As social media and technology opens the doors for sharing information with friends, family, (and random people) the types of information that we share also grows. I love technology… and as someone who suffers from my generation’s ADHD, I also love testing new social media platforms as they are introduced. I probably sign up for a new service or download a new application 3-4 times a week. And if it’s interesting, entertaining, or something that will make my life better I will continue using it. I have a service to share my favorite music, my favorite sites, my pictures, my videos, my location, quick thoughts, not so quick thoughts, my favorite movies, my friends, and the list goes on and on.

And then the other day, my wife asked me if I was worried about sharing too much information. So much so that my identity was potentially at risk. At first I brushed her off. After all, I am supposed to be the one in the know, the one who is much more educated about this than she is (though she’ll argue with me on this – what else is new?). But as I thought about it, it’s from her everyday perspective that I should be viewing the sharing of my information. How much sharing of information is too much information?

As we spent time with family and friends over the holidays, I wanted to tweet my presents, upload pictures of our one year old son opening his gifts for the first time, and share some of our holiday anecdotes. But every time I picked up the laptop to fire something off my wife’s concern nagged at me in the back of my mind (insert your favorite wife nagging joke here). Every time, I refrained from posting what I thought to be interesting information.

So, I’ve been wrestling with this question for the past few weeks: Why am I using social media? Not only am I throwing so much information out there that a quick Google search could tell you how negligent I have been on going to the gym, a quick scan would reveal that I may be using social media without any purpose in mind.

This thought process is no different than how any business should approach using social media. Everyone wants a Facebook page, or an iPhone application, but with what purpose? Who are you talking to? What are the objectives? As a business, you understand who your audience is, what media they consume, and what the message needs to be on a particular media to get your audience to take action. In this case, social media is no different than using any other media. The difference is understanding how to use the media to get your audience to take action. So, as you think about how you are going to approach using social media in 2010, ask yourself how much is too much, and with what purpose am I doing this? Believe me, I will be asking myself the same questions.

There was an article today in Investment News talking about the problems of naming a business in the financial services arena. It seems that a guy named Sid Blum had been running his own firm, GreenLight Fee Only Advisors, for more than three years when in April he received a threatening legal letter from Greenlight Capital Inc., the hedge fund led by legendary short-seller David Einhorn. In sum, Sid pressed his suit to keep his name, lost and spent a lot of dough on lawyers. And at no point did he talk to anyone who does naming that might have steered him clear and saved him beaucoup bucks in the end.

Naming. It seems like such a simple thing to do. After all what’s in a name? Years ago, before many of you were born, you  figured out a name, printed stationary and you were done. If Mike Meyer opened up  a Meyer’s Shoes in Indiana, and Sidney Meyer (no relation to Mike) opened up a Meyer’s Shoes in Alabama, they would not have known about each other or even cared. Now in modern times, the internet has changed all that forever. Now if Harry Meyer wants to open up a Meyer’s Shoes or a Meyers Footware or Meyers Slippers in Philly, he most likely will not be allowed to IF either Sidney or Mike registered their trademark and secured a url. Now Harry is going to have to do some fancy footwork.

Naming exercises can go for as high as a quarter of a million dollars if it involves an international search and if it is necessary to purchase multiple urls. More often than not our Harry Meyer is going to be forced to look at names that are either a bit crazy or made up like hoopdeedo or combinations of words like Meyoes (Meyers Shoes- and if you don’t think this ever happens, think again). And often these names- strange as they may seem- form a first impression to a viewer. Would you ever buy wingtips from a store named Hoopdedoo? You might from Meyer’s Shoes, but you most certainly would not from the former.

So for the sake of argument Harry was able to secure the url for Meyers Footware and decided to develop his brand using that moniker. Well- he still needs a lawyer to make sure that that name is free and clear. Probably 90% of the lawyers out there would nix that name if there is another Meyers or Mayers or Meiers or MyOrs in that category that might have a trademark that could cause confusion in the market. Now if Harry wants to open up a computer software company called Meyers Shoes- he probably would not have a problem.

Lets also say that Sidney in Alabama has been in business selling shoes for 60 years under the name Meyers Shoe, even if Sid did not apply for a trademark (who knew about that then?!) he has been doing business under Meyer’s shoes for generations and has first dibs.So even if he does not own the trademark you may still be in trouble.

As a firm that does naming we know how time consuming and expensive this exercise can be. Sitting with 3 or 4 windows open on our computers, one connected to USPTO, one to go-daddy.com as a start to see if the url is available and who owns it, one open to wikipedia- which comes in handy when you want to research arcane information about shoes – or look at the derivation of the name Meyer, and one open to a blank document in Microsoft Office waiting for brilliant names to appear. And sometimes you nail it, and sometimes it takes endless rounds of sleuthing to find the needle in the haystack- the name that is available, that has a free and clear status on USPTO, has a good url and does not damage your brand, like hoopdeedo.com.

Oh and by the way, hoopdeedo.com is taken!

If there was ever a time for hedge funds to speak directly to the media- now is the time. Instead the Managed Funds Association decided to ban the media from its next conference. The MFA is home to over 2400 members and some of the largest hedge funds. And the decision to bar the media from its annual meeting reverses 15 years of playing nicely with the media.

So now after losses in Q4/2009, and the many daily  reports of  Madoff/ Galleon/ Ponzi-like schemes. the one industry that could really profit from some good PR is shutting its doors. Doesn’t it make more sense to open up the lines of communication just as weary investors are starting to consider alternatives again? Wouldn’t it be more useful to use every opportunity to open the veil of secrecy to educate the public on this financial vehicle? How about a chance to  showcase the many managers that have been following the rules, and even pulling in decent returns in the last few quarters?

Unfortunately the MFA will play right into the hands of John Q. Public (who believes every HF is damned by association) by missing a good venue to correct the rumors.

How do you get prospects to sit up and take notice? If you’re Software AG, you send an iPod Touch loaded with special video content in a custom box. As you might expect, response has been pretty phenomenal. In a report delivered last week, our client cited a response rate of 23% — but that number is still growing. And all this means that dollars signs will soon follow.

Of course, you’re probably thinking this extraordinary effort had an extraordinary price tag. And you’d be wrong. The cost was absolutely appropriate for the task, which was to get meetings with a select group of hard-to-reach C-level decision-makers — executives surrounded by gatekeepers. Software AG was successful because they understand customers’ lifetime value. They know the cost of an iPod is nothing compared to the overall worth of a new client. And with that knowledge, they asked us to develop a campaign delivering a pointed message that clearly articulated how Software AG could change the way prospects do business.

Thanks, Software AG for being a great client. And a great marketer.

Let’s say someone gives you a list of ingredients: no measures, no instructions, not even a clue as to what the ingredients should combine to make. It’s an absurd notion, and yet branding firms do it all the time.

For the third or fourth time in as many months, Grafik has been asked by organizations to try and make heads or tails of strategic documents delivered to them by firms who were happy to drop a stack of research on their doorsteps and dash. In each case, there were no real conclusions, and absolutely no hint of what the organization’s brand focus should be.

As far as I’m concerned that’s less than half the job.

Before you can begin to express a brand, everyone needs to agree on a concise recipe — a directive that identifies the key components, weighs their significance, and details how they need to come together. This is a critical step. One you can’t skip because it informs imagery and messaging, ensures relevancy, and helps define tactics across every customer touch point.

We have a couple of branding projects in the works now, and you can bet that when they’re launched, these brands will be fully baked. The way we see it you shouldn’t have to settle eggs and flour, when you’re in the market for cake.

On Tuesday night, a few colleagues and I attended a Sweets and Tweets event put on by social media consultant, Debbie Weil, where the featured guest was Gov 2.0 “guru” Mark Drapeau (aka @cheeky_geeky). The discussion was centered around how social networking is being used within the government both effectively and otherwise with a few other solid nuggets thrown in for good measure. I admit that I was somewhat surprised at how many different forms of social networking tools are currently being used by the various government agencies, ranging from wikis to Twitter-like apps. Even the National Weather Service is actively using social networking to support their mission of protecting life and property [which I admit I got a little geeked up about being a meteorologist myself].

It was also nice to hear Mark reiterate the basic fundamentals of social marketing, fundamentals that many of us forget on a daily basis, but are no different when developing any type of marketing campaign:

What is your overarching mission (objective)?

What specific goal are you trying to achieve that supports the mission with this campaign?

What specific tactics are you using to accomplish this goal?

Addressing these three questions before jumping into the social media waters would comprise developing a social media strategy. My officemate and I talk about this all the time. How often do you run into someone who has launched a Facebook page and can’t tell you exactly what purpose their Facebook page serves? Is it to build awareness? Generate leads? Connect with your customers? Is it just one cog in a very large campaign?

It’s basic marketing, right? So why do we so often forget?

Thanks for the reminder Mark.

I love Seth Godin. He is one of the most insightful writers that I have ever met, and is clearly a marketing guru. He is also one of the only bloggers that I follow faithfully.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/11/cant-top-this.html

I get his column every day and it immediately makes me feel good and bad at the same time. His advice is normally spot on, but also very hard to follow if you are trying to run a business during a downturn. I try to follow his advice, but it is kind of like being on a diet- every now and then you backslide, and binge.

Godin’s column has also been a great connection between me and Hal, one of our very thoughtful creative directors who is always pushing me to focus on our strengths, and to never surrender when it comes to creative excellence. Like Seth Godin, Hal is the angel on my shoulder that is always whispering what I should be doing, and then there is my evil side that is often whispering what our balance sheet needs. I like listening to Hal and Seth Godin more than I like listening to my instincts and bad habits. They are the conscience that makes great agencies great, and I am the financial reality which can pull things down.

So it is not a coincidence that Hal actually turned me onto Seth Godin. They both are brilliant, they both believe that the principles of focus, excellence and creativity will win out. They both “get” branding and also know that complicated principles need to be communicated in plain English, not hidden in dense forests of jargon. And for that I love them both. I bet that Hal and Seth would make great suite mates- and  both of them are gifted writers.  I feel lucky every morning that I get to read a Seth Godin post, but I feel even luckier that I can just walk down the hall and sit with Hal in person every time I need a swift kick in the butt.

I suppose that most people attending the Women’s Campaign International (WCI) gala event in NYC on Monday night would have focused on the glitz and glamor of being at the Metropolitan Club- a turn of the century rococo interior that is so lush and lavish that it blows you away. I suppose most people would have come away with the excitement of sharing a room with VP Joe Biden, and other luminaries that included John Legend and Chelsea Clinton, to name a few. Oh- and it was exciting. And thrilling to be an arm’s length away from the Vice President, and to see him up close and personal. I suppose most people would come away from the event marveling about the open bar, the prime rib, endless appetizers and a dessert that set my South Beach diet back a few weeks.

But my take away was different. I  care about this pro bono client since they are doing what I consider to be very important work. I care deeply about their mission and goals, and the end results that they achieve. So while everyone was drinking their cocktails, listening to an A-list of sponsors and supporters, I was focused on their message and how we need to improve communication for next year’s gala.

I was focused on the fact that all of the luminaries and speech givers really did not cut to the heart of this organization, that they truly mixed the mission of WCI with dozens of other women’s organizations, talking about empowerment, abuse, job opportunities, economic displacement, domestic abuse, third world politics, US politics, glass ceilings… well you get the picture. And yes, WCI touches on many of these important issues, but our job has to be to give it more focus so that an attendee will clearly understand exactly where WCI plays in the women’s space. And that will probably mean that we need to write “bridges” that will allow the speakers to talk about their own areas of expertise or interest and still have it tie back to the importance of the WCI. It means continuing to refine WCI’s positioning and brand to give it a voice that is truly its own. It means giving the spotlight to some of the women that WCI is empowering, and creating a video that is at least as impactful as the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative.

And with all of the positive vibes in the room. With Marjorie Mezvinsky’s and Karrie Kennedy’s boundless energy, the task is eminently doable.

I am looking forward for next year’s gala, where I can enjoy the drinks, savor the filet, and know that my client is delivering more than a great meal!

Reviled and hailed by investors, adored and vilified by the financial and popular press – misunderstood by many – hedge funds appear to operate paradoxically under both a cloak of secrecy and a spotlight of the media.

Hedge funds are organized to avoid many of the SEC’s regulations that are applied to most conventional investment funds that are publicly offered, such as mutual funds. Because of their unregistered status, hedge funds may not be offered publicly and are only available to a limited pool of potential investors that meet a net-worth threshold. To avoid SEC registration requirements, hedge funds must not advertise or publicly market the fund to raise investor commitments. Instead, fund managers must cultivate pre-existing relationships to attract potential investors.

So does that mean, in effect, that hedge funds can not market themselves? Is branding and marketing communications off limits to hedge funds. In short- the answer is a resounding, “No”. The prohibition against marketing does not mean that a fund does not need to communicate, it simply means that there are more restrictions that must be followed.

Take for example websites for hedge funds….

A survey of many hedge fund websites finds that many post only disclaimer information that sometimes scrolls on and on endlessly.  No information on specific funds or links to specific funds is available for public viewing. If a viewer wants to see information on a particular fund, they must be carefully qualified before they are able to log in to view this kind of information. And compliance restrictions can string out approvals for as much as a month. And because managers want to protect their investment strategies and the managers they work with, precious little information has traditionally been on many hedge fund sites.

Hedge fund websites go the gamut from no information, to those that give some idea of a funds strategy or niche. But just because there is a lack of copy does not mean that there is no marketing involved. Just look at the three examples above… Which one has the best presentation, instills the most confidence, appears to be the most polished?

Every touch point, no matter how insignificant is an opportunity for a hedge fund to sell- and it does not matter if it is a website homepage, a monthly summary or an exposure report. While fund performance, track record and investment strategy are certainly among the most important elements for a potential investor, it can not be denied that presentation will have a decided effect on whether an investor decides to commit dollars to a particular fund.

We recently worked with a client who has had a very long and successful track record operating as a hedge fund of fund manager. Like most investment vehicles it suffered in the last quarter of 2008, and the scams and pyramid schemes in the industry threatened to tarnish an otherwise perfect track record. In doing our due diligence we found that most clients were very satisfied with the performance and personal client service, but they had a “feeling” that the fund operated like a mom and pop operation. Despite consistent earnings, they wondered about the professionalism. With a weak presentation and sloppy communication practices, some clients were even nervous about keeping some of their money in the funds.

When we were called in we surveyed all communication channels- from web presence, monthly letters, PowerPoint presentations, to office decor. Indeed the Fund had a homegrown feel to it, characterized by a total lack or awareness of how or why communication influences financial decisions.

Knowing that  the most frequent client touch were the monthly reports, we went about redesigning (in Word and Excel) all of the monthly financial summaries. The second most important tool was a scripted PowerPoint that clearly pointed to the benefits and differentiation between this fund and others. Knowing that liquidity, transparency and due diligence were critical components, we made sure that all communications addressed these pressing issues.

Bottomline? We could not use overt marketing but we did not waste any opportunity to communicate the Fund’s strengths. We made sure that every touch point was produced professionally as well as economically. We worked closely with the CIO and the CEO to make sure that every monthly letter, every email was branded and did not look like a xerox of a xerox. We set up systems so every individual in the firm has access to company-wide templates, typefaces, and color palettes. And we perfected the Fund presentation being used for new investors- insuring that the funds will continue for years to come.

The web2awards is the world’s first annual award competition that names the best websites in the printing industry. The web2awards were established by Printing Industries of America to recognize, honor, and elevate printers that are achieving excellence with their online presence.

Visit  Printing Industries of America to view all the winners and find out more.