An allegory on how marketing & business is akin to the laws of nature. There are similarities between beekeeping and branding, for sure, but this presentation utilizes bees more as a metaphor for how web surfers (and brands) need help navigating to and from the hive. No bees, no honey, no work, no money!

1. Branding Is Like Beekeeping March 4, 2010 - Copyright 2010 - Heardable, Inc. - www.heardable.com

2. when we are online... our instincts guide us in an informed way 2

3. we consult with people who we trust for guidance 3

4. we alert others when we discover things that are meaningful and useful 4

5. we steer clear of 'smokey' corporate propaganda 5

6. a quorum in our network can cause a swarm of action 6

7. we exhibit behavior like bees 7

8. the web is funny 8

9. users are trying to find their way brands are trying hard to be found 9

10. we need a means of navigating ...through unfamiliar territory 10

11. likes bees. 11

12. the average worker bee flies more than 560 miles during a lifetime each of the bee's senses is used for navigation 12

13. navigability is directly proportional to the shortest possible path 13

14. most animals have highly developed homing instincts that help them navigate long distances to nests and hives 14

15. humans don't have an innate sense of direction like animals we get lost easily 15

16. we go forward with fits &starts, creating maps based on memories of our journey 16

17. which forces us to develop a means of navigating through unfamiliar terrain 17

18. we solicit help from others and use guideposts as markers 18

19. [influencers/guides] are of great value to brands because they have a higher propensity to propagate product information [Gladwell, 2002], based on a combination of their being particularly influential and their having more friends 19

20. they are the UBER info-gatherers the foragers, scouts, communicators 20

21. erecting familar landmarks on the hyperlinked highway for many to follow 21

22. CMO's should cultivate, nurture & support brand influencers [evangelists] 22

23. because they are worth their weight in gold[en] honey 23

24. brands [unlike bees] need to help 24

25. for brands, we must ask: what is our click-to-findability ratio? 25

26. We should consider content syndication to reach faraway targets And publish well-localized content to exploit nearby opportunities 26

27. we must illuminate pathways search-friendly, mobile-ready, socially-engaged 27

28. we should embrace the law of reciprocity [the giving web] 28

29. and add breadcrumbs 29

30. so that john q. citizen can find us 30

31. via any device, at any time 31

32. for brands to survive and prosper, they must master entirely new skills be effective 32

33. conversations rule 33

34. digital communities are the medium 34

35. trust is essential 35

36. yes, beekeeking is a lot like branding 36

37. no bees, no honey no work, no money 37

38. branding is like beekeeping 1. establish colonies [promote identity to differentiate] 2. build hives [corporations, people, strategies, campaigns] 3. control parasites [press, competitors, haters] 4. extract honey [revenue, information, influence] 5. raise & protect the queen bee [ceo] 6. sell honey [products & services] 38

39. Heardable.com the world's first and only online brand optimization tool

40. What The Pros Are Saying The genius of Heardable is that it accounts for every possible dimension of a site and illustrates how it can be enhanced. - Charlie Quirk, Account Executive, Overland Agency Our clients love Heardable. It really helps them discover how effective they are online, what their competitors are doing, and what they can do to get better. - Krim Stephenson, Practice Leader, Arlington Mill Group I finally found a no-nonsense, independent measure for my company web site. Forget the advice you get from the IT department, this is the real deal. - Michael Leahy, Director, Wontok Enterprises

41. What's Your Heardable Score? blog http://heardable.com/blogroll.php 41 website heardable.com twitter @heardable Copyright 2010 Heardable, Inc. www.heardable.com