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I’m not the most spontaneous person. Most people who know me would agree. Normally typing my to-do list instead of handwriting it is as “out there” as I get. There are only 2 truly spontaneous things I’ve done as an adult:  Left New York City to move to Chicago with NO job and few industry connections; and quit my full time job to bum around Costa Rica for a month – but that’s where it ends. 

Since becoming a business owner those decisions seem CRAZY.  I over-think every decision, weigh the pros and cons and make sure its what’s best for Big Teeth, and us both in terms of creativity and of course money.

But then last week within 36 hours of the idea coming up, I booked a flight to Austin, Texas only 7 days later to head to South by Southwest (or SXSW for those in the know) an interactive and film festival. I’ve wanted to go to for years but always had an excuse why I couldn’t attend, usually it was money, or lack there of.   What made this year different?  Perhaps I see the potential of increasing Big Teeth’s visibility and reaching outside of Chicago. Perhaps there’s comfort in the fact that I know more people going this year than in the past. Perhaps I should just stop wondering why and leave it to the feeling in my gut, something I usually trust.

Despite my impulsive decision, just minutes after booking my flight I thought, “Am I crazy?”  Which brings about the question – Am I doing a disservice to my company leaving for 4 days?  Will any current clients think we’re putting fun in front of their needs or will they respect the decisions we make for our business?  I hope in this case and in future cases it’s the later because I’m kinda liking this new leaf I’ve turned.

"Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this blog, without the express written consent of Major League Baseball, is prohibited."

Why are professional sports so slow to adapt to modern technology and social media? First the NFL employs a draconian Twitter policy  that the Don Quijote of unnecessary PR, Chad Ochocinco, vows to stab with his sword of justice. Next comes a story via SM superstore Mashable about a missed opportunity by Major League Baseball to launch a viral video from a genuine moment by a Philadelphia Phillies fan, that amazingly did not involve throwing batteries at the opposing team.

America's professional sports leagues are extremely blessed with the ability to have essentially 30 (give or take) brands under their umbrella with which to market. Think about all the Cubs, or Cowboys, or Redwings merch that gets sold every year, and imagine the Don Fannuci-like commissioner of each league wetting their beaks from every sale. Isn't that enough for them to be happy - and moreso, shouldn't they embrace the fact that the millions of fans are essentially marketing their product for FREE!

Its not bad enough that the average hard-working fan has to fork over a small fortune to take his family to a game and fill them up with nachos the price of an SUV; but they are treated to a bunch of athletic savants complaining about how underpaid they are (If I hear about one more "hometown discount" contract that involves $200 million I may lose it altogether).

What's so irritating about this is, what are they trying to protect? I get it when the military has to ban tweeting, or when a politician's wife needs to keep some details to herself, but come on, this is a GAME we're talking about. Unless @CC_Sabathia is tweeting signs to @davidortiz I think we can feel safe with Twitter on the sidelines and in the dugouts. For all the commissioners know they might make a few extra bucks - and we KNOW they like that.

I talk with a lot of local, independent businesses about their marketing efforts, and it’s clear most feel it’s time to explore social media, but they don’t know how or even why. If you’re thinking about taking the plunge but have little to no time or money to do it, I have one word for you: Facebook.

In fact, forget the social media part of the equation. If you have little to no time or money to spend on marketing – period – the first place you should turn is Facebook.

Here’s why. While consumers must seek out your website, which usually remains static, a Facebook fan page allows you to communicate with current and future customers on their home turf. It’s essentially a soft sell – an interactive, ever-changing gateway to your website that allows consumers to get to know you in a casual environment. If they know you, they’ll turn to you when needs inevitably arise. 

So, for you social media beginners, here are a few quick and easy steps to Facebook success.

1. Set up your fan page. Add contact information, a link to your website, photos (at least one profile photo is vital), video if you have access to it – make it as vibrant, engaging and rich with information as possible. It’s free and it doesn’t take long.

2. Build up your base. Start inviting people you know who already appreciate you and your business – friends, family, customers, co-workers – to become fans. Also seek out other businesses that you support or have worked with in the past and add them to your “favorite pages” list and ask them to do the same for you in return. The more fans and other businesses that add you to their network, the more new fans you can reach. 

3. Post items to your wall. Good ideas for posts include links to relevant news articles, brief updates about you and your business, promotional offers, contests, polls or even just random thoughts. Remember, you’re trying to show some personality here. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun; it doesn’t all have to be directly related to your business.

Since every wall post you make will show up on each of your fans’ homepages, the idea is to post stuff they would not only want to read themselves but would be compelled to comment on. When a fan comments on one of your posts, every Facebook friend of theirs will be exposed to that comment and potentially click on it and arrive at your page. And that’s how you gain new fans, who will, in turn, attract more fans.

Once your page is up and running, it’s pretty much all about keeping people involved by consistently posting new items to your wall. Try to post at a minimum of once a week and as much as once a day. This will keep you in your fans’ minds but not annoyingly so.

And there you have the basic formula. There are always new lessons for advanced students, but this should suffice for you beginners. A Facebook fan page costs zero money to start, and upkeep is quick and painless.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and get started. And, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to write me at dan@bigteeth.tv. Also, if you want to see how we practice this, check out the Big Teeth Fan Page.

Welcome friends to the newly remodeled Big Teeth Productions website. We are excited to launch the site new in form AND function. This redesign is an indication that while the ol' teeth personality remains, we're keen on showing how and why we've changed, and will continue to evolve.

Rather than blather on about all the features, here are a few highlights before you go on your way navigating through our pages like Magellan with a mouse.

THE "GUTS" OF THE SITE
The Big Teeth Productions site has been organized to illustrate the main services we provide [Online Marketing, Fundraising & Special Event Video, and Web & TV series] along with a constantly updated portfolio of our video work samples, a list of clients we've worked with, and of course this here blog y'all are reading. [ed. note: my country accent is much more believable in writing than speaking, hence the "y'all"].

SOCIAL MEDIA
Another section you'll see is "Social Media." This is one of the bigger changes at Big Teeth Productions. Our take on social media is that it isn't a passing fad, it is something that is useful both to promote Big Teeth Productions, but also as a tool to help our clients better market their own brands or products. Look to that section to see both how it relates to video, and how we can help you use Social Media beyond video.

We've made a strong effort not to be one of the army of thousands trying to dupe you into thinking there are social media secrets, rather we've embraced the tweeting and facebooking and linkedin-ing (oh my) as ways of building relationships and helping spread the right message to the right audience.

THERE YOU HAVE IT
That's us in a nutshell. I could go on and on about our philosophies and practices, but really thats why the site exists. We, as a team, have vowed to more frequently update this blog than in the past, including how and why we go about things the way we do.

So, thanks for being a friend, a fan, a jealous competitor, a blog groupie, what have you, and all of us at Big Teeth Productions hope that you'll find our site (and our company) interesting and useful for all of your video and marketing needs. I also welcome any feedback on how you feel about the site, both good and bad, so that we can continue to make this a happy little home on the web. Feel free to drop some comments on this post, or you can email me as well.

Lastly, this site would not have been possible without the incredible insight and ethic of our developer Tristan Blease. Tristan looks at the web not in just how to make things look pretty, but how to make things work for you. If you have any needs for a well thought out, and sexy looking website, please visit Tristan on the web.