We are really excited that Kris Jones, President & CEO of pepperjamSEARCH has agreed to be the inaugural interviewee in our social media optimization series.
Pepperjam is an industry leading full-service internet marketing agency recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing privately-held businesses in the United States.
Kris is considered one of the top internet marketing experts in the world. A true pioneer and leading voice of the industry, he is a prominent speaker and moderator at leading national and international marketing conferences.
We broke the interview into two parts because of its length. In the first
part Kris discusses how Pepperjam uses social media tactics to distinguish itself in the market. In the second part , Kris talks about how Pepperjam’s clients are using social media to grow their business online.
How Pepperjam uses social media
1. Pepperjam launched its corporate blog in August of 2006. Can you tell me about your decision to launch a blog for Pepperjam?
Well, it’s less of a corporate blog than it is a place where key Pepperjam employees share insight and perspectives on various aspects of online marketing. We have a lot of fun at Pepperjam Blog and every once in a while we end up breaking some news or sharing a perspective, sometimes controversial, that gets people talking. The blog is also where we introduce each of the members of Pepperjam Team through a video series we call “Meet the Pepperjam Team” - the video series has been a very fun experience for me and I’m very proud to have the opportunity to learn more about my team and then share that with our readers.
2. How has your blog helped you generate new business?
While the blog was not launched as a way of generating new business we have in fact closed new business as a result of it. The blog is a testament to the kind of company Pepperjam is - we are a smart group of internet marketers working in an amazing environment with a great group of young professionals and leaders. Our readers get to see how much fun we have, while also learning more about internet marketing. In short, I don’t think Pepperjam Blog would have had the success it has had if we were trying to sell something. If trying to sell the fact that my team is an amazing group of people with the skills and technology to take your business to the next level, I’m guilty.
3. One of the main features of your blog is strong use of video. Tell me about your decision do to so many video posts?
Text is static and visual. Podcasts are auditory. Videos are active, visual, and auditory, which creates a much more powerful form of communication. I like to think that Pepperjam is one of the more cutting-edge companies in our space - we are testing things before others and we are taking chances that in many instances lead us to be seen as leaders (or visionaries). We were the first company in our space to start using video - www.pepperjamsearch.com - and we are the only company I know of with balls big enough (call it creativity) to interview our entire staff for public viewing. In every instance, video is a more powerful medium than static text or audio.
I’ll share with you another secret of why we use video so much. After law school I worked full-time for a U.S. Congressman. The Congressman was first elected to congress in 1985 - he told me that when he first started campaigning prior to his first term virtually nobody showed up to his appearances. He would speak at VFW’s and 10 people would show. He would speak at a local Kiwanis and there would be 8 people. However, he explained to me in private, something dramatically changed once his commercials starting airing on television. People started lining up to see him. The same VFW that he spoke at the month before was filled to capacity. Everybody wanted him to address their organization. He went on to win the election and has been a member of Congress for over 20 years. He told me that television is a medium like no other - it’s makes celebrities out of ordinary people and gets people excited about what you have to say.
We use a lot of video because it is an extraordinarily effective medium for getting people lined up and excited about who you are and what you have to offer.
Did I mention - it’s actually pretty cool to watch yourself (and friends) on YouTube!
4. Some of your posts like the naked man one have received thousands of views on YouTube. Granted it’s got good circulation but does it actually generate qualified business inquiries for you? Or is it just high school kids who think you’re cool?
Well, our “What would you do for a Free One Year Supply of Energy Drink?” has gotten over 125K views and won us a contract from Who’s Your Daddy, Inc. for a free one year supply of energy drink. Also, Who’s Your Daddy has also agreed to sponsor us at each of the conferences we attend - we’ll be handing out free Who’s Your Daddy Energy Drinks at our exhibit booths through the remainder of 2007. We were contacted by the Tonight Show with Jay Leno over the success of the video and it has been brought up countless times by reporters and top bloggers.
In general, we don’t create the videos specifically to generate new business. We create the videos to create buzz, which we have pretty successfully turned into a lot of business. Not sure if it is any one video in particular, but video is part of our overall marketing strategy, which is to build business through buzz and word of mouth.
5. Some companies are posting videos on YouTube to help with recruitment. Have you seen prospective employees mention the videos during the interview process?
Absolutely. Similarly, we’ve had numerous people apply to work at Pepperjam because they saw our videos and concluded correctly that Pepperjam kicks ass.
Stay tuned for part two tomorrow where Kris talks about how Pepperjam’s clients are using social media to grow their business online.
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