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Excerpt originally posted on May 28, 2012 via Empowered Ideas’ Marketing & Communications Blog

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) — Empowered Ideas Co-Founder & Managing Partner, James C. Wong, had the honor of being invited as a guest speaker on the topic of Social Media for UNC TV’s Black Issues Forum.

James Wong has been a life-long supporter of diversity in leadership and knowledge in North Carolina, even accepting his now second term position as the Marketing Chair for the Triangle Association of Black Journalists (TABJ).

Derorah Holt Noel, the Executive Producer and Host of Black Issues Forum on UNC-TV, invited Mr. Wong to contribute to a discussion on the topic of social media, how it relates to their viewers, provide insight into various forms of social media, how it works for individuals on a personal level, how it works for businesses small and large, and how it can be a potential revenue channel.

Mr. Wong was also joined by two other featured guests on the show, Katrina Harrell of Dream Bigger Initiative and Lashonda Henry, an Independent Web Designer and Marketing Coach.

The “Is Social Media Working For You?” episode of Black Issues Forum originally aired on UNC TV on Sunday, May 27, 2012.

As marketers, it’s our responsibility to guide our organizations to success through proper planning, strategy and creative ingenuity. Email marketers have the unique responsibility of having to factor in brand equity and metrics into our email campaigns.  Without these types of metrics, email campaigns would flow rampant without any sense of performance or effectiveness.

However, successful email campaigns aren’t simply just a matter or creating quality content and sending it out.  Organizations need to factor in and plan for some simple, yet key aspects, of implementing their email marketing plans.

Key Aspects to Consider:

• What are the pros and cons of focusing too heavily on existing customers?
• Don’t base all your decisions on research gathered from existing satisfied customers.
• How do non-customers perceive your brand?
• Investigate why email segments become dormant; what did you do right at first, and what changed?

All too often, businesses focus too heavily on their existing customers — catering their messages to target a very specific audience.  While this is most definitely a best practice, it should also be noted that the same messaging may not be the best solution when targeting potential clients. Develop customized messaging for existing customers, potential customers, leads and even content meant to simply provide industry knowledge to your target audience.

Basing all of your marketing decisions on research gathered from existing satisfied customers leaves your business vulnerable to being outperformed by your competition.  Consider research and feedback gathered from non-satisfied customers as well, and identify a suitable hybrid solution that speaks to your various segments.

Understanding how non-customers perceive your brand will help your organization to better market its brand, product and services.  Acquisition marketing is all about understanding the driving forces that motivate your potential customers into converting into actual customers.  Listening, responding and managing your brand perception and equity is critical to the conversion process.

Monitor the health and activity within each of your list segments.  When segments become dormant, ask yourself “what changed?”  Identifying segments which are under-performing, especially early on, and reacting to the underlying issues as soon as possible, will save your list(s) from becoming less effective in the future.

By considering these key aspects when developing and implementing your email marketing plan, you’ll find that your campaigns will be much more robust and effective moving forward.

Good Luck!

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Originally Posted on Empowered Ideas by James C. Wong on Monday, May 21, 2012

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On Saturday, May 19th, the Women’s Power Networking (WPN) group hosted the Business Alliance Rally (#WPNBAR) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.

“Women’s Power Networking is dedicated to enabling professional women to achieve their highest potential by fostering a stimulating environment where they can form relationships, build alliances, share knowledge and provide support to one another. WPN celebrates the concept of womanhood and its outpouring of compassion, goodwill and encouragement. — www.WomensPowerNetworking.com”

Empowered Ideas’ co-founder, James Wong, was invited to participate on a “Meet the Media” panel — representing the field of digital marketing, communications and social media.

Fellow Distinguished Panelists Included:

• Matt Donegan — General Sales Manager, Fox 50 (TV)
• Barbara Petty — Owner/publisher, Boom! Magazine (Print)
• Alex McTighe — National Sales Manager, Curtis Media Group (Radio)
• Bill Ammermann — Sales & Marketing Manager, WRAL.com (TV/FM/Online)
• James Wong — Co-Founder/Managing Partner, Empowered Ideas (Digital Marketing)

 

On Friday, May 11th, the Senior Advisory Council (SAC) members of the RTP Chapter of NAAAP, along with the Board of Directors, voted in a new President.

It is with great honor that I accepted the nomination and position, as I truly believe in the mission of NAAAP, and feel that the Triangle area needs such an organization to support Asian-American professionals.

As is critical with any professional association, timing is of the essence, and with 2012 being a “transition” year for our chapter, I feel that as a chapter we must educate, support and encourage Asian-American professionals to seek out better opportunities and to emerge from the safety of our small circles and better network with one another.

Programming and value-add events are essential to this mission.  We cannot build leaders without first empowering them with the resources and knowledge to do so.  Therefore, as the first action as Chapter President, the Board of Directors and myself laid out a programming plan for the remainder of 2012, and have committed resources to its success.

NAAAP RTP Events in 2012

• June 2: Successful Parenting In NAAAP (SPIN) Kickoff Picnic

 

• June 7: Diversity in Asian-American Leadership Event — in partnership with the Army National Guard

 

• June 16: NAAAP Global Dinner/Social — Location TBD

 

• July 14-15: Leadership in Parenting — Guest Speaker: David Lum (Motorola)

 

• July 21: NAAAP Global Dinner/Social — Location TBD

 

• August: Assimilation of Asian-American Business

 

• August 18: NAAAP Global Dinner/Social — Location TBD

 

• September: SPIN Family Group Activity

 

• September 15: NAAAP Global Dinner/Social — Location TBD

 

• October: Cyber-Safety for Parents & Families

 

• October 20: NAAAP Global Dinner/Social — Location TBD

 

• November: NAAAP Member Appreciation Social

It is my sincere hope that the Asian-American community in the Triangle continues to support NAAAP’s mission, and I look forward to seeing each and every single one of you at our upcoming events throughout the year.

Thank you for this opportunity, and I am truly excited about the endless possibilities…


James C. Wong
RTP Chapter President
National Association of Asian American Professionals

My two cents on applicants being asked by potential employers for their Facebook passwords…

It’s a pure invasion of privacy. If your HR managers can’t find any questionable content on the internet about an applicant, it’s fair to assume they are at least smart enough to not put their dirt on the internet, and just as safe to assume that if hired, they won’t put your company’s dirt online.

Applicants, if faced with this dilemma, I suggest that you ask the CEO for their FB pwd. See what happens, LOL.

#My2cents
#FAIL