Our Thoughts

Digital Marketer Interviews: Erika Napoletano of Readhead Writing

November 29, 2011 by Marian Schembari

This post kicks off our new series – Digital Interviews – where we talk to people we admire about what’s hot in the world of digital marketing.

We start off this series with the talented Erika Napoletano, Head Redhead at RHW Media, a Denver-based online strategies consultancy. Her blog, RedheadWriting, is a bastion for “unpopular thoughts and blunt advice - delivered” and consistently strives to say what others won’t and don’t (but should) about marketing, social media, business integrity and life in general. She’s the author of two forthcoming books (due out Spring 2012), a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine, was recently named by the Denver Post as one of Colorado’s top Twitter Personalities and received the 5280 Magazine Top of the Town 2011 Reader’s Choice award for Best Twitter Personality.

In addition to her rapidly growing audience base, Erika is a sought-after consultant for brands you see every day in the parking lot at the mall to your grocery store shelves. Her favorite brands to work with are those who aren’t afraid of having a personality and showing the human beings behind the brand. And while social media isn’t the end-all, be-all, it’s a pretty powerful compliment to a comprehensive marketing strategy.

We were lucky enough to pin Erika down to talk about changes in the digital space, why Google+ isn’t going to catch on and people she admires that you should follow too.

What digital changes are you really loving?
As a complete audiophile, I’m digging what’s going on in the social music space. Spotify and Rexly are two apps making my iTunes a better place. Music is going the way of real life relationships: the best ones are generally those where someone introduces you to someone they know. And I think that’s great, as the media conglomerates of the world like Clear Channel and Turner will no longer dictate artist success, censorship and what’s hot. I love the peer influence aspect. We’ve been doing business this way forever and I’m glad to see the music industry catch up with a little help from technology.

Really hating?
Honestly, I don’t need another social network. I’m trying to use Google+ more and love the facility and interface, but I live on Facebook and Twitter. I know others are enjoying it, but I’m on Google overload and have a hate/hate relationship with my Droid X, so less Google is more for me these days. I’m afraid one day I’ll have to Google my pantry to see what’s for dinner.

What’s the biggest challenge for people (both consumers and agencies) to embrace digital marketing?
Understanding that brands need a personality. Digital interactions strip away body language and eye contact, so you have to replace those things with the only thing you can create with words and pictures: personality. It’s not about how many banner ads you place or how many fans you have. It’s a function of how many people love you, share your message and are willing to have conversations with your digital persona. I believe in something I heard Gary Vaynerchuck say when I saw him speak in Denver – there’s no such thing as a social media campaign. Sure, you can put forward a thrust to raise awareness, but it’s a piece of the puzzle. If you’re not solving for the big picture, a little thrust (or even a big, expensive one) is going to fall flat when the tide is out. We have to manage our businesses for when the tide is out. Social isn’t a panacea. It’s a way to let your target audience know you’re there, you’re interested and willing to be a part of the conversation – and the most important conversation at any time is the one your audience wants to have.

Who in the digital space are you really admiring right now?
There are several companies out there who are doing great work – a few in my own backyard. Mix1 and GoodBelly are both Boulder, Colorado-based companies who really dove into the social world and grabbed it where it meant the most. Evol is another top player – and another Colorado company.

Putting a finger on exactly what they’re doing right is always difficult, but for these brands it comes down to them actually having a personality and being human. They interact and have conversations with their audiences and that’s a lesson more brands can learn from. I loved the products before I found them on Twitter, but it was refreshing to find them “ready to play” in the socialsphere when I went looking for them. It was a lovely welcome mat to have laid out for you.

Let’s face it: we all won’t be a Southwest Airlines or Zappos. These smaller companies doing great work in the online space are powerful examples for business owners like you and me to emulate, admire and what the heck – talk with!

You can connect with Erika online on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. She closed her MySpace account when she found out that no one really wanted to pay her $5,000 a night to “party.”

Related Posts:

• Digital Marketer Interviews: Guy Gonzalez of Media Source
• Digital Marketer Interviews: Sarah Robb O’Hagan of Gatorade
• This Week In Digital Marketing 26-30 Mar: 25% of Paid Search Share To Be From Mobile Devices, 25 Ways To Grow An Email Database, McDonalds Second Attempt At A Trending Hashtag
• This Week In Digital Marketing 19-23 Mar: Google To Target Overly SEO’d Sites, Twitter Turns 6, Sitelinks May
• This Week In Digital Marketing 13-17 Feb: Facebook’s Timeline is Coming For Brands, Introducing Inbound.org, DuckDuckGo Hits 1 Million Daily Searches

Tags: 5280 Magazine, Audience Base, Business Integrity, Comprehensive Marketing, Denver Post, Digital Changes, Digital Interviews, Digital Marketer, Digital Space, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forthcoming Books, google, Grocery Store Shelves, Itunes, Media Business, Media Conglomerates, Music Space, Peer Influence, Place Music, Readhead, Real Life Relationships, Social Music, twitter

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