When I hear march madness, I automatically think of college basketball. And although there has been some great upsets on the court, there has been a different kind of madness happening here in Fort Wayne, the weather. In the month of March, we’ve broken over 20 records.

Starting March 1, Fort Wayne tied the record high of 66°, which was set in 1976. On March 14, we beat the old record of 78° by one degree, making the high for the day 79°. This day marked the beginning of our 9-day record-breaking streak.

On March 21, there was a record high of 87°, which is the hottest temperature ever recorded in March. The previous record was 86° from all the way back in March of 1910.  This month has already seen 177 growing degree-days, which blows past the previous record of 126. Five days have hit at least 80° or hotter this March, which beats the previous record of four days back in 1910. Now that’s what I call March Madness.

The downtown area is really starting to bloom and people watching from my office is becoming more entertaining as the temperature rises. Any predictions for what April will bring, other than showers of course?

Have you ever wondered why some people or information is more predominant on your news feed than others? Or how those ads seem to always apply to your life? I recently learned the answers to these questions and I think it’s a great piece of information to keep in mind while on facebook.

Although facebook is a free service to its users, the social media site wants you to click on ads in order for them to make money. How do they do this? They know you will most likely spend more time on facebook if you see what interests you in your news feed. To simplify that statement, facebook is compelled to figure out what content interests you and deliver that to your news feed as frequently as possible.

This poses the next question, how does facebook know what you want to see? The posts on your news feed usually satisfy three criteria. They are:

Popularity: Posts have a high number of likes, comments, clicks, views and shares.

Relevance: If you have interacted with a page in the past, it is more likely to show up than a page that has had zero interaction from you.

Recent: They are new stories.

I have heard different versions of these criteria and I understood that the more I click on someone’s profile, the more they will show up on my news feed. What I didn’t realize was that facebook has an actual formula for how this is accomplished. This algorithm is referred to as an object’s EdgeRank (an object is another word for post). Here is the formula:

So let’s decode this formula, starting with affinity. This is another word for relevance. How relevant is the information you are posting to your friends? Weight is your popularity score, which is based on the number of likes, comments, clicks etc. your post receives. Last but not least is the time decay factor, which translates to how recent your post was created.

So how does this relate to you or your business? Simple. You need to be posting information that is relevant to your friends or fans. There is an increased chance for likes and comments if your friends and fans are attracted to what you post. You also need to remember to post frequently because if your last post was over a week ago, you are basically going unseen to your fans.

Social media sites can be a great way to gain a following but if your posts are not being published, your chances of having a successful social media campaign decrease significantly. Need help taking your Facebook page to new heights? Give Catalyst a call, we would love to sit down and discuss ways to successfully manage your social media site.

Want to impress your friends or coworkers at the next gathering? Tell them you’ve just finished taking a course from MIT on Thermodynamics & Kinetics.  ITunes U has now made continuing your education interesting, easy and best of all, free.

iTunes U offers classes from over 450 institutions, including Stanford, Yale, Oxford and UC Berkeley as well as other resources from The Museum of Modern Art and The New York Public Library. Anyone can browse and download over 500,000 free lectures, videos, books and notes on thousands of subjects.

iTunes U also offers these resources in a user friendly app that is very similar in looks to Apple’s Newsstand app. The application makes it easy to search for a particular subject, read reviews and have instant access to the content.

I recently downloaded a Marketing and Strategy course from Arizona State University via the iTunes app. This course has 26 audio lectures, which are each about 70 minutes long. I have decided to make continuing my education as easy and convenient as possible for my lifestyle. Instead of listening to music while I drive, I listen to lectures on marketing. This is one of the perks of having the content on my phone; I can listen anytime, anywhere.

This is not only a great tool for current students but also for those adults looking to continue their education. This is a great way to educate yourself on something that you do not already have a formal education on.

For your business, this might be a great opportunity for you to encourage employees to continue their education or expand their skill set to help you grow. Plus since it’s free, it keeps your continuing education costs low. Think about it! Want to talk about more ways to grow your business? Give Catalyst a call!

I’ve been walking past the Catalyst building for years, noticing the vibrant colors and visual appeal. In my opinion, it helps give downtown Fort Wayne a “big city” feel. Last November, I was on my way to a show at The Embassy and I took a couple minutes to peek in the windows. To my surprise, it was a marketing design company. I immediately went home and checked their website for any internship openings, but at that time, there were no available positions posted.

About a month later, a marketing internship became available and I sent my resume in right away. It was a week later when I got the call to interview; I was thrilled, but nervous at the same time. What would it feel like to interview for the internship of my dreams, yet not be the candidate chosen? The day of the interview was finally here and I did my best at putting together a trendy outfit to match the décor of Catalyst. I was given a tour of the building and met most of the staff that day. I left the interview feeling confident but that feeling can sometimes trick me. You know the feeling when you leave an exam thinking you aced it, only to find out later, you didn’t. Yeah that was the feeling.

I was lucky enough to receive the position and I started working at Catalyst on January 4. I felt an overwhelming sense of ease as I was entering the building on day one. My orientation process was fast but enjoyable. I was able to sit down one on one with all the members of the Catalyst family to learn what they do here. One of my favorite parts of the orientation process was taking a personality test and learning about everyone else’s results. It’s a great tool for small businesses because it really helps you understand why people do and say certain things.

I’ve heard horror stories of internships and all the silly errands they run on a daily basis because they are at the bottom of the food chain, but I am so blessed to be working for a company that values each member and their opinions.

I have been working here for about a month and have been busy every second. One of the first things I noticed about Catalyst is how well they research and do their homework to ensure the clients are receiving their best work. I have worked on three different research projects so far and they are much more enjoyable than the ones I have done in college. I have been included in more meetings than I can count and have learned so much in my first month.

I’m looking forward to spending more time in the office, building relationships with my coworkers and learning as much as I can about strategy and marketing. If you’re looking for a “big city” agency with small town values and service, we would love to talk with you. Even if you just need some homework done, I’d be happy to have a new project to work on!

1. Become Socially Adept – We’re all still figuring out exactly how to incorporate and integrate social media into our marketing strategies. Everyone knows they need it (and increasingly so), but have you sat down to determine what your goals are and how social media can help you accomplish those goals? Ultimately it’s about increasing engagement through ongoing conversations that leads to brand advocates. Make this the year that your social media strategy comes into focus.
2. Mobilize – Mobile marketing is the new social media. Smart phones are used by nearly half of all mobile phone subscribers. Your customers are on the move and sites or communication that can’t be viewed on these devices is deleted as fast as they can swipe. Think about how you can optimize your site and communications to keep your brand in front of your customer wherever they are.
3. Give It Away – Giving your customers or prospects valuable content that helps them in their business makes you more than just a vendor. It makes you an expert. Put it in your blog, in your e-newsletter, on your facebook wall, and everywhere else your customers find you.
4. On the Tube – Think about it. People use YouTube like a search engine. The site has more than 2 Billion (yes, capital B) views per day. If people are searching, shouldn’t we be there? New video equipment and editing software can make it simpler for you to post demo videos, testimonials, advice, and more on YouTube (and on your own site). But if that’s not feasible, talk to us. We can help.
5. You Asked For It – Ask for business. It’s simple. Ask for referrals from your best customers. Developing a great referral program is a cost-effective way to increase your business, and it comes with a third party endorsement so your new prospect has reason to trust you. Also, ask your current customers how you can help them more. Gather the low hanging fruit and watch your business flourish.

These are our marketing resolutions for 2012. You’ll be seeing and hearing more from us in the days and months to come. Could any of these ideas apply to your business? If so we’d love to talk. Give us a call (or find us on facebook!).