of this thankful season to thank our clients for the success, ideas, inspiration and joy they've brought our way this year.

At this time last year, Kate and I were still planning our attack-deciding how we would become a media and consumer marketing company that provided not only online and brand solutions, but also a means (whether PR, social media, or just good ol' fashioned begging) of getting these initiatives noticed.

One of the conclusions we came to early on was that we only wanted to work with clients who have something good to say. Because, quite frankly, the last thing the market needs is another self-proclaimed "expert," another "innovative" brand, or another "groundbreaking" company. It is truly the rare person/brand/company that can back up these types of claims with substance. However, our clients do exactly that and it is this substance that helps us do our jobs well.

In chronological order, we are thankful to:

Story Worldwide, our flagship client, for having enough foresight to recognize a good thing when they saw it. Also, for living up to their name by telling us the best story we've ever heard every time we see them.

• You gave us a strong foundation on which to build and grow, and offered confidence to other companies trying to decide whether or not they, too, should take a chance with our new company. You continue to offer us brilliant material to work with and priceless advice. Not to mention, that tale about the guy you sat next to on the plane...

Junta42 & Joe Pulizzi for always having something insightful to say and for working alongside us to produce the content that has been so invaluable to raising the brand's visibility.

• You made us realize how important new and regular content is to any campaign. Public relations, online marketing, social media, you name it-if you don't have content, you've got nothin'.

King Fish Media for making us seem really popular on Facebook, listening to our political rants and for being such a good sport when our candidate ate yours for lunch :). Also, for treating us like family, for allowing us to handle your company's first official PR program, and for demonstrating how a great employee program can contribute to a company's overall success.

• You've inspired the way we think about our company and have given us proof that investing in your staff's well-being and happiness is not only one of the best investments a company can make, but also the duty of responsible employers.

Linda Brodsky, M.D. for opening our eyes to social problems we thought extinct and for being strong enough to confront them head-on.

• Your fearlessness and demand for fair treatment has trickled down even into our most-minute everyday decisions. Now, when confronted with a decision as minor as calling Verizon to complain about the hidden fee on our phone bill, we think of you and fight the system to the bitter end!

Online Marketing Connect & Aaron Kahlow for involving us in several proprietary aspects of a company clearly poised for global domination, and for hearing us out when we push back on some of your ideas.

• You started with an overall goal-"online marketing education"-and have demonstrated the power of growth by diversification. You've identified more revenue streams than seemed possible. (And that's exactly why we plan to copy your every move...)

Hunting for Big Sales-Where do we start? Thank you for giving us full reign of your brand; for being our biggest advocate and source of new business; for mentoring us; for letting us mentor your; for trying something new; for trusting our advice; for letting us win arguments (sometimes); for confiding in us; and for waking us up at 7 a.m. "just to chat." (Really, with friends like you, who needs an alarm clock?)

• Working with you has opened our eyes to new business strategies and, oddly, to new life strategies. To put it simply: if you were a religion, we'd convert!

Green Candy & Pete the Planner for being a fun and exciting consumer client, and for giving us the ammunition necessary to secure segments with two national shows after only four days working together.

• You've boosted our egos and reaffirmed our philosophy that a good message can go a very long way.

US Wellness Meats for being good people, and for letting us infuse your good-peoplehood into your brand.

• We admire the sheer authenticity with which you present yourselves and your ideas. You came to us for an online solution not knowing that most companies' biggest online problem is, in fact, their lack of authenticity. We can't wait to expose you for who you really are. (And we mean that in a very good way!)

Cut&Paste for introducing the word "dope" (as in "good") to the CVM lexicon, and for teaching us that the word "solid" can actually be a noun (as in "Can you do me a solid?").

• You make us cool by association.

Last but not least, we thank...

The client that we dropped like a bad habit for helping us identify the warning signs of an unproductive working relationship.

• You were a blessing in disguise.

[Sorry, couldn't help myself...]

Also, thanks to our year-one employees and interns: Mafalda, Cesar, Will, Nicole, Genna, Jason and Natalie. It really does take a village...

But enough with all the sap, we'll return to our regularly-scheduled program after the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Talk to Me... (Or 10 Ways to Survive the Hideousness of a Networking Event)

Last night was one of those nights of networking that come with the small business/public relations/marketing territory. Gretel and I headed downtown to an Inc. event that was filled with entrepreneurs (because the event was for entrepreneurs, duh), and from the moment we walked in the door it was clear that this was going to be a networking session extraordinaire.

After signing in and getting our big yellow name tags (I stuck mine to my thigh since I was wearing a scarf, which, Gretel was quick to inform me, was something she did in, like, junior high.), we made our way to an upper floor of the Scholastic Building. Always eager to network, we made a beeline for the bar and then detoured to the food. If there were people around during this process, we failed to notice. Unless they were carrying trays of food. We have our priorities straight.

Once we'd had plenty of time to get food stuck in our teeth, we set out to talk to our fellow entrepreneurs. And pretty quickly hit a wall. The room, by this point, was packed. Where to even begin? Should we aim for other women entrepreneurs? Those who seemed like they might be in need of our services? The hottest ones? Groups or individuals?

Before we could get very far, we were enlisted as interview subjects for a video for a business school on being an entrepreneur. Networking postponed...

By the time we re-entered the fray, Gretel and I were finally ready. In all fairness, we kind of had it easy since we were a pair-that, coupled with a glass of wine, made networking seem pretty easy.

We took the plunge...

When we came up for air an hour or so later, we had some pretty clear thoughts on the how-tos, dos and don'ts of networking. (You know, because we're never at a loss for an opinion here at Channel V...)

1. I know people always say go to these things alone so that you're forced to talk to others, but quite frankly, I say take an ally. Someone who also wants to meet people-not your best friend-and who makes you feel comfortable. Most people get so stressed out about meeting new people that their anxiety overwhelms everything else. Do what you need to do to feel more comfortable and be yourself.

2. I know there are people who say you should never drink at work events because it takes you out of your professional mode, but I think, great. Within reason, you should do the things that will put you at ease (see #1)-for me that means a glass of wine and a few hors d'oeuvres. Otherwise, I feel like I'm at an interview rather than a social gathering, and I can't help but be stiffer, more formal and less like myself. Which only makes conversation harder, since it does not do much to help put other people at ease.

3. Keep in mind that most everyone else is socially awkward and uncomfortable too. I have yet to come across anyone at an event who has been anything less than friendly or willing to meet someone new. It's not like you're navigating cliques at the country club-everyone is there to meet new people. And if it starts going badly see #6.

4. Do not only talk about your job. Yes, obviously, we're all here for job-related reasons, but surely there are other topics you can cover. For me, the nicest moments at any networking event come when I talk to someone like a friend.

5. Don't undertake a 20-minute monologue on your entrepreneurial history from the moment you started your first lemonade stand in kindergarten. I...don't...care. Unless it's funny. But even then, you're really here to meet people not to talk about yourself. Take a breath. Sip your wine. Ask about the other people you're with.

6. Draw people into your conversation. Once you have to good fortune of being drawn into a group so that you're not standing awkwardly by yourself in your Benetton sweater hoping someone will ask you to dance...oh, wait...wrong memory.... Anyway, once you're in a chatty group, be aware of other people around you who might be looking to join a conversation. Needless to say, they'll be relieved, but they'll also bring a new perspective and voice to your discussion. They also make it easier for you to graciously bow out of your current situation, and meet new people.

7. Stop thinking about how the people you meet can help you. Instead, listen, ask questions, be interested just for the sake of being interested. Not every person you meet is going to be a new client or a helpful connection, and they don't really need to be. Honestly, my most memorable conversation of the evening was with Caroline, a tattoo artist from New Jersey, who is in the midst of trying to figure out how to open an upscale gallery/tattoo shop in the Atlantic Highlands. How cool is that?

8. Don't check your BlackBerry. Gretel....

9. Remember to take plenty of business cards. Note to self....

10. When Inc. reporters come by with a camera and ask to interview you after you've had two glasses of wine, you should probably say no. But I'll save that post for when the video comes out...

The Mystery of Facebook...Not Actually a Mystery at All

We have a client who refers to us as "Digital Aborigines"--a term he borrowed from the book Digital Aboriginal. He talks about our seemingly instinctual use of new media and technology as if it were something people of a certain age group are born with. Upon some investigation, I found an interesting, defining characteristic of this group: whereas an adult might call a digital camera a "digital camera," Digital Aborigines would simply call it a "camera." (I have a hunch that another defining characteristic of Digital Aborigines is that they've never actually heard the term Digital Aborigines.) Anyway, according to this client, our ease of navigation through online applications such as Facebook also confirms our status.

I tend to think a better explanation is our good, old-fashioned common sense.

I read marketing trades and blogs like a fiend. Yes, I realize this is very uncool. And even more, sometimes I actually walk away from my computer screen (because we Digital Aborigines read everything online) feeling just a little bit dumber for having read the pontifications of so-called experts who think they've got their finger on the pulse of this social enigma. This is especially true after reading yet another analysis of THE definitive way to use Facebook (and other social media platforms) for networking purposes. Because we have several clients who want to know the secret of Facebook, and because we've been told so many times that such a secret actually does exist, I was determined to figure out what it was and end the conversation once and for all.

One client told me that he was on Facebook purely for business networking opportunities. Fair enough, I told him, but you've gotta play it cool. Think of Facebook as a cocktail party. LinkedIn's going to be your business meeting and Twitter, well, I don't know if you're ready for all of that yet.

From here, the next question is always, "Okay, now that I'm on Facebook [or LinkedIn or whatever], how do I turn my connections into new business?" Easy there, tiger.

For a while I've been placating this question with thoughtful answers: "Well, you want to make sure you're giving people a reason to visit your page." Or, "maybe you should put up useful tips for people so that they know there's good content over at your place." And it all kind of made logical sense really until I took a second to think about how I use Facebook. The answer? Casually. I certainly don't go there to be sold. And to me, networking is no more than talking to new people like normal human beings, so why would it be any different here? It wouldn't and it isn't.

I use Facebook a lot. I look at friends' pictures and, sometimes, the links they post to their blogs or articles they suggest. I revel in the different conversations high school friends are having with one another. Who's still in our hometown? Who's left and hit it big? I try to get an idea of what new people I meet are like outside of work (although I'm of the school who thinks you should have one generally consistent personality ). So, when I see a note on a friend's page that says, "Hey John, Glad to see ya on Facebook. Can't wait to network with you!" it kind of creeps me out. I mean, is this really how people interact with eachother in real life? I can't wait to network with you? Come on.

For the same reason you don't tell your blind date that you're really quite desperate to get into a committed relationship because that biological clock of yours is tickin', you don't admit your sales motives to unsuspecting casual acquaintances on social networks. The bottom line is that this type of interaction blocks the flow of authenticity of an otherwise smooth-running operation. Sure, you're being honest, but there's a time and a place for all of that. Even honesty can be kind of icky sometimes. Especially if it reveals you as a kind of social outcast who doesn't have a lot more to contribute to a conversation than work.

I guess this is where our Digital Aboriginal status comes in. Or, rather, our subscribers-to-common-sense status. We've realized that the secret to using Facebook is no more than this: Use Facebook how it's supposed to be used. Post pictures. Chat with friends. Share links to blog posts--whether personal blogs or the ones you write for work (in fact, I'm going to post this one as soon as I hit publish). These things tell your story. They all work together to paint a picture of a multi-faceted human being rather than of a one-trick pony (or dare I say workhorse?).

Trust me, people will be more likely to want to see what you're up to if what you're up to isn't selling them something. They'll discover what you do for a living and, by golly, if they've got a need for the stuff you're schilling, they'll let you know because you've proven you might just be an interesting person to work with.

That darned common sense. It gets ya every time.

Don't agree? Just this week we got a new client using Facebook how it's supposed to be used. Fancy that.

Our New Office: The Before and After

For the last couple of weeks all I've been able to talk about is our new office. The idea of moving into a larger space and being able to break our lease without penalty consumed my thoughts (and my Facebook and Twitter status updates). So, like any neurotic do-it-yourselfer might, I flew my genius of a sister in from Indianapolis to help us reupholster some old chairs and design our dream agency.

We started off by buying a couch that we assume was designed by someone inspired by our website. (Because, as the saying goes, "You don't find a good couch; a good couch finds you.")

We decided to let the couch guide our interior design instincts and lead the way for all aesthetic choices going forward. The couch made it very clear that we should snag some old chairs off of Craigslist, and buy some black paint and nice fabric. So we did:

Three parts love, one part interior-design-master-sister, and voila:

We wanted our alcove-which is essentially the waiting room and first thing you see when you enter the office-to be gorgeous. And really, it was nice to start with. But the couch had even bigger plans for it:

Next, our logo...in dark grey mirror:

Last but not least, the bar:

 

Stay tuned for the next installment-something we like to call "Conference Room."