The Daily Carnage

Wouldn’t it be nice to visualize all parts of a project as it’s worked on by any team member?

We thought it’d be nice. Luckily, our Digital Strategist, Stephen, swooped in with a handy Chrome Extension called Elegantt. See the great thing about Elegantt is that it can be paired with Trello, and alas, our project management desires were answered.

Let’s be honest, folks. What do you need from someone else to get your job done? What does that someone need from you to get their job done? This relationship is called “task dependency.”

Example time! Imagine going to Taco Bell and ordering a dish that your typical marketer would like to eat. Like, say Doritos Locos Tacos. The individuals involved in this entire process of enjoying your Doritos Locos Tacos include you, the server, and the cook.

1. You depend on the server to take the order.
2. The server depends on the cook to prepare the food.
3. The cook depends on the server to deliver the food.
4. The server depends on you to pay the bill.

Alrighty, instead of servers and cooks, it’s designers, developers, SEM strategists, etc., and it’s all a process of getting the finished product to the client’s plate. Elegantt makes these task dependencies easy to recognize with a linear timeline and deadlines that you can easily set.

Since Elegantt syncs with Trello, every card you add will be reflected in Elegantt after you refresh the page. It’s a seamless way to take what you’re already doing on Trello and further organize what you’ve laid out within projects.

Check out the full article where Stephen goes into further detail of how Trello and Elegantt are used at our office.

Y’all voted and today we’re covering a recent podcast from MarketingProfs where the host talks about how to inspire people to love your brand with author, David Meerman Scott.

Think about it from your own perspective for a minute. What things in this world captivate your attention so much that you consider yourself a fan? And what makes you dedicated to those things?

The hosts conducted some interviews and found at its core a fandom is really all about the tribe. When you share a passion with like-minded people, that’s what drives a fandom.

3:10 – The biggest missed opportunity in marketing is putting a ton of effort into getting attention from people who have no interest instead of mobilizing people who already show interest.

3:35 – Scott gives his insight on where the idea of turning fans into customers come from.

5:00 – The pendulum swung too far in superficial online communication. People are hungry for personal interaction and connection.

9:35 – The neuroscience behind a fandom starts with a personal connection or humanity.

12:15 – The four levels of proximity: public space (20+ feet), social space (between 4 and 20 feet), personal space (within 4 feet), and intimate space.

13:10 – As a business, what does it mean to get your fans in close proximity. (Use TDC as an example. We use the Yearly Carnage to round up like-minded folks and we have a blast learning all things marketing)

15:20 – Using the philosophy behind mirror neurons, take photos or videos where you insert yourself into the personal space of the viewers to build strong connections. (A similar example would be how well we feel we know movie stars.)

17:55 – The selfie is fabulously powerful because you’re showing up in close proximity, aka less than 4 feet, and you’re most likely looking straight into the camera.

19:20 – The host talks to  Scott about great examples of B2B fandoms like Microsoft’s partner channel. It’s not about controlling your products/services. It’s about letting your fans take over.

21:50 – How car insurance company, Hagerty maintains a fandom of over a million peeps.

23:40 – How can a small or medium-sized business start creating a fandom of their own? Two things you can do right now:

1) Get real and eliminate all the gobble goop language on website, social, and marketing. If your mother can’t understand what you do from the description on your website, you’re doing something wrong.

2) Eliminate all stock images and practice proximity with real people including video and photos.

If you wanna listen to the full interview, jump to  2:43 for the start.