Raul Colon - photographer, digital marketer & writer living on the beach in Puerto Rico.

I support causes by supporting individuals.

Interviewed by @CRCandelario an FIT Marketing Student

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On occasions I get asked the question why do I choose to write and share my thoughts on blogs. I can keep the person for days talking about the benefits but here is a concrete example on the value of sharing your thoughts online and more importantly sharing your story.

My good friend Chris Brogan invited me to write for Owner Magazine where I have published so far two spanish articles “6 Consejos de Cómo ser Dueño de un NICHO” and “Conocer Los Ingredientes”.

Writing In Spanish Expanded My Network of Quality People

By writing in spanish I have connected already with some very talented people who wanted to read content in their native language spanish.

I also had the opportunity to meet and get a message from Carmen Candelaria a young student from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York who asked me if you could interview me for a school project.

Carmen is from our sister and neighbor Island the Dominican Republic and I was more than happy to accept to her interview.

Here is a full hour of some of me exchanging my thoughts with Carmen on how I see business should be conducted online.

We Need More Students to Follow Carmen’s Lead

I think more students need to follow Carmen’s lead and try to connect with those who like me are running projects and businesses.

If you are looking for a new team member to work on your marketing teams I highly recommended giving students like Carmen the opportunity to continue growing as professionals.

You can find Carmen Candelario on Twitter, @CRCandelario.

Once again thanks Carmen for selecting me to be interviewed. 

Reaching a Bigger Audience

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Photos of Raul Colon Web Developer Puerto Rico

Being a fan of music I tend to write posts on my favorite artists. I enjoy listening to different types of music and there is nothing I enjoy more than finding new talent and voices I can listen to.

Thanks to the efforts of my friends at Frecuencias Alternas and Puerto Rico Indie, which consistently help me, curate my musical playlists on Spotify (Special thanks to Pepe Pesante for giving me a quick 101 on Spotify months ago). By reading their blog and listening to the weekly Frecuencias Alternas Radio show I am able to sit back at least once a week and get their point of view on the latest in Indie music.

Google + Found Noah’s Music

More than a week ago I was looking at Google + and saw someone share Noah Guthrie’s video where he played and sang his own version of ” I’m Sexy and I know it”.

I like the original version by LMFAO but listening to Noah’s version made me enjoy it even more. Listening to him talk at the beginning of the video I got the feeling that it was some type of parody. When I heard him start singing I had to replay the video multiple times because his voice completely surprised me.

I searched for @only1noah on twitter and decided that I would ask him where I could support his music. I also subscribed to his YouTube channel in which I found the following video where Noah is thanking everyone that made the video go Viral.

Leveraging the Eco System

By leveraging the power of the Online Eco System, Noah published this video where he is thanking his fans. He also does a great job at updating us on what is next and what we should expect from him. Mentioning an online concert on May 29th, 2012 where he will be playing online so his fans, which can be anywhere, listen in and support his efforts by donating or better said tipping him.

Looking at how Noah has shared his talent and is managing his presence online I feel many of us can learn from Noah. If you are a musician and are trying to make it online there is even more reason to have Noah on your radar.

As I started reading Small Town Rules from @BeckyMcCray I have to say that the start of the book relates a lot with what Noah and what many of us are doing today to compete in highly competitive industries.

I will go into more detail once I finish the book and create a more formal review on the book.

If you enjoyed Noah’s work, download his song for free but even better yet try to support him with a small donation. Every dollar counts!

Free Download

Commercial Appears to Resolve New Daddy Issues!

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Photos of Raul Colon Web Developer Puerto Rico

On my company blog I am trying to provide at least one weekly examples on what commercials send the correct message. So far I have been able to share the following 3.

These three videos really convey a message breaking the traditional characteristics of an ad. All of them are very clear in resolving a problem and they all have a very human touch.

Searching for those commercials I ran into one personal issue that seemed to be resolved with an ad.  Not to share TMI I have had my accidents changing @danielalcolon’s diapers and I really thought this video clearly resolves one of them.

Being a new dad has been awesome and I am glad that the issues I have bumped into have been very minor and they can be resolved with looking for another option of diaper to buy.

What commercials lately have resolved a current issue?

Do your advertisements, commercials, or marketing material touch people in a human way by resolving a problem?

Christmas, Dying Cats, Good Ads & Bad Ads

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Friderika

By kenyai

It really annoys me when I see bad advertising especially ads that have the old school mentality of any mention is a good mention. On the other side I really enjoy when I get too see great advertising work.

Yesterday while at the movies waiting to see Harry Potter I saw two commercials ( I hardly ever watch TV so I only see commercials online or at movie theaters) that really caught my attention (one in a positive way and the other in a negative way). One of them really had the 4 C’s (Content, Context, Connection, and Community) clearly the other one was missing most of them.

Awesome Advertising

I really enjoyed the song Shake Up Christmas by @train (to the point that I bought it on Itunes). I think the content of the song reallybrings all the other elements of the commercial together. I also had the opportunity to learn of this great band @train.
Santa Claus holding the globe really makes us connect with our childhood and with Christmas which for many of us are very special. I remember I was a big fan of Santa Claus and Snow globes during my childhood. Where you?
It also shows how the store owner closes the shop and the employee working gets to make it on time for dinner and share with his love ones.
Another element, which could not be missed, was a pet. I love pets everyone loves pets adding one to such a family oriented commercial is only going to make it better.

At the end of the commercial I felt like grabbing a @CocaCola. Personally I have been connected to the brand since my Grandfather worked for the company many years and I felt even closer this past March when I went to @CocaCola World in Atlanta and was able to see many of the things my Grandfather had in his @CocaCola collection when I was a child.

The commercial was very effective in selling more @CocaCola.
Dying Cats and Bad Advertising
This Toyota Commercial is in Spanish and directs you to the domain aunmasraro.com which is a direct link to their Youtube Channel really has no relevant content.
It grabs your attention while it confuses you. I had to explain the commercial to another person of what was my interpretation but in reality I am not sure if I grabbed the message.
I just can’t identify with the Message “Aun Mas Raro es Verlos Fallar” (in Spanish means rarely you see them break down or with issues) when Toyota has had more than enough news regarding their vehicles having issues these last few years.
Even if we take those issues of the table I really want to make sure that if my car fails I am going to have a brand that fixes it. Not like Toyota who denied for a long time that their Prius models where not having issues. In reality I want a transparent brand.
My car is going to fail and when it does I want to make sure I don’t have a nightmare story like the one I shared online at Mercedesbenzpr.net with the local Puerto Rico Mercedes Benz representatives.
The only way I can connect with the advertisement is that it will be Rare or almost impossible for me to buy a Toyota since when I went car shopping I got very bad customer service from one of their representatives here in Puerto Rico Triangle Dealers (which also has an F in customer service in many aspects).
4 C’s
@cocacola
Toyota
Content Excellent

Great Music

Great Video

 Poor or None
Context Creates an experience Of no relevance to any audience.
Connection

 Made me connect with my Childhood and the brand. I might have to buy @CocaCola for Thanksgiving and Christmas. No connection to possible customers or past customers.
Community I think this can connect very well with the community of @CocaCola Drinkers since at many special moments in our life @CocaCola has been present. I am not sure how they tie this commercial to there community of Toyota Owners.

I was thinking of writing something of the commercial when someone handling the @cocacola twitter name thanked me for a RT.

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/rj_c/status/5975134846324736″]

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/CocaCola/status/5999011949449216″]

Great example of engaging with your customers via twitter which inspired me into writing this post.

Have you seen any great commercials, which had the 4 c’s? Have you experienced advertising, which you can’t connect at all?

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments Area?