The 10 Social Media Thoughts You Liked Best
Looking back on an exhilarating 2010, I wanted to take a second to just say thank you. No frills, no flourishes. Just thanks. There’s a LOT of places you could go to get you social media and digital marketing fix, and I’m incredibly honored that you choose to spend time here. As part of my […]
The New Small – How Technology Levels the Playing Field
Phil Simon is a technology cupid. Whatever your company’s issues or objectives, he can recommend the optimal platform, rollout strategy, and operational considerations. In his work as a tech consultant, he’s realized the days of “big iron” – solving problems with huge, expensive systems are gone. Now, it’s the nimble, inexpensive technology that rules. So […]
Blogging Success Summit – 23 Tips From Blogging Top Dogs
If you want to take your personal or corporate blogging to new heights in 2011, here’s an opportunity to get a leg up. The Blogging Success Summit kicks off in February, with 23 presentations from a murderer’s row of blogging luminaries (+ me). And for a short time, you can save 50% on registration at […]
The 5 Critical Social Media Skills You Need to Disperse
Your customers, prospects, and the people looking for you online don’t care about your company structure. If they find you on Twitter, or leave a comment on your blog, they’re looking for a response from anyone who can help, regardless of what department that person represents or what someone’s official job title is. Everybody in […]
6 Ways Web Check-ins Can Benefit Your Brand
Guest post by Clinton Bonner, community connectivity expert, futurist, and blogger at Everything to Everything. Whether it’s big players like Foursquare inking a new loyalty rewards program with Pepsi, or niche developers like Untappd, addressing the beer drinking vertical with a mobile application that let’s you spread the word about the particular brew you are […]
The Dirty Secrets of Time, Priorities, and Honesty
I hate excuses. And the one I despise most of all is “I don’t have time.” Bullshit. You can find the time. It exists. You choose not to devote the time, and there’s a big difference. I don’t work out. (people that have met me in person are LOLing about the understated nature of that […]
5 Attributes of a Healthy, Real-Time Culture
The future of business is not in measured, scrutinized answers or carefully planned initiatives. Business will soon be about near-instantaneous response; about making the best decisions you can with the extremely limited information you have; about every customer being a reporter, and every reporter being a customer; about winning and losing customers in real time, […]
Cops and Robbers: Social Media Invades Law Enforcement
Social media isn’t just about human to human and human to company connections. Law enforcement is tapping into social media at almost every level, using it to map, monitor, and manage crime fighting activities. 81% of police departments are already using social media. Does this make you feel more or less confident about social media’s […]
What Rex Ryan Taught Me About Social Media
You might think he’s overrated, a blowhard, or a fatso but New York Jets coach Rex Ryan understands human psychology. Unlike most NFL teams, the Jets do not control players’ media access. Any player is free to speak with any reporter at any time. Ryan has just one rule that governs the interactions between players […]
Why Looking in the Mirror Makes an Ass Out of U and Me
Believing your customers are just like you – or homogenous in any way – is a psychological bear trap that is difficult for even the savviest marketer or executive to escape. It’s human nature. We figure that since we like tennis, and we know a few of our customers that like tennis, it stands to […]
6 Newfangled Social Media Tools Worth Discovering
I’m not really sure how all of these guys are going to make a living, but there sure as hell is no shortage of innovation in social media. The torrent of new digital tools and gadgets makes Sharper Image, SkyMall, and Hammacher Schlemmer look like an Amish electronics store. Just in OneForty alone (the unofficial […]
7 Skill Sets for Nurturing Open Community
Guest post as part of the virtual book tour by Maddie Grant and Lindy Dreyer to explore concepts from their new book Open Community: a little book of big ideas for associations navigating the social web. We come from the association industry and for many of us “membership” people, community is old hat. It’s what […]
Help Me Connect the Social Media Economy
As more and more businesses come to the realization that social adoption isn’t a matter of if, but when, the next question is invariably about resources: “Who should be in charge of this in my company?” “How many people do I need doing this?” “Do I need to be listening 24×7?” “Can we create compelling […]
Threadless Shares 10 Years of Insights and Inspiration
Threadless – everyone’s favorite T-shirt purveyor and example of crowdsourcing and customer community success – recently published a terrific 10th anniversary book that combines company history with dozens of its best designs. It makes for very interesting reading, and the production values and design elements make it a suitable coffee table book, and an excellent […]
Demystify Content Marketing with Content Rules
The intermediary is dead. We don’t need to rely primarily upon the media or some other conduit to communicate with our prospects and customers – we can do it ourselves. Eventually, every company is going to have to think of itself as a TV station and a magazine. Telling your story and answering customer questions […]
The 4 Marketing Metrics Mandates
There are four mandates that companies are adopting when they are examining and analyzing the success of their online marketing and social media programs. I recently gave a presentation to the Measured Marketing Roundtable at Techpoint, Indiana’s technology and economic development association, that outlines these new metric must-dos. The 4 Modern Metrics Mandates View more […]