Marketing

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  • Three Steps to an Irresistible Brand

    Stokefire - Branding & Advertising
    Tate
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:25 pm
    I know you may not think of Gandhi as irresistible, but bear with me. It’ll become clear shortly. Irresistible… It may sound impossible, or at least too good to be true. And you’re not alone in thinking that, but the great brands do achieve the impossible. They get people to change behavior in much the same way that Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln put themselves on the line to create monumental societal change. If you want to create  real change there’s no more consistent way to get there. And here are the basic steps you can follow to get there…

  • Marketing Themes for 2012: Be Different-Do Different

    Marketing Globally
    Aaron Dun
    12 Dec 2011 | 5:12 am
    Hard to imagine that 2012 is almost upon us. My kids are on high alert though because Christmas and Hanukkah are almost here. A sure sign that the New Year is nigh! This is my third “look ahead” blog post since I started focusing on this blog a few years back.  In 2010 my key message was “Focus, Focus, Focus” in 2011, it was “Align your activity with the current business objectives.” Both of those are as valid today as they were then. My theme for 2012? “In order to Be Different, you have to DO different. “ I currently work in a very crowded technology market space.  So…

  • Bollywood, India too expensive to make money from dreams?

    The Marketing Post
    28 Dec 2011 | 11:35 pm
    Indian Media and Entertainment posted a string of positives though listed bullionaires like Eros and PVR continued to struggle to prove their worth on a perceived high cost base, being measured against some unreasonable expectations. While Ra.One was a blockbuster but fell on being second to Sallu's antics, The Don 2 and Mission Impossible concurrent successes of this month are being compared on equally tenuous marks despite $3 mln of daily business as Indian enterepreneurs in their bid to fund the global majors have set a high watermark for profiting from the success of this entertainment.

  • Et Tu, Google? …

    Marketing Globally
    Aaron Dun
    13 Jan 2012 | 8:45 am
    Et Tu, Google? Will Search + Mean the Rise of Google + or the Rise of Bing? Catching up on the latest changes to the search process from Google this week. If you need a recap read Danny Sullivan’s take here. The CMO Site has an excellent discussion on what this might mean for marketers, including some good comments on how this might play out. The net: >Search + will add relevant links from your Circles to your search results. Allegedly this is a good thing. I have written previously about how I feel about Google+ chances and, despite all the “Buzz” my opinion hasn’t changed. And in…

  • Solving the “Invulnerable Customer” Problem

    Neuromarketing
    Roger Dooley
    19 Jan 2012 | 7:22 am
    Often, consumers don’t buy products because even though they recognize a risk exists, they don’t think they will be victims. The belief may be irrational, but they see themselves as invulnerable. So, they don’t buy life or disability insurance, they don’t invest in healthcare products products or services, they don’t join a gym, or take [...]   CommentsYes, there is a high-ticket product that baby boomers are ... by Margaret J. KingHi Roger, Great post! This is one of the key issues that we ... by JenPlus 8 more...Related StoriesPut Your Customer in the…
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    How to Change the World

  • Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe #OfficeandGuyK

    GuyKawasaki
    20 Jan 2012 | 12:46 pm
    Over the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches, Word business plans, and Excel financial models. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe. Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs “Our projections are…

  • Design a Sam Adams beer

    GuyKawasaki
    20 Jan 2012 | 10:24 am
    Now this is a fun project. I’m helping Sam Adams “tap” the knowledge of beer drinkers and crowd source its next brew. Join the party by getting the app and designing your beer: The final brew will be released in Austin in the first week of March. #sponsored

  • How to Create an Enchanting Financial Forecast #OfficeandGuyK

    GuyKawasaki
    17 Jan 2012 | 3:52 pm
    This is the third post in my Microsoft partnership, and it’s all about numbers. The topic is crafting your financial forecast to include in your pitch. Bill Reichert, my partner at Garage Technology Ventures, created an Excel model and wrote this blog post. There’s a lesson in this too: Get the best person for the job. His grasp of financial models and how to present them exceeds mine by two orders of magnitude. The Purpose of Financial Projections When it comes to financial projections, there are two types of entrepreneurs: first, the “visionary entrepreneur” who…

  • How to Create an Enchanting Business Plan #OfficeandGuyK

    GuyKawasaki
    12 Jan 2012 | 10:16 am
    Here is the second post in my series about planning, pitching, and launching a new business venture. In partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve created a Word document that outlines a good business plan. It’s saved to my SkyDrive folder here. Feel free to download it and use it as inspiration. And if you’re working with a partner, you can use the free Word Web App to stay in sync. I provided the PowerPoint document before the Word document because a good business plan is an elaboration of a good pitch as opposed to a good pitch being a distillation of good business plan.

  • How to Create an Enchanting Pitch #OfficeandGuyK

    GuyKawasaki
    9 Jan 2012 | 10:01 am
    Welcome to the first in a series of blog posts I’ll be doing as part of a partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps. Over the next two weeks, I’ll cover everything a budding entrepreneur needs to turn an idea into an enchanting investment opportunity—from the perfect pitch to a killer business plan to financial forecasts. I’m going to start with a little dissertation on creating effective PowerPoint pitches for your company. I embedded the sample deck for you to click through by using the PowerPoint Web App. When you’re ready to get started, you can download the…
 
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    MarketingVox News & Trends

  • Closing Bell: FBI plans social map app | Facebook IPO | Twitter censorship

    27 Jan 2012 | 4:18 pm
    Social Media: FBI plans social network map alert mash-up application. Twitter's new censorship plan rouses global furor. Finance: Wall Street clicks 'like' on Facebook IPO. Mobile Computing: Samsung giving Apple heavy competition in mobile. Kinect coming to laptops? Why?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marketingvox/rss/~4/NCqnUgXYMpM" height="1" width="1"/>

  • MovenBank Moves Industry Closer to Social Media Credit Scoring

    27 Jan 2012 | 1:56 pm
    MovenBank is a bank expected to debut this year with a focus on the top tech trends. It will be a mobile bank accessed by smartphones, American Banker reports. More intriguingly, it will base its credit decisions and pricing decisions on social media data, the publication says. It has developed a scoring product called [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marketingvox/rss/~4/hedtxPbE660" height="1" width="1"/>

  • Google+ May Be Wasting Its Time on the Teen Market

    27 Jan 2012 | 1:26 pm
    Google, not surprisingly, is going after every core user group on Facebook, from brands to moms to now, teens. Google just lowered its age requirement so teens ages 13 and up can use the site. Marketing Pilgrim questions the wisdom of this move, mainly because it appears to be a waste of resources on [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marketingvox/rss/~4/MFh-QnxF5FA" height="1" width="1"/>

  • Hotmail Moves on to the Kindle

    27 Jan 2012 | 1:04 pm
    Microsoft is continuing to push Hotmail onto the mobile device—all mobile devices. On the heels of its recent release of iOS5 and a Hotmail application for Android it is rolling out an app for Kindle Fire. The Hotmail Kindle app offers several advantages over the native Kindle Fire mail application, Microsoft says. The [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marketingvox/rss/~4/KYLPaogj6Us" height="1" width="1"/>

  • Another Black Eye for Online Reviews

    27 Jan 2012 | 11:53 am
    The New York Times tells of a best-selling product on the Amazon site that had quickly racked up a number of five-star reviews. As it turned out, the manufacturer of the product, which was already heavily discounted in a special offer, gave some customers the chance to review it. In exchange, it refunded their money. A [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marketingvox/rss/~4/YZvMWSo6vQo" height="1" width="1"/>
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    Neuromarketing

  • Time Warner Opens NYC Neuromarketing Lab

    Roger Dooley
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:42 am
    Time Warner Inc. is opening their new “Medialab” at its New York City headquarters. The media giant expects to “generate valuable insights into consumer behavior, evolving media habits and industry trends across all of Time Warner’s businesses, brands and advertising partners.” The lab sounds like one of the more diverse facilities dedicated to this kind [...]   CommentsCommentsRelated StoriesPut Your Customer in the Ad!Solving the “Invulnerable Customer” ProblemStarbucks Loyalty Fail

  • Put Your Customer in the Ad!

    Roger Dooley
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:05 am
    In my direct mail days, we used personalization whenever possible. Starting a letter with “Dear Roger” instead of “Dear Friend” responds better every time (if the recipient’s name is Roger, that is!). A sweepstakes that uses a personalized address message like, “Imagine our Prize Patrol ringing the doorbell at 123 Shady Circle,” will garner more [...]   CommentsVery cool, Daniel, and exactly the kind of thing I was talking ... by Roger DooleyThis advertisement not only uses your face, but it log's into ... by Daniel GonzalezPlus 7 more...Related…

  • Solving the “Invulnerable Customer” Problem

    Roger Dooley
    19 Jan 2012 | 7:22 am
    Often, consumers don’t buy products because even though they recognize a risk exists, they don’t think they will be victims. The belief may be irrational, but they see themselves as invulnerable. So, they don’t buy life or disability insurance, they don’t invest in healthcare products products or services, they don’t join a gym, or take [...]   CommentsYes, there is a high-ticket product that baby boomers are ... by Margaret J. KingHi Roger, Great post! This is one of the key issues that we ... by JenPlus 8 more...Related StoriesPut Your Customer in the…

  • Starbucks Loyalty Fail

    Roger Dooley
    17 Jan 2012 | 7:08 am
    Starbucks knows a thing or two about loyalty. I’m a Gold Card member, and enjoy the free refills as well as the periodic free drinks I accrue by using it. (Green Card members get the refill benefit, but not the free beverage after every 15 purchases. In addition, Gold Card members get a personalized card [...]   CommentsThere is such a competition now. In order to keep its clients, ... by Anna[...] Starbucks Loyalty Fail [Neuroscience Marketing] 0 ... by Build a Loyalty Program—Just Don’t Be Like Starbucks - Printing HubPlus 8 more...Related StoriesWhen Loyalty Points Beat…

  • Upcoming Appearances – Early 2012

    Roger Dooley
    16 Jan 2012 | 6:42 am
    The first quarter is shaping up as a busy time for neuromarketing speaking gigs – I’ve booked a few more than usual to publicize my new book, Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing. For those who can’t attend one of the conferences, there’s one free webcast this week (from the American [...]   CommentsComments
 
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    Influential Marketing

  • The 4 Principles Of Delusional Economics

    Rohit
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:59 am
    When it comes to economic theories, there is plenty of fascination in the business world around how to explain what drives business and purchasing activities. Behavioural economics, the field of economics concerned with examining why people behave the way they do when it comes to their purchasing behaviour, is hot right now.  Bestselling books like Freakonomics and Predictably Irrational dig deep into the psyche of people to try and explain seemingly illogical actions. My own upcoming book called Likeonomics, to some degree, looks at a similar theme of why we do business with people and…

  • FinnAir, Republic Day & Why Celebration Is The Best Marketing Strategy

    Rohit
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:28 am
    A few weeks ago it was my birthday. The day before on a Saturday morning, my two boys came leaping into our room very excited to wake me up. It wasn't so much about my birthday, unfortunately, as it was about getting ready to do their favourite thing on a Saturday morning: going to IHOP for pancakes. And when there is a birthday involved, it is an even bigger deal. Your birthday is a celebration there. They bring over at least 6 of the wait staff to sing their own version of the birthday song to you. You get ice cream for breakfast (what kid wouldn't love that?). People love celebrations -…

  • Honda Masters The Art of Marketing Timing

    Rohit
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:44 pm
    Every year at the start of the new year there is something that most of us do without realizing it. It is related to making new year's resolutions, but it is more about sequencing your long term goals into the order in which you want to achieve them. One example might be saying to yourself, "I want to be married and then have a kid before I turn 35." Life is full of these little promises. So full, in fact, that often we make them to ourselves without even thinking. It raises an interesting marketing question as well. What would it take to get a customer to reevaluate the life sequence they…

  • How “HateSurfing” Can Help Your Small Business

    Rohit
    20 Jan 2012 | 6:53 am
    Most of us have heard the statistic that it is about ten times more likely that someone will post a comment online about a negative experience than a positive one.  It is not hard to believe if we just imagine our own experiences.  When we are a satisfied customer, usually the easy thing to do is go merrily on our way.  If the opposite happens, however, human nature is to seek retribution and the web is the perfect conduit.  Negativity is super easy to post online, and irresistible because of the side benefit of being able to influence people who you have never met.  Add in the…

  • How To Make Your Business Recyclable Instead Of Green

    Rohit
    13 Jan 2012 | 6:34 am
    Despite how it might seem, this is not another post about how you can create a more “green” business. Being green is a great business practice, and has the side benefit of helping your small business to make a positive difference in the world. When we think of recycling, it is no surprise that most people would immediately think of collecting newspapers and plastic bottles. What if instead you considered recyclability as a principle that you could apply to many different aspects of your business? Here are just a few examples of how this could work: Integrate recyclability into your…
 
 
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    AdPulp

  • Like It Or Not, Spec Work Has Its Place On Super Bowl Sunday

    David Burn
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:31 pm
    Dorito’s Crash the Super Bowl competition is fully underway and some of the finalists aren’t bad. For example: Sadly, the same can not be said for Chevrolet, which is about to put this piece of “consumer” generated crap on the air: You just finished reading Like It Or Not, Spec Work Has Its Place On Super Bowl Sunday ! Consider leaving a comment!

  • Jaffe Seeks To Connect Startups With Their Brand Soulmate

    David Burn
    26 Jan 2012 | 5:30 pm
    After selling his consultancy, crayon, in January of 2010, Joseph Jaffe is back in the agency saddle again. His new company is called Evol8tion, LLC. Evol8tion aims to change the way brands work with technology-based startups via early stage participation with early stage ventures. “The startup lives in the epicenter of technology-inspired innovation,” said Jaffe. “But brands are often not brought into the picture until the startup is so far downstream in the process that it’s too late to influence direction, partner or truly innovate.” Jaffe, who is also author of Flip the Funnel,…

  • Cars.com Has Your Back

    David Burn
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:24 am
    Cars.com grows one’s confidence in car buying situations. Seriously. For more on that, let’s view the brand’s new Super Bowl spot from DDB Chicago: According to Tim Nudd of Adweek: Ad people will see echoes of Richard Grant’s character in How to Get Ahead in Advertising. To me, it’s a happier though no less weird version of the classic “Second Evil Head” spot for Mike’s Hard Iced Tea. As reported here earlier this week, Cars.com is a brand likely to connect with the Super Bowl audience. And this spot will likely do the trick, as well, given that…

  • The Art Of The Pitch Aims To Help You Get Ahead

    Dan Goldgeier
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:07 pm
    What’s the difference between a talented ad executive and a talented and successful ad executive? Often times, the successful one knows how to present. While many people are lamenting the pervasiveness of spec creative, or the futility of the pitch process, Peter Coughter argues the case for successful presentation and pitching skills in The Art of the Pitch: Persuasion and Presentation Skills That Win The Business. Coughter knows his stuff. He co-founded an agency in Richmond and is now a professor at VCU Brandcenter along with a consultant to ad agencies around the world. What he imparts…

  • Can Chevy Plug In To Some Good Vibes For The Volt?

    Dan Goldgeier
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:02 pm
    Amidst recent news of recalls and skepticism from the general public, Chevrolet is seeking to regain support for the Volt by featuring Hamtramck, the Detroit neighborhood where the car is built. Ad Age has more background: In its open-letter-format newspaper ads, GM CEO Dan Akerson writes that the Volt is “the most significant step in GM’s history to give customers a choice beyond oil” and “a technological ‘moon shot’. …Yes, the world is learning from Detroit again. And we couldn’t be prouder.” I think this is a good spot, but it’s…
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    Social Media Darwinism

  • Trust is hard to come by these days

    Paul Dunay
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    For years I have kept tabs on the Edelman Trust barometer report, which comes out every January in Davos.  And this year was no exception. After last year I figured this years report could make an excellent gauge of the economy worldwide! Simply put the report states: Trust is down in every industry and every country across the board by an average of 6%. So what does this mean for marketers and for major brands in an era of social media? Well 2 things … Hidden in the data is the fact that CEOs and Government officials are at the very bottom of the totem pole when it comes to delivering a…

  • Brands: It’s not enough to be liked

    Paul Dunay
    15 Dec 2011 | 12:00 pm
    Imagine a company that has upscale retail locations around the United States receiving tens of thousands of customer visits. Now imagine not having anyone there to greet and interact with those customers. What’s the point of the storefront? Facebook fan pages are much the same thing. But only 0.2 to 2 percent of fans go back to a page. Why? Because there is nothing going on that interests them. Fan pages are a unique marketing canvas to connect with avid consumers. Yet some brands are terribly underutilizing these pages, making them basically brochureware repositories — essentially…

  • How important is real-time data? It’s all relative

    Paul Dunay
    7 Dec 2011 | 8:35 am
    The speed with which social media spreads ideas and information has led many marketers to place a premium on capturing data in real time. But should real-time data be such a priority? Real time means different things to different people when the term is used as a proxy for recency. To an evolutionary biologist, real time could mean thousands of years of species development data. To a 911 dispatcher, real time is a few seconds worth of critical information from a telephone call. What about marketing and advertising? This notion of “relative real time” extends there, too. To a marketing…

  • Making Marketing Agility Cool

    Paul Dunay
    23 Nov 2011 | 12:00 pm
    Chief Marketing Officers take pride in being the trendsetters around the corporate corral – the arbiters of hip, the sharpest dressers, the consummate gadgeteers. But when it comes to using data to support decision making, the CMO is likely not to be the smoothest operator. Each year the Marketing team works hard to distill consumer insights into planning documents that will guide its programs in the months ahead. Meanwhile, there are already other departments within corporations that are continually refining their budgets and plans using the latest business intelligence data from…

  • Romi Mahajan leaves Microsoft to Join Metavana as CMO

    Paul Dunay
    17 Nov 2011 | 8:00 am
    Long time friend and well respected CMO buddy of mine Romi Mahajan is leaving Microsoft to join Metavana. Romi has been profiled on my blog several times so its only fitting that reached out to find out why. What follows is a transcript of what I learned. Q: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me Romi, I’ve been a fan of your blogging on ResearchAccess for quite some time and it’s great to finally have a chance to reconnect. I understand that you’ve recently made a significant change in your work situation what can you tell me about that? A: After an aggregate of 9 years at…
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    JasonKeath.com

  • 5 Great Ways to Use Pinterest

    Jason Keath
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:01 am
    Originally published at Social Web Daily What do sculptors, jet setters, philosophers, foodies, and collectors have in common? They can all make great use of Pinterest, the pinboard-channeling new social network. With a stream-lined interface, and plenty of opportunity to engage with and get inspiration from other Pinterest users, there are an endless number of creative ways to use the new site. Here are five of our favorites: 1. Collector’s Showcase Hobbyists and special-interest enthusiasts can put Pinterest to good use by uploading pictures from your personal collection, or collecting…

  • Checking out the downtown NYC coworking space @Hiveat55 today

    Jason Keath
    10 Jan 2012 | 1:31 pm
    It is across from the NY stock exchange. Nice quiet space. And I got a free day pass thanks to my Foursquare checkin.

  • How to Spot a Yelp User, The Definitive Chart

    Jason Keath
    5 Jan 2012 | 6:36 pm
    via flowtown.com

  • Pinterest Is Perfect For Your Dear Santa Letter

    Jason Keath
    21 Dec 2011 | 11:55 am
    Social image bookmarking site Pinterest is very hot right now, even though the site is still invite only. If you have not tested it out, Pinterest is simply a place to save and share images from around the web. You “pin” images to a “board” and anyone that follows you or that board sees it. Even better, all images on Pinterest are links to whereever you found them, by default. So if you want to buy that cool pair of shoes your friend pinned, click through. If you want to see more info on an inspirational poster or what beach your friend took a photo of, click through.

  • How Not To Provide Customer Service, A JCPenney Story

    Jason Keath
    20 Dec 2011 | 7:02 pm
    So, maybe I am spoiled by Amazon and Zappos, but the last few days, I have been trying to buy a couch from JCPenney.com and have failed on 3 occasions. The couch in question: Here’s the thing, this is an awesome couch and it was on sale. But we need the chaise portion of the couch to be on the left when you are sitting down. But it was unclear to me how to order it. I either had to order LAF (left facing arm) or RAF (right facing arm). I had no idea what those two terms meant. Did LAF mean the chaise was on the left when facing it or when sitting on the couch? I was also curious about…
 
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    I Believe in Advertising | ONLY SELECTED ADVERTISING | Advertising Blog & Community

  • CARSA Niagara Region Sexual Assault Centre: Sexual Abuse

    Filippo
    28 Jan 2012 | 5:46 am
    Advertising Agency: BBDO, New York, USA Chief Creative Officer: David Lubars Creative Director: James Clunie Art Director / Designer: James Clunie Copywriters: James Clunie, Chris Beresford-Hill Photographer: Billy Seigrist

  • European Commission: Take Control of Your Personal Data

    Filippo
    28 Jan 2012 | 5:45 am

  • American Heritage Dictionary: You are your words

    Filippo
    28 Jan 2012 | 5:44 am
    URL: http://www.youareyourwords.com The site brings this concept to life in a very dynamic and personal way, by engaging people to create a self-portrait in their own words. Visitors to YouAreYourWords.comcan upload a photo or use their webcam to take a picture of themselves. They can then connect to Facebook or Twitter to pull in words from their social stream, or enter words that best define who they are. From there, Lollipop created a server-side application that composites a user’s words with their photo, creating a unique word-based self portrait. Advertising Agency: Mechanica, USA…

  • Harley Davidson Motorcycles: Headmaster, Board, Corner

    Filippo
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:40 pm
    “Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Handpicked By The Establishment.” Advertising Agency: McCann-Erickson, UK Creative Director: Vince McSweeney Art Director: Shaun Loynds Copywriter: Vineet Raheja Photographer: Martin Brent Post production: Martin Brent

  • BMW: Matchbox Gearbox

    Filippo
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:57 pm
    “The new 8-speed automatic transmission comes standard with the 1, 3 and 5 series.” Advertising Agency: JWT, Netherlands Creative Directors: Massimo van der Plas, Joep de kort Art Director: Joep de Kort Copywriter: Massimo van der Plas Photographer: Simon Warmer Postproduction: Magic Group
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    advertising/design goodness - advertising and design blog

  • Robin Wood: Felled Tree

    Freddy
    25 Jan 2012 | 4:39 am
    “Every second tree is killed to produce paper. Every single donation saves” Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Berlin, Germany Executive Creative Director: Oliver Kapusta Creative Director: Anne Petri Art Director: Christopher Jones Copywriter: Kathrin Schaller Photographer: Bernd Ebsen

  • WWF: Hand Drawn

    Freddy
    20 Jan 2012 | 3:41 am
    Agency: Ogilvy, Cape Town, South Africa Creative Director: Chris Gotz Art Director: Prabashan G. Pather Copywriter: Sanjiv Mistry Illustrator: Alistair Grant Director: Ian Chuter Editor: Ric Shields Production Company: Platypus Productions Sound Engineer: Stephen Webster

  • Mini: Fan the Flame

    Freddy
    19 Jan 2012 | 4:06 am
    A MINI Countryman was placed on a slope of 15% hanging only on a thick rope. Under the rope a bunsen burner was placed. Once you have liked the Facebook page you can watch the live construction, which was build on the parking lot of the Brussels Motorshow and remote ignite the flame from the campaign website. Agency: TBWA\Agency.com, Belgium Creative Director Online: Gert Pauwels Creative Director: Hendrik Everaerts Art Director: Lander Janssens Copywriters: Paul Van Oevelen, Bout Holtof Account team: Bénédicte Ernst, Hadoum Ghassab Online Project Manager: Tine Anthoon Digital Project…

  • BMW Screen

    Freddy
    18 Jan 2012 | 4:18 am
    Advertising the new BMW 1 Series, iLogic allowed consumers to engage with the brand in a new, exciting way. Keeping in mind that unmatched innovation is always part of the BMW driving experience, iLogic developed Interactive Video Projections. Full activation on the ground took place over eight nights in major cities across South Africa. Locations were vibey, high-traffic main streets. Through a high powered, HD projector, iLogic projected an interactive racing game onto buildings and scaffoldings (Screen measuring 108m2). Consumers engaged in real time, while having serious fun with new…

  • Audi: Ahab

    Freddy
    17 Jan 2012 | 4:17 am
    Over 30 years ago, Audi pioneered permanent four-wheel drive with Audi Quattro®. Today it’s the world’s top selling AWD system. But sadly for one tormented soul, its legacy is more a source of humiliation than celebration. Inspired by one of the all-time classics in American literature, Audi re-imagines Herman Melville’s epic struggle between obsessed sea captain and elusive white whale to bring the legend of Quattro® to life.
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    Bill Taylor on HarvardBusiness.org

  • Are You Learning as Fast as the World Is Changing?

    Bill Taylor
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Tom Kelly, general manager of IDEO, the world-renowned design firm, likes to quote French novelist Marcel Proust, who famously said, "The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes." What goes for novelists goes for leaders searching to craft a novel strategy for their company, a new product for their customers, or a better way to organize their employees. In a world that never stops changing, great leaders never stop learning. Today, the challenge for leaders at every level is no longer just to out-hustle, out-muscle, and out-maneuver the competition.

  • Average Is Over. What's Your Extra?

    Bill Taylor
    19 Dec 2011 | 8:05 am
    I approach a book by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman with a mixture of wariness and anticipation. Wariness because Friedman's books tend to go on for many pages longer than they need to, and many of those pages contain his trademark blend of Davos Man self-congratulation and cheesy metaphors. Yet I still have a sense of anticipation because in every one of Friedman's books there are a handful of insights that are so clear, so sharp, so flat-out right that they frame how you look at the world going forward. That Used to Be Us, Friedman's newest book (written with Johns Hopkins…

  • Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

    Bill Taylor
    6 Dec 2011 | 1:52 pm
    As we come to the end of a bitter, divisive, downright ugly year in business and society, it's hard to pick the one big story that defines the climate of the times. This summer's rancorous debt-ceiling talks come to mind, as do the collapse of the feckless Italian government and the rise of Occupy Wall Street and its satellite movements around the country and the world. But if I had to pick one small story that provides a huge "teachable moment" for business leaders going forward, I'd choose Bank of America's late-September decision to charge customers a $5 monthly fee to use their debit…

  • Don't Let What You Know Limit What You Imagine

    Bill Taylor
    29 Nov 2011 | 2:03 pm
    One of the most perplexing features of these troubled times is that so many capable people in so many fields look so lost and ineffective. Whether it's the stubborn inefficiencies of the health-care system, the ever-rising costs of the higher-education system, even the slow-motion collapse of the US postal system, leaders with unrivaled expertise and decades of experience can't seem to develop creative solutions to dire problems. Why are so many smart executives so ineffective? One answer may be that all this experience is itself a problem. In her underappreciated book, The Innovation Killer,…

  • The Values Proposition: Do Small Things with Great Love

    Bill Taylor
    24 Oct 2011 | 9:18 am
    The world confronts vast uncertainty, from unrest in the social climate to accelerating shifts in the climate itself. The economy faces huge challenges, from public-debt crises in Europe to the overhang of mortgage debt in the U.S. The business community faces an ongoing series of stops and starts, from the loss of an icon like Steve Jobs to the rise of new-economy giants like Amazon and Facebook. There is a temptation, amidst the turmoil, for pundits to conclude that the only sensible response is to make bold bets — new business models that challenge the logic of an industry, products…
 
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    12 Most

  • 12 Most FANtastic Reasons to Love Football By Brian Vickery

    Brian Vickery
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pm
    By Brian Vickery The NFL football season is winding down, and I feel compelled to squeeze one more football post in my feed before moving on to the basketball season! I love football, and I favor the professional game over the college game. That distinction alone will bring some debate amongst friends and family. Some will argue that the college players have more intensity and care more about the game. However, such a small percentage of college players “make it at the next level.” That is because the professional football players have exceptional skills and speed that separates the men…

  • 12 Most Life-Changing New Year’s Resolutions That Do Not Have to be Broken By Jeff Willinger

    Jeff Willinger
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    By Jeff Willinger So, we are almost through with January, so why not start your resolutions now. Not just any resolutions…let’s shoot high this year! I declare the year 2012, the year of unconditional giving…that’s right…I said it…unconditional giving. That means we are no longer keeping track of who buys for who and how many times your kid gets invited over to the other kid’s house. Just do it…just give like no one is watching or caring. Instead of coming up with the usual list of resolutions that mean nothing to anyone except the person that wrote down the resolution to…

  • 12 Most Good to Know Goodies about Google Plus (Google+) By Peggy Fitzpatrick

    Peggy Fitzpatrick
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    By Peggy Fitzpatrick Google Plus has been around since July. However, there are many people who have not embraced it fully. Some of the tips and tricks aren’t easy to find but I am offering 12 goodies to get you going on Google+. No more excuses! I am convinced that your Google+ posts and photos are boosted in the Google rankings; mine appear to be boosted in Google searches. Aaron Lee states that for SEO  ”Google+ may be the best way for you to improve your search rankings. Google puts a more weight on content that has more shares or +1’s.” You can click on any photo in…

  • 12 Most Informed Things You Can Learn from the Penn State and Syracuse Fiascos By Roy Kessel

    Roy Kessel
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pm
    By Roy Kessel With the passing of Joe Paterno, there is a lot of debate about his legacy and how he will be remembered?  It is a shame that a historic coach with over 400 victories even has doubts that his main accomplishments were in mentoring athletes, helping them graduate and teaching them to become better people.  Yet, due to a variety of factors (some of his own doing and some outside of his control), Paterno’s reputation will bear a permanent tarnish.  Still, I believe that his accomplishments should not be completely nullified by his mistakes.  Our legacies are a complex…

  • 12 Most Savvy Social Media Resources By Ekaterina Walter

    Ekaterina Walter
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    By Ekaterina Walter Whenever I talk to people about the subject I am very passionate about – social media – inevitably the question comes up “What publications do you subscribe to to keep up to date with the fast-changing world of social and which organizations are you a member of?” In the world of the information overload savvy professionals are always looking for the best resources. Today I am humbly sharing my favorites with you. 1. WOMMA Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) offers both members and non-members a variety of resources and events (online and offline) packed…
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    Scott Anthony

  • A.G. Lafley vs. Steve Jobs

    Scott Anthony
    23 Jan 2012 | 3:41 pm
    Usually the question comes right after I tell an audience that I put former Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley on my "Innovation Mount Rushmore" as a reminder of the importance of investing time and energy to understand the target market. "But how do you square that with Steve Jobs?" an intrepid audience member asks. "After all, Jobs said, 'It isn't the customer's job to know what they want.'" It feels like a classic battle — the scientific approach of a company that launches 80 market research studies a day versus the intuitive touch of the iconic innovator of our time. But it's a false…

  • Kodak and the Brutal Difficulty of Transformation

    Scott Anthony
    17 Jan 2012 | 11:46 am
    2012 has not gotten off to a great start for Eastman Kodak. Three of the company's directors quit near the end of last year, and word recently emerged that the company was on the brink of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The easy narrative is that Kodak is a classic case of a company blind to the disruptive changes in its marketplace. Like many easy narratives, this one is not quite right. In the 20th century, Kodak was truly one of the world's powerhouses. Its rise to prominence began when it launched its affordable Brownie camera in 1900. In the decades that followed Kodak…

  • How to Choose the Ideas Your Company Should Invest In

    Scott Anthony
    11 Jan 2012 | 8:51 am
    My last post described how Innosight follows a three-stage process to evaluate investment proposals from outside entrepreneurs. But deciding how to invest in ideas at a corporation is a different beast. In The Innovator's Guide to Growth we suggested that companies should create one-page "Idea Resumes" that capture the essence of an idea on a single PowerPoint slide. After this starting point, however, our VC process holds pretty well. The first decision is whether to explore an idea more deeply. Consider some combination of the following criteria: Does what we hope to do fit our strategy?

  • A Disciplined Approach to Evaluating Ideas

    Scott Anthony
    3 Jan 2012 | 10:37 am
    "Make sure you ask the right questions at the right time." That's one memorable piece of advice from a leader at a global innovation powerhouse. Unfortunately, it is a piece of advice that is heeded too infrequently inside large companies. At many companies, the idea evaluation process revolves around detailed Excel spreadsheets, comprehensive PowerPoint documents, and an orchestrated sequence of pre-meetings leading up to a decision meeting. This kind of disciplined approach works very well when companies have knowledge that lets them be precise in their analysis, and executives have the…

  • Business Model Innovation the Red Sox Way

    Scott Anthony
    21 Dec 2011 | 3:59 am
    We entered the EMC Club at Fenway Park on a crisp December evening, about 10 minutes before the scheduled start of Innosight's year-end party. We gaped like little kids at what John Updike memorably called a "lyrical little bandbox of a ballpark" illuminated with wreaths. Then we turned to the scoreboard and saw what seemed a 300-foot-tall sign saying, "Fenway Park welcomes Innosight" (they even had our new logo!). Why am I writing about Innosight's holiday party? Because Fenway can show us some novel ways to grow a seemingly mature business. When John Henry and Tom Werner led the purchase of…
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    Rita McGrath

  • Industry Analysis Is Dead. What's Next?

    Rita McGrath
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:54 am
    One of the most widely held beliefs in strategy is that variations in performance can often be explained by what industry a company competes in. A lot of our most cherished tools — five-forces analysis, the BCG portfolio matrix, and even SWOT analysis — rest on this assumption. But evidence is all around us that, although industries matter, they matter in different ways and with different effects than we may have thought. To take one example that crossed my desk recently, consultancy Accenture has developed a point of view on what they call the "Age of Aggregation." Among the…

  • How Many Customers Did You Lose Today?

    Rita McGrath
    7 Dec 2011 | 12:36 pm
    My theme this month appears to be tone deafness among business designers. Cue Bank of America! But genuinely, one of the most vexing dilemmas for senior executives is being plugged in to what is actually going on in the front lines of their business. It's all too easy to miss critically important customer experience information when one is engaging in the day-to-day grind that constitutes an executive's job. All the same, not being attuned to the way your business is perceived by customers can lead to a lot of damage. Here's a recent example. My husband and I were traveling from Edinburgh to…

  • Bank of America: A Case Study in Tone Deafness

    Rita McGrath
    2 Nov 2011 | 9:33 am
    You would think that savvy, sophisticated companies would have an easy time figuring out whether a move they are considering would blow up on them, wouldn't you? And yet, in the last few weeks we've seen some amazing examples of firms that seem to be tone deaf about how their customers feel about them. Take Bank of America. A month ago, it famously introduced a fee for using its debit cards, to a withering storm of protest. One customer was sufficiently enraged to gather 200,000 signatures asking the bank to reverse its decision. Oops. Yesterday, the bank announced plans to do just that. But…

  • Groupon's Business Model Is Leaking

    Rita McGrath
    13 Oct 2011 | 12:54 pm
    Remember late last year when Google offered $5.3 billion to buy out Groupon? When the daily deals site rejected the generous offer from the search giant in favor of pursuing an IPO, it unleashed a flood of commentary, from this site and others. Many were skeptical; I wrote a blog post for HBR in the aftermath of the decision questioning the business stability of Groupon's model. Others contended that the deals site — at one time speculated to be valued at $15-20 billion — had nowhere to go but up. But in hindsight, spurning Google's offer is starting to look like a bad decision…

  • For Growth, New Ideas Aren't Enough

    Rita McGrath
    15 Sep 2011 | 7:22 am
    This post is part of the HBR Insight Center Growing the Top Line. There it was again in the Wall Street Journal on August 29: a beloved and uplifting, but unfortunately not effective, approach to driving growth through innovation. The idea is that companies need to encourage innovation from everyone and at every level in the organization. Ironically, the article cites Apple and Procter & Gamble, two companies that have most emphatically learned that generating lots of ideas is the least of their problems when it comes to growth. The "let a thousand flowers bloom" approach to innovation often…
 
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    Creating Consumer Evangelists - By Alex L. Goldfayn

  • How to Build Relationships with Media

    Alex Goldfayn
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:19 am
    The Evangelist Marketing Minute is a weekly thinking launch point that is always short enough to read in about 60 seconds. Your email address is never shared, with anybody, for any reason. Sign up to receive the Evangelist Marketing Minute e-newsletter here. This is discussed in my latest Harvard Business Review piece from last week about three major public relations mistakes that most companies make, and in even more detail in my new book, Evangelist Marketing. The most certain path I know to getting media coverage of whatever you want, whenever you want, is to have your company leaders…

  • How Your Terrible PR — And It’s Probably Terrible — is Hurting You

    Alex Goldfayn
    19 Jan 2012 | 3:48 pm
    In my latest Harvard Business Review article, I discuss how the PR efforts of most companies — from huge to startups — is hurting them. I lay out three problems and solutions. Here is the beginning, and the first problem from the piece: I’ve been on both sides of public relations. For years, I wrote a syndicated technology column for the Chicago Tribune. Now, I run a consulting firm that focuses on clients’ marketing efforts, helping them craft the strategy and language to create critical masses of loyal customers. Then, when I was a recipient of press releases, and…

  • Great Marketing Need Not Be Expensive

    Alex Goldfayn
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:42 am
    When I tell clients, audiences and readers that they must never stop communicating with their market, I often hear a version of this: “But we don’t have millions of dollars to advertise on TV.”  And I am not saying that you should. Not even close. Rather, you should be talking to your market through these avenues: Your own list of customers Your own list of prospective customers Wherever possible, lists of customers of the competition Through the mainstream earned media (coverage) Through online earned media Through social media How to talk to people is easy and…

  • Six Marketing Mistakes at CES 2012

    Alex Goldfayn
    15 Jan 2012 | 7:16 pm
    I wrote this for the Harvard Business Review’s Web site last week. Here is the intro and the first of the six marketing mistakes I saw (I saw a lot more than six, but these are the big ones). I’ve spent the week in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where billion-dollar companies unveil multi-million-dollar products looking for mainstream popularity, and where startups unveil ideas, looking for angles and angels. And everywhere you go in this gathering of the smartest people in the most exciting business category on the planet, there are marketing mistakes being…

  • Launching Evangelist Marketing

    Alex Goldfayn
    10 Jan 2012 | 11:56 am
    My new book, Evangelist Marketing, had its official launch yesterday at the Pepcom trade show at CES in Las Vegas. It’s the first book ever to be at Pepcom, and I was proud to exhibit next to the likes of clients like Logitech, TiVo, Nokia and Pandigital. Here’s what the table looked like before more than 1,000 tech journalists stormed the room.  
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    Conversation Agent

  • Digital Intent, Behavioral Targeting, and Relationships

    Valeria Maltoni
    28 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Intent is the new black. I was at a dinner in New York City hosted by Human 1.0 the other night. We were there to learn about Big Data and a big part of the conversation around the table shifted to talking about intent. While social technology has given us effective ways to express our “likes”,... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]

  • What Keeps You up at Night?

    Valeria Maltoni
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    I'm a night owl. Often people will hear back from me in the wee hours because I get creative at around 4pm and then stay in flow for hours after that. By the time I realize I'm cold from the heating going to low for the night, it's way past bed time. When I get into flow, I shut everything else... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]

  • Keep the Faith. Demand Proof. Relentlessly.

    Valeria Maltoni
    26 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    There are two aspects to doing business -- believing in what you're doing, and verifying that it works for your customers and clients. To succeed, you need to do both, relentlessly. When it's only about keeping the faith, you may be worshiping at the altar of hope (or its shady cousin, ego), and... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]

  • How to Win Customers and Influence Word of Mouth

    Valeria Maltoni
    25 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    When I met Stan Phelps for coffee a little over a year ago, I learned for the first time there was a term -- lagniappe -- that meant a small gift given to a customers by a merchant at the time of purchase. It cannot be faked of forced, for it to work it must feel real. Our conversation on the... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]

  • The Truth About B2B Social Media Adoption

    Valeria Maltoni
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    While we've been sharing examples of creative content strategy executions for a couple of years here, it's easy to forget that the rest of the business world may still be wrestling with different issues. The truth about social media adoption, according to the results of a survey conducted by Penton... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]
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    Stokefire - Branding & Advertising

  • An Open Letter to the Stewards of the Progressive & Democratic Brands

    Tate
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:28 am
    Hello Stewards, You may not realize it yet, but you need help. I’ve been told by many in politics that there are no well-known (or even proven-effective) brand strategists focused on helping Progressive causes. (There are an astounding number of political strategists but that’s a different animal.) This may be due to the common belief that Democrats won’t pay for core brands to be developed. Dems spend a fortune on polling, message crafting, and message testing, but when it comes time to actually develop the unchanging core of progressivism or the Democratic party…

  • Three Steps to an Irresistible Brand

    Tate
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:25 pm
    I know you may not think of Gandhi as irresistible, but bear with me. It’ll become clear shortly. Irresistible… It may sound impossible, or at least too good to be true. And you’re not alone in thinking that, but the great brands do achieve the impossible. They get people to change behavior in much the same way that Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln put themselves on the line to create monumental societal change. If you want to create  real change there’s no more consistent way to get there. And here are the basic steps you can follow to get there…

  • The Secret to Gaining Approval for Your Designs and Brands

    Tate
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:32 am
      How to gain approval for your designs: For Strategically Focused Clients: Craft your story around how the design reflects or amplifies who they are and how they are unique. Strategic clients want to see themselves through their brand elements. For Tactically Focused Clients: Build the case for approval by showing that the brand follows industry best-practices or established design trends and solid techniques.  Tactical clients want to know that there’s a long history of success before following a path. The best designers and branders ensure that they’re ready for either…

  • Our Favorite Award, Ever

    Tate
    20 Dec 2011 | 9:52 am
    Posted by: Tate Linden We don’t spend much time pulling together entries for stuff like ADDYs and OBIEs. As a small shop we just don’t have the manpower, and most award programs don’t seem to factor in the impact of the work on the business or industry. We’ve been humbled on more than one occasion (and not in a good way) by having a campaign that earned tens of millions of dollars for our client pushed aside as the award-giving panel instead honored creative use of props and 3D techniques that resulted in… pretty much nothing as far as we could tell. Heck, our…

  • Beautiful Design vs. Pretty Design

    Tate
    12 Dec 2011 | 12:17 pm
    Posted by: Tate Linden Pretty Design is timely. Beautiful Design is timeless. Pretty Design is artifice. Beautiful Design is truth. Pretty Design is experienced visually. Beautiful Design is experienced emotionally. And now is the time during the blog post where you all know I’m going to rant about how no one should ever stoop so low as to design anything pretty. But I won’t. Because I will finally acknowledge that there’s some real value in pretty. Sure, beautiful design is what my firm struggles to deliver, and what I know helps to build and support long-term brand equity,…
 
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    idaconcpts

  • 4 Android Apps for Facebook

    Damian Davila
    25 Jan 2012 | 4:17 pm
    Facebook is an inspiring success story during a difficult and tumultuous time. Everybody loves a success story. As Sir McCartney opined, ‘What’s Wrong with That?’ Some have criticized the fearless founder, Mr. Zuckerberg and his company for invading privacy. The FTC apparently agreed and Facebook is fully cooperating. This now omnipresent application, and Google, has almost completely replaced that big fat environmentally destructive phone book. For that he deserves a greenly constructed blue ribbon. But for now, we can give him a list of 4 great apps to take full advantage of Facebook…

  • Google Integrates Social and Search with “Search Plus Your World”

    Guest Blogger
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:14 pm
    Get ready, because Google is getting personal. The new launch of Google’s “Search Plus Your World” is the latest evolution in the Internet giant’s ever-expanding wave of algorithm restructuring in an effort to refine users’ search results, and unlike other frequent tweaks this change will be hard to miss. This most recent revision essentially combines search results that contain personal information stored by users that they share with other members in the Google+ network (e.g., photos and posts) with Internet results on the same search engine results page (SERP). It is important to…

  • 4 iPhone Apps for Twitter

    Damian Davila
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:46 pm
    It seems that no matter what site gets developed for a specific Internet browser or for a given operating system, there will always be some hot shot programmer out there that will find their niche by making it a better mousetrap. These four iPhone apps have scrupulously gleaned the missing pieces and dropped balls of Twitter’s architecture to find their own place in the shadows of Twitter’s success story. Check out these useful 4 iPhone apps to use Twitter. HootSuite HootSuite is perfect for those Twitter adherents with international interests. It supports no less than fourteen…

  • World Premiere of “La Casa del Ritmo, A Film About Los Amigos Invisbles”

    Damian Davila
    18 Jan 2012 | 1:19 am
    Dear readers of idaconcpts.com, With great pleasure I share with an awesome update on La Casa del Ritmo, A film about Los Amigos Invisibles. I first wrote about this project back in February 2011 and I was very happy to support this project. I just got news that the world premiere of this amazing documentary will happen this March 2012 at the Miami International Film Festival. The full press release is below. Congratulations to “mis panas invisibles” and my fellow Ecuadorian, Juan Miguel Marin. “La Casa del Ritmo, A Film About Los Amigos Invisibles”  World Premiere at…

  • Crowdsourcing Logo Design on a Budget

    Damian Davila
    12 Jan 2012 | 2:41 am
    The other day I encountered an interesting Venn diagram about graphic design: This diagram reminded me about how difficult is to find a great logo design for a blogger on a tight budget. You Get What You Pay As you can see from the intersection of Free, the results will either end in trash, rejection from designers or “try again”. The reality is that in order to get some decent results you will have to be willing to provide remuneration for somebody to be interested in working with you. From my personal experience in developing a logo for GoodOrBadEmail.com, I highly suggest that…
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    MarketingProfs How-To Articles

  • Follow AMEX's Example of a Successful Facebook Campaign

    25 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Sure, Facebook promotions can get you some "Likes," but is that all there is? Learn how American Express's Israel division used Facebook to gain valuable customer insight and deepen brand engagement. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

  • Five Ways to Create a Data-Driven Marketing Culture

    24 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    When handled adeptly, customer data can be a marketer's most reliable weapon for reaching customers' buying intentions--and closing sales. Learn five ways to build a data-driven marketing culture that'll help you get results. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

  • A Business Listing Is Your Online Anchor (Five Rules for Ensuring Stability)

    23 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    In today's noisy business listing landscape, it's important that your online anchor be consistent and visible throughout the local search ecosystem. Here are five essential rules to keep in mind when managing your online listing. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

  • How Your Customers and Analytics Can Help Increase Online Sales

    20 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Increasing your online sales isn't quick or easy, and it involves a lot of trial and error. Learn three steps that'll help you skip some of the guesswork and boost your website's conversion rate. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

  • You Botched That Marketing Email. Now What?

    19 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Mistakes will happen--even to the very best email marketers. The key is responding appropriately. Learn six email blunders you may encounter, along with guidelines for rectifying them quickly and effectively. Read the full article at MarketingProfs
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    Social Business Advisor: Social CRM and Enterprise 2.0

  • Emergent Collaboration Vendor Review: Atlassian’s Confluence

    Jacob Morgan
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:58 am
    Every Friday, I’ll be reviewing a vendor in the emergent collaboration space and will provide an overview on that vendor which includes aspects from leadership and vision to technology and market focus. If you are vendor and would like to participate, please contact me (my email address is in the sidebar as is my Twitter link). The goal of these posts is not to bash or praise vendors but to simply offer an objective view on what various vendors offer so that YOU can decide if they are a good fit for your business. Every post will cover the same elements for each vendors. If you have ideas…

  • Collaboration is a Business Requirement

    Jacob Morgan
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:08 am
    I find it interesting that when it comes to collaboration; oftentimes it still need to be sold as a line item.  I mean, doesn’t that seem a bit ridiculous that a company needs to have someone explain why they need something that can connect their employees together? Some companies have some type of tool in place and others have nothing but either way it’s still looked at as option that the company may or may not purchase.  Perhaps I’m a bit biased or have spent too much time swimming in the collaboration pool but I wonder.  What if phones were optional? What if computers…

  • Emergent Collaboration Vendor Review: ThoughtFarmer

    Jacob Morgan
    20 Jan 2012 | 5:56 pm
    On Friday’s I’ll be reviewing a vendor in the emergent collaboration space and will provide an overview on that vendor which includes aspects from leadership and vision to technology and market focus. If you are vendor that would like to participate, please contact me (email is in the sidebar as is the twitter link). The goal of these posts is not to bash or praise vendors but to simply offer an objective view on what various vendors offer so that YOU can decide if they are a good fit for your business. Every post will cover the same elements for different vendors. If you have ideas or…

  • Where are Collaboration Budgets Being Allocated?

    Jacob Morgan
    18 Jan 2012 | 2:29 am
    When it comes to deploying a collaboration solution for the enterprise there are a lot of things to consider especially when it comes to budgets.  Towards the end of the 2009 I wrote an article called, “Companies Interested in Enterprise 2.0 Need to Take Strategy Seriously,” which looked at data collected from a 2009 report on collaboration.  What I found particularly shocking was the small budget allocation that strategy was receiving.  Towards the end of 2011 Chess conducted another survey on the “State of Enterprise 2.0 Collaboration” and one of the topics we…

  • Charles Darwin on Collaboration

    Jacob Morgan
    17 Jan 2012 | 2:08 am
    I’m always on the lookout for interesting quotes dealing with collaboration that I can use in presentations.  I came across this quote by Charles Darwin which I wanted to share with you. “It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” - Charles Darwin
 
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    HubSpot's Inbound Internet Marketing Blog

  • 5 Tricks for Generating Traffic When Nobody's at Work

    Melissa Miller
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:30 pm
    Are you doing anything this weekend to generate traffic to your website? If you’re a B2B marketer, chances are you’ve probably asked yourself at some point: How do I keep marketing effectively when nobody is in the office? You want to continue to drive traffic and leads, but you don't know exactly how. The wrong thing to do is assume that nobody is listening on holidays or during weekends. Depending on your audience, this could actually be a good time for a new blog post, video release, or email. Data from a recent Xobni survey shows that people are still wired into work during…

  • What a Top-Notch Lead Management Program Looks Like

    Meghan Keaney Anderson
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:45 pm
    Walk into any active sales room, and it’s easy to tell how time-intensive most sales operations are. To make the hours spent worthwhile, it’s important to ensure that your sales team is only talking to the most qualified leads. Lead management is a strategy and set of corresponding tools that help companies filter out unqualified leads and better understand the buying cycle of their good leads. When executed well, lead management makes your marketing team more effective, your sales team more precise, and your leads happier. Lead management programs vary from company…

  • Facebook Timeline Likely Coming to Business Pages Near You

    Pamela Vaughan
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:30 pm
    Earlier this week, Facebook announced it will finally be rolling out Facebook Timeline to all users in the next few weeks, replacing the design of existing personal profile pages. While Timeline won't directly affect the look of your Facebook business page (yet), the rollout does have some powerful implications for marketers. You can read more about those implications here. Timeline Design Likely Coming to Facebook Business Pages But, notice how we said yet? That's right, while Facebook business pages aren't affected by the current Timeline rollout, we have good reason to believe that, in…

  • 12 Critical Elements Every Homepage Must Have [Infographic]

    Jessica Meher
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:20 am
    If you’re considering a website redesign or are wondering how to generate more leads from your website, there are several critical elements you must never forget to include.  Let’s first take a look at the homepage. Ah yes, “thee page of all pages.” It’s undoubtedly one of the most important areas on a website. That’s understandable; it’s a company’s virtual front door, and, in most cases, it gets the majority of the traffic. While homepages generally get the most love, I find it surprising that so many do a poor job of generating leads or…

  • The 7 Slides You Need for an Epic Monthly Marketing Report

    Rick Burnes
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Here's a challenge for all you marketers who are on top of your game: How do you make sure your marketing team is taken seriously within your own company? One important step you should take is publishing a thorough, thoughtful, quantitative monthly report on your marketing team's impact. For as long as there’s been marketing, marketers have struggled to show their impact. But today, there's no need to struggle. Today, it's simple to collect the data you need to show how your marketing investments are generating revenue for your business. You just have to pull together the right…
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    AgencySpy

  • Friday Odds and Ends

    Kiran Aditham
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:21 am
    -According to reports, Facebook will file for its IPO next week. link -Meanwhile, FTC head Julie Brill isn’t mincing words when it comes to Facebook and Google’s privacy issues. link -According to a Deutsche Bank analyst, we could be seeing more cuts within the MDC Partners network. link -Walton Isaacson tapped former Genre publisher Bill Kapfer to lead its LGBT marketing effors. Kapfer will be based in WI’s NYC office. -The Ad Club Denver’s 2011 “50″ winners have been revealed. link -Sports bar/restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings tapped Fallon to serve as…

  • The Best Ad-Related Videos of the Week

    The Advert
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:31 am
    Each week, we’re sent hundreds of pieces of advertisement-y work that falls into the fun-to-watch-video category. There’s not enough time in the day to think up copy for all of them so here’s a round-up of the best ad-related video we’ve seen in the last 7 days. You’re welcome. 7. Irritable Bowl Syndrome is a rant by comedian Bill Maher that someone turned into a video infographic thing. 6. Dating Rules From My Future Self is longer-form branded content that doesn’t suck at all. 5. There’s a badass Panda out there who will be serving up his own brand…

  • ASICS Gets a Case of Runner’s High

    Bob Marshall
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:43 am
    From Vitro (the agency formerly known as SKINNY) comes the above TV spot launching the super-light ASICS GEL-Neo33. As a runner, I can confirm that a move to lightweight shoes has a profound mental effect, similar to how drinking Gatorade can make you think that you’re somehow better at basketball. When your knees and shins hold up, you tend to push yourself past where you would go with heavier shoes, despite experiencing a similar level of fatigue. Clearly, the joggers in this spot feel the same way, running deep into the late hours of night with their glowing balloons trailing behind…

  • Most Popular Stories on AgencySpy from the Last 7 Days

    Kiran Aditham
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:01 am
    -Op-Ed: 10 Reasons to Love Working in Advertising -JWT Parts Ways with a Couple of ECDs -CP+B Andrew Keller Confirms, Responds to Layoffs -Project Managers Say the Darndest Things -And Without Further Ado, Your 37th Annual One Show Judges -Stop Me if You’ve Heard This GM News Before -Dogs Bark the Star Wars ‘Imperial March’ in VW Super Bowl Teaser   New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

  • Mitt Romney and His Taxes Inspire the Ad Community

    Kiran Aditham
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:27 am
      Seeing as Mitt Romney‘s tax returns have got the media’s full attention this week, why not keep with the political theme and highlight a rather timely site that just sprouted up called Romney & Me. If you were ever wondering how your salary translates in the GOP candidate’s world, look no further than this web destination that will do all the calculating for you. For instance, you can learn how long it would take ol’ Mitt to earn your yearly wage, and how much you’d save were you to be taxed at his rate. It’s simple, snarky and just a little…
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    Steve Rubel

  • The Clip Report: An eBook on the Future of Media In the early...

    3 Jan 2012 | 1:39 pm
    The Clip Report: An eBook on the Future of Media In the early 1990s when I began my career in PR there were clip reports. These were physical books that contained press clips. It seems downright archaic now but that’s how I learned about the press - by cutting, pasting up and photocopying clippings. My fascination with the media never abated. Today my role is to form insights into how the entire overlapped media landscape - the pros, social channels, and corporate content - is rapidly evolving and to help Edelman clients turn these learnings into actionable strategies. As part of this…

  • It was a sizzling summer for social media. As we move into fall,...

    5 Sep 2011 | 9:28 pm
    It was a sizzling summer for social media. As we move into fall, here’s a look at some of the major milestones.

  • ¶ Could Mobile Apps Be Wilting in the Heat of Summer?

    18 Aug 2011 | 1:03 pm
    Image credit: Financial Times It’s hard to believe, but mobile marketing didn’t really get going in earnest until Apple launched its App Store in 2008. Three years later there are now marketplaces on all five major device platforms - Apple’s iOS, Android, BlackBerry, HP WebOS and Windows Mobile. What’s more, there seems to be a constant footrace between brands not only to be first to market with their own apps, but to refresh them for a fickle public. Some of what’s driving this is the zeitgeist. Overnight, it seems, apps have become deeply embedded in our culture. To stand out at a…

  • → Media Tops in Corporate Social Media

    25 Jul 2011 | 7:27 pm
    → Media Tops in Corporate Social Media: Fire up the PowerPoint. Here’s a fantastic, data-rich report (PDF) from Netprospex on the state of social media adoption in Corporate America. What’s notable is that the media continues to shine. One reason? Content matters. via Lost Remote

  • ¶ Three Key Things Google Is Doing While We Focus on Google+

    25 Jul 2011 | 2:41 pm
    The following is also my AdAge column… With all of the attention that’s being paid to Facebook and Twitter it’s easy to forget that no single company impacts media and marketers the way that Google does. Even small changes in Google’s algorithm and/or its underlying search technology can cause a massive ripple effect in consumer traffic patterns and buying behaviors. The intentionally low-key launch of the Google+ social network - which ended up being quite strong out of the chute - is no different. It’s Google’s effort to encourage more consumers to create and share content it…
 
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    Superhype

  • You’re a fine DJ, Mr. President

    ddeal
    28 Jan 2012 | 4:08 am
    I’ve often said that brands are the new DJs because of the exposure they can give to musicians through the commercial use of their songs. And it turns out that the president of the United States can be one, too. Sales of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” have increased 490 percent since Barack Obama slipped a few verses of the classic 1972 love song in a fundraiser speech last week.According to Billboard, “Let’s Stay Together” has enjoyed the best sales week for a song since SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003. On the other hand, Billboard…

  • A slice of hip-hop: “Lounge Music” by Ha-Rih

    ddeal
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:29 pm
    Just when you think you’ve heard enough chill-out from Hed Kandi to last a lifetime, along comes a song like “Lounge Music” to make you feel like you’re discovering the genre all over again. With “Lounge Music,” Ha-Rih blends chill-out with hip-hip to create a pretty damned sexy and coy tribute to the joys of lounging, Ha-Rih style. What makes the song for me is piano that really works as baseline anchoring the melody while Ha-Rih raps, “Listen up I’m your host just vibe/We on the road roll slow just ride out/blow smoke watch it go to the sky,” complemented by a gentle…

  • A slice of hip-hop: “Put My Mack Down” by Aye-P

    ddeal
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:13 am
    Aye-P performs some sweet alchemy with “Put My Mack Down.” He takes a familiar scenario – a guy coming on to a woman in a club – and creates a funky rap built on top of his own beats and samples of Isaac Hayes’s version of “Look of Love” and Lil Wayne’s “Fireman” (a line from the latter being the inspiration for the title). This song moves. After the soulful Hayes intro, Aye-P and fellow rapper Rell trade verses about a guy making the move on a woman with “Bright red skin/Light Brown eyes/Slim in the waist/Thick in the thighs.” What makes the song for me is the…

  • 4 technologies every CMO must know

    ddeal
    18 Jan 2012 | 9:51 am
    In 2011, IBM released a report that identified the four biggest challenges keeping CMOs awake at night: the explosion of data, social media, the proliferation of channels and devices, and shifting consumer demographics. Those challenges also represent growth opportunities with emerging technology as the catalyst. To help marketers anticipate and respond to a constantly changing marketplace, I have collaborated with four of my colleagues at iCrossing on a white paper, Four Technologies Every CMO Must Know in 2012. Four Technologies Every CMO Must Know in 2012 uses (I hope) approachable,…

  • Slash defines a new kind of cool

    ddeal
    16 Jan 2012 | 9:07 am
    A few nights ago, I was hanging out with my 10-year-old daughter Marion and her fifth-grader friend Emma as they took turns showing each other their favorite YouTube videos on a laptop. They surfed from one video to the next as children do, giggling their way through goofy stuff like “Banana Song (I’m a Banana),” a surreal depiction of a guy singing a banana suit, which has garnered 23 million views. All of a sudden, the banana song stopped, and I heard a grinding rock and roll guitar riff. “Slash!” my daughter and Emma shouted. Slash? I took a close look at the…
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    Grown Up Thinking

  • CES 2012: Social Media Winners & Losers

    Lianne Sheffy
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pm
    It’s no big surprise that most marketers have come to embrace social as an increasingly crucial channel in our proverbial toolkit. The proliferation of social APIs like Facebook OpenGraph have armed brands with the ability to infuse a social layer across their preexisting web properties. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas introduced us to social integration as a growing necessity in the design of products, not just the web Whereas previous years’ presenters touted impressive product specs in all their glory, this year marked a championing of product lifestyle benefits…

  • Social Media Drives Holiday Sales

    Nicholas Fuller
    16 Dec 2011 | 2:25 pm
    Brands That Use Social Media To Help Customers With Holiday Shopping Know A Secret … Social media users are more influential, spend more on holiday gifts and are more likely to recommend a holiday gift than non-users. Their advocacy is directly influencing holiday gift purchasing decisions this holiday, and we have the proof! During the weeks leading up to Black Friday / Cyber Monday, social media users were 1.5x as a likely to make a gift recommendation to their friends and family. Better yet, those recommendations were twice as likely to result in a holiday gift purchase than…

  • Top Teen Insights & Trends For 2011

    Nicholas Fuller
    9 Dec 2011 | 9:51 am
    A lot has happened this year and teens have taken notice. World events, economic pressures, personal milestones, friends, education and brands all play big roles in influencing the lives of teens. Teens are evolving and maturing as fast as the technologies and platforms we build around them. We caught up with 300, 13-19-year-old teens in an online discussion to talk to them about the technologies, platforms and brands they used over the course of the year, with their responses offering fresh insights into who they are. The following narrative represents insights gleaned from more than 4,500…

  • New York City Marathon Goes Social

    Manisha M, Account Executive
    16 Nov 2011 | 12:10 pm
    On November 6th, 2011, our city hosted one of the world’s greatest road races, the ING New York City Marathon. With over $600,000 in prize money, over 100,000 applicants and over two million spectators, this iconic event is one that tops the charts for many. In its 41st year, the Marathon went social in a variety of ways. Here are some of the latest and greatest ways spectators were able to support their runners on another level through technology: Official ING New York City Marathon Mobile Spectator App: This app let users track up to 10 runners simultaneously, as well as watch live…

  • Universities Boost Campus Communities via Foursquare

    Briel Z, Senior Account Executive
    14 Nov 2011 | 10:37 am
    Since last year, the University of Southern California has been using Foursquare to foster a sense of campus community by embracing everything from venues and specials to tips and lists. With over 18,000 followers and 135,000 check-ins to date, USC’s adoption of the location-based social platform has proven that Foursquare can do so much more than dish out badges. In this case study we see a traditional institution proactively reach students in a way that resonates with them. True, our Class of 2015 study tells us only 12% of college students are on Foursquare. However, with the right…
 
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    CenterNetworks

  • API Hackday Comes to Austin This February

    Allen Stern
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:06 pm
    It seems these days hackdays, hackathons, hack this, hack that events are popular across the world. Some of these developer events have created very successful startups and some of the companies have been acquired. Austin will be holding an API Hackday on Saturday, February 18 at the HubAustin coworking location. The event is free for everyone – just make sure to register for the right category so the organizers can make sure there is enough of each type of attendee (developer, designer, investor, etc.). The event will run from 8am-8pm with free lunch, dinner and post-event beer…

  • Newbie PhoneGap Training Coming to Austin

    Allen Stern
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:28 pm
    This Saturday, January 28, 2012, the LoneStar PhoneGap group will hold their first meetup. PhoneGap is a mobile platform that helps you easily create mobile applications and more importantly helps you distribute one set of code to all of the major phone OS systems (Apple iOS, Google Android, Blackberry, WebOS, Windows Phone 7, Symbian and Bada). Nitobi, the parent company of PhoneGap, was acquired by Adobe last October. I think it is awesome that a group is meeting on a Saturday afternoon! The meetup will be held at a public library just west of the university area. Free pizza and drinks will…

  • Web Jobs – January 21

    Allen Stern
    21 Jan 2012 | 7:54 pm
    Check out some of the latest web technology and business jobs posted for January 21, 2012 on the CenterNetworks Job Board. Subscribe to the CN Jobs feed and get all of the latest Web industry jobs delivered directly to you. Featured Jobs: Front end web developer at Artisan talent Interactive Developer at Garmin International Lead Ruby Engineer at Howcast More Jobs: Senior Theme Developer / Front-End Developer at Sony Music Entertainment Project Manager, BI Applications at Beachbody Senior Web Developer at Saatchi Online Web Development Specialist at Columbia College Chicago Employers –…

  • Does Your Startup Have a Disaster Plan?

    Allen Stern
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:02 pm
    Last weekend our hosting company moved the physical location of their servers — from San Antonio to Chicago. There were a number of very serious issues that appeared post-migration caused by the hosting company. I will address the issues and the responsiveness from the hosting company in another post once all of the post-mortem details have been provided to me. But what the downtime and issues made me quickly realize is I need to have a current, well-documented disaster plan for both the blogs and for my startup. With a WordPress blog, there is the website (css, html, images, video,…

  • Startup Weekend Coming Back to Austin This March

    Allen Stern
    15 Jan 2012 | 9:05 pm
    I’ve covered the worldwide Startup Weekend events over the past couple of years. The concept behind Startup Weekend is to bring the community together in a different city each weekend to create a startup (or multiple startups) during the weekend. The event is coming back to Austin during the weekend of March 30th, just after SXSW. The weekend of events will be held at Hub Coworking which is a few minutes south of the city center. Pricing runs from $75-$99 and if it is like the last event, meals will be provided. You can register here and there is an early bird registration that runs…
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    The Tom Peters Weblog

  • Race to Nowhere

    Shelley Dolley
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:51 am
    Tom has said, "We tell our kids to 'be still,' then tell them to 'read history books'—which are replete (100%!) with tales of people ... who never sat still." This is obviously not the ideal way to cultivate a talented workforce. The education system in the United States still seems to be attempting to churn out well-behaved factory workers. With the enormous pressure placed on teachers to produce sufficient test results, the classroom becomes more about test preparation than exploration and discovery. Albert Einstein, long since deceased, had this to say: "It is nothing short of a…

  • Advice, For What It's Worth ...

    Tom Peters
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:20 am
    I was asked to contribute (a very few words) to a family page offering words of wisdom to a graduating high school senior. That's a serious challenge—and I literally spent days on the task. Here, for better or for worse, is the result: Rules For Living Life to the Hilt Nothing will turn out the way you thought it would. There is no bigger waste of time than making plans. Any success you have will be the byproduct of having thrown yourself headlong and without reserve into what you were most passionate about—and then ridden the wave you created wherever and at whatever speed it…

  • Off the Cuff Series

    Shelley Dolley
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:56 am
    We're happy to announce the start of our Off the Cuff video series. A few months ago we asked for you to send us questions you'd like us to ask Tom on camera. The first question was posed by longtime fan Dave Wheeler, about how it came to be that Tom realized the importance of front line supervisors. We find the timing of this particularly remarkable, since it dovetails so well with the latest part of the Mother of All Presentations released at ExcellenceNow.com, First-line Supervisors Rule.

  • RSS at ExcellenceNow.com

    Shelley Dolley
    20 Jan 2012 | 11:06 am
    You can now subscribe via RSS to ExcellenceNow.com so that you're alerted as soon as a new Part of the Mother of All Presentations is released. Go to ExcellenceNow.com and use the little orange button at the bottom of the Slide Set list to subscribe. Happy reading!

  • "Tom Peters Still Rocks"

    Shelley Dolley
    18 Jan 2012 | 9:30 am
    We're quite excited about the overwhelmingly positive response we've seen to our new ExcellenceNow.com site. We hope you're finding lots of inspiration about why you do what you do from Part 2's Moral Basis for Enterprise, and are starting to focus in on your front line supervisors after this week's release of Part 3. Erika Andersen wrote a kind review of the site at Forbes.com that we think you'll enjoy reading. She talks about her first encounter with Tom through In Search of Excellence, and describes him as a "tribal elder." As 2012 marks 30 years since In Search was published, perhaps…
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    Technosailor.com

  • Congratulations, Internet. We Won the Day.

    Aaron
    19 Jan 2012 | 2:05 pm
    Today, I feel like a proud poppa. I don’t want to get too celebratory and put out some kind of aura that our battle against SOPA and PIPA are over. In fact, neither are over. But I’ll get to that in a minute, because yesterday was AMAZING! Yesterday, we saw the Internet come of age. We’ve seen the trend. The Internet has played a crucial role in the Arab Spring, political activism and fundraising as seen in the Obama election campaign in 2008, news reporting as seen in the incident of the US Airways jet in the Hudson River. We’ve seen a definite maturation process on…

  • Open Letter to Congressman Lamar Smith Regarding SOPA Championing

    Aaron
    18 Jan 2012 | 1:55 pm
    An email sent to the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), who insists on pushing the SOPA bill through committee. Dear Mr. Smith- This is an open letter which will be published online, and promoted on Facebook, Twitter and other networks. As a Texas resident, I find it egregious that you have decided to sell out so uniformly to the entertainment industry. It is so transparent, in fact, that federal records show that your biggest donor are from the holding company for Clear Channel and your biggest campaign contributions come from the entertainment industry itself.

  • PSA: If You Pitch Me, I Will Blog It

    Aaron
    6 Jan 2012 | 12:38 pm
    I get far too many pitches from PR companies. If anyone has paid any attention to this blog, they would know I never cover products, books or anything else along those lines. I don’t break tech news. So embargoed information is useless. I don’t do product reviews, so trying to get me to review a product shows complete ignorance. Going forward, let this post serve notice, I very well may blog your pitches in an attempt to embarass and humiliate you. It could have the bonus effect of making sure your firm loses business because your clients and potential clients are actually reading…

  • Your Fiefdom Doesn’t Matter (Or Get your Head out of Your Regional Startup Ass)

    Aaron
    5 Jan 2012 | 2:58 pm
    Photo used under Creative Commons. Taken by Fellowship of the Rich There’s this thing called Protectionism. Protectionism is largely a political word used to describe the retreat to self-isolationism for the sake of preserving well-being. It was a word tossed around in late 2008 and 2009 after the market crash when the international community joined together to try to stave off a global economic failure. There were some who believed the United States had their own issues and shouldn’t be worrying about bailing out Europe. This mentality still exists, for better or for worse. But…

  • Dude, Shut Your Effing Social Media Mouth.

    Aaron
    4 Jan 2012 | 1:24 pm
    Honey Badger don't care! (Photo used under Creative Commons. Taken by Bruce McAdam) It’s been awhile since I ranted. Like really ranted. I’m about to change that. <rant> It’s no secret that social media marketing has turned largely douchey. Self-important blowhards show up at SXSW, Blog World Expo and many other industry events every year with the sole purpose of being socialites and schmoozing with their peers and getting into the hottest parties. I’ve done it. We’ve all done it. But there’s no authenticity in any of it. We call those…
 
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    Brand New

  • TV Land Flips Out

    Armin
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:24 am
    Launched in 1996 and originally part of a Nickelodeon programming block called Nick at Nite, TV Land is a cable television channel aimed (according to owner MTV Networks) at the 40- to 50-year-old with a blend of original programming, classic and contemporary television series acquisitions, and movies. What originally started as a nostalgia-filled, black-and-white-tinted programming has grown into a Betty White-fueled feel-good programming. This month TV Land introduced a revised logo and a new on-air look both designed by Trollbäck + Company, who also designed their previous on-air…

  • jcpenney Nails the American Look

    Armin
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:22 am
    As you might remember, jcpenney landed in the top three of my 2011 Worst list for its bake-off approach to designing the last iteration of their logo, so it was with both high and low expectations that I approached a highly public company reimagining announced yesterday. If you don't mind, I'll repeat the same introduction from last year: First opened as a dry-goods store named the “Golden Rule” in Kemmerer, Wyoming by James Cash Penney in 1902, JCPenney today is a publicly-traded company with 1,100 department stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, mostly in shopping malls.

  • ITG Staggers

    Armin
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:10 am
    Established in 1987 in New York and now with 17 offices in 10 countries ITG (Investment Technology Group) is "an independent research broker partnering with global portfolio managers and traders throughout the investment process, from investment decision through to settlement." If that's a little unclear — it is to me — they help "clients understand market trends, improve performance, mitigate risk, and navigate increasingly complex markets." To coincide with its 25th anniversary, ITG has dropped its full name and introduced a new identity and "brandline", Decoding Signal from…

  • More4 Flips Out

    Armin
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:22 am
    Launched in 2005 by British broadcaster Channel 4, More4 is a digital television channel popular for its range of documentaries, U.S. imports like The Daily Show, reruns from its parent company, and some original programming. Announced back in November and effective this week, More4 will start "focusing more fully on popular factual and features — life enhancing content, helping viewers to get the most out of their everyday lives." In other words, downers like "documentaries, arts and current affairs" are out and "programming which offers insight and inspiration to the way they live,…

  • Coyote (Not So) Ugly

    Armin
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:17 am
    Established in 2006, Coyote Logistics is a third party logistics and transportation, meaning that they accommodate shipments with a variety of carriers, finding trucks that have available space in trips they are already making. According to Inc. magazine, which listed Coyote as the No. 1 company in Logistics and Transportation, it has had a 13,846.8% three-year growth. Coyote counts with over 300 employees and an aggressive (in a friendly way) attitude. This past Fall they introduced a new identity designed by Moving Brands. Moving Brands created a new logo for Coyote which expresses their…
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    Andy Beard - Niche Marketing

  • ACTA? Dead Man Walking

    Andy Beard
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:06 pm
    Apparently 22 member states wasted a huge amount of resources signing the ACTA treaty. If the current version had in some way been publicized previously they might have had a vague chance of it not causing a multinational revolt across Europe. The internet population already know how to mobilize… they are SOPA trained. It is easy to slip something past novices who are timid. The internet is now full of battle veterans confident in their ability to use the skills they have learned and the power of their voice to take on governments. The guy from the European Parliament assigned to…

  • Dear @twittercomms – A Basic Search Query For Your Engineers

    Andy Beard
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:34 am
    I am not sure why Twitter engineers are struggling with this, and potentially misleading tech journalists (and even some well respected SEOs) with the SEO issues hampering the indexation of Twitter.com This is all pretty basic technical SEO Here is a very simple cleaned up Google search query that will bring up some interesting results https://www.google.com/search?q=site:twitter.com+inurl:andybeard&filter=0 It doesn’t exclude a subdomain such as www.twitter.com or fr.twitter.com or api.twitter.com Twitter splits their domain authority between lots of different subdomains which…

  • Really Evil – The “Don’t Be Evil” Bookmarklet

    Andy Beard
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:56 pm
    It is not as benign as you might think. Here is a link to the original 720p mp4 Some of the points raised in the video We need to avoid a cartel of top sites with limited access, especially with Ggoogle and Facebook currently buying ads from each other in the free market. Identity is important and both Twitter & Facebook fail to provide a method of bi-directional ownership – the “Don’t Be Evil” bookmarklet fails by linking Mark Zuckerberg’s Google+ to a Quora topic page about him… not his actual profile (if he has one) – it is possible for Google…

  • Tech Blogging Triple Rainbow

    Andy Beard
    13 Jan 2012 | 5:45 am
    I just had to share this achievement by Mike Masnick as he might not see it himself. The Techmeme page updates extrememly frequently pulling in stories algorithmically with some additional human curation but I have never seen one writer with a lead story and 2 additional reference posts without any additional “noise”, unless you count the larger child branch below. He has one post in that child branch as well. I am not going to link to the posts… that would most likely spoil the “triple rainbow”. Even more remarkable:- none of the articles were…

  • Updated: Facebook & Twitter – Lucky To Be In Google At All

    Andy Beard
    11 Jan 2012 | 6:14 pm
    Facebook & Twitter have some of the worst landing pages on the web. At least if you look at it from a search engine perspective, who should assume that every visitor isn’t a member of the site they are referencing in the search engine. It should also be understood that both Facebook & Twitter are bursting at the seams with former Google engineers & execs – they can’t claim they were unaware of what Google is looking for from content owners on the web, webmaster guidelines etc. Twitter You can’t look at the Google cache and see exactly what Google sees,…
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    adverbox

  • The Shelter Pet Project

    daevo
    28 Jan 2012 | 6:19 am
    The Shelter Pet Project is a public service ad campaign focused on spreading the word that pets in shelters are wonderful and lovable, and encouraging potential adopters to consider the shelter as the first place to find a new best friend. Visit www.theshelterpetproject.org to search for available shelter pets in your area and learn more about shelter pet adoption. Advertising Agency: Draftfcb, Chicago, USA Chief Creative Officer: Todd Tilford Creative Director: Jon Flannery Creative Director: Doug Behm Copywriter: Zach Schmitz Art Director: Heather Barnes Executive Producer: Ivo Knezevic…

  • Emotional Drugs – “Enabling”

    Katrina Cabrera
    28 Jan 2012 | 12:03 am
    A teen explains how her mother would rather be a buddy to her and her friends than a parent in “Enabling.” The spot depicts the mother hosting an underage party at their home and later turning a blind eye to teens engaging in drug and alcohol use. Both ads illustrate that behaviors like denial and enabling can prevent even the most well-intentioned parents from taking action and addressing their child’s substance use. Client: The Partnership at Drugfree.org Agency: Energy BBDO Campaign: Emotional Drugs Executive Creative Director: Dan Fietsam Group Creative Director: Kevin Lynch…

  • BLACK-AND-WHITE CHRISTMAS, VALENCIA CF SHOPS

    santirosebud
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:12 am
    Black and white are the colors of Valencia CF team, and ‘black-and-white’ (translation for ‘blanquinegro’) is how Valencia CF team and supporters are known. A group of well known Valencia CF players are working in a mysterious factory, preparing carefully all kind of products and gifts, to turn the traditional “White Christmas” in funny black-and-white Christmas. Brand: Valencia FC Agency: Rosebud, Spain Creative Director: Pablo Lucas, Santiago Sánchez Copywriter: Pablo Lucas, Santiago Sánchez Art Director: Pablo Lucas, Santiago Sánchez Account Supervisor: Majo Alonso…

  • Emotional Drugs – Denial

    Katrina Cabrera
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:59 am
    In “Denial,” a mother wonders why so many prescription pills are missing from her medicine bottle. Later, as she gets ready to leave the house, she opens her son’s bedroom door to witness him and his friend acting suspiciously. Instead of connecting both activities, she denies that her son could possibly be responsible for her missing medicine. Client: The Partnership at Drugfree.org Agency: Energy BBDO Campaign: Emotional Drugs Executive Creative Director: Dan Fietsam Group Creative Director: Kevin Lynch Creative Director: Noel Haan Art Director: Krystyn Campbell Writer: Jen Di Giorgi…

  • Hub Strategy/The Utility Collective PLYprints

    Tara Lane Brinkman
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:10 pm
    Hub Strategy, the San Francisco-based integrated creative agency, has partnered with The Utility Collective to design their first-ever consumer product: ready-to-hang artwork printed on 12-inch x 18-inch maple veneer wood panels to support Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. These are being sold here on The Utility Collective website and plans are underway to sell the product at retail. Ten dollars from the sale of each piece will be directly donated to Sea Shepherd. Sea Shepherd is best-known for their aggressive protection of whales and dolphins from illegal whalers, and is featured in the…
 
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    Drew's Marketing Minute

  • What’s your purple goldfish?

    Drew McLellan
    11 Jan 2012 | 1:30 pm
    Get your free copy of Stan Phelp’s book! A few years ago, I met Stan Phelps, another marketing guy, online (I think he commented on my blog and we started chatting via email) and before I knew it — we were friends.  He was just dipping his toe into the blogging waters and I tried to be helpful along the way. Fast forward to today, January 11, 2012. Stan’s first book, What’s Your Purple Goldfish*, is being released today.  I’ve read it and know you’re going to love it.  Really love it. I’m also very humbled to say that Stan asked me to write the…

  • You cannot ignore Google+ for your business

    Drew McLellan
    10 Jan 2012 | 12:59 pm
    Google+ cannot be ignored When Google+ emerged last summer, people’s reactions were to be expected.  The early adopters were all over it. But for most people who were already suffering from social media fatigue — their response was “oh no…not another site for me to maintain!” And many people simply opted out, not wanting to use/try yet another social networking site.  All along, I have been saying that it  simply could not be ignored. (like here) Let’s look at time line for those of you who aren’t familiar with how this played out. Summer 2011…

  • Mitt Romney is getting tired (or lazy) in Iowa!

    Drew McLellan
    3 Jan 2012 | 10:03 am
    This upcoming Presidential election will be my daughter’s first opportunity to vote. Combine that with the fact that we live in Iowa, the caucus is upon us and she’s a registered Independent and you can only imagine the flood of mail and calls she’s received leading up to the caucus. You know what all the candidates are thinking…. fresh meat! So I was a little surprised and appalled at what front runner Mitt Romney sent her late last week. The front of Mitt’s postcard to my daughter.  Understated would be a nice way to describe it. The back of the postcard sent…

  • 5 questions to define your 2012 game plan

    Drew McLellan
    30 Dec 2011 | 7:58 am
    Define your 2012 game plan Over the past month, I’ve been posing what I hope have been some head scratching, thought provoking questions to help you get ready for 2012. If you can answer these five questions — I think you’re going to have a solid foundation for your marketing efforts moving forward. In case you missed one, here are the five questions (with links to the whole post): What do you really sell? Who is your ideal customer? What’s the lifetime value of your customer? What’s your marketing foundation? What’s your legacy sentence? So — have…

  • Marketing insights question: What’s your legacy sentence?

    Drew McLellan
    28 Dec 2011 | 6:59 am
    What’s your legacy sentence? Over the next few weeks, as we head towards 2012, I want to get you thinking about your business in a new/fresh way.  I’m going to ask a single question in each post — but I’m warning you, these aren’t slam dunk questions. I’m hopeful that as you ponder my question — it will give you some ideas for making 2012 a break out year for your organization.  If nothing else — this exercise should fine tune some of your marketing efforts. What’s your legacy sentence?   If a customer/potential buyer was going to describe your business in a…
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    Brian Solis

  • Nissan Embraces Social Media to Improve Customer Experiences and Foster Advocacy

    Brian Solis
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:25 pm
    In this episode of (R)evolution, Nissan’s David Mingle, Director of Customer Management and Erich Marx, Director of Marketing join me for a refreshing conversation about social media’s impact on business transformation, customer experiences, and building an adaptive business model to learn and evolve based on new opportunities. We explore Nissan’s approach to new media for not only marketing, but also how the company uses social media to invest in and shape the customer experience over time. Having both David and Erich on the show offered a 360 view of the customer and also…

  • The Mobile Marketing Value Exchange

    Brian Solis
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:21 am
    Guest post by Scott Forshay, creator and editor of mobi.luxe. Following him on Twitter @mobiluxe Establishing consumer relationships through mobile marketing, as with any successful, productive relationship, inherently requires a mutual exchange of value. Whether consumers are opting-in for brand communications via SMS or engaging with the brand in a single instance through scanning a QR code, the onus is on the brand to deliver value in return for customers’ valuable time and information. Without the perception that value has been exchanged for value, the relationship becomes essentially…

  • Likes, Genre, Action – Facebook Introduces Clicks to Action

    Brian Solis
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:51 am
    Following the official roll out of its new Timeline, Facebook is introducing Actions, a series of new applications that change how people interact with apps, content, brands, and each other. The new apps will extend Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of frictionless experiences based on Facebook’s Open Graph platform, where apps introduce new ways to share your actions with your friends either implicitly or explicitly. With the new Open Graph platform, developers will introduce new Actions and Action buttons that extend the functionality of sharing beyond Likes to now include a dictionary…

  • Looking Beyond 2012: Trends for Leading Transformation

    Brian Solis
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:11 am
    Part 16 in an ongoing series that serves as the prequel to my new book, The End of Business as Usual… It’s a new year and a new set of predictions to set goals and expectations for 2012.  I won’t bother you with the top 10 emerging social networks or apps to focus time and resources. Nor will I gaze in the crystal ball to reveal the five secrets to viral marketing and user/customer acquisition. Instead of adding my forecasts to the endless sea of debatable prophesies, I chose a more aspirational path. 2012 is the year of transformation as digital Darwinism threatens rigid and…

  • How Suntrust Uses Social Media to Engage Customers and Comply with Regulation

    Brian Solis
    20 Jan 2012 | 12:37 pm
    Financial institutions are bound to rules and regulation than other companies experimenting in customer engagement, specifically in social media, can ignore. Over the years, SunTrust has stood out as one of several examples that understand how to use regulatory boundaries to inspire a new generation of customer engagement. The result is finding balance between risk and reward to meet customer expectations and improve customer experiences now and over time. As I’ve always believed…constraint forces creativity. Bianca Buckridee, AVP of Social Media Engagement at SunTrust shares her…
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    Branding Strategy Insider

  • Brands Live In The Mind

    Thomson Dawson
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm
    Brands are not things; rather brands are a representation of a highly valued idea that resides in the minds of consumers and stakeholders alike. Brands represent a set of unifying principles that guide an organization’s behavior and its manner of delivering experiences customers highly value above the available alternatives in the marketplace. Strong healthy brands maintain an intrinsic value to customers that over time translates into tangible financial value for the brand’s owners.  Consumers care about what a brand represents to them on the highest emotional level. The physical…

  • Consumer Behavior: From Trading Up To Trading Off

    Derrick Daye, The Blake Project
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm
    The opposite of trading up is not trading down. In fact, there is no opposite of trading up; shopping behavior is more nuanced than that. When shopping hit the skids after the financial crisis, there was a lot of talk about a new normal of frugality, as if the only thing possible after a decade-plus of trading up was a generation to come of nothing but trading down. It’s clear now that those prognostications were flawed, not to mention overly pessimistic. This is not to say that consumers aren’t buying less. Indeed, they are. The drop in discretionary consumer spending from the…

  • Achieving Brand Success In Developing Markets

    Derrick Daye, The Blake Project
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm
    Almost 20 years ago, I first set foot in developing China, and into the early boom years of that country’s remarkable transformation. As the first Marketing Director for Procter & Gamble China, over the next 3 years I saw the incredible vibrancy, growth and opportunity of a developing market firsthand. Since then, I’ve led organizations with businesses in virtually every major developing market around the world. While no two markets are precisely the same, they share many important features when it comes to Marketing success or lack thereof. So, it’s natural to reflect: what have I…

  • The Life Span Of Brands

    Thomson Dawson
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm
    Like people, brands don’t live forever.* They’re born into the marketplace, grow and become successful, then iconic, and then stale as week old bread. The driver underpinning all these phases is unrelenting and rapid change. Seemingly, the forces driving our global economy are getting harder for brand owners to keep up with. Brands are dynamic. Brands have their cycles and they run their course. What’s difficult for brand owners and managers to grasp is when to continue to invest precious capital into a tired under-performing brand or move on.  This is particularly true if the brand…

  • Branding Lessons For Entrepreneurs

    Brad VanAuken, The Blake Project
    22 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm
    It is never too early in the process to understand who your brand’s customers are, what motivates them and how to reach them. Doing this at the end of the product development process is usually too late. You will have developed a more unique and compelling solution if it was based on these insights earlier on in the process. Your solution needs to deliver greater value (that is more functional, emotional, experiential or self-expressive benefits for less money or effort) than competitive offerings for it to break through and gain share. Make sure you understand what your brand’s unique…
 
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    PRNewser

  • The Most Popular PRNewser Stories This Week

    Tonya Garcia
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:37 am
    Haha! Priceline Kills Off Shatner Spokesperson SOPA, PIPA Bills Postpones Because Everyone Hates Them Is Marketing For Men Moving In Another Direction? Journos Report on Their Relationship With Fox News PR Weber Shandwick, H+K Strategies Headed to Court New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

  • Megaupload Mega Shutdown Proves We Need Neither SOPA or PIPA

    Celeste Altus
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:09 am
    While two Megaupload executives have been bailed out of jail in New Zealand on Internet piracy charges filed in the U.S., Sandvine has released figures on how the shutdown of Megaupload affected other networks worldwide. Sandvine says with all the attention on Internet regulation, a number of competing sites have either decided to shut themselves down, or dramatically alter the way files are uploaded or downloaded from their servers. For example, FileSonic has halted any new uploads and is only allowing users to download their personal files. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily:…

  • Three Ways to Make Your Grand Opening a News Event

    Celeste Altus
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:30 am
    Disney grand opening, 1955 During a recent expedition to Disneyland, it came to my attention that the grand opening of the park in 1955 was televised live. What?!? Yes, with Art Linkletter as a host, ABC and more than 1,000 journalists covered the story of the theme park’s opening. What an incredible feat of pure PR. Was Disneyland news? I suppose if there were not many theme parks, it might be news. So when is a grand opening newsworthy? Why is another Apple store, the latest in New York’s Grand Central Station worth covering? It reminds me of a most upsetting event when I…

  • The Ticker: Bloomberg Pursuits; PR in India; Pepsi vs. Coke; Facebook comment overload; More on GIngrich vs. media

    Jason Chupick
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:16 am
    WWD / Memo Pad:  Bloomberg to Launch Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Press release:  MSL Studies Challenges Facing Indian PR Bloomberg:  PepsiCo May Boost Marketing Budget to Take On Coca-Cola: Retail Mashable:  How Brands Can Manage Facebook Comment Overload Associated Press:  Gingrich attacks media to fire GOP base; now conservative media are his biggest critics New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

  • Sotheby’s Seeks Skilled Integrated Marketing Manager

    Nadine Cheung
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:02 pm
    If you have an affinity for art and auctions, we have just the job for you. Sotheby’s is on the hunt for a new integrated marketing manager to join its New York team. In this role, you’ll oversee all marketing activities, including Sotheby’s catalogs, brochures, client letters, internal and external promotional materials, in-house sale enhancements, digital media projects and sale view signage. You’ll strategize on marketing initiatives for current and upcoming projects, while teaming up with advertising agencies and the design department on various goals. And…
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    Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

  • How to Drive Sales Offline With Local Online Calls to Action

    John Jantsch
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:24 am
    How to Drive Sales Offline With Local Online Calls to ActionThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing One of the real underutilized opportunities these days is to use your online presence to drive local offline sales. In order to do this you must think beyond the content aspects of your website and start to think about ways to tap local buying behavior and enable local buying tools. The heart and soul of this kind of thinking is the tried and true call to action. Marketers have been using the simple act now, buy now, call now language to get prospects to take all manner of action since the dawn…

  • Admitting We Have a Problem Is the First Step

    John Jantsch
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:46 am
    Admitting We Have a Problem Is the First StepThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing One of the most fulfilling moments in my consulting work comes when a client finally flashes a hint of realization that they do indeed have an affliction. And that affliction is – that they desperately need to be exactly like everyone else in their industry only older, bigger, and more results oriented, cost effective and partner centric. The treatment for this is not pretty, but it usually starts by showing them a series of test results like the ones listed below that include comparison results from…

  • What Our Fears Are Here to Tell Us

    John Jantsch
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:57 am
    What Our Fears Are Here to Tell UsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I’m going to get a bit personal today, but I believe there’s a solid business context for the message. I was sitting around a dinner table with a number of colleagues, which in this case meant people speaking at the same event as me. Martin Lopatka via Flickr CCA couple of the folks were pretty engaged in a conversation about another speaker that was not present and suggested that he was a fraud. The sentiment was that he didn’t really know what he was talking about because he had never really done what it is he…

  • Creating a Company of Owners

    John Jantsch
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:28 am
    Creating a Company of OwnersThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I believe that one of the greatest opportunities we have as business owners is to create wealth. By that I don’t necessarily mean get wealthy. I mean create an asset, a business, which is worth more today than it was yesterday. All too often this view gets buried in the push to create a paycheck. In my view there are much easier ways to draw a salary than owning a business. The real magic in the wealth creation opportunity comes when you also see it as a way to create wealth for all of the people the work to increase the…

  • 5 Ways to Use Other People’s Content in Your Marketing

    John Jantsch
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am
    5 Ways to Use Other People’s Content in Your MarketingThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing You need lots of content, you know that, but you also know that content creation is one of the more time intensive marketing activities you have to tackle. While you do need to create your own content as the foundation for your total content and teaching strategy, you can – and should – supplement your content with that from other people. Image hazel.estrada via Flickr CC One of the best services marketers can provide these days is to act as a filter for all that’s being produced out there and…
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    Dose of Digital

  • Translating the New FDA Social Media Guidance

    Jonathan Richman
    4 Jan 2012 | 11:34 am
    [Get your copy of the FDA Guidance Translator Flow Chart later in this post] It’s been a long wait, but the FDA finally delivered. They’ve come through with at least some direction for how pharma companies can properly use social media. It’s not a complete answer to every issue, but it is a good start. I’ve reviewed the full contents of the guidance that the FDA released on December 30, 2011 and found it, not surprisingly, a bit hard to follow at times. The full title of the guidance they released is: “Responding to Unsolicited Requests for Off-Label Information…

  • Digital Marketing Lessons from 2011′s Top Memes

    Jonathan Richman
    14 Dec 2011 | 9:21 am
    I love memes. They’re simple. They get one point across. They tend to be amusing. I also like being “in the know” and there’s typically some backstory to the meme that you need to understand for it to make sense. It’s kind of like an exclusive club for the Internet set of us out there. What I really like about memes is how you can use them to express a really simple concept. For those of you who don’t really know what a meme is, here’s the official definition (thanks to Google’s handy “define” feature): An element of a culture or…

  • Pharma Companies That Have Proved Me Wrong

    Jonathan Richman
    9 Nov 2011 | 9:16 am
    It takes a big person to admit they’re wrong. This is especially true when it’s me, as I really don’t like doing this. Ever. Well, here comes one of those rare times where I do admit it. There is one caveat: I’m not totally wrong. Just partially wrong. You see, almost two and a half years ago I wrote a post called  Ten Digital Marketing Ideas Pharma Companies Will Never Try (But Should). It ‘s actually  the second most read post ever on Dose of Digital (second only to Facebook Pages Just Got Easier for Brands). That means about 8,000 of you will understand why…

  • The Right Way to Use the Facebook Like Button

    Jonathan Richman
    31 Oct 2011 | 8:35 am
    This has annoyed me for a long time, so I’m finally going to fix this for the entire world once and for all. You’ve probably all found yourself on a Facebook page and have seen something like this: (Try it out on the Oreo page for yourself). What’s annoying about this? Rather than including a Like button in the tab, they point you to the button at the top of the Page. Sometimes this is more egregious like in the case of BMW’s Page. From a design standpoint, I don’t know what’s visually less appealing than a giant arrow jutting out of your Page.

  • Visualizing Pharma’s Use of Social Media

    Jonathan Richman
    24 Oct 2011 | 2:57 pm
    A while back, I got a note from Leigh Householder (@leighhouse) who had the idea to take the Pharma and Healthcare Social Media Wiki and make it much more visual so people could appreciate just how much the pharma industry has dove into social media. Since infographics are all the rage these days, I gave her the go ahead. A few iterations later and her team at the IQ Lab at GSW developed this simple, yet elegant (I think) way to visualize pharma’s participation in social media. Rather than a bunch of confusing stats, Leigh’s team took a page (literally) from each of the existing…
 
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    GoMediaZine

  • The January 2012 Go Media Flickr pool showcase

    Simon H.
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Snow everywhere! It’s January 2012, it’s cold and there’s snow everywhere. Who needs another excuse to stay home with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa and browse through inspiration? Not me. Also, yes, there wasn’t any December 2011 showcase. This won’t happen in 2012, promise. The showcase The January 2012 Go Media Flickr pool showcase is a post from: GoMediaZine Go Media is a creative agency based in Cleveland, Ohio. Besides the GoMediaZine, we also work for clients and sell stock artwork and design files on the Arsenal.

  • Daily Inspiration: Patience

    William Beachy
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Go Media president Bill Beachy sits down to give you some daily inspiration and advice. Bill shares his years of experience building Go Media into the company it is today. Topics in this video series include Getting Started, Happiness, Humility, Patience, Flow, Focus, Productivity, Business Systems, Courage, Eating Well, Obstacles, and Creativity. For more information about Bill Beachy, check out his bio on gomedia.us. Bill is currently accepting opportunities to speak at your event, university, or business. View all episodes of Daily Inspiration here Sponsored by Prooflab The Daily…

  • Custom Sticker Giveaway by Sticker Mule

    Simon H.
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Today is giveaway day! Hello Zine readers! We’ve got an awesome giveaway today for $100 in free custom stickers, from Sticker Mule. If you’re a designer, the folks at Sticker Mule are good people to know. They make awesome die cut stickers, in any shape and size. And their ordering system is really simple. Just upload your artwork and they’ll take care of the rest. They’ll make your artwork print ready for free, and provide a free online proof with every order. Here are some examples of what you could win: Here are some shots of their other products: How to enter?

  • The Making of Thread’s Not Dead

    Jeff Finley
    17 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    It’s been about 8 months since I launched my first ebook entitled Thread’s Not Dead: The Designer’s Guide to the Apparel Industry. We’ve sold over 1,000 copies of the ebook and we recently celebrated the launch of the hardcover edition. It gives me goosebumps to think of my book sitting on the coffee tables or bookshelves of people across the country and even overseas. I wanted to take a little bit of time to tell the story about how Thread’s Not Dead came to be and hopefully it will inspire you to maybe make your own book or do something you’ve been…

  • Weapons Declassified: Alex Cornell

    Raji Purcell
    13 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Written & Designed by: Raji Purcell Edited by: Jon Savage Alex Cornell is a man after my own heart, and one I look up to. A young, modern, renaissance man whose creative branches reach not only to design but to film, photography, writing, music, and entrepreneurship. Alex’s work has an incredible level of cohesiveness that spreads through every medium he touches. His success made all the more sense after listening to his talk, and the great amount of wisdom he had to share. Heres what happened: When introducing himself, Alex told the audience he used to be a psychologist with the…
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    Digital Influence Mapping Project

  • Actionable 2012 Social Business Predictions: #4 Social Selling as a Service

    John Bell
    16 Jan 2012 | 3:38 am
    Sales force-driven organizations are wising up to using social media to build relationships with customers. Businesses are investing in sales enablement software like Salesforce.com, iCentera and Jive that have social-related functions internally to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing and some even have ways to manage social contacts. Sales as Content  Sales organizations are all a-twitter about content marketing, certain the answer to closing sales is in a steady flow of just the right white papers or video talking heads. All that is right-minded in my book. The sales process,…

  • Actionable 2012 Social Business Predictions: #3 Gamification Endures

    John Bell
    9 Jan 2012 | 2:08 am
    No, it’s really not about gaming. It’s about good old behavioral economics using game mechanics. PFSK recently ran a series profiling how different organizations were using points, leaderboards and social proof to drive behavior change. They have sunk a fair amount of energy into reviewing the use of game mechanics in groups like RecycleBank, LetGive, Stickk and SuMo . They have also produced a report that is worth previewing and grabbing called The Future of Gaming. The world of ‘gamification’ is certainly buzzy if not frothy. Loads of marketers are talking about it. Many startups…

  • Actionable Social Business Predictions: #2 Social Insights over Social Data

    John Bell
    5 Jan 2012 | 2:35 am
    We have long been fascinated by the wealth of data we could collect, analyze and put to use via digital media.  It’s taken us years to get beyond the intention and excitement of doing that to actually using data in constructive ways. Now along comes all this social data spread between platforms like Facebook and Twitter and conversation search tools like Radian6 and Sysomos. The promise of knowing what your fans and detractors are saying about your brand is irresistible. The chance to put these social "signals" to use cannot be passed up.   Well, as more brands finally…

  • Actionable 2012 Social Business Predictions: #1 Comprehensive Content Strategy

    John Bell
    2 Jan 2012 | 2:30 am
    Timing is everything in business. Business leaders want to embrace innovations the moment before they become profitable business strategy or execution. That goes for most social media-based business solutions. Most annual social media predictions are loose stabs at what may happen and often range from the obvious, “20-whatever is the year of mobile,” to the interesting, “2012 will/won’t be the year of Google+.”   With hard-to-read economic indicators, business leaders don’t need broad meditations on what might happen but rather ways of more precisely anticipating change and…

  • Social Media Fatigue or Just Fatigue?

    John Bell
    21 Dec 2011 | 2:54 am
    Attending LeWeb a couple of weeks ago, many of us saw Forrester CEO George Colony, as Mark Evans from Sysomos put it, “…he threw a bucket of cold water on social media by suggesting people have no more time for social media and, in particular social media services.” The quote from George Colony read, “We believe social is running out of hours. Forrester believes we are reaching the limit of hours that people can give to social.”  I am certain he is onto something. Even the Global Web Index report on US social media behavior reveals that social users are lightening up on the…
 
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    The AdHole

  • Priceliiiiiiiiiiiiine!

    Jason Fox
    20 Jan 2012 | 10:43 am
    Looks like the Priceline Negotiator, aka William Shatner, has met his timely demise in a new spot from Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners. After 14 years of portraying the, what else, over-the-top doyen of travel deals, the 80-year-old Shatner is being shuffled off this particular advertising coil in way befitting both the character and the man who played him. I am, admittedly, a Shatner fan, having devoured his hamminess as a child watching "Star Trek" reruns and that "Twilight Zone" episode in which he spots gremlin eating the wing of the airplane he's on. I'll be sad to to the Negotiator…

  • VW Teases Another Star Wars Super Bowl Spot

    Jason Fox
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:34 am
    There is nothing not brilliant about this teaser spot from Volkswagen, which plays off of last year's "The Force" Passat commercial. I can only hope the final piece contains the same amount of awesome. Later, Fox

  • Brits Bust Out the Christmas Hankie

    Jason Fox
    30 Nov 2011 | 10:14 am
    A couple of weeks ago, British retailer John Lewis rolled out a new commercial entitled, with typical British understatement, "John Lewis Christmas Advert 2011." It has been hailed far and wide as the best Christmas spot of 2011. And I'm inclined to agree as nothing else I've seen in the interim has matched it for sheer storytelling power or emotional heft. It's almost as good as JC Penney's "The Aviator" from 2007. Which is high praise, indeed. Enjoy. Later, Fox

  • Goodbye, Mr. Jobs

    Jason Fox
    7 Oct 2011 | 1:13 pm
    About an hour ago, as of this writing, Apple posted this simple statement on their website: Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who were fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. And with that, the era of iJobs officially ended, six weeks after the man (The Man) stepped down as CEO for reasons we all hoped would be just another bump in his journey down the…

  • Quixotic Fusion Dominates Art Center Opening

    Jason Fox
    21 Sep 2011 | 1:22 pm
    After nearly two decades of planning, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opened this past weekend in my hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. The space itself is seriously swank. Two theaters – one for music, one for drama – encased in shell-like, um, shell encasements. As part of the opening festivities, Quixotic Fusion, a hybrid band/dance/light projection/performance art thing, lit up the place with one of the cooler bits of 3D projection mapping I’ve seen. Quixotic is based in KC and was co-founded by a friend and former colleague of mine, Anthony Magliano. Look…
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    Why Advertising Sucks

  • Social Media, explained with Pee.

    Me
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:45 pm

  • Fuck you clock

    Joker
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:16 am
    Eyes are bloodshot and weary. Breathing is labored. Neck is sore from constant nodding. And it’s only 10:00 AM. What the hell is the matter with time? Has the viscosity of the space time continuum increased from last I checked? My tasks are done, I’ve read what little news isn’t blocked in my company and time idles by like a root canal. The papers are organized, the pencils are sharpened, the pens are categorized by color and I’ve just returned from my third piss. Fucking time. Where were you last week? Nowhere to be found, or just peeking your head while I barely made deadlines.

  • WHY? WHYYYYYYY? Ferris Bueller 2 Official Teaser

    Me
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:22 pm

  • Shit White Girls Say...to Black Girls

    Me
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 am

  • Bound by the chain of command

    Joker
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:44 am
    We want to be creative, we want to make a difference, we want to work hard and we want rewards… but unfortunately there’s a chain of command. Hierarchies tend to bring out the worse in the human spirit in the sense of frustration, disdain, envy, back stabbing and what have you. Unfortunately, most places do have some type of chain of command one is supposed to follow. This can be, good, it can be bad… but most often, it just is and we’re the ones who embed the existing system with positive or negative connotations. If you’re fed up with your chain of command, you have four options:…
 
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    Brains On Fire Blog

  • Permission to love.

    Robbin
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:11 am
    This tiny little love note showed on my computer one afternoon. I keep it close by and still have no clue who wrote it. Some of our team has just returned from a long weekend of training for one of our clients. I love hearing the stories they bring back home from these experiences with our clients and their advocates. Alexis shared some of the emails she got when they returned today. After reading this amazing thread of heartfelt notes, Cordell sent me one of his classic one liners. It simply said: “It’s amazing what happens when you give people permission to love.” Our purpose at…

  • 3.13.12 – Robbin speaks – Hoosier Hospitality Conference

    Kindling Spirits
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:39 am
    Robbin will head to Indiana to speak with members of the travel and tourism industry during this year’s Hoosier Hospitality Conference in Bloomington. Robbin will present to Indiana’s restaurateurs at 10 a.m. and in a general session at 1:45 p.m. on March 13. For more details, visit: www.hoosierhospitalityconference.com

  • 2.4.12 – Eric speaks – CommonGround Conference

    Kindling Spirits
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:38 am
    Eric will share Lessons Learned Igniting Word of Mouth Movements during the CommonGround Shared Voices Conference on February 3 in Charleston, S.C. For more information, check out: www.FindOurCommonGround.com

  • 1.31.12 – Robbin speaks – Ten at the Top forum

    Kindling Spirits
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am
    Robbin will speak alongside local members of Ten at the Top on a panel about Communicating Information Across the Upstate. Held in Greenville, S.C., the forum is free and open to the public. Information on the full forum series can be found at: www.tenatthetop.org To register for the event, visit: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5fh6c9d81e798b9&llr=iwqthmdab

  • Co-blogging Goodness Round 2: Eric and Jamie Tackle Scaling Community Online and Offline

    Eric Dodds
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:26 am
    Co-bloggin’ goodness, round 2: One is a seasoned corporate marketer working for Best Buy. The other is a small-agency young-gun in a constant quest for his spurs. Both are passionate about making positive change in the industry, and they want to share their thoughts with you. Jamie Plesser and Eric Dodds bring you the second post in a monthly co-blogging series that tackles tasty marketing topics from both sides of the line. Meet the crew: Eric: I was raised in Upstate South Carolina and roped in by a small, big-hearted agency called Brains on Fire. I’ve had my hand in qualitative…
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    Where's My Jetpack?

  • Word of Bumper

    18 Jan 2012 | 2:10 pm
    As far as I'm concerned, barbecue is barbecue. You can argue about Memphis, Kansas City, Chicago and any other city that lays claim to barbecue expertise, but I'll eat any of it and like most of it. I have no ties to any of the great barbecue cities nor is my palate sophisticated enough to judge one over the other. Lately I've been seeing this bumper sticker all over town. It's for a place that opened just over two years ago and only has three locations. I've not seen or heard a commercial for 4 Rivers Smokehouse, no banner ads, no print media or outdoor boards. I just keep seeing these…

  • Don't Wake Up In a Roadside Ditch

    10 Jan 2012 | 7:42 am
    I like the far-fetchedness of it. Ludicrous, ridiculous, but entertaining. Using that overused announcer who is always called on for "tongue-in-cheek seriousness."

  • A Commercial Too Far

    9 Jan 2012 | 7:50 am
    Comes a time when you have to get out while the getting's good, otherwise you look like Joe Montana with the Chiefs, or Michael Jordan in his second comeback. Same holds here with the Geico Caveman concept. The "Words with Friends" episode with Brian Orakpo was nominally passable, but in this one we've taken the hipster, sardonic caveman, whose specialty was acting insulted in a resigned, shoulder-shrugging way, and turned him into a silly, shrill character. Didn't they learn anything from the failed sitcom they tried to turn this into? I observed a few 14-year old boys watching this over the…

  • No One In Denver Has a Smart Phone

    3 Jan 2012 | 9:08 am
    This shoddy piece of sports journalism jumped out at me in yesterday's paper. Mile High Stadium officials apparently were able to keep Broncos fans in the dark as to the outcome of the Chargers/Raiders game. Stupid assumption. Filler. Nonsense.

  • Saturated Street Scenes and Other Odds and Ends

    21 Dec 2011 | 11:50 am
    Found this one on Google Maps at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. More locally, a Salvation Army bell ringer at my local Publix has a style that suggests she has found joy in this volunteer position. She never uses the chair they provide her, and she's always dancing. I've obviously not been doing much ad blogging. Other things seem to have overtaken this thing in importance. Like work, among other endeavors. I'm so far behind on current events, not to mention the stupid, echo chamber, self-love-fest that is the advertising industry. Here's how far behind I am. I only today discovered…
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    The Content Marketing Revolution

  • McDonald’s Social Media Goes Wrong? Not a Chance

    Joe Pulizzi
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:49 pm
    You’d have to be living in a cave not to be aware of the now historic McDonald’s Twitter campaign launched a few days ago. If you’ve been out of it for a while, here’s the CliffsNotes version: McDonald’s promoted a Tweet using the Twitter hashtag #McDStories that went like this: ‘When u make something w/pride, people can taste it,’ – McD potato supplier #McDStories http://t.co/HaPM5G9F‘ (source). The link is a video  of McDonald’s potato supplier Frank Martinez and includes a heartwarming story about his life as a potato farmer.

  • Tablet Content Marketing: Crazy Stats and Time to Move

    Joe Pulizzi
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:14 am
    If you are not up on the latest statistics on the tablet, here are some to chew on: Apple reported first quarter earnings, selling over 15 million iPads during the quarter.  This is a 111% increase from the previous quarter. In just under two years, Apple has now sold over 55 million units. According to Pew Internet’s latest findings, the share of Americans who own a tablet computer nearly doubled from December 2011 to January 2012.  The number of Americans now owning at least one tablet device is now at 29%. Tablet: The Curl-Up Device Historically in marketing, we have talked about…

  • 2 Examples of How Non-Profit Content Marketing Should Work [and grab a tissue]

    Joe Pulizzi
    18 Jan 2012 | 10:10 pm
    Joshua with his LEGO bricks at age Six As many of you regular readers know, my oldest son Joshua was diagnosed with autism at two years of age (Joshua is now 10). At the age of three, he could barely speak.  Today, Joshua would be considered “high-functioning” autistic, which means that, if you don’t look closely, you may not notice he actually is a child with autism. To be honest, Joshua is one of those amazing gifts in life that just keeps giving.  We are so blessed to have him in our lives. [NOTE: To give just a bit back to all those who've helped Joshua along the way,…

  • Content Marketing and the War of Attrition

    Joe Pulizzi
    17 Jan 2012 | 6:35 pm
    There are a lot of reasons why content marketing doesn’t work for some companies. If we were making a list, they would include: A lack of understanding reader/customer needs Focusing on the wrong metrics and objectives A soloed approach to content marketing Poor execution Bland storytelling Lack of authenticity Creating information that, simply put, is not helpful or engaging Sales pitches disguised as content And the list goes on… But the biggest culprit (and it’s not even close) is a lack of consistency, and, in some cases, a content stoppage. Research from IBM in 2010…

  • 10 Content Marketing Books to Help Sell the C-Level

    Joe Pulizzi
    12 Jan 2012 | 6:16 pm
    Just ended a pretty impressive Content Marketing Institute webinar hosted by Joe Chernov, VP of Content Marketing for Eloqua and Rebecca Lieb, Analyst for Altimeter.  During the Q&A session, Joe talked about how to sell content marketing to the C-level through some amazing books.  Below are some recommendations from Joe (and some that I would recommend as well) for the marketing pro that needs more content marketing budget. The New Rules of Marketing & PR I consider this David Meerman Scott book mandatory reading for all marketers.  This best seller, now published in over 25…
 
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    Remarkablogger

  • What WordPress Plugins I Use and Why

    Michael Martine
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:47 pm
    Plugins are, in my opinion, the big reason why WordPress has become the juggernaut success story of content management systems. Plugins let you extend and enhance the functionality of your self-hosted WordPress-powered website. Anything from a simple contact form to full blown e-commerce functionality can be added to your WordPress site with plugins. But because there are so many plugins, the question of which ones to use comes up for every WordPress site owner. There are often many plugins all trying to do the same thing. Some plugins cost money while most are free. The choice can be…

  • How to Plan a Screencast

    Michael Martine
    26 Jan 2012 | 5:45 am
    If you want to have a professional-quality successful screencast video, you do not simply hit the record button on your screencasting software and go. Unless, of course, you want to look like a total idiot. But if you want to look like a confident pro, a bit of planning is in order. Planning a screencast is easy when you simply ask the right questions, which I’ve conveniently listed for you below. Don’t say I never did nothin’ for ya. Questions to Ask Before Before Creating a Screencast So You Don’t Look Like a Total Idiot What specific task or series of tasks do you…

  • WTF is Pinterest?

    Michael Martine
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:17 pm
    Pinterest is exploding right now. Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board or pin board. You create boards, give them names, and then create “pins” which are mostly pictures you find on the web of stuff you like. Then, you share your boards and pins with friends and everybody has a good time. It has a reputation as being a site for women, but more guys are starting to use it. The marketing potential for Pinterest is huge. Check out the short video I made if you want to see a little of what Pinterest is about.

  • Poll Results for Streamlining Social Media

    Michael Martine
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:35 am
    A few days ago I conducted a poll on whether or not people were abandoning social media accounts. The number of people who participated isn’t large enough for the results to be considered as representative of the majority of my readers and the results are not unexpected (at least, by me). Here are the results… Have you canceled any social media accounts? How many social media accounts would you say you actively use (at least once every 3 days) Which social network are you MOST active in? Which social network are you LEAST active in? Most active and least active social networks…

  • Poll: Are You “Streamlining” Your Social Media?

    Michael Martine
    21 Jan 2012 | 8:38 am
    After my recent 5 Profitable Business Blogging Predictions for 2012 post, life coach Tim Brownson wondered in the comments if others like him had “streamlined” their social media. In other words, did they shut down or ignore social network accounts in favor of only a few “big ones” they either liked more or profited more from using. I thought about how I had closed my LinkedIn account and how many social networking accounts I have that sit unused. It could be a coincidence or it could be a trend. One way to find out is to conduct a poll and see what you say, and…
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    Churbuck.com

  • The Quicksand and the Dead

    David Churbuck
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:06 pm
    It’s been while since I’ve had cause to commit a clamming post. This recent CapeCast tells the tale of one unfortunate Provincetown clammer who stepped into some sucky mud and lost his boots. I did the same thing years ago on Sandy Neck while cruising around for steamers and years ago my youngest, while wearing waders, got seriously stuck in the muck inside of Seapuit River and needed to be pulled out of the waders to be released from the suction. Cape Cod muck is horrible stuff, especially the black goo up inside of the bays that smells like the clams that live in it. This is…

  • I, Cyborg

    David Churbuck
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:38 am
    Finally I’m back to typing, the voice recognition thing wasn’t doing it for me. The surgical dressings came off Tuesday at Mass General, where the surgeon pulled the sutures out of the incision on the back side of my elbow, and then had me fitted into a tron-like Range Of Motion brace that the physical therapist can add a few degrees of flexion and extension to every week. No gym induced sweat for another ten days (which is causing me to climb the walls in frustration), and no real weight on the arm for another three months. But I can type and no longer have to disturb the peace…

  • Fishing boat lost off Nantucket washes up in Spain three years later

    David Churbuck
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:39 pm
    This is pretty amazing. I’ve heard of messages in bottles travelling long distances, but never abandoned boats. This tale of the little center console that could is going to be some lucky boat builder’s dream advertisement very soon [update, it's on the manufacturer's homepage]. Thanks to Joe Nick and Charlie for figuring out it is a Regulator 26. Link to video Link to story

  • Talking to myself

    David Churbuck
    20 Jan 2012 | 9:55 am
    Voice recognition software has been around for at least 20 years. I first played with the technology in the 1980s but was very unimpressed by its abilities, horrible set up a process, and general applicability as a technology of last resort for the handicapped were truly keyboard allergic. I’ve tried to use the technology transcribe dictation made during long car commutes, but that never worked either. A combination of too much background noise, a lack of discipline on my part to stick with the process of correcting and training the software to recognize my voice and my peculiar way of…

  • SOPA blackout

    David Churbuck
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:28 pm
    This blog will go dark on January 18 in support of the campaign to stop SOPA. please visit http://sopastrike.com for more information and please sign an online petition or write your congressidiot directly.  
 
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    Ryan Stephens Marketing

  • 5 Ways to De-Stress in the Office

    Ryan Stephens
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:17 am
    TweetIf you’re doing important work, work that matters, stress is inevitable. No matter how cool, calm and collective you are invariably there will be days where your workload, deadlines, work-life balance, etc. gets all up around you. You can hyperventilate and complain all day or you can take a deep breath and leverage these 5 ways to de-stress in the office. 1.) Attack the Most Impactful Work First Your projects aren’t going to complete themselves. Most of us breathe a sigh of relief when we mark something off of our to-do lists so determine what will add the most value to your…

  • “Incognito” Book Review

    Ryan Stephens
    10 Jan 2012 | 10:57 pm
    TweetFellow neuroscientists might claim that this book is derivative and vague, but David Eagleman’s “Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain“is not written for them – it’s written for the layman. And while the first few chapters might feel a little dense, the book builds momentum as Eagleman begins to tie the ideas together in later chapters. Here’s some of my highlights from the book. On how your brain interrogates the world: Brains reach out into the world and actively extract the type of information they need. The brain does not need to see everything…

  • “Enterprise Social Technology” Book Review

    Ryan Stephens
    2 Jan 2012 | 3:25 pm
    Tweet“Enterprise Social Technology” is a book that flew under the radar in 2011. The book aims to be “a how-to manual that will teach you a process for implementing social technology in its most powerful form.” It wants to give you and your organization a leg up on leveraging social media, social networking and social relevance to change how your business operates and give you a leg up on the competition. And I genuinely feel like it does just that. There’s 12 steps (chapters) in the book and I’m confident that if you read and take action on each step your…

  • 2011 in Review

    Ryan Stephens
    27 Dec 2011 | 11:55 am
    Tweet Disclaimer: The following post is self-indulgent. Most end of the year round-up posts are. Despite that fact, I felt like this was a good way to pay respect to the work that went into this year and to provide a review of content you may have missed (or have never seen before). Should you decide to keep reading, I hope that it will give you a foundation for where we’re headed in 2012. Last January I wrote that I wanted 2011 to be about you. It wasn’t. I wrote that I wanted to read 52 books. I read 27. I only reviewed 3. I wanted to write more posts and ship a couple of…

  • Disruptive Social Technologies: How Your Organization is Missing the Boat

    Ryan Stephens
    5 Dec 2011 | 1:10 pm
    Tweet I recently attended our organization’s first town hall meeting under the tutelage of our new president. He spoke about the recent confluence of transformative identities and disruptive technologies that have come together over the last couple of years, leading him to believe that we will cure several major cancers in his lifetime. I’m hopeful that I am a part of a place that can leverage new computational firepower, quantitative analysis of bio-specimens, and disruptive genome technologies to advance existing paradigms and cure this awful disease. Your Organization…
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    brandflakesforbreakfast

  • sex gamified

    Kristien Del Ferraro
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:10 am
    This is a campaign absolutely deserving of a WOW. Apparently the young adults of Stockholm, Sweden are among the worst at practicing safe sex. Sure, you can hand them all condoms and hope for the best, or you can take it a step way further and turn sex into a fun, competitive game... as long as it's safe of course. That's exactly what Swedish agency, Ester, did with this campaign. They handed out 50,000 condoms to young adults with QR codes on them (yeah, I know, but it's actually a good use of them). The QR code downloads an app that measures your sexcapades for motion, rhythm and duration.

  • snugglin' with celebrities

    Kristien Del Ferraro
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:09 am
    It's pretty easy to love comedian / filmmaker Mark Malkoff. Apparently so easy that he convinced 13 celebrities to let him sleepover their houses, including Dave Coulier (cut. it. out.), Kate Walsh (who is clearly not attracted to Mark) and the adorable Lisa Loeb, who reads him a bedtime story from her book. You can't help but smile when you watch this fun little video.

  • thanks for letting us pee

    Kristien Del Ferraro
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:08 am
    FirstBank - Super Bowl Commercial from TDA_Boulder on Vimeo.Most of us are sick of Superbowl commercials already and it's not even the Superbowl yet, but this one from FirstBank gets a pass. Why? Because it's pretty awesome without even trying too hard to be awesome. Playing off the fact that since commercials are now just as much part of the "show" as the football game, we no longer have a free second to pee, this simple ad features a man in a recliner who remains silent for most of the commercial so that you can go take your bathroom break. Then it just ends with "Better Customer Service."…

  • gaming for a good cause

    a_blodder
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:10 am
    Amnesty International 'Amnesty Rescue' Call Of Duty MOD from Strange Day on Vimeo.In November, we reported on Amnesty International's "Slide to Unlock" campaign. They've joined forces with Call of Duty: MW3 to take the campaign further with seamless in-game advertising and potentially reach millions more potential volunteers and supporters. Players can buy the Amnesty Rescue MOD (additional map) for $1, which gets donated to Amnesty, and players can rescue and save people suffering from human rights violations. And let us thank Amnesty for giving gamers a chance to contribute to society.

  • fun with pharmacies

    a_blodder
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:05 am
    Who says pharmacies have to be so cold and clinical?Swedish Design Labs doesn't. They have designed new collateral for pharmacy chain Vardapoteket in Sweden that is full of vivid colors and fun designs that incorporate organs and body parts in a fun way. The design isn't just a pretty face either. It's also informed by research that proves positive environmental factors help lessen anxiety and promote overall well-being. Now there's an idea.
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    RefreshWeb

  • Dave Barry’s 2011 Year in Review

    John Rasco
    5 Jan 2012 | 11:21 am
    I’m always happy to get past the interminable drudgery of “best of” articles at year-end, but with Dave Barry’s ever-ready wit to balance the painful process of a month-by-month goodbye to 2011, this is a refreshing sendoff. In an election year, I’m sorry to have to point out that the next version of this article is 12 long months away, leaving us only a few interim bright spots to enjoy: the Darwin awards, international Talk Like a Pirate day, and maybe your birthday. Oh, and don’t forget your anniversary! Well, there’s also all the small victories…

  • Some Great Work by an Agency Far, Far Away

    John Rasco
    26 Jul 2011 | 6:56 pm
    I was looking to update some statistics today, so I visited many sites via interesting search terms like “best online marketing tactic” and “SEO + lead generation quality.” There was often a disconnect between the purpose of updating and the date of the article, but I did find a company doing great work as an everyday event: Elliance, an interactive marketing agency in Pittsburgh. Having worked in and run advertising agencies, one thing I miss about our focus on the research and analysis side of search marketing is the loss of having graphic designers as part of the…

  • What Metrics Matter in Online Marketing?

    John Rasco
    29 Jun 2011 | 11:22 am
    A few months ago, I shared one of those ubiquitous eMarketer charts showing how marketing execs measure the effectiveness of social media. Today, I ran across a new chart showing the top metrics marketers are using for online engagement. An article in the new Fast Company explains that there is typically little, if any, accountability demanded of social media. And it’s interesting, in terms of actual prospects coming to your site, that the top metric most marketers are using is click-throughs, which shows you the dependence of marketing pros on paid search. While we understand the…

  • Experts, “Experts”, and Knowing What You’re On About

    Sara Rasco
    24 May 2011 | 12:21 pm
    Peter Shankman’s post, “I Will Never Hire a ‘Social Media Expert,’ and Neither Should You”, has been making waves in the internet marketing world in the past few days. There’s a good reason for that, even though what he’s saying has been said before. In a time where even my (basically computer illiterate) mother knows that social media can do amazing things for companies, there’s enormous pressure on marketing departments and staff to find a way to monetize that. Corporate profits may be up, but that doesn’t mean budgets have opened up…

  • 12 May 2011 | 4:13 pm

    Sara Rasco
    12 May 2011 | 4:13 pm
    Really enjoyed this clever, thought-provoking video. Kind of like a TED Talk, only animated!
 
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    Flooring The Consumer

  • Retail Experience in the News: Link for Updates!

    27 Jan 2012 | 3:07 pm
    If you are looking for my weekly updates on Retail Experience in the News, you will find them on the Simple Marketing Now website. More specifically, click on Retail Experience in the News on Flooring The Consumer. Any questions or observations, please let me know. Thanks for reading! Best, C.B.

  • Uniqlo's Retail Experience Offers 2 Business Marketing Ideas

    17 Jan 2012 | 8:26 am
    I love coming across new retail experience examples, particularly when they offer ideas for reconsidering the tried and true... This latest blog article is inspired by Uniqlo which recently opened two stores in NYC, in addition to its SoHo store: on 5th Avenue and on 34th Street. To read the article, click on... Two Small Business Marketing Ideas From Uniqlo Comments welcome! Thanks for reading. Best, C.B.

  • How to Use eMail to Not Generate Retail Business!

    9 Jan 2012 | 11:48 am
    Here is my latest post inspired by the onslaught of email messages I received from retailers over the holidays. Were you in the same boat? What did you think of the experience? Check out How Not To Get More Business: 7 eMail Retail Experience Horrors! and let me know what you think... and what you would add to the list! Thanks for reading. Best, C.B.

  • Megabus Inspired Customer Experience Musts!

    3 Jan 2012 | 8:26 am
    Happy New Year 2012! My newest post was inspired by my holiday travels to Washington, DC.  The article is titled MegaBus Customer Service Experience: Communication Matters and refers to three recommendations for ensuring a memorable customer experience. I welcome your comments. Best, C.B.

  • Holiday 2011 Observations: NYC Retail Windows

    19 Dec 2011 | 10:58 am
    I made it to NYC this weekend to experience the Holiday Retail Windows. Here are my observations for Holiday 2011: Connecting With Customers: Holiday 2011 Observations Enjoy and Happy Holidays! Best, C.B.
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    Search Engine Watch - Latest

  • Google Maps Adds Emergency Alerts

    John Rampton
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    If a major storm is headed you way, Google wants to be your information guide. The Google Crisis Response team is looking to be your go to information source on when a storm will strike, how bad will it be, and what resources are available to help.

  • Con Artist Shares Inside Story of Google Pharmacy Ad Sting

    Miranda Miller
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    In a letter to the Wall Street Journal, career con man David Whitaker spilled the beans on his experience as undercover operative Jason Corriente, an agent for wealthy clients seeking online ads. The sting led to a $500 million forfeiture for Google.

  • Measuring ROI: How to Collect Meaningful PPC Conversion Data

    John Lynch
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Learn how you can track and collect significant conversion data and then bring it all together in one dashboard. Use these three levels of conversion data tracking that vary in terms of pros/cons, costs, effectiveness, and sophistication.

  • SEO Chicks Competition - Win a ticket to SES London!

    Laura Roth
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    SEO Chicks have launched a competition for the next generation of search marketers. Have you been in SEO less than a year or have a desire to join the industry? If so, this is the competition for you. Here is your chance to win a ticket to SES London

  • 7 Steps to Prepare For the Search Alliance in the UK

    Duncan Parry
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    After a year’s delay, Microsoft adCenter will start to power the PPC results on Yahoo UK in Q2 of 2012. Discussion of its potential for success aside, here are some useful links and an action plan for preparing UK paid search campaigns.
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    Being Peter Kim

  • Ford as Social Business

    Peter Kim
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:16 am
    Last week I visited Ford and attended the North American International Auto Show, along with around 150 other social media folks from around the world. (Ford paid the bill for my travel and hotel; I wasn't paid for consulting and this post is a personal opinion.) There were Mom and Dad bloggers, design bloggers, green bloggers, and a collection of random others. Besides US attendees, I met people from Canada, Germany, and China. It was - to use an old Ford tagline - a bold move: invest in hosting a big group of virtual loudmouths in your backyard and at your facilities and let them talk about…
 
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    TrishaLyn

  • Blogging for Geniuses

    Trish
    18 Jan 2012 | 3:03 pm
    Sometimes the element of blogging that holds people back the most is over-thinking their blogs. That’s why this post is entitled “Blogging for Geniuses” as opposed to ‘dummies.’ Many companies will engage in paid search management or marketing analysis to determine what topics to blog about on their corporate web pages. But for individuals looking to get their voices out into the blogosphere, sometimes the easiest way to get started is to shoot from the hip and write from the heart. Here are some practical tips for the wayward blogger to get started, or to augment their…

  • And the Winner Is… Sunshine Rewards!

    Trish
    5 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    I’m pleased to announce the winner of our custom sticker run contest. Huge thanks to all who took the time to enter!  If any one would like one of my nifty Blinkstar Media stickers, feel free to ask.  The contest winner was selected by the team at Sticker Giant, the sponsor of the contest and provider of the free set of custom stickers. One of my favorite people, the “other Tricia” as I we call each other, Tricia Meyer leads a loyal community of savers at Sunshine Rewards and blogs about her experiences in affiliate marketing at Tricia.me.  Tricia’s entry caught the…

  • Awesome Custom Stickers for the Masses

    Trish
    20 Dec 2011 | 11:00 am
    I love stickers.  As a child, I admit, I had those awesome Paul Frank sticker albums full of puffy stickers and scratch-n-sniffs.  Growing up with a somewhat unique name like Trisha, I’ve always been a big proponent of self-expression, uniqueness, and customization.  As a result, I customize EVERYTHING… I even dropped the $50 on the pretty purple ‘lid’ for my new Dell   So I love the idea of completely customized stickers to throw around to promote my personal sites.  I loved the excellent quality laptop-friendly stickers we had made from StickerGiant for our Get…

  • Online Marketing Tricks of the Trade

    Trish
    16 Dec 2011 | 9:00 am
    A question you may be asking yourself if you run an online business is: who exactly are my customers? Sometimes it’s shocking to think that hordes of people want your service. You get that “they love me, they really love me” moment so typified in Hollywood movies. But think about it like this, you’ve done your research, planted the seeds of your business, and are now reaping your due harvest. You may not need to use Anywho’s reverse phone number finder to learn every possible customer detail on record, but you do want to stay knowledgeable as to who your customer base…

  • What to Do Before You Apply for a Business Loan

    Trish
    28 Nov 2011 | 9:00 am
    Guest Post by Jane Atkins. Some businesses need to take out a loan to get started or to stay afloat in tough economic times.  Regardless of your situation, there are steps you need to take before you apply to make sure you have the best outcome possible. Write a business plan and include financial data Just about any lender you choose is going to want to see a credible business plan. This will show that you truly understand your products, business, competition, and how to run your type of business. In order to create a successful business plan, you should include an executive summary, a…
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    AdWeek: AdFreak

  • Jcpenney Gets All Patriotic With Its New Logo

    27 Jan 2012 | 2:03 pm
    Resist the urge to salute as you admire jcpenney's spanking new logo, a lovely red square with a superimposed blue square that's intended to evoke JCP's proud American heritage and commitment to treat customers "fair and square." (Ha! It's a pun, get it?) In a statement, the company adds: "The new jcpenney logo, which combines the elements that have made jcpenney an enduring American brand, by evoking the nation's flag and jcpenney's commitment to treating customers Fair and Square. The square frame imagery will be evident throughout all of…

  • FirstBank Urges You to Go Pee During Its Super Bowl Spot

    27 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am
    FirstBank's regional Super Bowl debut (the ad will air only in Colorado) via agency TDA in Boulder, touting superior service, features a banker type who sits in a comfy chair and says, "If you’re a FirstBank customer worried about missing one of the exciting commercials, or the game, now would be a great time to go to the bathroom." He takes a long pause before adding, "Seriously." The commercial is, as we've been known to say in Boston (home, more or less, of the soon-to-be NFL champion New England Patriots), a wicked pissah. That's a good…

  • Coke's Fan-Bears Will React to Super Bowl in Real-Time Ads

    27 Jan 2012 | 7:24 am
    Coca-Cola rolled out the details of its Super Bowl advertising on Thursday, and compared to what else we've seen, it looks pretty good. At first blush, the campaign, by Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., is just another take on the brand's classic arctic mascots—the polar bears. But the whole concept is built out around tying into the game itself, in real time—aiming to enhance the overall experience by adding a little topical extra entertainment value. The TV work focuses on two polar bears, chilling out on their "snowfa" and watching the game, rooting for…

  • Ferris Bueller to Return in the Super Bowl, but for Whom?

    31 Dec 1969 | 6:00 pm
    So, this mysterious Super Bowl teaser popped up on YouTube today, with Matthew Broderick reprising his role as Ferris Bueller, 26 years after his fateful day off. Says the YouTube blurb: "We hate to be such a tease, but on a day like today, we just have to. Stick it out until the Super Bowl, or take a 'day off' on Monday and catch the big reveal." It could be for sausages, although Abe Froeman might not have $3.5 million lying around. He seems to be in a hotel room—so, perhaps a hotel chain or a vacation marketer? Any other guesses?      UPDATE:…

  • AdFreak Readers, We Want to Know More About You

    26 Jan 2012 | 3:20 pm
    Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.
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    Marketing Pilgrim - Internet News and Opinion

  • Cup of Joe: Leveraging Culture

    Joe Hall
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:30 pm
    Back in November I shared this image on Google+. Chris Brogan, re-shared it and then 370 others followed suit! It is by far the most popular thing I have posted on Google+. Also, in April I blogged about how a piece of my content went viral on StumbleUpon, which as of today has gained over 1.2 million visitors. Every time a piece of my content goes viral its completely unexpected and leaves me asking, why? I could just ignore things and go eat hot dogs, but, as a marketer its my job to answer that question. Recently Jared Keller tried to answer this question, and in my opinion did a great…

  • ‘Tweets Still Must Flow’. . .Except When Twitter Stops Them

    Cynthia Boris
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:16 pm
    Free speech is one of those topics that always sends people in a tizzy. Most would agree that censorship is a bad thing, but at the same time, it’s not right to yell “fire” in a crowded theater. Unless, of course, the theater really is on fire. This idea is tricky enough when you’re talking about books and speeches and what people say on TV. Social media, makes it even trickier. Take Twitter. It’s a public forum where people can feel free to say whatever they want — to a point. Twitter doesn’t allow excessive spam or threats and they don’t allow…

  • Social Sign-Ons Help Marketers Discover the Real You

    Cynthia Boris
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:13 pm
    Xander: “Sure he says he’s a high school student, but I can say I’m a high school student.” Buffy: “You are.” Xander: “Okay, but I can also say that I’m an elderly Dutch woman. Get me? I mean, who’s to say I’m not if I’m in the elderly Dutch chat room?” Xander makes a good point. The one cool and also creepy thing about communicating over the internet, is you can be anyone you want to be; a high school student, an elderly Dutch woman or Snow White. People create alternate personas in order to be better than who they are…

  • US Mobile Ad Spend Grows Faster Than Predicted

    Frank Reed
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:34 am
    In what seems like a rare moment these days, analysts are saying that they actually underestimated something rather than hyping it beyond recognition. Maybe there is hope after all . This time it is about mobile ad spending in the US. eMarketer writes The US mobile advertising market is growing far faster than expected, driven by the rapid ascension of Google’s mobile search advertising business, advertisers’ growing attraction to display inventory on tablet and smartphone devices, and the growing roster of mobile ad networks such as Google’s AdMob, Apple’s iAd and Millennial Media.

  • Paid Apps Giving Way to In-App Purchase Model

    Frank Reed
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:14 am
    Interested in building that killer app that will be your grand slam home run of your career? Convinced that you are absolutely certain that there are AT LEAST 5 million people out there that would give up $.99 in a heartbeat for your “awesome” app or mindless game? Well, that is great copy for someone trying to recruit developers but the reality of the app world plays out a bit differently. That’s not to say that paid apps are dead. It’s just that they are going to be more like hitting the lottery rather than a solid business plan. According to a study by IHS Media…
 
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    brandSTOKE

  • Proud sponsor of plagiarized taglines

    Kirk
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am
    Brands used to pay hefty fees to be sponsors of major attractions, such as the Super Bowl. One reason: They benefit by borrowing brand equity from the event. Turns out, there’s a much cheaper alternative. Many brands, for nothing, are claiming “sponsorship” of free-floating concepts. Why borrow equity from the Summer Olympics when a brand can borrow instead from, say, “the American dream?” Here are a few examples: Mutual of Omaha: Proud Sponsor of Life’s Aha Moments American Cancer Society: The Official Sponsor of Birthdays Omaha Steaks: The Official…

  • Chobani starts Greek war, wakes giants

    Kirk
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:36 am
    Usually, niché players are satisfied to pull small shares away from the category leaders. And usually, category leaders overlook the incursions. Only rarely does the niché grow to challenge the entire category, but this is exactly the case with yogurt. Until recently, yogurt sales in the U.S. have been dominated by Dannon and Yoplait. Now, Greek-style yogurt, hardly a presence four years ago, dominates. And New York-based Chobani is the niché-turned-category leader, having launched only four years ago. Greek company, Fage, also led the revolution. It began importing its product in 2000 and…

  • Movie quiz: Match the ad claim with the film

    Kirk
    10 Jan 2012 | 8:38 am
    Feel like a movie? See if you can match the following films, now playing, with the blurbs used in their advertising. (Answers below.) Movies 1. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 3. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 4. War Horse 5. A Separation 6. A Dangerous Method 7. The Iron Lady 8. Young Adult 9. J. Edgar 10. The Muppets Ad Blurbs a. “One of the Best Films of the Year” b. “One of the Best Films of the Year” c. “Easily One of the Year’s Best Pictures!” d. “Best Picture of the Year” e. “The Best…

  • Banished ad words? Whatever.

    Kirk
    5 Jan 2012 | 8:26 am
    Every year since 1976, Lake Superior State University has released its annual list of “Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness.” From the all-time list, I found many clichés used in marketing. Below are a few examples with some comments from the nominators: All new “Of course it’s all new. Why can’t they just say ‘new’?” And more! “Everything marketed can be something else! ‘It’s a hamburger meal, but it’s much, much more! It’s a time machine, too!’” Ask for it by name. “As if…

  • Can Coke save its polar bears?

    Kirk
    3 Jan 2012 | 8:25 am
    Pacific Life is saving the whale. Lacoste is saving the croc. Big Ass Fans is saving the donkey. Can The Coca-Cola Company save the polar bear? In 1993, Coke launched its “Always Coca-Cola” campaign, featuring warm-and-fuzzy computer-animated polar bears drinking Coke. (Below is a TV spot typical of the series.) Ironically, while becoming one of the most popular symbols of the Coke brand, the polar bear also emerged as the poster child for the negative impact of global warming. When brand identity is tied to a threatened species, what’s a brand to do? Coke, along with the…
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    Marketing Interactions

  • Are Shorter Sales Cycles a Wake-up Call for Marketers?

    ArdathAlbee
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:47 pm
    Marketing Sherpa's chart of the week shows the answer to this question. Q. Please select the time period closest to the length of your organization's entire sales cycle, from first lead inquiry to purchase. In the commentary, Jen Doyle states that these results showing shorter sales cycles correlate to the lower deal prices Marketing Sherpa's annual benchmark survey also discovered. But I think there's more at stake here than lower prices. Everyone has been talking about how much time buyers spend self-educating and researching prior to identifying themselves to vendors.

  • 6 Tips for B2B Vendors Becoming Publishers

    ArdathAlbee
    22 Jan 2012 | 11:53 am
    Judging by the amount of online noise being generated, the idea of publishing content is no longer considered to be an "edgy" proposition for many vendors. But noise isn't going to help you meet your goals. The thing about noise is that we've all become adept at tuning it out. There's just so much of it that we've had to develop the survival skill of discernment. We've become very swift judges of what's useful and what's wasting our time. Time we have precious little of with all the social media interaction, email, meetings and job…

  • What Happens When Inbound Marketing Works?

    ArdathAlbee
    18 Jan 2012 | 2:54 pm
    The term "inbound marketing" is getting a lot of play these days as B2B marketers grapple with labels and learning more about how marketing practices are evolving — including the dynamics of content marketing. I'm not getting into what all that means now, but invite you to be part of The Great Marketing Conversation, on January 24th, if you'd like to delve into the nuances. With Robert Rose, Mike Volpe, and Marcus Sheridan, we're bound to stir up quite a discussion. What I do want to talk about in this post is what happens when your inbound content marketing works.

  • The Art of The Ask in Content Marketing

    ArdathAlbee
    15 Jan 2012 | 5:53 pm
    When working on content strategies with clients, the question about which content should be gated always comes up. Content — great content — takes a lot of time, effort and resources to produce. It just makes sense that B2B marketers want people to pay for it with their contact info. Or does it? Regardless of how much has been said about giving to get, setting content free, and sharing without restraint, what comes up for many corporate marketers is that they're stuck in the cross hairs of corporate objectives that don't give them a lot of wiggle room. Accountability and proof…

  • B2B Content Marketing as Trojan Horse

    ArdathAlbee
    12 Jan 2012 | 5:36 pm
    I sat in on the Content Marketing for Real Marketers webinar, with Joe Chernov and Rebecca Lieb, hosted by #CMI and Joe Pulizzi. Of course there were many great points made, but two of them stood out and prompted this blog post: Content draws 10X more media attention than product launches. Diminishing the brand representation in favor of the story enables it to spread. If you look at the first point, it offers proof that no one cares about products, but rather what they enable — which is what great content marketing is all about. The second points out that it's not about your company,…
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    Marketing Articles | Business Articles

  • How to Market Your Business With Postcards

    Business:Marketing Articles from EzineArticles.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:26 pm
    Having a good marketing strategy is a must for any type of company or business and one of the best things you can do to come up with an effective marketing strategy would be to use various tools and resources which can all help you in carrying out your business goals. An overlooked but very effective tool that you can especially consider using would be marketing postcards.

  • How to Market Your Business With Business Cards the Right Way

    Business:Marketing Articles from EzineArticles.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:24 pm
    Today, business cards are still as one of the most powerful and effective marketing and advertising weapons, just like they have always been for decades. Although most companies use them primarily because of their low cost, business cards are able to offer a lot more benefits to companies and businesses of all kinds. If you are wondering how exactly using business cards can help your company, Read on.

  • How to Market Your Business With Brochures

    Business:Marketing Articles from EzineArticles.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:20 pm
    Brochures or pamphlets are one of the more preferred marketing tools of most companies today for many reasons. Aside from being cost effective, they are also very versatile and can be used by any company regardless of the type of business that they have. There are also a wide variety of styles, designs and materials for designing brochures today so it should be easy to choose those which would properly represent your company and convey the message that you have for your target audience.

  • Digital Signage Insight: Working With Graphic Artists

    Business:Marketing Articles from EzineArticles.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:59 pm
    Digital signage is going mainstream as a medium. Simply look around in retail stores, shopping malls, arenas, gas stations, hotel lobbies, restaurants, and just about any other place you can image, and you're bound to see one or more digital signs.

  • Five Reasons Your Small Business Is Not Reaching New Customers

    Business:Marketing Articles from EzineArticles.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:13 pm
    For many small businesses, the seasonal nature of the product being sold is reason enough to have a slow winter season. However, the world of small business marketing is undergoing a major shift as online marketing gains more and more momentum, leaving many small businesses are at a loss for how to reach new customers. If you find that you are experiencing trouble gaining exposure with new customers, here are five possible solutions to your problem: 1.
 
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    A Source Of Inspiration

  • Facebook Timeline Cards by Moo.com

    Armando Alves
    5 Jan 2012 | 5:04 pm
    Great idea (and partnership with Facebook) by print-on-demand service Moo.com, using the new Timeline view to create business cards. Using your Cover Photo, Timeline layout and typography, Moo’s application can turn your Timeline into a pack of business card with your primary details using Facebook’s API. On the back, you can add your own quotation or sentence about yourself. To make your own Facebook cards just go to your http://www.facebook.com/yourfacebookusername/info and hover on the business card on your contact info – the first 50000 ones get printed for free via Ana…

  • Shameless promotion: SAPO Panoramas

    Armando Alves
    3 Jan 2012 | 7:11 pm
    It’s been a while since my last shameless promotion, but truth be told there haven’t been many interactive projects from Portugal worthy of it. But this one is both cool and had a friend involved, Pedro Pinheiro. Panoramas Sapo Back in March 2011, Pedro and Basilio began working on their photographic panorama of a key landscape Lisbon monument, Castelo de São Jorge. But it’s not your regular photo: it’s a Tera pixel panoramic photo of Lisbon! With over 2000 hours of computing processing, 32.000 photo shots, 6TB of data and 5.000 hours of work the project was launched…

  • iTunes most played 2011

    Armando Alves
    31 Dec 2011 | 6:53 am
    Reset your iTunes play count, to get the most played songs of the year. Here’s my top 11 for 2011 (YouTube playlist): Have a great 2012!

  • The Icon Handbook

    Armando Alves
    21 Dec 2011 | 5:40 pm
    Jon Hicks of HicksDesign released yesterday The Icon Handbook. The paperback would make a great gift for the season, but for now it’s only available as digital edition (PDF, ePub & Mobi). I couldn’t resist the visual goodness and the chance to get inside the mind of one the great designers on this field (Jon designed Firefox’s logo) and rewarded myself with one. From ideation to drawing tips, web or application icons, this is one of the best references on icon design available, further confirmed by the great feedback on Twitter. I'm only about halfway through The Icon…

  • Arcade Fire: Sprawl2 interactive video

    Armando Alves
    16 Dec 2011 | 10:40 am
    This afternoon when Arcade Fire posted about their new Sprawl2 video, the website wasn’t available yet, so as a huge fan i was a tad disappointed with only the quirky video available (below). But now it’s live the new interactive video by Vincent Morisset (who just joined unit9), and you really have to exercise your dancing skills on this one. Enjoy the interactive version at http://www.sprawl2.com/ (webcam required) or just the official video.
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    AttentionMax

  • Teen Drivers And SUVs Are A Lethal Combination

    maxkalehoff
    21 Jan 2012 | 8:33 am
    Cars — and especially SUVs — are lethal machinery. They’re even more lethal when combined with young, inexperienced drivers. The other night at around 10:30pm, nearly asleep after a 19-hour day, we heard a car skid outside our home. We looked out the window to see that a Ford Expedition had spun out of control, side-swiped one of our oak trees, skidded over the sidewalk and through our bushes, and landed halfway into our front yard. I couldn’t get good pictures from my phone that night, but I’ve posted on this page a few next-morning images of the damage. More…

  • Twitter’s Value In Revealing Deep Customer Sentiment

    maxkalehoff
    16 Jan 2012 | 6:01 am
    Twitter now is fully a part of a marketer’s universe. But it should not rule out other social media venues when seeking deep customer sentiment. Serendipitously, I met with two CEOs last week to talk about their ventures in text-mining and social media analysis. I’ve been out of the social media analysis game for some time, but my legacy and this site regularly attract companies seeking either confidential feedback or public affirmation. I’ll always be fascinated with the subject, so I welcome these connections. (My work at Clickable is catapulting me back into the social…

  • Vanity Short URLs For Individual People

    maxkalehoff
    15 Jan 2012 | 8:46 am
    Have you ever considered using your OWN NAME in a vanity short URL (like this: maxkalehoff.com/yQTeX4)? Thanks to the global proliferation of messaging services like Twitter and SMS, and a recognized value of character efficiency, URL shortening has gone mainstream. In case you’re one of my non-technical readers, Wikipedia defines URL shortening as a technique on the World Wide Web in which a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is made substantially shorter in length and still direct to the required page. URL shortening is useful when there is a severe limit on the number of characters…

  • 12 Personal Aspirations For 2012

    maxkalehoff
    14 Jan 2012 | 9:47 am
    Better late than never. I like the act of self reflection and prescription involved with new-year resolutions. But to me, these formal intentions tend to be idealistic, poorly executed and often cliche. That’s why I’ve always shied away from them. Rather than declare resolutions, I’m declaring aspirations. I’m not running from a commitment to win-lose, binary outcomes. Rather, I’m working toward enhancements in my life. My overall aspiration is a slightly more deliberate, balanced and tactile life. Thoughts and recommendations for my aspirations are welcomed.

  • New Yorkers Living Longest And Why Walking May Have Something To Do With It

    maxkalehoff
    31 Dec 2011 | 11:17 am
    “If you want to live longer and healthier than the average American, then come to New York City.” - Mayor Bloomberg, December 27, 2011 True or not, I’ve always perceived that people in New York are slimmer and healthier than people elsewhere. My theory has always been that while New York is perhaps the most stressful place to live in the U.S., its inhabitants are forced to walk more than any other city or metropolitan area. For example, most people don’t have cars. Most can’t afford taxis most of the time. Most live above ground floor and don’t have an…
 
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    Strategic Public Relations

  • Links for 2012-01-27 [del.icio.us]

    28 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    Tips for Better Listening based on 7 Types of Listeners | Lead Change Group There's a great stat about how much of communication involves listening. And it's a higher percentage than you think. Yet we're never taught about it in professional development of even college.

  • Links for 2012-01-26 [del.icio.us]

    27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    GE Study Proves Consumers Respond More to Shared Content | Digital - Advertising Age Word of Mouth Marketers will simply note this is an online extension of offline word of mouth. Which is just to say that it's not surprising to see this prove out. But keep in mind, earned may deliver response while paid may be required to deliver eyeballs to help respond.

  • Links for 2012-01-25 [del.icio.us]

    26 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    Put Your Taproot Into the Independent Web | John Battelle's Search Blog Zynga and Causes realize what many others know, Facebook's part of a much larger picture when it comes to social media and the web.

  • Links for 2012-01-24 [del.icio.us]

    25 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    McDonald's Twitter Campaign Goes Horribly Wrong #McDStories When activists use hashtags, it can be very effective. When brands use them, they need to be prepared to have consumers take them in a different direction -- even an offbrand, negative and NSFW direction. Marketers Tease Super Bowl Commercials The days of 1984 commercials are long behind us and campaigns around the Super Bowl ads have gotten more extensive as media continues to converge. Volkswagen's BarkSide was an ad teasing an ad. So it's not a shock to see others follow suit this year.

  • 5 Tips for Free, Easy Photo Edits

    Kevin Dugan
    22 Jan 2012 | 10:17 pm
    The news of Google's latest service shutdowns means picture editing is no longer a Picnik for many bloggers, Flickr users and others.Google is shutting down Picnik and wrapping the technology into services like Google+. And while many die hard Picnik users are understandably miffed, the odds are good that several alternatives have come about to handily replace their de facto image editor.Whether or not you use Picnik, here are five tips for free and easy photo edits.1) Your Computer: Most laptops come preloaded with image editing software. It may only cover the basics, but it'll do in a…
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    Business is Personal

  • What does a new business owner do first?

    Mark
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:11 pm
    photo credit: Sebastian Mary Recently I received an email from a reader who said my blog made them feel like they had come in during the middle of a movie. Why? Because they’re at the startup stage in their business, while many of my posts focus on existing businesses. Fair enough. Let’s talk about startups. The overwhelming load at startup can freeze you in your tracks. You’re just starting to learn how to market (usually). You may need to know where to find less-expensive supplies, how to introduce your product to customers and how to price what you make/do. Best of all,…

  • Out of Stock

    Mark
    20 Jan 2012 | 6:47 am
    photo credit: Zigar When your store is out of stock on an item…what does your staff do and say? When I was out of state not long ago, I looked around for a pair of light hikers for everyday wear. I knew exactly what I wanted right down to the model name. I visited a locally owned store, but they didn’t have my size in stock. A few days later, I visited a box store. They had the shoe on the wall (which is never my size), but they didn’t have any others. They didn’t even have the match to the one on the wall. As I got into the car in the box store parking lot, I called…

  • Your customers are already trained to share. Help them.

    Mark
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:30 am
    Have you noticed what happens when you add an item to your Amazon wish list? Three tabs appear on the right side of the “We just added this to your wish list page”. This tab is ready-made for a Facebook post with just one click. There’s a link to the book, a brief summary of the book and a 1 click button to share your wish. This tab is ready-made for a tweet with one click. It even makes note that a link to your wish list item will be part of the tweet and because 140 characters is always on the mind of Twitter users, it notes that the link’s characters are part…

  • SOPA / PIPA: Business on a Rope

    Mark
    18 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am
    You may not have heard much about SOPA and its counterpart in the U.S. Senate, PIPA. SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) have a noble and necessary cause behind them: To protect the intellectual property created by U.S. citizens and businesses. What is “Intellectual Property”?  Movies, music, photos, books, stories, blog posts, computer software, patented processes, engineered work, designs and so on. No doubt you are aware that there are people and businesses, both inside and outside the U.S., who copy other people’s creations and…

  • Stop Chasing Rabbits: A Productivity/Focus “Secret”

    Mark
    16 Jan 2012 | 6:40 am
    photo credit: notsogoodphotography I don’t spend a lot of time writing about “the hows” of staying focused, but I do remind you now and then about the reasons that make focus so important. For example, I closed the post A Thousand Dollars an Hour with “The goal? To do more of the right work. The work that advances your business in massive steps.” I hope everyone can relate to that. There’s nothing wrong with what I might call “leisure reading”, but I suggest setting aside time for it rather than doing it during time planned for work. One thing…
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    emergencemarketing.com

  • You don’t want to turn your business into a social business

    francois
    23 Jan 2012 | 3:33 pm
    For someone who co-authored a book on how companies that succeed in leveraging this current wave of innovation, powered by the social, do so by turning their business processes into social processes, it may seem contradictory to now hear that you should not turn your business into a social business. There are several reasons why those two concepts are very different. And most pundits declaring that  you should be building social businesses are missing the point. First off, a social business (see WikiPedia entry) has been defined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus inhis…

  • CIO 2.0 Conversation with Dan Greller, consultant, speaker and ex-CIO at Legg-Mason

    francois
    29 Sep 2011 | 2:18 pm
    Dan Greller, the former CIO at Legg Mason, and currently technology innovation consultant, speaker and writer (with a great blog), was kind enough to join me for my second CIO 2.0 Conversation. Dan has 30 years of experience managing global technology organizations, mostly within the financial services industry. Having first entered the job market when the debate between mainframe and desktop computing was raging, Dan has seen his share of technology innovation battles – which made it particularly interesting to discuss this latest battle between innovation and control taking place…

  • CIO 2.0 Conversation with Shirley Cunningham, CIO at Monsanto

    francois
    22 Sep 2011 | 5:49 pm
    My first CIO 2.0 conversation with Shirley Cunningham, the CIO at Monsanto, was truly a 2.0 conversation. Shirley has a rich background. Hailing from Scotland, she held many positions in MIS departments (Management Information Systems) across various industries before joining Monsanto in the late 90′s through an acquisition. She became the global CIO 3 years ago. As CIO at Monsanto, Shirley is a member of the strategy team. Becoming a member of the strategy team came with a change in role for  IT – that from being an order taker to a strategic partner sharing responsibility for…

  • CMO 2.0 Influencer Conversation with Tom Asacker

    francois
    1 Sep 2011 | 9:26 am
    I truly enjoyed my CMO 2.0 Influencer conversation with Tom Asacker – who I consider a friend and also admire as an original marketing thinker. Tom is the author of multiple books, including Opportunity Screams: Unlocking Hearts and Minds in Today’s Idea Economy, and also blogs at A Clear Eye. Before becoming a successful author and speaker, Tom started his career at GE, where he participated in a management buyout of an electronics firm. After that he became the founder and CEO for a medical devices company. The first topic we tackled is that of marketing in a world where…

  • CMO 2.0 Conversation with Tom Nightingale, CMO at Con-way

    francois
    31 Aug 2011 | 5:05 pm
    My CMO 2.0 Conversation with Tom Nightingale, the CMO at Con-way, a $5B publicly traded transportation and logistics company, was very enlightening to say the least. When I spoke with Tom, he had been the CMO at Con-way for 5 years, where he overlooks public relations, web and digital marketing, product marketing, lead generation, events, direct marketing, new product development, customer satisfaction and voice of the customer – generally what you would expect the responsibilities of a CMO to be. He is also responsible for internal communications and enterprise sales management. One…
 
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    Adverblog

  • AXE – The Cleaner

    Rocco
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:15 am
    In Argentina, AXE runs an interesting online campaign featuring The Cleaner. This guy makes sure no evidence is left behind after that very wild night. The campaign is completely video based, and starts with a 3-minute long adventure. When visiting the website, you will get to know The Cleaner in two different episodes. And although my Spanish is pretty bad, I get the picture easily, and so will you. The cool thing is that due to lenght, size and quality of the video’s, it feels like a little movie you’re part of. The campaign is set up to promote different AXE showergels, among…

  • OOH advergame by BMW

    Martina
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:53 am
    Very interesting interactive campaign by BMW in South Africa. For the launch of the new 1 series car, they’ve attracted and engaged consumers with a racing game projected on buildings and scaffoldings. The fun thing is that consumers had the chance to join the game by connecting their iPad to a dedicated Facebook app. It’s not the first time that we see advergame interfaces projected on outdoor surfaces or megascreens (see this Blue Bloods billboard or this McD campaign) but I believe this BMW idea is one of the first examples of a Facebook Connect OOH advergame. I also appreciate…

  • Net A Porter Window Shopping

    Tim
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:09 pm
    To celebrate the launch of ‘Karl’ by Karl Lagerfeld, a range available exclusively at Net-a-Porter, the online fashion giant produced a real window shopping experience. Fashionistas are invited to come to shop fronts in Paris, New York, London, Munich and Sydney. There they can use the Net-A-Porter mobile app to scan, inspect and buy the hottest items. The film below documents the premiere of this idea in September 2011 at Fashion’s Night Out in London and New York. Launching the new range ‘Karl, sees the concept rolled out globally, including a chance to spot Karl…

  • androp: World.Words.Lights.

    Tim
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:42 pm
    Japanese agency PARTY have created another stunning music video-robotics crossover, again for androp. Interestingly, you can purchase the hero robot (singer?) as part of alimited edition on eBay. If you can spare $5,000 that is. Check out androp’s site here. The creators explain the inspiration like this: “When we listened to the track, keywords such as “lights” and ” dance music” stood out. In order to visualize the mechanical beats, and these 2 themes, we came up with an idea to create a group of “toys” which dances to the music.”…

  • The VFX secrets of Boardwalk Empire

    Martina
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:22 am
    Get ready for some “wow”. Brainstorm Digital shares with the public (some) of the secrets of the visual effects in HBO’s hit series “Boardwalk Empire”. The images are pretty amazing, especially if watching the show you had no idea of the amount of computer graphics involved. What’s real? What’s CG? I bet your will never watch a TV series with the same eyes again. These are VFX breakdowns of season 2: While this is season 1. via Notcot
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    Sport And Health Blog

  • Canadian Pharmacy – Best Way to Get Treated

    Sebastian
    24 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am
    When we get into the topic of sports, one is sure to get into the topic of sports injuries as well. Sports injuries are of many types and vary considerably according to a particular kind of game. There are some injury form that can be more associated with only a specific type of sports overall. When people have sustained injury, especially that of a severe sports injury then it become essential to resort for immediate treatments that includes taking of the right kind of medicines. Canadian pharmacy online is one of the best pharmacies that provides for a great service in providing the right…

  • MLS Cup Finals Soon

    Sebastian
    25 Oct 2011 | 9:05 am
    While we in the USA look ahead to the MLS Cup Finals schedule, hoping our teams will make it to the big game, spare a thought for our footballing brothers across the pond. This morning in Manchester, England, the smoke of a thousand fires assails the sky, the black eyes, bruised egos, burnt bathrooms and broken records are littered across the city’s sense of surrealism, in the wake of what was surely the most dramatic derby day defeat ever. Manchester City have triumphed in such an extreme fashion that the Red Devils and their fans are still wobbling their heads, asking themselves…

  • Boas and Torres

    Sebastian
    21 Oct 2011 | 3:44 am
    Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas will give a clear indication of Fernando Torres’s place in his long-term plans when he names his team for Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Genk. Torres has been sidelined for Chelsea’s last two Premier League games as a result of his reckless red card against Swansea on September 24, but the ban doesn’t affect European ties so the Spanish striker is available for Genk’s visit to Stamford Bridge. Before his dismissal for a two-footed lunge on Mark Gower, Torres had finally started to show a few glimpses of the predatory…

  • NFL Calendar

    Sebastian
    21 Oct 2011 | 3:39 am
    — Jan. 1, 2012—Regular season concludes — Jan. 7-8—Wild-card playoffs — Jan. 14-15—Division-round playoffs — Jan. 21-22—Conference championships — Feb. 5, 2012—Super Bowl, Indianapolis

  • Fixtures from England

    Sebastian
    21 Oct 2011 | 12:49 am
    Friday, October 21 2011 League Two 19.45     Accrington Stanley     -     Cheltenham Town Saturday, October 22 2011 Premier League 12.45     Wolverhampton Wanderers     -     Swansea City 15.00     Bolton Wanderers     -     Sunderland 15.00     Aston Villa     -     West Bromwich Albion 15.00     Newcastle United     -     Wigan Athletic 17.30     Liverpool     -     Norwich City Championship 15.00     Leicester City     -     Millwall 15.00     Coventry City     -     Burnley 17.20     Reading     -   …
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    All You Need Is A Good Idea!

  • IF YOU WON’T TAKE MY WORD…

    Jay Heyman
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:39 am
    Image by John Kratz via Flickr For longer than I can believe, in my book, my blog, and my presentations, I have been telling you how important good ideas are. How creativity and innovation and the unexpected will help you build your brand, stand out from your competition, and even probably be fun. But for those of you who have read the above paragraph as “blah, blah, blah,” after hearing my message so often, let me add the input of three disparate business people, whom you might be more apt to listen to. The quotees(?) have nothing in common, except their shared high opinion of the…

  • READ ANY GOOD BUNS LATELY?

    Jay Heyman
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:24 am
    The Los Angeles Times, among other publications and blogs, talks about Wimpy, a South African 500-restaurant chain. To promote its new Braille menu, it created burgers with words in Braille spelled out on the buns with sesame seeds. Each bun had a description such as “100% pure beef.” Diners at three Braille organizations were given 15 of the burgers. And in case you are curious how much impact 15 burgers can have, Wimpy claims 800,000 people have heard about their menu through Braille publications and organizations. In addition, the YouTube video below has been viewed so far by over…

  • WE ARE ONLY HUMAN

    Jay Heyman
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:28 am
    Image via Wikipedia I occasionally nitpick about, and point out typos in ads. But I do realize that stuff happens. It certainly happens to me, though I do try to be extra attentive. And while I won't usually confuse "their," they're and "there," when it comes to finer grammatical points, I am sure I often mix my metaphors, split my infinitives and in general mortify my old PS 99 principal (not "principle") Fletcher. I have no excuse, so naturally I will offer one. I write solo and usually on deadline. And the truth is, I am usually delighted to just get…

  • TAKE THE CURRENT WHEN IT SERVES

    Jay Heyman
    16 Jan 2012 | 6:45 am
    Image via Wikipedia A very fancy-shmancy blog title indeed. Shakespeare, in fact. Which is part of a quote (full quote below) that basically means there is a time to take action, and if you hesitate, and wait and wait and wait, the opportunity will disappear and you will be the poorer for it. Believe it or not, the reason this quote came to my mind was a whole wheat everything bagel. A couple of years ago, after cutting one in half prior to toasting, I was scooping it out. (That’s what my wife insists on; she claims will get rid of a large amount of the calories and not reduce the taste.) I…

  • MARKETING DOESN’T GET MUCH SIMPLER THAN THIS

    Jay Heyman
    12 Jan 2012 | 6:15 am
    Image via Wikipedia Our favorite take-out Chinese restaurant suddenly closed. No warning, no notice. The metal gate was down, and when you peered inside, the refrigerator and other equipment was gone. Since it was our go to take-out, we felt bad for the owners. But we also had to select a replacement. Granted, since we are talking Manhattan, there are many choices. But which one would it be? The replacement decision was made easier when I passed by the closed store this morning. Very simply—and cleverly—a nearby competitor had put a bunch of their menus on the chain that locked the door.
 
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    Seth's Blog

  • The honest broker

    Seth Godin
    28 Jan 2012 | 4:42 am
    It really is a choice, one or the other. Either you happily recommend the best option for your customer, or you give preference to your own items first. Either you believe in what you sell, or you don't. Either you treat your best partners better, or you treat everyone the same. Either you shade the truth when it's painful to do otherwise, or you consistently share what's important. Either you always keep your promises or you don't. Either you give me the best price the first time, or you make me jump through hoops to get there. Earning the position of the honest broker is time-consuming and…

  • Reconsidering Gartner's Cycle of Hype

    Seth Godin
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:22 am
    One theory of technology marketing and acceptance goes like this: A technology causes a media hypestorm and rising expectations. Then it crashes to Earth as the popular press and the public discovers that it's not all the hypesters said it would be--through no fault of the technologists who brought it to the world in the first place. Then, gradually, the truth about the technology seeps out until finally it reaches its use case--and then becomes that status quo, just waiting to be disrupted as it previously disrupted what came before. While the violent vicissitudes of this chart make for good…

  • Who cares?

    Seth Godin
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:09 am
    Unless someone does, things start to fray around the edges. Often it's the CEO or the manager who sets a standard of caring about the details. Even better is a culture where everyone cares, and where each person reinforces that horizontally throughout the team. You've probably been to the hotel that serves refrigerated tomatoes in January at their $20 breakfast, that doesn't answer the phone when you call the front desk, that has a shower curtain that is falling off the rack and a slightly snarky concierge. This is in sharp relief to that hotel down the street, the one that costs just the…

  • Solving problems (vs. identifying them)

    Seth Godin
    25 Jan 2012 | 4:27 am
    Often, we're hesitant to identify a problem out of fear we can't solve it. Knowing that we have to live with something that we're unable to alter gives us a good reason to avoid verbalizing it--highlighting it just makes it worse. While this sort of denial might be okay for individuals (emphasis on might), it's a lousy approach for organizations of any size. That's because there are almost certainly resources available that can solve a problem if you decide it's truly worth solving. Put yourself and your people on a path to finding problems without regard for whether or not they are capable…

  • "It's completely up to you"

    Seth Godin
    24 Jan 2012 | 4:06 am
    ... and that's the problem. I was picking out the mat for a framed photo and there were a thousand colors to choose from. The framer uttered the scary invocation, putting the choice back to me. So many things are now completely up to us, more than ever before. Where and how and when we work and invest and interact and instruct and learn... If you think you have no choice but to do what you do now, you've already made a serious error. It seems to me that passing the buck on this merely because it's easier than choosing is precisely the wrong strategy. It enables an abdication of power that…
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    MarketingProfs Daily Fix Blog

  • Free Friday: Learn How to Give Your Customers a Fantastic Brand Experience

    Veronica Maria Jarski
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:01 am
    Want to gain and retain more customers through improved cross-channel customer interactions? Then check out this Free Friday’s offering: the opportunity to attend the free seminar Optimizing the Customer Journey: Strategy and Case Study. Guest speaker and vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, Shar VanBoskirk, will give you the scoop on how to optimize your interactive marketing and improve your customers’ brand experience in four steps using CORE principles: Customize Optimize Respond Empower By attending this free seminar, you’ll learn how to speed…

  • How to Define Public Relations

    David Reich
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:02 am
    The Public Relations Society (PRSA) recently announced an effort to update the formal definition of Public Relations. They invited PR professionals to submit their suggestions for how to define what we do. And they unveiled the three leading contenders to become the new official definition of what we in PR do at work. The top three were compiled from more than 625 responses PRSA received. If you go to the site and click on “read annotations” under each definition, you can get a good idea of why certain words and phrases were used. I’m really not crazy about any of them,…

  • Marketing Smarts Podcast: Sally Hogshead and the $500 Cup of Coffee

    Matthew Grant
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:57 am
    What if you wanted to open up a coffee shop in a hip, urban neighborhood? Chances are you would already face competition from other indy shops, Starbucks, and the local equivalent of Dunkin’ Donuts. How could you go about differentiating yourself? The main problem is simple: You and your competitors basically sell the same thing. This means that your point of differentiation will have little to do with your product and everything to do with creating an aura around that product that others find fascinating. One way to do this, according to this week’s guest on Marketing Smarts,…

  • Sharing Your Way to B2B Social Media Lead Generation

    Jeffrey L. Cohen
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:39 pm
    Social media has always involved sharing quality content with your network, but in its current state, B2B companies need to understand how social media can connect with their sales cycle. Companies need to find prospective customers for their products and services, and they need those prospects to find them. Traditionally, B2B marketers were responsible for generating leads at their companies. That role of marketing has not substantially changed with the advent of social media. But many social media purists have rejected the notion of using any part of social media to fill the sales funnel.

  • Marketing Study Shocker: QR Codes & Social Media Have Little Impact for Shoppers

    Ted Mininni
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:58 am
    “As much as people embrace all things digital, they’re much fussier when they turn into actual shoppers. In fact, QR codes and social media have very little impact, according to new research from Catapult Action-Biased Marketing, a Westport Connecticut-based researcher.” Those are the opening lines of a recent Media Post Marketing Daily article, “Shoppers Spurn Social, QR Codes.” Wow. So let’s dig deeper. According to Catapult Marketing’s Brian Cohen, digital shopper marketing director, “We looked at 1,200 consumers, and the role that social media is playing is not as large as…
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    Ogilvy Blog Aggregator

  • Brand Personality Goes A Long Way

    27 Jan 2012 | 12:58 pm
    Consider the famous exchange from Pulp Fiction in which Jules and Vincent debate the rationality of abstaining from pork. Jules just doesn’t dig on swine, that’s all, because they’re basically dirty, like dogs. VINCENT:     Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? JULES:          I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy, but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way. VINCENT:     Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?

  • Super-slick, superfast

    27 Jan 2012 | 10:21 am
    I think I first saw it when the guy across from me on the train was reading the Metro. And I was intrigued. Just what is going on there? Is that really Usain Bolt impersonating Richard Branson?! Now I’ve been surrounded by it – it’s everywhere. As yet, I’m not annoyed with it because I’m always seeing it in a new context (instead of the same thing over and over again). In fact, I’m actually interested to see where they’ll take it next. What a great way to get the message across. I think what they’ve done is just marvellous – it’s simple, it’s clear, it’s clever, it’s…

  • The 4 Principles Of Delusional Economics

    27 Jan 2012 | 6:59 am
    When it comes to economic theories, there is plenty of fascination in the business world around how to explain what drives business and purchasing activities. Behavioural economics, the field of economics concerned with examining why people behave the way they do when it comes to their purchasing behaviour, is hot right now.  Bestselling books like Freakonomics and Predictably Irrational dig deep into the psyche of people to try and explain seemingly illogical actions. My own upcoming book called Likeonomics, to some degree, looks at a similar theme of why we do business with people and…

  • Sh*t We Say: Lessons from a Long-Tailed Meme – Part 1

    26 Jan 2012 | 4:21 pm
    “It’s an English basement.” That might not mean much to you, but it probably made you chuckle if you fall into one of the two groups: Current or former D.C. residents Viewers of Sh*t People In D.C. Say Of course, this video is one of many variations of the Sh*t Girls Say series - which has a cumulative YouTube viewership of 20+ million and growing. You know the premise: Stereotypical expressions from people of a certain ilk, organized by gender, hobby, lifestyle, or geography. There are takes on skiers, hipsters, suburban moms, and even sh*t nobody says (a personal favorite)…

  • Totoya Creatures

    26 Jan 2012 | 10:38 am
    [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.] Totoya Creatures are the combination of the new and old. They are the next generation of plush toys: soft and digital pets for kids. It plays tunes, repeats voice with effects, pretends being a cyclops and likes when you comb his hair. Manufactured with natural user interface and child-safe materials.
 
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    adliterate

  • Crimes against social

    20 Jan 2012 | 1:03 am
    Image courtesy of freefotouk 2012 may not have be greeted by the industry with a great deal of enthusiasm, after all the big Olympic event that should have marked the end of our economic woes will now merely record their nadir. Nonetheless, it is a fresh, crisp, virginal new year so not only is it ripe and full of possibilities it is also as yet unsullied by much ghastliness from the advertising world. So with this fresh start in mind I would like to make a plea, a plea that we have a quiet word with ourselves about social media. And in particular that we offer rather better advice to our…

  • What's your problem?

    10 Jan 2012 | 3:45 pm
    All great marketing solutions start with a well and accurately defined problem and a correct diagnosis of the course of action that needs to be followed. So I thought I’d talk a little about this to kick the new year off in a back to basics style. There is a very basic diagnostic tool I want to share with you that works a treat at the very start of a project and ensures that you are directing your efforts in the right and most profitable direction.

  • Content - lessons from the front line

    3 Jan 2012 | 4:06 pm
    Late last year I was asked to give a talk at the IPA, along with the brilliant Rachel Barrie (from sister agency Fallon), about content driven campaigns. Rachel talked about her experiences working on Gorilla and I talked about our learnings from T-Mobile Dance - both IPA award winners in 2010. It was a rather informal Q&A affair and so there are no charts but in an attempt at prep I scribbled down a few lessons I think that we have learned from our T-Mobile experiences and perhaps more latterly from WeightWatchers. So here they are with the minimum explanation.

  • ‘Tis the season to obsess about trends.

    27 Dec 2011 | 10:00 am
    Image courtesy of SonOfJordan. For those of you frustrated by the lack of sense my trends presentation makes when you only have the charts, here is the story. I wrote it as a column for Brand Republic so its not identical but covers much the same ground.

  • Trends are trendy, insights get shit done

    3 Dec 2011 | 8:01 am
    My new rubber stamp. If there is enough interest I might get some more made. I gave a talk at Haymarket's Trends Plus conference this week. I'm sure it was a wonderful shindig - the speakers I saw were excellent - but I couldn't help feeling a bit contrary about a conference on trends. I've never had much truck with the 'cool hunting' fraternity, about predicting the future and about making money out of stating the bleeding obvious. Or for that matter from Portmanteaus - the ghastly habit of sticking two perfectly good english words together to make a new word that is both ridiculous and…
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    Marketing.fm

  • The new “getting started” with gadgets

    info@marketing.fm (www.Marketing.fm)
    11 Jan 2012 | 7:22 am
    Getting started with gadgets has changed.  It used to be that each electronic gizmo, phone, or device required a quick registration and understanding of their proprietary system. Now however, you are greeted with ever familiar OAuth prompts for services you probably already have an account with.  This happens with more than just web services.  Unboxing a new TV you are asked to install widgets for Facebook and Twitter.  Setting up a digital picture frame you are asked to OAuth with Flickr.  Certain sites and web services can even benefit from handshaking with foursquare too. This is…

  • moar personal tracking! iDoneThis.com

    info@marketing.fm (www.Marketing.fm)
    10 Jan 2012 | 7:44 am
    With the new year comes a flurry of new years resolutions from everyone – myself included.  I am giving iDoneThis a try at the recommendation of two friends.  Its a simple a lightweight way to track what happened each day, and build momentum for the next entry. Their system emails you when you want (mine come at 11pm) and you simply reply back with whatever you want for that day.  I am using this as a personal “snippets” of sorts to see if I get value.  I am trying to stay on top of it, and I am proud to say I have so far been great at it (yup, almost all 10 days of the…

  • hello Homeland and the #screwcable problem

    info@marketing.fm (www.Marketing.fm)
    9 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am
    I have been thinking about cable tv and the future of video for what seems like forever. Much has been written here about tv in general, boxee, and the future of television (remember Joost?). Tonight I finished watching Homeland from Showtime – and tweeted about it (really great show by the way!) To my surprise it set off a flurry of responses from friends and colleagues who were at various stages of being either interested in starting to watch it, in the middle of it, or interested in more.  This presents a “hello Homeland” situation for many of my friends who want to…

  • A Common Metric of Success

    info@marketing.fm (www.Marketing.fm)
    11 Nov 2011 | 11:30 am
    Getting everyone on the same page is important for any company. It becomes especially important in the beginning of a startup when you have small teams working on small projects in different departments.  This helps everyone know exactly what metric of success you are going after.  It also helps align groups to determine whether or not the work that they are doing aligns with the quantified goals of the company. These metrics could be anything such as; pageviews, sign ups, paying customers, shipments made, monthly accounts activated, downloads, etc… The common number helps people in…

  • Always Be Helping the @NYTM

    info@marketing.fm (www.Marketing.fm)
    9 Nov 2011 | 6:05 am
    Please vote for me at http://bit.ly/EricNYTM I have been a member  and participant of the New York Tech Meetup for many years, and it was one of the ways in which I got exposed to great startups in NYC. I have met some great people, seen some incredible demos, and made some good friends over the years.  When I saw the opportunity to participate further, I jumped at the chance and wanted to pitch how I can continue to be helpful, only this time as a member of the board. I am running to Always Be Helping the NY Tech Meetup, or simply #abh.   If I continue to help people get introduce to…
 
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    Hard Knox Life

  • “There’s something happening here…”

    Dave Knox
    14 Jan 2012 | 5:22 pm
    As I sit here at our region’s first Startup Weekend, it is clear that there’s something happening here when it comes to Cincinnati’s entrepreneurial scene.  That magic is in the air as we watch over 100 people work on launching a startup in just 54 hours.  The success of this event builds on the momentum of the last 12 months that includes: Venture for America announced that Cincinnati is going to be part of their inaugural class of 4 cities starting Summer 2012. The Brandery had a busy year as we moved into our new home into Over the Rhine and the Kauffman Fellows named…

  • Mark Cuban’s 12 Rules for Startups

    Dave Knox
    17 Dec 2011 | 10:39 am
    I just finished reading Mark Cuban’s new ebook How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It. Considering it only costs $2.99, there is no reason for you not to go buy it right this minute. While the entire thing is a great read, I particularly enjoyed a chapter at the end entitled “12 Cuban Rules for Startups.”. They include: Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love. If you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession. Hire people who you think will love working there. Sales Cure All. Know how your company will make…

  • Help Rockfish win iMedia Agency of the Year

    Dave Knox
    15 Nov 2011 | 7:30 am
    Tonight I received the great news that Rockfish is one of ten finalist for the inaugural iMedia Agency of the Year Awards.  With iMedia being one of the leading sources of digital marketing news and insight, this is quite the honor.  But being nominated doesn’t mean that we are the winner.  That title will go to the agency that receives the most votes between now and Friday, November 18th. I am not one to ask for a favor, but this is one of those cases where I will go out on a limb and ask for help.   If you have been impressed with the work we are doing at Rockfish, please take the…

  • Join our Roundtable on the Future of Digital Marketing

    Dave Knox
    8 Nov 2011 | 7:49 am
    This week I am taking part in a fun experiment with a new startup called Roundtable.    Roundtable describes itself in the following way: At Roundtable we’re all about empowering meaningful conversations – between thought leaders, between friends, and between curated communities of strangers. It is a really neat concept and one I became interested in after reading a Roundtable on Startup Funding that was hosted a few weeks ago.  I decided to jump at the chance to have Rockfish host a Roundtable on the Future of Digital Marketing.  After all, we call ourselves a “Digital…

  • “Kentucky for Kentucky” – This is a Kickstarter campaign I can get behind

    Dave Knox
    26 Oct 2011 | 6:14 pm
    Thanks for the folks at SocialTimes, I came across one of the coolest Kickstarter campaigns that I have seen yet.  ”Kentucky for Kentucky” is aiming to accomplish the following: With your help, we are going to crowd-fund, produce, and air the most epically kick ass Super Bowl 2012 commercial for the great Commonwealth of Kentucky. For Kentucky by Kentuckians. That’s what it means to a be a Commonwealth. It’s a project that Kentuckians all around the world will be proud to be apart of. Join us, become a Kentuckian. While I was not born in Kentucky, I have become an…
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    Lip-Sticking

  • Facebook for Places from Mari Smith

    Yvonne
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:38 am
    Professional Facebook expert, Mari Smith, shares insight into the way businesses can use Facebook Places. Do you use this tool? How is it working for you?

  • Chevy's got a Super Bowl App and a big Game Time Sweepstakes

    Donna DeClemente
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:34 am
    By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk For anyone that is a true football fan, last Sunday was by far one of the most exciting NFL conference championship game days you can have. Yes, it will take a while for Raven fans to get over the missed chip-shot field goal and the 49er's to wonder what if they didn't turn over the ball in overtime. We're now moving on to Super Bowl XLVI with a big rematch between the Patriots and the Giants. As I said in my last post, I'm betting on Eli Manning and the New York Giants to be this year's champions. The Super Bowl has now become the most…

  • How Much Do You Love To Write?

    Yvonne
    21 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess As an entrepreneur you wake up every morning with an itch to get in front of your computer and start writing, right? You're looking forward to jumping into your social media updates, writing a blog post or two, putting together a proposal or even composing business correspondence. Raise your hand if you love it. Hhhmm I am not seeing too many hands. Do you find writing to be a chore? Just not something that you enjoy because you don't know what to write about, you stress about grammar and punctuation or is it simply the blank screen that makes you…

  • Women and Health: Designing Your Second Half of Life

    Yvonne
    20 Jan 2012 | 10:39 am
    by Yvonne DiVita Yes, there is a 2nd half to life for women. It comes around age 50. Unlike our mothers, who considered 50 'old', today's women know that 50 can be enlightening, invigorating, freeing, and full of expectation. We disdain the rocking chair on the porch. If we knit, it's because we need a blog post! If we cook, it's because we have a passion for taste - and love sharing. If we're married, we're happier than our mothers were (because we have a friendship as well as a marriage), and if we're not married, we're content and full of the wonder of life as it beckons us with…

  • “Teach us,” is the cry of the women

    Mary Schmidt
    20 Jan 2012 | 9:45 am
    By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter This is a quote from the Global Hope Network International's web site about a village in Afghanistan the group is helping become self-sustaining.   Qala e Nadar is a small village framed by rugged mountains on one side and less than fifteen kilometers from Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan on the other. Overlooked and forgotten, Qala e Nadar is small and too close to the city to merit help. Thirty years ago, the traditionally nomadic community settled on this dry, arid and barren plain. There is no accessible school, no local…
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    Web Ink Now

  • Thinking Right (and Left) about Content Marketing

    David Meerman Scott
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:11 pm
    As I evaluate Web marketing such as blogs and websites, one thing I look for is evidence of both left-brain and right-brain thinking in the creation of the content. This obsession might seem trivial, but I guess my right-brain outlook on life causes me to take a holistic view of content. The right-/left-brain concept is widely credited to have developed from the thinking of American psychobiologist Roger Sperry in the late 1960s. Sperry's Nobel Prize-winning work opened whole fields of psychological and philosophical debate including the idea that there are two different sides of the…

  • Playing for Change

    David Meerman Scott
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:28 am
    When I first saw the original Playing for Change video Stand By Me on YouTube I was moved and fascinated and jumped for joy. Wow. As a music lover and collector of social media success stories, here was both music and social media triumphantly on display and coming together to support a good cause. I talked up the videos via social and in person to everyone I saw. Stand By Me now has 37 million views on YouTube and has sparked a movement. Now, Playing for Change has 15 videos in the Songs Around the World series with a combined 140 million views. If you haven't seen a Playing for Change video…

  • Stop SOPA Silliness

    David Meerman Scott
    18 Jan 2012 | 5:36 am
    It didn't work with music: The music industry killed Napster and sued 16-year-olds to protect their dying business model of selling "albums" via top 40 radio. Instead of understanding the immense power of social media like YouTube as a marketing tool to sell single songs (iTunes) and streaming subscriptions (Spotify), the music industry honchos preferred to destroy in a ridiculous attempt to save the status-quo. Listened to top 40 radio recently? It didn't work with email: I get many times more unsolicited (and illegal) email than I did prior to CAN-SPAM. Tons of it from legitimate companies…

  • Content Arbitrage

    David Meerman Scott
    16 Jan 2012 | 12:45 pm
    When I worked my first job on a Wall Street bond trading desk, I was fascinated by financial arbitrage, one of the ways that traders made money. This technique involves taking advantage of a temporary price difference in two or more markets and is usually executed by simultaneously buying and selling the same security. A pure arbitrage involves nearly zero risk. For a simple example, imagine the price of gold is at $1,600 an ounce in London and at the exact same time it is $1,620 in New York. A trader could simultaneously sell in New York and buy in London to lock in a $20 profit. (This…

  • Go Mobile

    David Meerman Scott
    11 Jan 2012 | 9:38 am
    In Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district you find several hundred bars within walking distance of the subway station. Yet only a few are visible from the main street; the vast majority are tucked away on the upper floors of back-street buildings. To differentiate, many cater to highly refined customer preferences. So if you want to listen to classic reggae while sipping a Red Stripe, there is a bar for you in Roppongi. But how do you find these establishments when you’re thirsty and confused in an unfamiliar city? Your mobile of course! Because buyers use their mobiles to search for…
 
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    EmailKarma.net

  • Social Media Background Checks

    Sanket - @sanketjn
    13 Jan 2012 | 9:21 am
    Hiring Managers often scour the web to find more information about candidates to make sure they are hiring the right person, relying on publicly available information to aid in making hiring decisions for prospective employees. However some... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Five Tips To Make Your Browser A Safer Place

    Matt V - @emailkarma
    11 Jan 2012 | 3:59 pm
    It’s time to reflect on a number of items still hovering over the industries head from last year; ESP breaches, data hacking and general security threats. As an individual you may not have direct accessing the finer workings of your corporate... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Starting 2012 with a bang

    admin
    5 Jan 2012 | 11:56 am
    Happy New Year! Hope you enjoyed a wonderful and safe holiday season and new year. Last year was a bit of a slow year here at EmailKarma.net, but I’m looking to change that in 2012. We are starting a new year and a new attitude and perspective... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Why marketers shouldn’t care about Greymail, but actually should

    admin
    12 Dec 2011 | 11:06 am
    Guest post by: Jordie van Rijn With the latest version of Hotmail, Microsoft started their battle against greyMail. The ultimate goal is to keep the Inbox nice and tidy and the users coming back to the Hotmail service. Greymail? What does that mean... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Ideas for Dealing with Bad Affiliates

    Matt V - @emailkarma
    27 Oct 2011 | 4:24 pm
    Yesterday I attended a meeting lead by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), that consisted of a number of the Nations largest Mobile Carriers and Aggrigators. It was exciting to finally get some real insights into the world... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    Online Marketing Blog

  • Online Marketing News: Women Dominate Community Management, Google Privacy, FBI Social, Twitter Censorship, McD Hashtag Gone Wrong

    Ashley Zeckman
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:40 am
    The 2012 Community Manager Report Community Manager is an essential, yet still uncharted territory for many companies that are expanding their presence on the social web.  What should you know about the current state of this position? 67% of Community Managers work for a brand The most popular city for Community Managers is New York 65% of Community Managers are Female Be sure to check out the rest of this report presented by Social Fresh. Google & FBI: All Your Social Data Are Belong to Us For non-geeks, here’s the reference (Zero Wing video) “Google Privacy Changes: What…

  • 5 Basic SEO Troubleshooting Tips for Content Marketers

    Lee Odden
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:34 am
    Content Marketing Not Performing? Troubleshoot SEO Basics. This post is a preview of a new downloadable guide I will be offering for those who pre-order Optimize by March 13, 2012. The full guide will have screenshots, examples and more “SEO Deep Dive” advice. If you want the full, illustrated Content Marketing SEO Troubleshooting Guide, visit OptimizeBook.com to pre-order and subscribe to our mailing list for more details. Content Marketing at its core is about planning information that is thoughtful about the needs and interests of target customer groups as they take the…

  • Optimize Your Social Media Schedule: 4 Tips for Avoiding the Social Media Time Suck

    Ashley Zeckman
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:56 am
    Making the time to execute on a social media strategy can rattle even the most experienced marketers.  Unlike traditional marketing, social media marketing can present many different challenges and distractions.  According to a study by eMarketer 73% of marketers say finding the time to create content as their biggest marketing challenge. I recently ran a poll of @TopRank Twitter followers to get a sense of how they spend their time online.  I asked “If you had only 20 minutes a day to spend on social media what would you focus on?”  Some of the answers we received were:…

  • 11 Ways to Get Smarter & Stay Current in a World of Social Information Overload

    Lee Odden
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:41 am
    Online Marketing is all about information. And people. Making connections that solve marketing problems in today’s environment of social and technological innovation can be challenging. Like many readers of this blog, a big part of what I do as an Internet Marketer centers around being able to consume large amounts of information or better, the right information, synthesizing it and using insights to help others make sense of the challenges and opportunities they face with marketing on the web. As an author, frequent speaker at industry conferences, advisor to clients and the people who…

  • Online Marketing News: Say NOPA to SOPA, Google+ Strikes Again, Coca Cola “Gets It”, Twitter Gobbles Up Summify

    Ashley Zeckman
    20 Jan 2012 | 6:31 am
    The Social Job Seekers The social media job market is hot! This infographic visualizes the 2011 Social Job Seeker Survey that was conducted by Jobvite.  It examines who the job seekers are and how they are utilizing social media to find jobs.  Some interesting statistics you may not be aware of: 61% of all employed Americans are open to a new job or actively looking for a new one. 4 out of 10 job seekers are “Super Social” and have 150+ contacts on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin. 1 in 6 job seekers found their last job through an online social network. This Week in News About Google…
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    Tom Martin:

  • The Biggest Social Media Content Mistake Businesses Make

    tommartin
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:55 am
    Wanna know the biggest mistake social media content marketing companies make with their social media and content marketing efforts? "It isn't creative if it isn't found." Confused? Let me explain...

  • How Long Before A Social Media Campaign Shows Results

    tommartin
    17 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    When companies first contact me about launching a social media campaign, they usually have three big questions. First, how much will it cost. Second, how long will it take. And third, how to approach the building of a blueprint for launching the effort. This post answers those questions.

  • The State of Travel Marketing Report

    tommartin
    1 Dec 2011 | 5:45 am
    This week the IBM Institute for Business Value published it's Travel 2020: the distribution dilema report, which suggests that travel marketers of all stripes must change their "go to market" strategies if they wish to compete in the future. A complete summary is contained in this post.

  • The Introvert's Guide to Success

    tommartin
    29 Nov 2011 | 12:23 pm
    With "An Introvert's Guide to Success..." Lisa does a fabulous job of giving introverts a big "it's ok" hug and then leveraging that warm feeling to teach them applicable strategies and tactics for being successful in their careers, lives and pursuit of their dreams.

  • 4 Reasons Online Retails Shouldn't Wait for CyberMonday

    tommartin
    22 Nov 2011 | 9:23 am
    According to Deloitte’s 2011 Annual Holiday Survey of 5,000 U.S. consumers, of the 42% of consumers who own a smartphone, 27% will use their device while shopping for the holidays, so why are online retailers waiting until CyberMonday to offer discounts?
 
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    Ads of the World™

  • GE X500 Camera: Wall

    ivan
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:23 pm
    Handle the distance. Advertising Agency: BangkokShowcase, Bangkok, Thailand Associate Creative Director: Chokchai Tupanyakanok Art Directors: Sakon khanawuthikarn, Pathrawee Homkanjan, Chaitat Sookate Copywriters: Krittayot Opassatavorn, Thiti Boonkerd Photographer: Montol Anusasamornkul Production House: Silhouette Published: September 2011 Post a logo contest on StockLogos for $100 and get dozens of designs within a few days.

  • GE X500 Camera: Clock

    ivan
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:23 pm
    Handle the distance. Advertising Agency: BangkokShowcase, Bangkok, Thailand Associate Creative Director: Chokchai Tupanyakanok Art Directors: Sakon khanawuthikarn, Pathrawee Homkanjan, Chaitat Sookate Copywriters: Krittayot Opassatavorn, Thiti Boonkerd Photographer: Montol Anusasamornkul Production House: Silhouette Published: September 2011 Post a logo contest on StockLogos for $100 and get dozens of designs within a few days.

  • GE X500 Camera: Face

    ivan
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:23 pm
    Handle the distance. Advertising Agency: BangkokShowcase, Bangkok, Thailand Associate Creative Director: Chokchai Tupanyakanok Art Directors: Sakon khanawuthikarn, Pathrawee Homkanjan, Chaitat Sookate Copywriters: Krittayot Opassatavorn, Thiti Boonkerd Photographer: Montol Anusasamornkul Production House: Silhouette Published: September 2011 Post a logo contest on StockLogos for $100 and get dozens of designs within a few days.

  • Hafslund: Pull Out the Plug

    ivan
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:08 pm
    Advertising Agency: TRY/Apt, Norway Production company: Bacon Director: Martin Werner Post a logo contest on StockLogos for $100 and get dozens of designs within a few days.

  • BMW: Matchbox gearbox

    ivan
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:35 pm
    The new 8-speed automatic transmission comes standard with the 1, 3 and 5 series Advertising Agency: JWT, Netherlands Creative Directors: Massimo van der Plas, Joep de kort Art Director: Joep de Kort Copywriter: Massimo van der Plas Photographer: Simon Warmer Postproduction: Magic Group Published: January 2012 Post a logo contest on StockLogos for $100 and get dozens of designs within a few days.
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    Advertising Lab

  • Future: The Pirate Bay Loads Up on Physical Goods

    24 Jan 2012 | 5:25 pm
    Not science fiction anymore, this: "Once chairs and other things become content, the prospect of rampant chair piracy turns from unimaginable into very real."  The Pirate Bay is opening a new category for the new kind of piratable stuff: "We believe that the next step in copying will be made from digital form into physical form. It will be physical objects. Or as we decided to call them: Physibles. Data objects that are able (and feasible) to become physical. We believe that things like three dimensional printers, scanners and such are just the first step. We believe that in the nearby…

  • In Memoriam: Kodak Scenic Spots

    19 Jan 2012 | 12:50 pm
    I took my first Kodak Photo Spot (wiki) pictures at my spring break trip to the Disney World in the mid-1990s, and through all these years I've never stopped admiring their genius. It's a marketing idea whose elegance has rarely been emulated. I love how organically spreadable the signs were, how they subtly nudged you to spend another scarce frame of  film, and how they made people's lives a little bit better by giving their memories just the right composition. Of course today the Kodak Picture Spot is something that could probably be built straight into the digital…

  • Spy Plane As Propaganda Tchotchke

    17 Jan 2012 | 5:06 pm
    An Iranian company Aaye Art Group ("designer and manufacturer of artistic and cultural goods") is making replicas of the American RQ-170 drone aircraft downed in Iran last month:  "Most of the toys, which come in several colors and are made of Iranian plastic, have already been snapped up by Iranian government organizations. [...] The firm is now making 2,000 of them a day. "  (Washington Post) If you want to buy one but are affected by the embargo, you could pick up a similar one on eBay.

  • Augmented Reality Glasses from Lumus

    15 Jan 2012 | 2:46 am
    Ever dreamed of watching a video or a favorite TV show on the go?  Well, aren't you lucky: Daily Mail: "Translucent TV: Lumus' PD-18-2 is a set of spectacles that can beam high-quality images directly into your eyes but allows the user to see through the images too." (This is Lumus.)

  • Memorable Metal Plaques From Impact Signs

    10 Jan 2012 | 11:04 pm
    This is a sponsored post. The many uses for fine metal plaques are as varied as those who commission them. Whether they're intended for individual recognition, as a treasured memorial, or to identify a landmark or location, customized plaques make noteworthy markers. Impact Signs creates metal plaques with distinction. Shapes of any style are available, and in most cases, turnaround is complete within eight business days; no extra fees apply. With exacting standards and superior services, Impact Signs is a leading source for metal plaques. Abundant choices make it easy to create a unique and…
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    adland.tv

  • Moe’s Southwest Grill - Microwaves ruin everything - (2012) (USA)

    Dabitch
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:43 pm
    Moe’s Southwest Grill doesn't want you to try this at home. Really, don't. "Especially if you like to see, smell, hear, touch, talk and breathe...." Then they microwave pretty much anything you've ever considered microwaving, from an egg to a lightbulb and a big watermelon that explodes all over the place. While all the fire, flashes and squirting tomatoes are fun to watch, Moe’s Southwest Grill actually has a USP to tack on to this destined for viral video. They don't microwave their food. Mmmm. Tweet

  • Condom08 - QR code condoms + app promote safe sex (2011) case study, Sweden

    Dabitch
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:34 pm
    There's a lot of ways to remind young people to wear a condom during sex... But has a QR code ever been considered before? Actually the QR code itself is just a shortcut to the real meat (pardon me) of this campaign, the app. The smartphone app that measures the length, noise and rythm of your sexual encounter as well as the location it is in and uploads the results to a website. Fun statistics can now be had from these results, such as "dog lovers are louder than cat lovers" and "musicians last for 3 minutes". Tweet

  • UPDATED! Super Bowl XLVI Commercial 2012 *Spoiler Alert*

    caffeinegoddess
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:10 pm
    Super Bowl of Advertising 2012 - SPOILER ALERT - UPDATED 1/26 UPDATED! 1/26 More goodies have been released. We expect even more to come. Look out for another couple updates of the most complete ad bowl spoiler on the net. Super Bowl XLVI is just around the corner. This year NBC is charging an average of $3.5 million for each 30 second spot. Here’s a peek at what you’ll see in addition to a ton of NBC self-promo and most likely considering this is an election year, some political ads. 1ST QUARTER Hyundai Veloster Turbo and/or Genesis Coupe R-Spec: Spot will use testosterone to “play up…

  • Ferris Bueller for the Super Bowl

    caffeinegoddess
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:54 pm
    So far no one knows what it will be for, although there are rumors (via the Hollywood Reporter Priceline is going to reveal a new spokesperson to replace William Shatner as the spokesperson for Priceline after he blowed up in the ad below. Ferris Bueller Super Bowl Teaser: Priceline Blow Up: As always, we'll keep you informed as we hear. Got your own guess? Let us know. And, catch the The Super Bowl Advertising 2012 Spoiler Alert for more on other ads you'll see in the game. Tweet

  • Steel Panthers poster banned for having balls.

    Dabitch
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:53 am
    The Guardian reports that Steel Panthers posters promoting the "Balls Out" album are banned for being "overtly sexual". The ASA received four complaints about the poster which shows a barely dressed woman caressing herself while holding a pair of silver balls. The record label Universal Island used the "we're mocking stuff from the 80s" defense and said that the ads were meant to "poke fun at the ridiculousness of the attitude to women, outfits and music in that [1980s] era". They also pointed out that the posters are meant to be "ludicrously over the top and not meant to undermine women".
 
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    5 Blogs Before Lunch

  • Starbucks is selling more beer, wine and savory snacks as they expand their afternoon menu.

    daveibsen
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:10 am
    Starbucks wants people come back for more, and more--all throughout the day. Over the last couple of years, they've been market testing an afternoon menu of alcohol (beer and wine) and savory snacks. "As our customers transition from work to home, many are looking for a warm and inviting place to unwind and connect with the people they care about," Clarice Turner, Starbucks' senior vice president of U.S. operations, said in a news release. Way back in July 2009, we posted a report that Starbucks was about to beging testing a new retail concept in Seattle that included the…

  • Macy's goes on the attack, suing Martha Stewart for its J.C. Penney deal

    daveibsen
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:20 am
    A month ago we posted the news that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia had inked a deal to sell housewares at J.C. Penney. It sounded like a great deal for Penney's and MSLO, but it seems to have made Macy's feel like a jilted bride. And there is nothing like a mega conclomerate's scorn. Macy's is now suing MSLO in New York State Supreme Court claiming the deal with J.C. Penney violates the terms of an exclusive deal to sell MSLO products at its stores. The J.C. Penney deal involves opening store-in-store Martha Stewart shops inside most of its stores beginning next year.

  • Saab owners stay true to their loyal friend until its last breath

    daveibsen
    22 Jan 2012 | 5:55 pm
    For decades, Saab owners have dealt with endless electrical problems, hose leaks and other mechanical defects that were just part of the Saab experience. Still, through all of the mechanical troubles Saab owners suffered through, they have always been some of the most loyalfanatically loyal fans. Even now, with Saab in bankruptcy after being tossed to the curb by General Motors, and effectively no longer in operation, Saab enthusiasts are gathering this weekend across this counrty and around the world in rallies, caravans and other meet-ups designed to show their affection for the Swedish…

  • As baby boomers become seniors, they get their own television network--RLTV (Redefine Life TV)

    daveibsen
    22 Jan 2012 | 4:57 pm
    As the number of baby boomers who offically become  "seniors" grows exponentially over the next years, we will see more and more companies targeting this still highly active group. They are currently the fastest-growing and wealthiest segment of the population, and were least hurt by the recession. According to data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey, adults over the age of 50 spent $2.7 trillion on consumer goods in 2010. Everyone from pharmecetucal companies to insurance carriers to retirement communities see the opportunity with the senior class. Television is also a…

  • 1-800-GET-THIN Lap-band ads getting congressional scrutiny for "aggressive marketing"

    daveibsen
    22 Jan 2012 | 12:02 pm
    The controversy around a surgically implanted device to help people lose weight has been festeringin the Los Angeles area for months. Opponents of the "Lap-Band" a ring that is surgically implanted around the stomach to discourage overeating have questioned the effectiveness and safety of the device, as well as its marketing claims. The 1-800-GET-THIN weight-loss surgery billboard campaign is ubiquitous along Southern California freeways--in a town known for its obsession with physical appearance. Local opponents have questioned the "aggressive marketing" of the device…
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    russell davies

  • falling slowly

    russell davies
    5 Jan 2012 | 5:01 am
    I made this. Two people have told me it's not rubbish, so here it is. It's better with headphones.
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    Ypulse

  • Ypulse Essentials: Nintendo’s Network, Few Tweens Wear Sunscreen, Ferris Bueller Is Back

    emily
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:55 pm
    Gamers rejoice! Nintendo is finally launching a digital network for the 3DS and Wii U (which sounds similar to Xbox Live and PlayStation’s Network in that users can have a personal account to connect with other services, participate in competitions, and interact with other players. It’s about time Nintendo! In other gaming news, board games may seem obsolete, but they’re making a comeback as they get a digital update online, via apps, or in video game form. Who’s ready for game night?) (USA Today) (Fast Company) - We’re a little alarmed that only a quarter of tweens wear sunscreen…

  • Youth Media & Marketing Jobs: MTV World, Disney, Current

    melanie
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:25 pm
    Today we bring you our weekly sampler of cool youth media and marketing gigs. If your company has an open position in the youth media or marketing space, we encourage you to join the Ypulse LinkedIn group, if you haven’t yet, and post there for focused career networking! Editorial Director at MTV World Industry: Television, Online Location: New York, NY Description: MTV World, a Viacom Media Networks division focused on global pop music and culture, and a creative engine, content, and production resource for advertising partners, is looking for an Editorial Director. This role is…

  • Ypulse Essentials: JCPenney Gets A Fresh Start, Google+ Is Now Open To Teens, Getting Into College

    melanie
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:03 pm
    We’ve been eagerly awaiting news of how JCPenney would re-imagine the shopping experience (since we first heard that new CEO Ron Johnson was considering adding Genius Bars, a concept he devised while with Apple. Believing that “the department store is the number one opportunity in American retail,” he’s slashing prices on items and creating “Best Price Fridays,” a regular sale day when consumers can take advantage of discounts. Cutting through the “insanity,” promotions will be trimmed from 590 a year to just 12, but with initial prices down by…

  • Ypulse Research Roundup: New Ypulse Report, Kids’ Favorite Brands, Dishing On Dining

    melanie
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:55 pm
    Today we bring you another installment of the latest youth research available for sale or download. Remember if your company has comprehensive research for sale that focuses on youth between the ages of 8 and 24, email us to be included in the next roundup. New Ypulse Report: Holiday Shopping & Winter Fun During the 2011 holiday season, retailers rejoiced as customers flocked to stores, spending record amounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Students happily did their part in boosting the economy — they went into the holiday season planning to spend more than they did the prior…

  • Ypulse Essentials: Facebook’s Open Graph In Action, Another ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Reboot, HootSuite University

    melanie
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:48 pm
    Here’s a roundup of some of the best ways that brands are using Facebook’s new Open Graph (to encourage their fans to share their brand interactions on the site. We’re big fans of Ticketmaster’s mashup with Spotify’s app to tell you when the band you’re listening to is going to be playing in your area. The social net is probably hoping that the new apps and features fight “Facebook fatigue,” which is apparently happening among young people in India and has also been reported in the U.S., with young users consciously cutting back their time on…
 
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    Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog

  • Put Your Customer in the Ad!

    mro
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:24 am
        In my direct mail days, we used personalization whenever possible. Starting a letter with “Dear Roger” instead of “Dear Friend” responds better every time (if the recipient’s name is Roger, that is!). A sweepstakes that uses a personalized address message like, “Imagine our Prize Patrol ringing the doorbell at 123 Shady Circle,” will garner more entries than one that uses a generic message. read more

  • Vickie Achee on the Grand Retail Eperiment at Patagonia

    Futurelab
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:33 am
    Today’s interview takes a peek behind the curtain at an extraordinary company, Patagonia.  Patagonia is known worldwide as an outdoor clothing and gear brand, but I wanted to better understand the company’s retail strategy. Who better to ask than the head of marketing for the North America Retail Division at Patagonia, Vickie Achee. read more

  • Enter the Dragon: Here Comes China's Creative Class

    Futurelab
    24 Jan 2012 | 1:18 pm
    The Year of the Dragon – traditionally the year of big, innovative ideas and breakthrough projects - might just be the year that China's creative class enters the global spotlight. The latest signal comes from the art world, where the market for Chinese artwork is exploding, putting new Chinese artists on the same footing as the greatest names in the Western artistic tradition. read more

  • Trust Shifts from Institutions to Individuals

    Futurelab
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:39 pm
    Today I had the opportunity to present to academics and industry experts from the international poultry industry (you can listen to a re-cap via a short podcast from "Agwired" here). During the presentation I was able to share some results from the recently released 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer, in which the overarching theme is a general skepticism toward institutions such as government and big business with signs of hope when it comes to empowered individuals. read more

  • Reinventing Libraries

    Futurelab
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:01 pm
    According to the 2010/11 Taking Part survey published by the Dept of Culture, Media & Sport the proportion of adults in the UK who visited a public library in the past year fell from 48.2% in 2005/6 to just 39.4% in 2009/10. At that rate of decline in less than two decades nobody will be visiting libraries. read more
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    mobileStorm » Blog

  • Guide: 7 Tools to Tighten Healthcare Data Security

    Cameron Peebles
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:54 pm
    Information Weeks Healthcare division has released a new list of up and coming tools for tightening Healthcare Security.  Great list indeed but it seems to assume that the given organization has a primarily hardware based infrastructure. I’m not saying this isn’t valuable because for this most part, this is the way things really are in the current HC environment. In the future, however, the proliferation of single sign-on, member centric solutions will make these sort of discussions moot and these solutions archaic and outdated.  Right now they’re very very valuable as a…

  • ClickZ: 25 Things Email Marketers Must Avoid in 2012

    Justin Montgomery
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:23 pm
    In an article over at ClickZ today, the author details 25 things email marketers must avoid in 2012, covering everything from a lack of testing to not dealing with deliverability and list hygiene issues. What’s the overall recommendation?  ”Have a list for big picture initiatives and blocking-and-tackling measures,” the author explains.  ”Then figure out the best way and resources to accomplish both of them and establish a reasonable timeline. Oh, and make sure you avoid some traps that strangle progress and end any chance for positive momentum.” The full list…

  • Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) Issues Final Privacy Guidelines for Mobile Apps

    Justin Montgomery
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:43 am
    It was announced today that the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has finalized its privacy guidelines for mobile apps, which marks the first formal document of its kind to address the core privacy issues and data processes of today’s mobile applications. Among other things, the guidelines were created to address three key issues; including annotated guidance on core privacy principles and consumer-friendly language for developers to consider using; ways to inform users on how data is obtained and used; and guidance on security and confidentiality of information. For more information…

  • New Certification: Happtique Mobile Health

    Cameron Peebles
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    With any evolving market, the products come first (and live in a sort of wild west environment) and then certifications evolve in order to give the consumer a guide to purchasing the right solution. The mHealth space at this moment is in the process of evolving its certifications.  Basically we’re laying the tracks for the intercontinental railroad to drive on.  The wild west isn’t gone yet, but we can see it’s end.  All those with a good solution should be happy at these news. Read more here.

  • Open Call for Submission: The 2012 TripleTree iAwards for Wireless Health

    Cameron Peebles
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    The 2012 awards season is heating up, not just at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts (Oscars), but in the mHealth space as well. As hot as this space is, it should be no surprise that there are many new awards and grants opening up. The just released guidelines for the 2012 TripleTree iAwards read like the owners manual of mobileStorm for Healthcare, so you know we will be submitting, and we welcome the competition! The three categories for the 2012 iAwards are: Operational Effectiveness – Best solution for reducing costs and improving operational efficiency Clinical Application – Best…
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    The Retail Email Blog

  • Ping Time: Twitter email sign-ups, IP address reputation, etc.

    27 Jan 2012 | 2:49 pm
    My latest spin around the mediasphere turned up the following nuggets:>>Kyle Henderick of Yesmail shares some advice for using Twitter to gain email subscribers. >>Follow the ping>>Laura Atkins of Word to the Wise posts a primer on IP address reputation. >>Follow the ping>>@JasonKapler: Everyone thinks they're funny, everyone believes they're good kissers and everyone says they're data driven decision makers.>>Anna Yeaman of Style Campaign looks at ASCII art in email. >>Follow the ping>>@MarkOfford: I hate emails that start 'We miss you...' No…

  • AM Inbox: Pointing out omnipresent links

    27 Jan 2012 | 12:58 pm
    >>2011 Halls of Fame: Oopsy Hall of Fame and Subject Line Hall of FameThe Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:Buy.com, 1/26 — Big Savings + Free Shipping | Samsung 21.5" LCD Monitor $129.99,....Like many retailers, Buy.com has social community links at the top of every email that they send. Links like these can blend into the background because they are outside of the body copy block and because they’re always there. But in this email, Buy.com draws attention to these links by…

  • Oopsy Hall of Fame: 2011 Inductees

    26 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pm
    This is the kind of fame that nobody wants, but highlighting the email marketing slips and gaffes by some of the world’s largest online retailers drives home the importance of being careful with your brand in a medium that’s high volume and lightning fast. 2011’s inductees should be a reminder that you need to be on your guard, temper speed with meticulousness, and be diligent with your pre-flight checklists. (Hopefully some of these oopsies will also make you feel better about some of the mistakes that you might have made last year.) Here’s an abridged selection of oopsies:SUBJECT…

  • AM Inbox: Free shipping trends continues to evolve

    25 Jan 2012 | 1:45 pm
    The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:OfficeMax, 1/24 — Free Shipping No Minimum + Online Only Tech EventDuring the holiday season I talked about how free shipping was evolving from limited-time offers to “every day free shipping” to no codes to no minimum to plus free return shipping (see Alert: As Free Shipping Day approaches, majority of retailers already offering free shipping. During December, most retailers were trending toward the “every day free shipping” node on the…

  • Season Finale: Veterans Day 2011

    24 Jan 2012 | 2:31 pm
    A look back on seasonal trends, email activity and standout B2C marketing:Start to finish: The first reference to Veterans Day was on Sept. 11. The final reference was on Nov. 15.The biggest day for Veterans Day emails was Veterans Day itself, Friday, Nov. 11. Retailers sent the majority of their Veterans Day-themed emails after Nov. 10.Year-over-year comparison: With the U.S. withdrawing all the troops in Iraq by the end of last year in accordance with the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement that President George W. Bush signed in 2008, I wondered if Veterans Day would suddenly take on…
 
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    Service Untitled

  • Interview with Rob Siefker of Zappos – Part 2 of 4

    Douglas
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:08 am
    This is the second of a four part interview with Rob Siefker, the Director of the Customer Loyatly Team at Zappos. In this part of the interview, Rob discusses how Zappos motivates members of their customer loyalty team, what programs they have in place to recognize good service, and what service metrics the company tracks and how. You can read part one of the interview here. To read this part, click “read more.” Service Untitled: So how do you motivate Customer Loyalty team members? And then how do you keep that motivation up over time? A lot of companies institute programs and…

  • The silent exit of poor customer service

    Cheryl
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:07 pm
    Most customers who feel they have been the recipients of poor customer service will never vocalize their feelings to a particular organization. According to First Financial Training Services and the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, only four percent of dissatisfied customers ever complain making the other 96 percent essentially ripe for the picking when another company offering similar services or products appear in the horizon. Typically an unhappy customer who perceives that attitude of indifference will tell eight to ten of their friends, coworkers or family members about their bad…

  • Interview with Rob Siefker of Zappos – Part 1 of 4

    Douglas
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:36 am
    After interviewing Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh  and seeing the company’s HQ outside of Las Vegas, I knew I wanted to learn more about the nuts and bolts and day-to-day operations of Zappos. To get this information, I spoke to Rob Siefker, Director of the Zappos Customer Loyalty Team. In part one of this four part interview, Rob talks about what he does at Zappos, how the company handles operating 24/7, what the training process is like for Zappos employees, and how the company makes the most out of cross-training its employees. Click “Continue Reading” to see the questions and…

  • Best Buy customer service still at odds

    Cheryl
    18 Jan 2012 | 8:41 am
    Best Buy just can’t get it right, and customers continue to complain. Even the company’s promotion on used videos this weekend piled up consumer complaints as customers couldn’t find what they wanted in either the stores or online. To make matters even worse, Best Buy still has unresolved Christmas orders lingering about somewhere  in “back order” or “canceled” land. Spokesperson for the company, Lisa Hawks blamed the glitches on their software supplier, Oracle which presumably can forecast demand and plan the coordinating inventory, but stated the…

  • Customers not feeling “a little love back from Starbucks”

    Cheryl
    13 Jan 2012 | 2:09 pm
    Stabucks UK has a lot of unhappy customers today after the company decided to change the terms of their loyalty program. The previous rewards card offered a free drink for every 15 transactions and a discount on filter coffee. Now it seems that Facebook is buzzing with caffeinated complaints because of the changes as consumers post everything from their disappointments to threats of shredding their loyalty cards. One of the most significant changes only gives customers one reward point per transaction as opposed to one point per item purchased. Starbucks claims it just holds up the checkout…
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    Toronto Marketing Blog - Bekhor Management, Toronto

  • Marketing Example of the Week: A Professional's Biography

    Toronto Marketing Blog
    17 Jan 2012 | 12:47 pm
    Most professionals underestimate the importance of the biography pages on a website.  But within the context of a professional service firm, make no mistake about it, these pages are well read.     The biography page is unique in terms of the opportunity it offers to present personality.  A biography that goes beyond credentials can contribute towards practice development goals by reinforcing point of difference in a subtle but deep manner and connecting with readers on a human level, so that they can envision working with you.    Dr. Wayne Dyer's biography…

  • Web Converts Introverts

    Toronto Marketing Blog
    13 Jan 2012 | 9:32 am
    Most of my clients aren't the 'let's do lunch' type.  They are serious professionals hard pressed to find time to eat lunch never mind to share it leisurely.   While some may participate in networking events, many prefer not to, as the idea of 'working a room' feels unnatural and maybe even intimidates.   That used to be a disadvantage.  Not anymore. The web levels the playing field for introverts.   A strategic plan to leverage the web as a practice development tool provides introverts with control over their environment, risk and approach to networking.

  • The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari - Book Review

    Toronto Marketing Blog
    12 Jan 2012 | 6:45 pm
    This really is a brilliant title! In case you're not familiar with it, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma  is a book about a lawyer that burns out and goes on a spiritual quest for a meaningful life.  While the theme itself isn't novel, it remains relevant and continues to arouse interest about differing perspectives today. If you relate to the premise and have little to no experience with spiritually oriented business books, you may find this one to be accessible simply because it is presented in the form of fiction (though I found the dialogue…

  • Marketing Example of the Week: Strategic Tweets

    Toronto Marketing Blog
    9 Jan 2012 | 8:52 am
    We're looking at another tweet today.  There's something in the act of studying of a well executed detail that's enormously informative about the whole marketing plan. In this example @GuyKawasaki does what he does best.   He shares information that is not only really interesting but helps the reader to consider some kind of improvement to his /her business or life. But that's just where he gets started. The genius behind this tweet is that it goes beyond good research and an understanding of the audience. Instead of simply recycling the title of…

  • Marketing Example of the Week: Clickable Tweet

    Toronto Marketing Blog
    6 Jan 2012 | 10:11 am
    Here's an interesting example by @DaleCarnegie of a tweet that pops from the clutter and goes as far as being clickable for a few reasons:  - It poses a question that the target market cares about - It's visually distinct because of the fill in the blank format - It provides a link for further reading about the answer, a step that many fill in the blank tweets do not take  The hashtag for 'fill in the blank' tells us that this format is not unusual but this tweet takes the concept as far as it will go in terms of delivering on marketing objectives.
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    David Airey, graphic designer

  • How do you find new clients when starting a design business?

    David Airey
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:12 am
    I’ve just put pen to paper on a new contract with publisher Peachpit. This book will focus on the business of design, answering the most frequently asked questions about starting and running a successful design business. The copy deadline is October, so the release-date should be just before the end of the year. Many of you will run your own studio, be in self-employment, or freelance in your spare time. I’d love to share your experiences in the book, and for now, there’s one topic I’m particularly interested in: How do you find new clients when starting a design…

  • Music video for the deaf blind

    David Airey
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:57 pm
    Here’s a kind of science experiment that had me thinking. “This video is made to be connected to a metal pad that a low-strength electrical current runs through. The current’s strength modulates in conjunction with the frequency of the wave of the color depicted on screen. Low frequency colors (red/orange) emit a lower level of current than higher frequency colors (blue/green).” By Evan Drolet Cook who lives and works in Los Angeles. But it’s not the actual video I was contemplating. It was our eyesight and hearing. Just as we do our health, it’s incredibly…

  • From the reader #7

    David Airey
    19 Jan 2012 | 3:28 am
    Land art. Worth a look. On Kuriositas. The importance of a good crop. A nice visual demonstration of photo manipulation, and how you can use cropping to improve your photos. On ISO50. “Instead of doing two jobs at 50%, or four jobs at 25%, just do one job at 100%.” Do one job properly. Dave Trott on why specialising is the way to go. On Dave Trott’s blog. Beautiful colour in this 60-second ad for Lurpak Butter (embedded below). Via Creative Review. Typographic chocolate holiday gifts. Lunch time yet? Via inspire me now. Uncloaking a slumlord conspiracy with social network…

  • Paper from GF Smith

    David Airey
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:54 am
    The postman delivered a nice surprise this morning. “The design of our latest selector reflects the different ways in which people select our papers. In some instances, colour is the primary concern, before material type, texture or weight. However, these priorities are often reversed, making style the key point of reference. So now we give you three modes of paper selection: Select Colour, Select Black+White or Select Range.” Beautifully designed by London-based SEA, request yours from paper-specialist GF Smith. Published on David Airey, graphic designer Related posts on David…

  • The design company is not the only place to be a designer

    David Airey
    10 Jan 2012 | 4:04 am
    I’m often asked for advice on getting hired. As most of my design work has been done in self-employment, I’m not in a great position to answer — that’s one reason why I started the “What employers look for” series — but if you’re finding studio-work hard to come by, I overheard this valuable tip in a chat between Mike Dempsey and Michael Wolff. Mike Dempsey: Younger designers [are] getting into a very overcrowded business, and increasingly so. Do you have any thoughts? Michael Wolff: “I do actually. The main thought I have is don’t think a…
 
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    PR-Squared - Social Media Marketing and Public Relations

  • It’s the End of the Web as We Know It … or, Speed Kills

    Todd Defren
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:46 am
    Those of you who follow me on other social nets like Twitter or Facebook know that I am pretty opinionated when it comes to politics.  Suffice to say that I am a card-carrying member of the “Liberal Coastal Elites.”  (I try not to over-indulge or bore folks with it; and I certainly can play nice with my right-leaning friends.) I bring it all up only as a segue to the fact that I am a big fan of Andrew Sullivan’s Dish blog.  Sullivan’s one of the big dogs in blogging; he’s been freshly-empowered by his move to the Daily Beast to experiment…

  • Thoughts on a Twitterversary

    Todd Defren
    19 Jan 2012 | 9:18 am
    Let’s take a ramble. One of those automated spambots on Twitter informed me that today was my 5–year anniversary of microblogging.  Wow.  Five years.  Really? What was I up to five years ago? I was living in Boston, in-between my family’s quinquennial moves to San Francisco.  My brain was on fire, as I’d hit upon a worthy successor to the Social Media News Release concept and was just a couple of weeks away from debuting the Social Media Newsroom template. As I look back, 2007 was a prolific time for the entire Social Media industry.  It was not only the year Twitter…

  • The Measurement Silver Bullet Does Not Exist – So Stop Searching

    Todd Defren
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:57 am
    Measuring social media was one of many hot button topics of 2011. Chances are good that it will be the hot button topic of 2012, and every year thereafter until we have a standard set of metrics for brands to use. Unfortunately, the chance of arriving at a standard set of metrics for every brand is small. Brand goals differ, as do the metrics tied to those brand goals. It has been this way in public relations for years, and it’s likely to be that way with social media as well. Similarly, communications professionals should be leery of approaches that advocate measuring social like…

  • 2012 Prediction – Here Comes the Boring Part

    Todd Defren
    9 Jan 2012 | 9:41 am
    Sorry it’s been a while since my last post.  I was recharging the batteries.  In-between sitting by the fire, walking the dog, going to the movies, etc., I got to thinking about Social Media.  It’s gotten so … big.  There are something like 800M folks on Facebook.  Walk away from your Twitter account to grab lunch, and there are 1,500 unseen tweets waiting in queue.  Social Media has even been given outsized (if controversial) credit for powering the Arab Spring. Crazy, right?  And when you are a marketer? — Unwieldy.

  • Lovin’ It: McDonald’s Advertising Cooperative Taps SHIFT

    Todd Defren
    20 Dec 2011 | 8:23 am
    I am delighted to announce that SHIFT Communications was recently named the Agency of Record for McDonald’s Advertising Cooperative, representing franchises from across New England. Around here we just call it McDonald’s, in-between the high-fives and exultations of “I’m lovin’ it!” While the work doesn’t officially begin until January, we’ve already plunged elbow deep into the culture of the company.  If you’re the type who still holds an image of McD’s from the era of “Supersize Me,” I want to disabuse you of such notions.  I…
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    adland.tv

  • Moe’s Southwest Grill - Microwaves ruin everything - (2012) (USA)

    Dabitch
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:43 pm
    Moe’s Southwest Grill doesn't want you to try this at home. Really, don't. "Especially if you like to see, smell, hear, touch, talk and breathe...." Then they microwave pretty much anything you've ever considered microwaving, from an egg to a lightbulb and a big watermelon that explodes all over the place. While all the fire, flashes and squirting tomatoes are fun to watch, Moe’s Southwest Grill actually has a USP to tack on to this destined for viral video. They don't microwave their food. Mmmm. Tweet

  • Condom08 - QR code condoms + app promote safe sex (2011) case study, Sweden

    Dabitch
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:34 pm
    There's a lot of ways to remind young people to wear a condom during sex... But has a QR code ever been considered before? Actually the QR code itself is just a shortcut to the real meat (pardon me) of this campaign, the app. The smartphone app that measures the length, noise and rythm of your sexual encounter as well as the location it is in and uploads the results to a website. Fun statistics can now be had from these results, such as "dog lovers are louder than cat lovers" and "musicians last for 3 minutes". Tweet

  • UPDATED! Super Bowl XLVI Commercial 2012 *Spoiler Alert*

    caffeinegoddess
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:10 pm
    Super Bowl of Advertising 2012 - SPOILER ALERT - UPDATED 1/26 UPDATED! 1/26 More goodies have been released. We expect even more to come. Look out for another couple updates of the most complete ad bowl spoiler on the net. Super Bowl XLVI is just around the corner. This year NBC is charging an average of $3.5 million for each 30 second spot. Here’s a peek at what you’ll see in addition to a ton of NBC self-promo and most likely considering this is an election year, some political ads. 1ST QUARTER Hyundai Veloster Turbo and/or Genesis Coupe R-Spec: Spot will use testosterone to “play up…

  • Ferris Bueller for the Super Bowl

    caffeinegoddess
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:54 pm
    So far no one knows what it will be for, although there are rumors (via the Hollywood Reporter Priceline is going to reveal a new spokesperson to replace William Shatner as the spokesperson for Priceline after he blowed up in the ad below. Ferris Bueller Super Bowl Teaser: Priceline Blow Up: As always, we'll keep you informed as we hear. Got your own guess? Let us know. And, catch the The Super Bowl Advertising 2012 Spoiler Alert for more on other ads you'll see in the game. Tweet

  • Steel Panthers poster banned for having balls.

    Dabitch
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:53 am
    The Guardian reports that Steel Panthers posters promoting the "Balls Out" album are banned for being "overtly sexual". The ASA received four complaints about the poster which shows a barely dressed woman caressing herself while holding a pair of silver balls. The record label Universal Island used the "we're mocking stuff from the 80s" defense and said that the ads were meant to "poke fun at the ridiculousness of the attitude to women, outfits and music in that [1980s] era". They also pointed out that the posters are meant to be "ludicrously over the top and not meant to undermine women".
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    Osocio Weblog

  • The trick with banknotes still works

    Marc
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:02 pm
    It’s an old trick but it still appears to work. The trick with banknotes on the street, with a message on the back. Here it is an anti-littering campaign done in Beirut Lebanon by a group of graphic design students. They call themselves Metel Ma Shelta (Just as You Picked it Up).  The text on the banknote: “Just as you picked this up… you can pick up litter from the streets” Campaigning can be so easy. The Facebook Page of Metel Ma Shelta already have over 2,800 likes and is shared many times. This is their statement: As we were strolling around the beautiful…

  • Hey! Ayatollah! Leave those kids alone!

    Tom Megginson
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:20 pm
    Canadian band Blurred Vision have teamed up with music legend Roger Waters to promote Amnesty International’s campaign against executions in Iran. The group cover Waters’ Pink Floyd classic “Another Brick in The Wall (Part 2)” as the video shows a variety of activists demanding that Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i stop sentencing political prisoners to death — including Canadian Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-Canadian web designer condemned for “insulting Islam.” The musicians (and AI) encourage supporters to sign the petition, share the video, and upload…

  • You want me to wear a condom to the casino?

    Tom Megginson
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:55 pm
    I spotted this strange ad on the bus this morning. While I can understand the parallel of problem gambling with other kinds of “risky” behaviour, the condom package seemed like a very lazy bit of borrowed interest. The safeorsorry.ca campaign site continues the condom theme. This campaign could only be conceived in Ontario, where gambling and gaming are regulated (and often run) by government, and casinos aren’t associated with prostitution so much as retirees. If you’re curious what the gambling equivalent of safe sex is, the campaign gives these six tips: 1. …

  • Drug-driving

    Tatjana Vukic
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:31 pm
    Unwitting passengers have been taken for a ride in a new campaign against drug-affected driving. In the advertisements, covert filming was carried out by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) over four days last year, involving more than 100 actors who thought they were being driven to a costume-fitting for a television commercial. Their drivers were also actors who pretended to be on drugs while driving. This is the first stage of a long-term behavioural change campaign aimed at reducing the harm caused by drugged drivers. At this point, the initial aim is simply to raise awareness of the…

  • Highlighting a human rights breakthrough in Brazil

    Tom Megginson
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:59 am
    Not a pretty ad, but legal language is usually drab. Nice use of a rainbow palette of highlighters to show the moment, captured in a newsletter of judgements by Brazil’s supreme court, when everything changed for gay couples in Brazil. Full text after the break Author: Tom Megginson
 
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    CK's Blog

  • Mobile Marketing 101: Unique Experiences For Unique Environments

    CK (Christina Kerley)
    13 Jan 2012 | 12:52 pm
    While mobile-marketing tools and strategies will differ amongst different companies; like any strategy worth its salt, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. There is, however, one action that all companies—yes, every single company—must take. We must optimize our content for the mobile environment. Why? Because the mobile environment is unique, our audiences' needs are unique when they're mobile, and the mobile environment has a unique set of best practices, opportunities and constraints. I feature an example above of my own sites (desktop and mobile), which I'm…

  • Video Interview: Mobile Marketing At The PPAI Expo

    CK (Christina Kerley)
    4 Jan 2012 | 9:39 pm
    While leading two mobile marketing sessions at the 2012 PPAI Expo in Las Vegas on January 2nd and January 3rd, I did a quick 2-minute video interview on mobile and its tremendous impact upon the promotional products industry... you might find some mobile gems in here to leverage in your own marketing. And for all videos, just go here and for my mobile marketing guide go here • B2B Social Media • B2B Mobile • About CK • CK's Web Site • Services • Contact CK •

  • CK On Mobile: Collection Of Video Clips All In One Place

    CK (Christina Kerley)
    24 Dec 2011 | 12:06 pm
    Just click around the below image to launch several videos (you'll see several hotspots when you roll your mouse over several parts of the graphic ). Videos are a collection of clips covering many facets, implications and best practices on mobile. Best of all, you don't have to leave the image to enjoy the video content. I created this dynamic graphic through ThingLinkwhich was both fun and easyand I can see many uses of it going forward. In this anytime-anywhere, always-connected world, I like how several images within one graphic can also be connected and become veritable channels…

  • Mobile Marketing Video Clip: Key Imperatives to Close 2011... And Begin 2012!

    CK (Christina Kerley)
    21 Dec 2011 | 8:35 am
    In a recent class lecture on mobile marketing, I hit on several key changes and imperatives and I wanted to share some of the snippets with you through the below 3-minute video. In the clip I hit on anytime-anywhere media and how it changes our behavior, mobile's explosive ascendancy to the most-used media of all time, the real revolution on how mobile drives permanent shifts across our expectations and thresholds, the unique "bridge" that mobile provides between all marketing efforts... and how "better, faster, easier," is the mobile mantra for succees (be your…

  • New & Improved Branding For 2012

    CK (Christina Kerley)
    17 Dec 2011 | 9:47 am
    Apart from my consulting and speaking, I've been hard at work getting my own branding nipped, tucked and tweaked to kickoff 2012 with a bang! I recently relaunched my B2B Mobile Revolution site (the site that houses my B2B Mobile Guide) and it was time to refresh the website that is core to my business, CKB2B, as well. Because just like people, brands need constant care and maintenance to grow, evolve and break new ground. Besides information on my services, there are many articles across mobile marketing and social media, as well as my archive of videos that you might find of…
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    Servant of Chaos

  • Five Must-Read Posts from Last Week

    Gavin Heaton
    22 Jan 2012 | 7:15 pm
    In the year ahead, don’t be surprised when you hear pronouncements such as “social media is over” or that Facebook/Twitter is going the way of  MySpace. It is just part of the ongoing cycle of renewal (there must be an end before a new beginning and so on). But just like the “end of branding” or the “Year 2000”, social media will not suddenly disappear – after all, many of us are just starting to get the hang of it. And great articles like these below demonstrate just how healthy this category is! Enjoy! Great article from Mandi Bateson showing how social media and social…

  • SOAP Creatives 2012 Predictions

    Gavin Heaton
    18 Jan 2012 | 6:54 pm
    Regular readers will know that I am not a fan of predictions (even if I do like a good horoscope). But this one from the team at Soap Creative not only opens the door for conversations with their clients (and potential clients), it also showcases their design skills, approach and track record (six out of ten for last year’s predictions) with a funky sense of humour. 2012 Digital Predictions View more presentations from Soap Creative But out of the predictions shown here - what do you think resonates? What do YOU think will change the way you do business in 2012?
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    Dave Saunders

  • Do it like you care

    Dave Saunders
    31 Dec 2011 | 10:06 pm
    TELNET You know it. Black screen. Green Letters. Kind of like The Matrix, but far less entertaining. At least I never saw “blonds, brunettes and redheads” while staring into the screen. Well, maybe that’s not true but they were reflections of people walking behind me while I continued to be lost in the pixels. Twenty-one years ago today, it was my first visit to the offices of my first soon-to-be-called-dot-com-industry job. We sold TELNET software for the Macintosh–these days it seems that the term Macintosh is as cool as a pair of sequined bell-bottom pants. I’m supposed to…

  • Texas House of Representatives devises plan to eliminate affiliate marketing in their state

    Dave Saunders
    17 Feb 2011 | 8:49 am
    The state of Texas aims to collect sales tax from businesses who have affiliates operating from their state. To do this Texas House Rep Elliott Naishtat has introduced HB 1317 to collect tax from online purchases by redefining what it means for a business to have a physical presence in the state. Kudos to the Texas government for finding new and creative ways to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. The most obvious "how can you not see this coming" response is to block affiliates from states with such clueless governments. Companies have already done exactly that to affiliates…

  • Poking fun at the new conformity: Motorola vs Apple

    Dave Saunders
    7 Feb 2011 | 7:28 am
    One of the more interesting ads from the Superbowl last night was a spoof on the 1984 ad from Apple. Some of the chatter on Twitter, Facebook and marketing blogs is talking about the ad in terms of product features; the Motorola Xoom vs Apple’s iPad. This seems odd because I didn’t see any discussion of features in the ad. Instead, here’s my take on the ad. I’d love to hear your comments too so chime in below. When the 1984 ad came out, one of the main reasons to buy a PC was conformity. It’s what “all businesses” used. If you bought a computer for home, it only made sense to…

  • Taking vid.ly’s super encoder for a spin

    Dave Saunders
    24 Jan 2011 | 10:21 am
    A new service from encoder.com was released today called vid.ly Upload a video to vid.ly and they will encode it into a bunch of format and give you an HTML5 universal embed code which lets you share that video with a very long list of devices. To try it out, I uploaded a 4:26 minute video and about 10 minutes later it was all ready to share. Given the list of formats into which the video is encoded I imagine that it would have taken me several hours to do the same series of encoding on my PC. Assuming it all worked as advertised, the following video should play “everywhere.” The direct…

  • The relationship between content and SEO

    Dave Saunders
    21 Jan 2011 | 9:18 am
    If you want to get found more, you need more content. It’s that simple. I’m not going to drone on about how that content must be quality content. I don’t believe in producing junk content and I’m sure you don’t want to be a search engine spammer either. Each piece of content you create is like virtual real estate. Somewhere in the body, title, description, etc., you include keyword phrases, which are simply the things you want to be associated with so the people who need what you have can find you when they search online. To further expand on this, I made a short pencast. Click play…
 
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    Sparring Mind

  • Guest Posting Like A God (Or Goddess!): 3 Experts Show You How It’s Really Done

    Gregory Ciotti
    22 Jan 2012 | 8:15 pm
    There are no shortcuts to success, only direct paths. For blogs, I have found no other direct path that is more consistent than guest blogging. I have built this blog from scratch, since day one with no marketing/blogger connections (all past projects being in unrelated niches), with guest blogging alone. But don’t take it from me, today I’ve got 3 people who really understand guest blogging (including insight from the other side of guest blogging… Intrigued? Read on and all will be revealed!) Who Is Danny Iny? Danny Iny is the very smart guy behind Fire Pole…

  • 9 Clever Ways To Kickstart Stagnant Email Conversion Rates, Without Annoying Your Readers

    Gregory Ciotti
    5 Jan 2012 | 10:06 pm
    The lifeblood of any successful blog is the email list, I don’t have to get into that topic for the 45,068th time this year. What I would like to go into are some creative strategies to help you build your list, that don’t involve antagonizing your loyal readers. I’m a bit sick of the generic “put email sign-up forms here” style posts, most of you know those already, but sometimes, email conversion rates can start to flatline, especially for certain niches. Below I’ve outlined my 9 favorite clever ways to collect those all important emails without coming…

  • How The BufferApp Grew To 70,000+ Users With A Solid Product & Content Marketing

    Gregory Ciotti
    14 Dec 2011 | 8:01 am
    How does one of the hottest social media tools grow to 70,000+ users in such short time? Advertising? SEO? Taking a loudspeaker to the street and yelling at people? Black magic? No, the real answer is good ol’ fashioned smart content marketing. And today, you are going to get insights from the mind of the Buffer App’s content manager. No more intro, let’s do this! PS: You can follow Leo Widrich on Twitter @LeoWid. 1.) Glad to have the time to talk to you today Leo. Obviously the BufferApp is a solid product that has benefited from your content marketing & blogging…

  • 7 Psychological Studies Reveal Secrets To Blogging Success (And I Reveal How To Implement Them)

    Gregory Ciotti
    30 Nov 2011 | 12:50 pm
    You’ve probably read your fair share of “blogging tips”, and most likely the majority of them haven’t been backed by a single shred of evidence. If you are the kind of blogger who prefers “just the facts” without all of the fluff and hype, this is the post for you. I’ve gone over 7 psychological research studies and their results about human behavior and applied them to create proven techniques to create a successful blog. You’ll find info on: Writing amazing content like a true expert Creating a blog design that keeps people around Establishing…

  • How To Regularly Write For 50,000+ Subscribers & The Progress Of My Million Dollar Blog

    Gregory Ciotti
    27 Nov 2011 | 6:55 pm
    For once in this blog’s history, I might not go over 2,000 words in this post! That’s right, I have a very concise (but incredibly useful) tip for you today on how you can write for 50,000 subscribers on a regular basis, even if you have a brand new blog! How?! More importantly, will this strategy actually work? Both of these questions get addressed in the post, so let’s do this! Writing For 50,000 Subscribers… With A Brand New Blog Now, before you go calling me a liar, I’m not revealing a strategy on how to get 50,000 subscribers for a brand new blog in only a…
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    Other Side Group » Thoughts

  • Infographic of the Week: How America Spends on Electronics

    Kate Brodock
    20 Jan 2012 | 9:46 am
    Ever wonder the who, what, where of electronic lovers in the US? Bundle shows us some cool stats.

  • MarketingProfs B2B Content Marketing Report suggests increasing use of content to meet 2012 marketing goals

    Kate Brodock
    17 Jan 2012 | 9:52 am
    A study released last month by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute highlights some significant numbers in the area of content marketing for the B2B industry.  In short, content production has become and will continue to be a major piece of the marketing mix for B2B marketers. There are several high-level takeaways from the report: Content marketing is still very widely used.  90% of B2B marketers used some form of content in their marketing program in 2011, and no individual industry reported lower than a 70% adoption rate. More budget is being spent on content…

  • 1 in every 5 minutes online is being spent on social networks (and more data from ComScore’s 2011 Social Report)

    Kate Brodock
    16 Jan 2012 | 9:02 am
    I’ve finally gotten around to reading ComScore’s 2011 Social Report that came out in late December.  There are some great, granular pieces of data taken from March 2007-October 2011. Some key stats: Social Networking is the most popular online activity. 1 in every 5 minutes of time online is now being spent on social networking sites (up from only 6% in early 2007), reaching 1.2 billion people total. Facebook is important. Facebook takes up the largest part of this time, reaching 55% of the worlds’ online population in October. Facebook also has incredibly high engagement,…

  • Infographic of the Week: How Text Messaging Has Changed The Way We Communicate

    Kate Brodock
    13 Jan 2012 | 9:37 am
    This great timeline from Tatango shows how text messaging has changed the way we all communicate over the last 19 years.

  • Bloopers from your favorite marketing experts on @marketingprofs

    Kate Brodock
    9 Jan 2012 | 5:24 pm
    This is a fun way to start off your week!  A few bloopers from some of the names we all know and love during their interviews for MarketingProfs Take 10 Author Series video shoots. Features best-selling authors Guy Kawasaki, David Meerman Scott, Sandy Carter, Sally Hogshead, Nancy Duarte, Mitch Joel, Mignon Fogarty, and Brian Solis. Enjoy!    
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    m-cause

  • A “Product Guy” and Inspirational Marketer…

    Ryan
    10 Jan 2012 | 10:15 am
    Though he had his fair share of flops in his early days (Apple III, NeXT, Lisa) and some well documented personal flaws, probably the greatest “product design CEO” of our era was Steve Jobs. I realize that I am writing about Jobs a little later than most, but I finally finished the massive 500 page W. Isaccson biography over XMAS & I wanted to jot a few thoughts down about the world’s most valuable brand & it’s ringleader.  The Product Guy Great products/services really define a business. That is why some of the world’s greatest marketers are intensely…

  • What shouldn’t be done in 2012?

    Ryan
    30 Dec 2011 | 11:35 am
    A couple of days ago, I saw a tweet from Bill Gross that made me pause for a moment. New Years Resolution Tip? Maybe it’s easier to make a STOP doing instead of a Start doing list? This tweet crossed my queue while I was reading the brutally honest bio of Steve Jobs.  Steve was a well documented master of product simplification and complexity reduction. While the ability to be ruthless in saying “no” served Jobs extraordinarily well professionally, according to biographer Walter Isaacson, it didn’t work as well in his personal relationships (as husband, father,…

  • Micro-preneurs don’t need the old economy

    Ryan
    15 Dec 2011 | 9:34 am
    A few months ago, I had a discussion with my brother & dad around the impending “economic reset” looming as a result of the European debt crisis.  So, we war-gamed scenarios, created new business ideas for the post-Euro world and poked a little fun at doomsday predictions. Fast forward a few months into the future…while most countries in Euroland will probably not face extreme Depression era scenarios, 1 or 2 might (e.g. Greece) leaving the door open for some radical changes in society and business. “People Powered hope” despite the gloom Even if the economy…

  • Why Foursquare lags in Europe (for now)

    Ryan
    15 Nov 2011 | 7:32 am
    Confession time.  Have you ever traveled abroad and returned home with a massive cell phone bill? On a recent US–>Europe trip, I decided not to buy the outrageously expensive daily package from my service provider because I thought I would use data services “sparingly” while in the US. OOPS. I will spare you all the details of my smartphone bill horror story…it was ugly.  Luckily, I am not alone in my dislike for the state of international data roaming. (Please see this ZDNet article from Larry Dignan on the state of data roaming.) Data roaming is a problem…

  • Entrepreneurs rise up to defend the Occupy Wall Street movement

    Ryan
    19 Oct 2011 | 5:18 am
    I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been pretty intrigued by the Occupy Wall Street movement as it “went global” last week.  Yeah, a few anti globalization demonstrations caught headlines in the late 90s, but I never thought a movement uniting the middle class left AND the right (at least in theory) against the perils of crony capitalism, corporate greed and political corruption would ever fully get rolling in the US. I was wrong. We’re now a month into a growing movement kicked off by the savvy (anti) advertising guys at Adbusters in Canada and this time…
 
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    Experience: The Blog

  • Ten #Fails in Professional Twitter Profile Pictures

    Augie Ray
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:45 pm
    Not everyone is on Twitter for professional reasons. If not, get the heck off my blog and go read The Oatmeal or TMZ or something. However, if you are on Twitter to create a professional network, learn, educate and build your reputation, let's talk about your profile pic. I am consistently surprised by the way some professionals portray themselves on Twitter. You have precious few ways to introduce yourself to new people on Twitter. Before someone can access the pearls of wisdom in your tweets, they first need to follow you, recognize you and want to know you. What impression do you…

  • The Role (and Death) of Marketing in the Social Media Era

    Augie Ray
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:21 pm
    Copyright Warner Bros. Entertainment The other day I noticed that my December 2009 blog post, "2010: The Year Marketing Dies," was my blog's most popular article. Here it is, 2012, and CMOs are still employed and Marketing Departments still exist. Oops! Should I be embarrassed? Before you answer that, I would like to make the case that Marketing is already dead, but marketers just don't know it yet. Like Wile E. Coyote after he has dashed off the edge of the cliff but before gravity has kicked in, I think the profession of Marketing is hovering and waiting for a fall. I will cop to…

  • The Incredibly Difficult and Important Job of Community Manager

    Augie Ray
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:10 am
    Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day! The idea for this worthy annual event came from Jeremiah Owyang, and it is a terrific idea. Most organizations truly have no idea how much authority and power they have imparted on their Community Managers, and recognizing the people who fill these difficult and important roles seems very appropriate. This blog post is dedicated to and inspired by the community managers on my team at USAA, who execute their duties with energy, creativity, passion and grace. Analisa, Jessica and Raul, with the support of Josh and Julie, have taught me a great deal…

  • The Shrinking Half-Life of Never

    Augie Ray
    17 Jan 2012 | 11:28 pm
    "The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious."                       - John Sculley, former CEO of Apple There are many reasons why people fail to see the future, even when it is pounding down their front door. Some are too busy in the now to see the world changing around them; some see trends and mistake them for fads; and some are simply too invested in today's skills and business models to consider their evolution. No matter the etiology of the disease, the symptom is usually the same--bold and…

  • Four Ways to Fix Social Media Marketing

    Augie Ray
    12 Jan 2012 | 6:50 pm
    My last blog post, "Social Media Marketing is Broken," was a rant, and while rants are fun and cathartic, they are not helpful. (I'm also disappointed to note that rants tend to draw more retweets and visits, so perhaps I should aspire to be the Lewis Black of Social Media.) Since I strive be helpful and create positive dialog on this blog, I'd like to explore four ways social media marketing can be fixed: Don't report fan page increases without reporting engagement level: It's too easy to add fans and followers for the wrong reasons. Run a sweepstakes on Facebook, and hundreds of thousands…
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    Association Marketing Springboard (Now SocialFishing)

  • SOPA, PIPA, and the Wikipedia blackout: what it means for associations.

    Lindy Dreyer
    18 Jan 2012 | 5:46 am
    I’m confused. I figured I’d start this post with that, just so you know that I don’t have any answers here. Only questions. At the risk of inadvertently raising political ire from every corner, I’d also like to start by saying that both sides have important points to make. I’m talking about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as House Bill 3261. The Senate version is PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), or Senate Bill 968. I won’t get into comparing the two bills–that’s not my thing. For the purpose of this post I’ll focus on SOPA.

  • Get your Gold Circle Award Submissions in by January 20

    Lindy Dreyer
    10 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    Hey SocialFish readers–you deserve to be recognized. Consider this a heads-up. Every year, the ASAE Communications Section’s Gold Circle Award (GCA) competition recognizes the extraordinary communications efforts undertaken by associations. This year’s awards ceremony will be held several months early to coincide with the Marketing, Membership, and Communications Conference, May 23-24. That means you need to get your submissions together now in order to get in under the January 20 deadline. There are several categories where outstanding social media work could potentially be…

  • New Infographic: Associations Going Mobile

    Lindy Dreyer
    6 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am
    I’m doing a session all about mobile with Jeff De Cagna and Paul Gannon at the ASAE Technology Conference on Wednesday morning. Mobile is something Maddie and I think and talk about a lot. And after posting that “mobile apps are a waste of time for associations” on this blog last year, I’ve gotten a number of requests to talk more about it. The post was meant to be provocative. A year later, a lot has changed in the mobile landscape. Still, I stand by a lot of the reasoning in the original post, even as I agree that completely ignoring native apps is also a mistake.

  • Deep dive on Social CRM at the ASAE Technology Conference

    Lindy Dreyer
    5 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am
    This was originally posted over on the Avectra blog. If you follow Avectra (and if you’re into SCRM, you should!) then you can skip ahead to the next post in your reader. The ASAE Technology Conference is next week in DC–where did November go? Every year, I look forward to a fun-filled, possibly snowy week of techie good times. And this year, I’m even more energized about #Tech11. I’ll be facilitating a deep dive on Social CRM for Associations on Thursday, 12/8, starting at 8:30am. Deep dive means that we will actually have a good chunk of time together as a group to…

  • Times are hard. Associations make the world better.

    Lindy Dreyer
    26 Oct 2011 | 7:00 am
    Maddie and I attended the ASAE Summit Awards Dinner a few days ago. It’s a beautiful event held annually in Washington, DC. We were at the National Building Museum, with it’s spectacular architecture highlighted with uplights, an understated stage set, and beautiful party decor. We had drinks, wine and a three-course dinner. There was a live performance of the national anthem by Northwestern High School’s talented choir, and later a performance by Nashville music star, Gabe Dixon. And a lot of money was raised for ASAE’s Power of A Fund. For the 1,100 people who…
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    No man is an iland

  • If the email’s legal, it can’t be spam. Can it?

    Mark Brownlow
    20 Jan 2012 | 2:55 am
    Sometimes it helps to have a “fact” sheet to whisk out when making an email marketing case to colleagues (or yourself). Today’s post fills that role for an issue that often confuses those not directly involved in email marketing… Does compliance with anti-spam law confer immunity from being filtered, marked or even perceived as spam? No. Now for the summary and the evidence… Summary Legal compliance is not the main factor used by those who manage incoming mail (ISPs, webmail services and IT departments) to decide if your email should be delivered to the inbox or…

  • Email more popular than beer…and other fun facts

    Mark Brownlow
    22 Dec 2011 | 5:06 am
    As I close down for the holiday break, I though I’d leave you with some lighthearted statistics about email. Something to impress the relatives with. Ready? 1. According to Google Trends, email is more popular than Elvis, the Beatles, chocolate, beer, Justin Bieber and Harry Potter…but not sex. 2. Say you printed out each non-spam email sent in the world on a single piece of standard A4 copy paper: One day’s worth of emails would produce a stack of paper 2,159 times taller than Mt. Everest It would take just over 20 days for the stack to reach the moon In just under 2 hours,…

  • Double your sign-up rate? Practical advice for popover forms

    Mark Brownlow
    20 Dec 2011 | 5:50 am
    Spiders, scorpions, snakes…and popups. Improvements to browser security largely killed the popup window, but the fear and loathing remains. As a result, email marketers have been reluctant to use “in your face” website sign-up forms that in any way resemble those popups of the past. But times and technology have changed. Is this reluctance to consider more brazen approaches to sign-up forms still relevant and reasonable? With marketers reporting huge sign-up lifts from using them, what are the impacts on user experience? Are there any recommended techniques in this field? I…

  • Six approaches for future-proof email marketing

    Mark Brownlow
    2 Dec 2011 | 2:53 am
    So in a terrifying moment of weakness I found myself saying: “It would be nice to get 3000 Twitter followers by the end of the year” Oh dear. Why 3000? Why by the end of the year? Why focus on THAT metric? Why, Mark, why? I’m only human. The seductive appeal of using a random number of followers, likes, +1’s or subscribers as your measure of success is a tricky one to resist. But the mistake led me to ask whether I’ve learned anything over the past 13+ years of online and email marketing. Cue a brief period of panic…followed by a longer period of…

  • Did Monty Python write your unsubscribe page? 9 tips to make it better

    Mark Brownlow
    8 Nov 2011 | 8:48 am
    All your calls-to-action are happily driving sales, searches, downloads, donations, phone calls or Facebook love. But not the unsubscribe link. No indeed. This sniveling wretch spends his days sucking subscribers out of your database. (And his nights cavorting recklessly with dental appointments and taxes down the “Needed but not Nice” gin and whisky joint.) As we’ll see, however, unsubscribes are not all bad. And there are good ways and bad ways to manage them. Make it difficult? One school of thought says the best way to keep people on your list is to make it as difficult…
 
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    The Future Buzz

  • Broaden Your Digital Skills, Leave Specialization To Insects

    Adam Singer
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:24 am
    Avinash Kaushik, one of my favorite bloggers, recently published an unmissable post titled: The 2015 Digital Marketing Rule Book. Change or Perish. If you’re an Avinash fan you’ve likely already read it, but if not it’s worth a read (and a bookmark). I wanted to higlight one point he made that should resonate with Future Buzz readers: Multiplicity: Competencies, Campaigns, Systems, Everything. This is something we are most unprepared for. You can no longer be good at just one thing, or two. It is a 10-thing world now (and maybe a 20-thing world soon). If you are a catalog…

  • How Social Technologies Can Smooth The Road To IPO

    Guest Author
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    The following is a guest post from Deirdre Walsh. If you’d like to contribute thinking here, please read the guidelines. An IPO is not just one of the most important marketing events in a company’s history. It’s also one of the biggest tests of a company’s ability to orchestrate and manage communications, internally and externally. Going public means juggling all sorts of legal requirements, investor sensitivities, and strategic concerns—while still keeping a steady flow of information going out to a public eager for the latest news. The stakes are obviously huge, and the room for…

  • Priorities: Curing Social Media Overload

    John Boitnott
    20 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am
    The following is a guest post from Future Buzz community member John Boitnott. If you’d like to contribute thinking here, please read the guidelines. Pinterest. Pinterest?! Really? Do I have to? That was what I first thought. I’ll admit it. The last thing I wanted to do was add another network to the long list of online communities I was already attempting to participate in. It’s tough enough just to send out a few tweets, speak in a few conversations on Facebook and update my Tumblr. Now they want me to join Pinterest. Let’s not even mention the mobile apps that have entered into…

  • With PR Pros Like This, Who Needs Amateurs?

    Guest Author
    17 Jan 2012 | 11:16 am
    The following is a guest post by Jonathan Rick. If you’d like to contribute thinking here, please read the guidelines. Chris Abraham recently published a case study on the “art of writing the perfect blogger pitch.” There’s a lot to like here. For one, the time and thought Chris and his team devote to this esoterica are rare. For another, spilling your trade secrets takes guts. And yet, for a purportedly “perfect” pitch, the Abraham Harrison technique and approach leave much to be desired. Here’s why in web-friendly fashion, via a list with headings: 1.  Spam. In a classic…

  • Random Thoughts On Reposts

    Adam Singer
    16 Jan 2012 | 11:09 am
    While I don’t think we suffer from information overload, I actually think we suffer from a more sinister problem. Curator overload. Not good curators like Robert Scoble or Jason Kottke. Those guys are worth their weight in gold, in fact we need more curators like them: they uncover unique, useful and obscure things before everyone else. And if they do repost they always add something. I’m talking about curator overload in the form of people taking popular content (usually images, but not exclusively) surfaced on sites like Google+, Reddit, or Stumble and reposting again (as if…
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    Kansas City SEO and SEM

  • Google’s Keyword Tool Lost It’s Title Tag

    Anne Haynes
    25 Jan 2012 | 4:02 pm
    I was working on keyword research for an SEO project and look what I found.

  • Music from my 12″ Collection – SOPA

    Anne Haynes
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:34 am
    Listen Now!

  • SOPA Protesting

    Anne Haynes
    18 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pm
    More on SOPA Sharon Waxman: Sunk! How Hollywood Lost the PR Battle Over SOPA Zuckerberg: SOPA Is ‘Poorly Thought-Out Law’ Chris Heald: Why SOPA Is Dangerous

  • @Twitter bring @AnneHaynes back

    Anne Haynes
    19 Dec 2011 | 5:29 pm
    After going back and forth with Twitter support, they basically told me too bad your account is suspended and that’s it! I started using Twitter in 2008 and it’s been great. I used my Twitter account more for news because honestly I don’t want to read about someone having a cup of coffee – EVER. [...]

  • Twitter Suspended My Account – Again

    Anne Haynes
    15 Nov 2011 | 11:54 pm
    Be careful with your Twitter RSS feeds. Yes, second time in 1 year my 2009 4.4K Twitter account is suspend! Isn’t there some sort of filter which places early adopters’ accounts in the safe zone?? More to come as the experience continues. Check out this post from earlier this year: Fix Your Twitter Suspended Account
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    Andy Sernovitz | Damn, I Wish I\'d Thought of That!

  • Abuse of trust

    Andy Sernovitz
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Did you ever wonder why so many consumers hate businesses? Often it’s because businesses take advantage of the relationships we have with them. When I bought a camera from Casio, I was pretty excited about the relationship. I bought several models over the years, convinced many friends to buy one, and blogged about them more than once. I was a fan. I gave them my email because I trusted them. But to them, I’m just a name in a database — a name to be marketed to. Even if it makes no sense at all — such as these emails that I’ve been getting for keyboards and…

  • Newsletter #868: The “Use What You Have” Issue

    Andy Sernovitz
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    [Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.] Great marketers aren’t just looking for the new and shiny — they’re also looking at how to get the most out of what they already have. Here are a few examples to inspire you: 1. For recruiting 2. For innovation 3. For competition 4. Check it out: Events from your birth year 1. For recruiting Finding new, talented people to join your team can be expensive and time consuming. But…

  • I can’t tell you about this

    Andy Sernovitz
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:30 am
    Seriously, I can’t. I was at the mall and some guy in a kiosk was selling special iPhone screen protectors that are supposedly better-feeling, better-working, and don’t fall off. With a lifetime guarantee. For $20. My regular screen protectors keep falling off or getting bubbles, so I decided to try it. It’s amazing! You should get one. I show it to everyone, every time I pull out my phone. But here’s the big word-of-mouth lesson: I have no idea what it’s called. I don’t know the name of the store. There is no brand name, no package, nothing to tell me how…

  • How long are your shirt tails?

    Andy Sernovitz
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    A good men’s shirt has long tails (it keeps the shirt tucked in). A manufacturer can save millions by slicing a few inches off the bottom of every shirt. Bad companies look at this as a spreadsheet question: How much money can we save by reducing fabric quantity? But the most important data never shows up on a spreadsheet: Customers who bought the shirt, thought it seemed short/cheap, and never came back. Your “fabric cost” spreadsheet doesn’t have a column for “customer retention costs.” Which means you may be saving money on a cheap product, but losing…

  • She left me standing there, and I don’t know why

    Andy Sernovitz
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    I was a customer of a very good web hosting service for many years — until I cancelled my account last month. Cancellation was easy — I did it online and it was hassle-free and efficient. I left with a positive feeling. But they have no idea why I left. Why didn’t they call? Why didn’t they ask? Was it an unsolvable problem, or could they have won me back with a quick fix? Was I upset about something that they could apologize for? Or was there a mismatch between my needs and their product line — information that would help them in the future? Don’t let a…
 
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    Bronto Blog

  • 8 Key Ways to Keep Subscribers Engaged

    Kristen Gregory
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    You’ve worked hard to get people onto your email marketing list, but that’s only part of the battle. What are the things you need to do to make sure people not only stay ON the list, but stay engaged and interact with your messages? Here are 8 key ways to keep subscribers engaged through their lifecycle: 1. Set Expectations from the Start You want people to be excited to join your list in order to receive certain communications from you.  In the case of Kaleidoscope Yarns – that’s knitting tips and tricks, free patterns, special offers, and more. Subscribers also understand that…

  • Targeting the Tablet Customer

    Jim Davidson
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    Adobe Systems’ first "Digital Marketing Insights" report begins with a powerful statement: “Consumers who visit retail websites using tablet devices are more valuable online customers than those who visit websites using smartphones or traditional desktop/laptop computers.” Let’s think about that for a moment… device type is now another layer that we can use to measure customers that bring in the most value.  Traditional purchase behavior, site activity, social media interactions, and overall engagement can now be broken down by what someone is holding in their hands or where…

  • Bronto's 2012 Trends and Predictions for Retail Marketers

    Jim Davidson
    18 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    Will 2012 be the year Black Friday and Cyber Monday become less important?  Will marketers finally start to drive revenue through social channels? Bronto’s Marketing Strategists, who help clients including Party City, Dean & Deluca, and LittleMissMatched increase revenue and engagement via email and cross-channel marketing, share their insights and predictions for the year ahead. Email Creative Goes Cross-Channel By Emily Keye With consumers constantly on the go and viewing email messages on a variety of devices (desktops, laptops,…

  • Don't Sabotage Your Email Deliverability!

    Chris Kolbenschlag
    16 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    The definition of sabotage is "an action aimed at weakening another entity" and comes from the French root word of 'Saboter' meaning to spoil through clumsiness. Sometimes marketers may be unaware that even though they're not deliberately trying to hurt their program, their actions may directly harm their deliverability efforts. Inactive Addresses Often marketers do something that seems simple and innocent, yet poses a massive risk to their email reputation, deliverability and results. Sometimes marketers look for quick revenue dollars by maximizing all the contacts they have.  For…

  • When to Send: Timing is Everything!

    Emily Keye
    11 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    I’m asked on a daily basis by clients, “When is the best time to send email?” My answer, “When your subscribers want it.” This is not the answer that my clients are anticipating.  Most marketers have accepted the fact that the "batch and blast" email method is a strategy of the past and that they must put their subscribers' needs, wants and interests first.  Email subscribers have varying habits around checking email, engaging with email and buying via email. Different time zones also throw another variable into the mix. The time in which your email message reaches a…
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    Internet Marketing for Business - Jim Kukral - Small Business Web Consultant

  • Free Blog Setup & Design

    jim@jimkukral.com (Jim Kukral)
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:33 am
    At the beginning of every year I have a few ideas in my head that I want to work on. This year, one of those was giving. I mean true giving. I have built a 16-year career on the Web by helping other people find success, and I’ve learned that the more you give, the more you get back. So naturally, it’s time to give EVEN MORE! So one of my first initiatives was to create my free blog setup and design service. You can read about it here. I’ve partnered with a top-notch hosting company to provide a start-up hosting package for people who want to either get started, or need a…

  • Crowdfunding Tips: My Interview With Matthew Lesko

    jim@jimkukral.com (Jim Kukral)
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:19 pm
    I did a fun interview with Matthew Lesko a few weeks ago about the power of crowdfunding. You can watch it here. The article also has a ton of crowdfunding resources on it that you can check out. If you haven’t picked up a copy of my book on how I crowdfunded over $35k to pre-fund my new books, then you should get a copy here and learn how I did it and how you can do it too!

  • 10 Tips for 2012

    jim@jimkukral.com (Jim Kukral)
    30 Dec 2011 | 10:59 am
    I never have enough time to write out a super-long, super inspiring end of year post. Hey, I’m writing books, not blogs these days. (Yes, I know I’m writing a blog now, you know what I meant.) But… I do have a short list of things to tell you before 2011 ends. If you want to be successful in 2012… you must: 1. Trust your gut 2. Stay on course 3. Get past the hard part 4. Stop pitying yourself 5. Stop envying other’s success 6. Ship a ton of products/services/content 7. Do your own thing 8. Work on things that are fun 9. Read a lot of books 10. Decide on your…

  • Too Much Influence Is A Bad Thing

    jim@jimkukral.com (Jim Kukral)
    15 Dec 2011 | 10:56 am
    There’s a severe disadvantage when you have too much influence. Sure, having smart and successful people around you is VERY important. However, when you begin to let their influence overwhelm your gut ideas and thoughts and shape your direction, you’re in trouble. That’s where I was in 2010. I had a massive circle of smart, influential people guiding me. Believe me, they helped, a lot! But after a while I realized that I was letting them guide me too much. I saw their success and tried to emulate it, instead of sticking with my gut and moving forward on what I really wanted…

  • Fox Business News with Neil Cavuto

    jim@jimkukral.com (Jim Kukral)
    6 Dec 2011 | 7:44 am
    I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Neil Cavuto show on Fox Business News yesterday. You can watch the clip below. I talk about how I got on the show below. So how did I get on this show? Step 1: Have a good website (your platform). No-brainer, right? You have to have a professional looking site, assuming you’re in a professional business. My website features videos of me speaking and testimonials from clients and media I’ve been mentioned in. Step 2: Create content in other places. I got this invite because a show producer found my guest post article on Self-Growth.com…
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    David Binkowski.com

  • A Look At Facebook's Ponzi Scheme

    David Binkowski
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:35 am
    I posted something yesterday on Twitter and on Facebook was favorited and Liked by senior executive at one of the world's largest retailers, an executive at a massive, global CPG and senior executives at agencies, respectively, so I'm going to repost it here to share it with you. A little background, first: A lot of folks in the industry had been creating fan hubs long before Facebook went from

  • Facebook's Changes Means Digital Agencies Should Thrive

    David Binkowski
    24 Sep 2011 | 6:08 am
    Thursday the bomb was dropped at f8 that Facebook is going to be ditching the Like in favor of user actions and passive updates, meaning that when you engage with apps and have the "Add to Timeline" feature enabled it will automatically update your Timeline with what you're doing (for an example of this, check out the Washington Post Social app). It's mildly reminiscent of the auto-checkin app

  • Get Me To The Schmoo

    David Binkowski
    29 Aug 2011 | 4:00 am
    Unfortunately this happens all too often at companies: We need to prove that social media delivers a return before we can invest budget in these sort of programs. Pretty chicken and egg, right? The fortunate part is that it's easily correctible; if you set up your social media programs and measurement properly you can determine the ROI.

  • Upcoming Speaking Engagements

    David Binkowski
    26 Aug 2011 | 7:45 am
    Since it's Friday and everyone's talking about Hurrican Irene, I figured it'd be a good time to slip in some shameless self promotion for a few upcoming speaking gigs in New York City. You know, provided it's not flooded:September 16, 2011PRSA's T3PR: Theory, Tactics and Technology for High Tech Public RelationsNew York, NYTechnology Crisis. Digital Age.October 26, 2011ACI's Focus on Social Media

  • Facebook Use May Lead to Psychological Disorders in Teens

    David Binkowski
    8 Aug 2011 | 5:56 am
    This Mashable article reminds me of the Gen Y "Make me famous" syndrome, where Jason Alexander once said:I once went to speak at a school, and there was a 16-year-old girl. And the girl says to me, "You know what? I don't care what I do, I just want to be famous."And I thought, you know, I should really just shoot her in the head because it would serve two things: It would make her famous as the
 
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    Be Relevant! Email Marketing Blog

  • Recommended Reading (weekly)

    Tamara Gielen
    22 Jan 2012 | 2:31 am
    How to Build an Email List - Ask the Experts Growing an email list can be a slow and painful process. So what tactics can marketers use to build an email list, without all the headaches? tags: list-growth tg Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

  • Recommended Reading (weekly)

    Tamara Gielen
    15 Jan 2012 | 2:31 am
    6 Mistakes to Avoid in Email Testing Email marketing makes testing very simple and accurate. Best of all, results come back in 24 hours. But there are several mistakes that many email marketers make when testing. Here are six of them tags: testing tg Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

  • Recommended Reading (weekly)

    Tamara Gielen
    8 Jan 2012 | 2:31 am
    The Quirks of Japan’s Opt-In Email Marketing Legislation In 2009 the Japanese government changed its email marketing policy from an “opt-out” similar to the USA’s CAN-SPAM Act to an “opt-in” legislation that bears more resemblance to the stricter European Union regulations. There are various aspects in the "Regulation of Transmission of Specified Electronic Mail" legislation that must be noted by all email marketers with Japanese subscribers on their lists tags: legislation japan tg Popover email sign-up forms: best practices and advice Obviously a lot depends on context and…

  • How To Generate Leads With Social and Email Marketing

    Tamara Gielen
    5 Jan 2012 | 4:25 am
    Next Tuesday (January 10) I will be presenting a webinar called "How To Generate Leads With Social and Email Marketing", as part of BrightTalk's Demand Generation Summit. In this webinar, I will will cover trends, best practices and tactics to generate leads via social media (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, communities etc) and how to nurture and convert those leads into paying customers. A BrightTALK Channel Other webinars included in this summit are: The Ins and Outs of B2B Email Deliverability by Kath Pay, Plan to Engage Demand Generation in 2015 by Andrew Gaffney, DemandGen Report How to…

  • Recommended Reading (weekly)

    Tamara Gielen
    1 Jan 2012 | 2:31 am
    Launching iOS apps from an Email Newsletter The inevitable accent of Mobile devices becoming the #1 email client has produced some interesting challenges for us email marketers. One such is challenge is how to work with apps, namely how to launch them from an email message tags: design mobile tg apps Graymail Features Roll Out to Hotmail Users the only feature that has been automatically enabled by Hotmail. Sweep and Schedule cleanup require action on behalf of the user before messages are moved. While some types of communications are assigned suggested categories, they remain in the inbox as…
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    Branding Expert Martin Lindstrom - Author, Speaker & Fan of the Consumer

  • Fast Company: Thou Shalt Covet What Thy Neighbor Covets

    Martin Lindstrom
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:58 am
    By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - January 23, 2011 When it comes to the things we buy, what other people think matters. A lot. Here’s how the desires of strangers–inflamed by branders and marketers–mysteriously become our desires, too. Many of us spend our days–or at least part of them–quietly cursing our fellow human beings. The guy in the Hummer who cuts us off at the intersection. The old woman in the supermarket line counting out pennies one by one. The tourist consulting a map right in front of the subway entrance. They…

  • TIME Magazine: The Secret Cause of Buyer’s Remorse

    Martin Lindstrom
    12 Jan 2012 | 8:33 am
    By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - January 10, 2011 Being able to hold things before we buy them makes us more satisfied with our purchases. In 2011, many shoppers opted to avoid the frenetic crowds and do their holiday shopping from the comfort of their computer. Sales at online retailers gained by more than 15%, making it the biggest season ever. But people are also returning those purchases at record rates, up 8% from last year. What went wrong? Is the lingering shadow of the global financial crisis making it harder to accept extravagant indulgences?

  • Fast Company: Under-Promise. Over-Deliver. And Your Brand’s Fans Will Talk

    Martin Lindstrom
    10 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am
    By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - January 10, 2011 It’s when companies under-promise and over-deliver that people experience memorable moments that will affect their habits for a lifetime. In a small restaurant in Shinjiku, a suburb of Tokyo, I ordered sake. First, the waitress placed a small wooden box in front of me. Then she arrived with a large tray carrying 40 cups. Each one, she explained, represented a different personality. I chose a blue cup, which she removed from her tray and carefully placed in the box. As she began to pour the…

  • 9 Network airs ”Selling Secrets” with Martin Lindstrom

    Martin Lindstrom
    24 Dec 2011 | 2:10 am
     

  • Fast Company: Trust Me – Here’s Why Brands Sell Trust, Subconsciously

    Martin Lindstrom
    19 Dec 2011 | 11:57 am
    By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - December 19, 2011 Evidence points to information from trusted sources getting a better hold on our brains than the noise from everything else. So it’s no surprise that companies want to capitalize on those feelings. Let’s say that not that long ago you came across a fascinating article. But when you later try to verify some of the facts, you just can’t pinpoint exactly where you first read it. What you do recall is that the source was reliable and you trusted the message. This is a situation I find myself…
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    Unbound Edition

  • McDonald's Is Changing Its Burger Recipe To Take The 'Pink Slime' Out Of Its Meat

    27 Jan 2012 | 8:20 am
    McDonald's is changing the recipe it uses for its burgers in the US, after a lengthy campaign by TV chef and food activist Jamie Oliver, reports the Daily Mail. The fast food juggernaut used ammonium hydroxide -- an additive typically found in household cleaning products to kill bacteria -- in its US meat. Oliver calls it "pink slime."

  • A New Challenge for Web Freedom

    27 Jan 2012 | 8:13 am
    The Internet is celebrated as a machine that runs by itself, but this is not quite accurate. The Web does have oversight, just not by any multinational organization, national government or regulator. It's run by a small, private, nonprofit institution that is rarely in the news. This week will be an exception. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, known by the acronym Icann, is accepting applications for an infinite number of new Web addresses, known as top-level domain names. In addition to the existing two dozen suffixes, such as .com, .org and .net, Icann will let people…

  • JCPenney Re-Refreshes Brand - Third Time's the Charm?

    27 Jan 2012 | 8:10 am
    Trying to figure out what’s on sale when and then waiting for the next sale to buy particular items can be frustrating to consumers so J.C. Penney Co. — in its first major overhaul of its retail arm since former Apple exec Ron Johnson took over as CEO in November — is attempting to make things much easier. The company this week announced that its stores are doing away with having seven kazillion different items on different sales simultaneously and just “marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40% so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in…

  • Consumer Behavior: From Trading Up To Trading Off

    27 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am
    The opposite of trading up is not trading down. In fact, there is no opposite of trading up; shopping behavior is more nuanced than that. When shopping hit the skids after the financial crisis, there was a lot of talk about a new normal of frugality, as if the only thing possible after a decade-plus of trading up was a generation to come of nothing but trading down. It’s clear now that those prognostications were flawed, not to mention overly pessimistic.

  • Target doesn't want to be the showroom for online retailers

    26 Jan 2012 | 3:55 pm
    Remember all that talk before the holidays about the blissful union between brick-and-mortar retailers and mobile users? Retailers seemed to have accepted that many of their customers shop with smartphones in hand — and retailers even appeared to be embracing it. A Deloitte consultant who follows these things, Kasey Lobaugh, told Internet Retailer that retailers: "... need to invest in providing customer connectivity in the store, including in-store Wi-Fi, ... building functionality that best serves the customer at the 'point of need' and thinking about the capabilities that align with the…
 
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    The FastSpring E-Commerce Blog

  • SpringBoard Update Released: Bank Transfers, New File Extensions & More

    Julie
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:01 pm
    Bank Transfers Now Supported as Customer Payment Method FastSpring has been working hard this season to enable your customers to pay using even more payment methods than previously existed. Now, in addition to major credit cards, PayPal, check, money order, and purchase orders, your FastSpring store can also accept bank transfers, which is the most common form of cashless consumer payments in most countries within the EU and Asia-Pacific. Bank transfers offer many benefits for FastSpring clients. They can broaden your customer base, appealing to those customers who do not have a credit card,…

  • FastSpring Partners

    Potter
    21 Jan 2012 | 8:48 pm
    FastSpring’s partners shared some quality time together in a mini-retreat last week. Pictured here from left to right are Dan Engel, CEO; Ryan Dewell, SVP Software Development; Ken White, Chief Customer Service Officer; and Jason Foodman, SVP Corporate Development. Blog this on Blogger Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Share this on Facebook Share this on LinkedIn Share this on Reddit Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Tweet This!

  • FastSpring to Attend 2012 CES & Affiliate Summit West

    Potter
    14 Dec 2011 | 8:19 pm
    To kick off the new year, FastSpring will have representatives in Las Vegas attending both the the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which runs January 10th-13th, and Affiliate Summit West 2012 (January 8th-10th). If you are a client or prospect of FastSpring and will be attending either of these shows, please contact us; we will be available to meet with you in person. The International CES is produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the consumer technology industry. CEA represents more than 2,000 corporate…

  • New FastSpring Demo Movie Released

    Potter
    2 Nov 2011 | 4:33 pm
    FastSpring is pleased to announce the launch of a comprehensive new demo movie showcasing the many features of our solution and starring (though not limited to) our platform SpringBoard, which has grown and matured over the years while adhering to its original ideals of intuitive use and depth of functionality. We believe that this movie, in its modular design that allows users to easily skip to sections that most interest them, offers viewers a greatly expanded treatment of FastSpring’s many features and services. It also presents insights into the diverse ways that the platform can be…

  • FastSpring Ranked #1 Fastest-Growing Company in Greater LA, #13 in North America (2006-2010)

    Dan
    20 Oct 2011 | 5:24 pm
    We are pleased to announce that Deloitte & Touche  has recognized FastSpring as the #1  fastest-growing technology company in the greater Los Angeles area (view PDF) and 13th out of 500 of the fastest-growing companies nationwide, via its annual Technology Fast 500 awards. FastSpring’s growth rate from 2006 to 2010 exceeded other well-known technology companies such as LinkedIn and First Solar. Greater Los Angeles North America (US & Canada) At the Los Angeles awards ceremony, Deloitte introduced FastSpring with these words: “Their innovative engine is designed to assure…
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    Marketing Technology Blog

  • Free Speech Doesn’t Protect Your Reputation

    Douglas Karr
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:18 pm
    Sam Montgomery is a reader of the Marketing Technology Blog and contacted me regarding a story of a young football talent named Yuri Wright. Yuri was actively being recruited by Michigan State… up until some folks read his tweets. The tweets are displayed at Chat Sports and not safe for work (NSFW)… just know that they’re pretty vulgar. Yuri Wright, the 4-star CB from New Jersey, was once though to be headed to Michigan in the 2012 class. Earlier this month, the Michigan coaching staff took a deeper look into the prospect after a concerned alumnus sent the school verbatim…

  • 27% of Marketers Have No Tablet Plans… Yet!

    Douglas Karr
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:46 am
    We love having a great sponsor like Zoomerang and their free polling software to figure out what and how marketers feel about both our content and to provide insight into what strategies are deploying. Our latest poll asked about plans for marketers when it comes to the tablet market. Last year, Forrester predicted huge growth in the ereader and tablet market – and the market produced. It didn’t produce with simple sales, but the aggressive discounting of ereaders and tablets are making them more affordable than mobile phones! What does that mean for your organization? Thankfully,…

  • Enable Authorship and Publishing Link in WordPress

    Douglas Karr
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:28 pm
    I keep telling folks I’d share how we’re integrating authorship microdata to produce search result rich snippets. It’s working well for our clients in increasing their SERP CTRs) so I figured I’d document it here for WordPress sites. There are two pieces to this… and the two elements are not related. The authorship data is now being displayed in Search Engine Results Pages. I have not seen publisher info displayed yet… but I’m sure it will be! Publisher Google Plus now has a verification system where a publisher of a site can point to their Google+…

  • Infographic: Small Business Social Cheat Sheet

    Douglas Karr
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:52 pm
    I love my peeps over at Column Five, but I think they may have tipped a few many watching reruns of Diggnation. Digg? Really? By any stretch of the imagination, Digg‘s grave has been Dugg and StumbleUpon is the one planting flowers. Too soon? Sorry folks… when the audience leaves, the social app dies. It’s social media evolution. But wait… really… we missed LinkedIn, too? Google Business? Are you kidding me? Perhaps it was something a little stronger than beer. Alright… we’ve made enough fun of the project manager on this infographic for Flowtown.

  • Robby Slaughter of Slaughter Development on MTB Radio

    Jenn Lisak
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:16 pm
    We are proud to announce that we will be having Robby Slaughter, trouble maker of social media, of Slaughter Development on the Marketing Tech Blog Radio Show this Friday, January 27, at 3 p.m. EST. On the show, we will be talking about the meaning of “productivity” (it’s not what most people think), the connection between online marketing and productivity, and why companies need outside experts for fundamental work. Robby Slaughter is a workflow and productivity expert. His focus is helping organizations and individuals to become more efficient, more effective and more…
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    DetectiveMarketing.com

  • Catch a wave of the groundswell and surf the social web with Sharkonomics!

    Stefan Engeseth
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:43 am
    Catch a wave of the groundswell and surf the social web with Sharkonomics! Stefan Engeseth’s book will take off and swim by itself.Martin Lindeskog, blogger and social media evangelist Click LIKE at www.sharkonomics.com to make it swim!

  • Call to action: 100 free copies of my new book Sharkonomics to fellow bloggers

    Stefan Engeseth
    18 Jan 2012 | 4:15 am
    I would like to offer fellow bloggers some early information about my forthcoming book, Sharkonomics, which is about strategies for attacking market leaders, based on my study of shark behaviour. The book will be published in March 2012. I even dived with sharks in South Africa as part of my research! I really hope you will find this of interest to you and your followers. I hope you will find the book summary (pdf) interesting for your followers, it as open pdf, so please feel free to copy the text if you want to use it for your blog, Facebook, Twitter and other social media (just please…

  • Take a bite of my new book at www.sharkonomics.com

    Stefan Engeseth
    16 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    My fourth book, Sharkonomics (about strategies for attacking market leaders), will be published in March 2012. You are swimming with sharks and you may not even know it. Stefan is your guide to not only surviving Sharkonomics but thriving in these adventurous economic waters.Brian Solis, author of The End of Business as Usual and Engage! Read my new book for free at www.sharkonomics.com (book summary, videos etc).

  • Nick Brandt shows us nature as we want it to be

    Stefan Engeseth
    14 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am
    Last week saw the successful exhibition of Nick Brandt’s photography at Fotografiska. It is amazing and nearly unreal to be this close to nature through his photography. Nick’s photographs are probably closer to nature than any other attempts in history. I think his art is so successful because he not only shows nature as we like it to be (like an advertisement showing the beauty of nature) but also because it reflects how we want nature to see us. In other words I believe Nick’s master piece has created a mirror in which we can admire and watch ourselves as a part of nature.

  • I don’t feel worried about where to go in the future, instead I feel curiously

    Stefan Engeseth
    10 Jan 2012 | 7:50 am
    I don’t feel worried about where to go in the future, instead I feel curiously.Eivor Andersson, Former CEO, Ving Sweden
 
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    PsyBlog

  • Powerful People Feel Taller Than They Really Are

    Jeremy Dean
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:05 am
    Experiment demonstrates how a powerful feeling feeds back into self-perception of height. Language can reveal all kinds of truths about our psychology. Take these expressions: He's the big man on this project. We look up to her. Lady Gaga is huge. He puts her on a pedestal. It's not hard to see the strong association here between size and power that's embedded in the way we talk about the relations between people. The reason why is almost too obvious to bother stating: larger people quite often do have more power. As children our parents, teachers and all our authority figures are taller than…

  • Why Stories Sell: Transportation Leads to Persuasion

    Jeremy Dean
    18 Jan 2012 | 12:10 pm
    Psychological research on persuasion suggests that stories which transport people are more likely to be persuasive. Marketers have known for years that stories are a powerful tool for persuading people. That's partly because stories (unlike statistics) are easy to understand. That's why politicians try to persuade us by telling stories about their vision of the world. They do spout statistics as well, but normally only in support of some kind of grand narrative. We instinctively understand that people resist being told what to do, but will respond to the moral of a story. So we try to…

  • The Amazing Power of Regret to Shape Our Future

    Jeremy Dean
    12 Jan 2012 | 10:41 am
    Why people are reluctant to exchange lottery tickets, but will happily exchange pens. Regret might not make a list of the most powerful emotions. It would probably include things like anger, happiness, jealousy, sadness and especially for us English, embarrassment. We tend to think of regret as essentially a backward-looking emotion. We regret things in the past, like not trying hard enough in school, how we treated a friend or the things we said to our partner in the heat of an argument. In this sense you might argue that it's useless: why regret something you can't change? But regret isn't…

  • Does The Weather Affect Your Mood?

    Jeremy Dean
    5 Jan 2012 | 8:25 am
    Do grey skies make you blue or is it summer that gets your goat? Here in the UK the weather feels depressing. We're in the middle of winter in the northern hemisphere and it's cold and we're being battered by gales and torrential rain. The sun, even when it does show its face, is setting at 4pm. It's no wonder people in the street look fed up. But according to most of the research on the connection between weather and mood, they shouldn't be. I've covered these highly counter-intuitive findings before and the title of that article sums it up: Weather Has Little Effect on Mood. When you tell…

  • Why Do People Yawn?

    Jeremy Dean
    3 Jan 2012 | 8:18 am
    Could yawning be all about cooling down the brain? Err, don't people yawn because they're bored and/or tired? Yes, it's true people do yawn more at bedtime or after they've woken up and they do yawn when they're bored (people even yawn in their sleep). But yawning isn't that simple. If it was, how could you explain that some paratroopers yawn before their first jump, as do some violinists before they go on stage and Olympic athletes before their event (Provine, 2005). These are hardly situations in which people are likely to be bored. Many people believe that yawning gets more oxygen into…
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    AIM

  • 4 Private blog network sites to improve your SE rankings

    Case Stevens
    26 Jan 2012 | 5:38 am
    Private blog network sites are among the finest techniques to generate links to your site nowadays. In order to gain an edge over other marketers in the perpetual pursuit to create one-way backlinks, many website owners have used software programs like XRumer, Scrapebox, and SENuke X over the last a couple of years. Many use them to offer you cheap backlinks, but I don’t think these link building strategies are as effective as they used to be. Google fights them anyway, because it’s too artificial and so may other search engines. Because private blog network sites are more SEO…

  • Cheap backlinks: are they worth the efforts?

    Case Stevens
    20 Jan 2012 | 5:40 am
    Recently I tested if buying cheap backlinks (also known as incoming links, inbound links) would be worth the money and efforts in order to improve search engine rankings. It seems that generating backlinks is the number one search engine optimization strategy, since they give an indication of the importance and authority of a website. Buying backlinks however is against the search engine policies, because it’s an artificial way to gain better rankings. But since everyone seems to do it, I wanted to test whether it would be worth it. So, I headed over to sites like Fiverr and ordered…

  • Six figure income in only 500 hours

    Case Stevens
    12 Jan 2012 | 11:20 am
    It sounds like a dream: earning a six figure income in only 500 hours. But that actually happened to Patrick Meninga of Make Money With No Work. It’s a very interesting and instructive story, certainly if you can write great articles. And I certainly appreciate his way of creating backlinks. Read it carefully, maybe someday it will happen to you too. Here’s Patrick telling exactly how he did accomplish that six figure income. Enjoy! How I Built a Six Figure Website in Under 500 Hours My flagship website was earning me very good money – over $2,000/month at one point.  I…

  • Article videos can get you on the first page of Google.

    Case Stevens
    4 Jan 2012 | 2:58 pm
    If you know how to create article videos, submitting them to YouTube is a very fast and easy way to possibly get on the first page in Google. Creating article videos is just a matter of converting an article into a video and that process is really pretty simple. It only takes just a few easy steps! Still, not many marketers take advantage of this excellent option, yet with YouTube marketing you can rank quite high for real competitive terms! Of course the success of using article videos strongly depends on the keywords you are targeting. A lot of them just are too competing. For many other…

  • SEO and Web Development – First Attempts in Retrospect

    Case Stevens
    29 Dec 2011 | 2:45 pm
    I had high hopes for my website when I put it up in 2009. Like every newbie webmaster, I spent a lot of time carefully constructing my site and making sure that the elements would work. I didn’t know much about search engine optimization then, but because I wanted my website to take off, I took time to learn more about SEO. I was overwhelmed at first. There are so many different elements that go into proper SEO. Three years later, I’m still learning more about it each day. In the end, I have redirected my attention to this craft. Now that I know more, I can look back at my first attempt…
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    davefleet.com

  • Seven Social Media Insights on CES

    Dave Fleet
    18 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    By now you’ve probably had more than your fill of analysis from the many, many products and announcements revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Now that I’ve had a few days to decompress, I thought I’d do something slightly different and provide a few insights from a social perspective. CES is not a social media conference (duh) CES is, first and foremost, an electronics show. It attracts a very different audience compared to conferences like SXSW or BlogWorld. While those social-focused conferences are fertile ground when it comes to social media programs, CES is…

  • My 2012 Reading Challenge: 36 Books

    Dave Fleet
    9 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    For the last two years I’ve set myself a challenge – one I adopted from Julien Smith - to read at least 26 books per year. That’s one every two weeks. In 2010 I managed 26 books; last year I managed 32. Stand-out books for me last year included: Fiction: The Hound of the Baskervilles A Game of Thrones Series (4-Book Set) The Book of Lost Things The Last Ringbearer Non-Fiction: Workarounds That Work (here’s my review) Game-Based Marketing Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management (review coming soon) Brand Turnaround: How Brands Gone Bad Returned to Glory and the 7…

  • Six important shifts for social media in 2012

    Dave Fleet
    31 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am
    It’s hard to believe we’re about to tick over to another calendar year. So, as usual, I got to thinking about the shifts I think companies need to make in their social media activities in the next year. These aren’t necessarily trends that are already happening (although I’d like to say they are), but they’re certainly where my head is at and hopefully where others are, too. Here are six shifts I hope to see in social media use by business in 2012. Better objective-setting Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a slow maturation in the way companies…

  • Search Engines Are A Conduit, Not A Source

    Dave Fleet
    21 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am
    Let’s get this out of the way: Search engines are a key part of communications nowadays. Take a look at your website analytics and it’ll be clear – there’s no avoiding it. Search engines usually drive a significant proportion – if not the majority – of traffic to companies’ websites. However, I’m tired of seeing “studies” showing that “search engines” are a source of information for consumers. Search engines are a conduit – a step along the path – not a source. Think about it – when you look for…

  • Should you let social media conversations direct your business?

    Dave Fleet
    22 Nov 2011 | 6:00 am
    Here’s a question for you: Should you let conversations in social media direct your business? If you’ve worked in the social media space, that seems like a pretty straightforward “yes”, right? I mean, we’re always talking about how listening and responding is critical. What if we ask the question a couple of other ways: Should you always let conversations in social media direct your business? Should you let individual conversations in social media direct your business? The answer isn’t quite as simple now, is it? All of a sudden, we’re facing…
 
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    Chris Houchens

  • Bueller? … Bueller?

    Chris Houchens
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:53 pm
    Well. It’s starting to seem like every ad in the 2012 Super Bowl the ‘big’ game™ will involve revisiting old movies. While I’ve said Volkswagen’s ‘The Bark Side” may have some troubles, this one I’m intrigued by… While it does seem that “life has moved pretty fast” from the looks of Matthew Broderick, there’s not much more in the teaser that lets us know what this is about. I’m sure in the next few days (hours) the mystery advertiser will be identified (UPDATE: it’s for Honda. Update for Honda: A Honda is…

  • will volkswagen make super bowl lightning strike twice?

    Chris Houchens
    20 Jan 2012 | 11:05 am
    Without a doubt, Volkswagen’s “The Force” was the winner of the 2011 Super Bowl the ‘big’ game™ advertising contest. I would even go as far to say that, in terms of buzz, the ad was the best ad of 2011 overall. But, as so often is the case, when business finds a winner they keep going to the well, killing the golden goose, etc. VW has released a prequel / teaser of their 2012 Super Bowl the ‘big’ game™ effort. Watch it here or embedded below. It is a clever creative execution. Each time I watch it I notice another detail. Ashamed to admit that I…

  • the unwritten kodak bankruptcy post

    Chris Houchens
    19 Jan 2012 | 4:31 pm
    Today’s news (that we’ve seen coming for weeks) is that Kodak is bankrupt. I’m sure the SEO hungry Monday morning quarterback business and marketing bloggers living in their mother’s basements have had a post in draft mode for weeks just waiting to pounce. But if you’re late getting to the trough, here are some specific points to use in a blog post to advance pagerank on the backs of others’ misfortune. Compare Kodak to other legacy industries (record companies, newspaper publishing, etc) who face the digital transformation and how none of them…

  • brand strategy lessons from zappos cyberattack

    Chris Houchens
    16 Jan 2012 | 4:16 pm
    Online retailer Zappos has been attacked via one of their servers in Kentucky. (yes, we have servers and electricity in Ky.) Anyone who has spent any amount of time following me or listening to me speak knows I love to use Zappos as an example of great customer service. I even used them as a case study in Brand Zeitgeist. And once again, they are showing some smart reactions to a bad situation. Just a few important points to learn from this event: Cyber attacks are a reality. If you have sensitive customer information in digital format, it’s not a matter of “if” this will…

  • branding in the carolinas

    Chris Houchens
    3 Jan 2012 | 5:47 am
    I rarely post about specific speaking engagements because they’re typically closed corporate events, but I wanted to alert you to two open-to-the-public events coming up in South Carolina later this month. I will be doing the evening keynote at the AdFed in Greenville, SC on January 17. Then I’ll head down I-26 to speak to the AAF of the Midlands luncheon in Columbia, SC the next day on the 18th. If you’re anywhere in western South Carolina (or southern North Carolina), make plans to come to one of these events. Click the links above to find the specifics for each event.
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    The Accidental Product Manager

  • What A Video Rental Store Can Teach Product Managers

    Dr. Jim Anderson
    23 Jan 2012 | 3:00 am
    Image Credit Can you even remember racing to the video store to avoid late charges? Not to date myself or anything, but can anyone else remember going to the video store on a Friday or Saturday night? I’d wander the aisles and take a look at every movie on the “just released” rack in order to decide which one or two videos I was going to rent. Netflix and the Internet have pretty much killed the video store these days and so what’s a video store product manager to do? (Streaming) Video Killed The Video Store To be a video store product manager in the 1990s was the…

  • Is Being Yellow The Worst Product Management Job In The World – Or Not?

    Dr. Jim Anderson
    16 Jan 2012 | 3:00 am
    Image Credit Should A Product Manager Let Their Customer's Fingers Do The Walking? When I was first out living on my own, the arrival of the latest copy of the yellow (and white) pages was a big deal. Since my parents had always received these huge volumes, when I got mine I felt that somehow I was now a “grown up”. Fast forward to the 21st Century and man have things changed. There still are Yellow Pages®, but is it possible that owning this product is the worst product management job ever? What Happened To The Yellow Pages Once upon a time the Yellow Pages ruled the world…

  • What A High-End Boutique Can Teach A Product Manager About Marketing

    Dr. Jim Anderson
    9 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    Image Credit Just because you are a boutique doesn't mean the big boys can push your products around… So there you are, a happy product manager creating and delivering products that meet your customer’s needs. All of a sudden (but you should have seen it coming) a big box competitor with tons of selection and low, low prices shows up in your backyard. Oh, oh – what’s a product manager to do now? It turns out that we can learn some lessons from the world of women’s fashion. Boutiques have been dealing with this very situation for awhile and they have a thing or two…

  • Video: Stop Giving Your Customers Too Many Choices — They Don’t Want Them!

    Dr. Jim Anderson
    4 Jan 2012 | 8:28 pm
    www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW5jkXWEPL4 It makes sense that the more choices that a Product Manager gives to his or her customers, the happier they’d be, right? Dr. Anderson takes a look at what happens when we present our customers with too many decisions to make. Dr. Anderson discovers that the one thing that our overloaded customers really don’t want is to have to make more decisions. If product managers can find a way to simplify the way that customers find and select their product, then their product will become an even bigger success! To get more great product management tips…

  • Why Product Managers Need To Learn How To Do Visioning

    Dr. Jim Anderson
    2 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    Image Credit Can you see where your product will be 5 years into the future? Being a product manager is a hard job. It seems like there is always too much to do every single day. Keeping yourself focused on what needs to be done today or maybe even tomorrow is enough to keep you fully booked. Oh wait, there is one other thing that you need to be doing – visioning. What Is This Visioning Thing? I’m pretty sure that we’re all familiar with the concept of a business case – creating one is a basic part of every product manager job description. It’s the written document that…
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    chroma

  • 10 projects that challenge / change the concept of what communication is

    dino demopoulos
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:24 pm
    Do we fail to see the extent of what communication is / has become? Here are 10 projects that should / hopefully would change / broaden our idea of what communication is: 1. The Copenhagen wheel The Copenhagen wheel is a perfectly designed combination of a lot of separate ideas, that collectively demonstrates the potential in modern communication. It offers both immediate interest and value through personal benefits in the context where it is used, but also ads a layer of communal value – and taking us one step further in creating the connected cities of the future. It’s an exceptionally…

  • 10 projects that challenge / change the concept of what communication is

    dino demopoulos
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:20 pm
    Do we fail to see the extent of what communication is / has become? Here are 10 projects that should / hopefully would change / broaden our idea of what communication is: 1. The Copenhagen wheel The Copenhagen wheel is a perfectly designed combination of a lot of separate ideas, that collectively demonstrates the potential in modern communication. It offers both immediate interest and value through personal benefits in the context where it is used, but also ads a layer of communal value – and taking us one step further in creating the connected cities of the future. It’s an exceptionally…

  • Tropicana Advert Commercial: Arctic Sun - Brighter mornings for brighter days

    dino demopoulos
    26 Oct 2010 | 8:14 pm
    via youtube.com This won us a Gold Lion this year, very proud of that!

  • Digital Analogue Check In Device

    dino demopoulos
    7 Sep 2010 | 3:49 pm
    Over the weekend, I was thinking that it would be pretty cool if restaurants and bars had buttons or switches or something for customers to "Like" the place, or check in to Facebook Places or Foursquare. Sort of like that Bakers Tweet device, or the pizza delivery thing that Crispin had done a couple of years ago. Then I came across this today. An interesting installation on a University campus that prompts students to check in on Facebook Places, and spread the word about the University. Sort of garish and loud, it is different, but far from the same thing. "We're encouraging students to…

  • Questioning Assumptions

    dino demopoulos
    24 Aug 2010 | 11:39 pm
    There is a great article in today's Ad Age that challenges creatives to ask for help. The author, Kevin Roddy is Chief Creative Officer of the awesome BBH, and he makes a very convincing case for the argument that, given the complexity of contemporary marketing, creative folks need to get off the high horse and solicit help. Technology and media are just too complicated But when it comes to creativity today -- a new world that encompasses everything from iAds to augmented reality -- it's a whole different ballgame. So far, so good. Hooray for this enlightened approach that acknowledges that…
 
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    The LEADSExplorer Blog: Lead generation - Website visitors - CRM - B2B

  • Why publishing expertise & knowledge will increase sales

    The Leads Explorer
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:41 am
    Hoarding expertise and information is history All the information and expertise of a salesman that allowed getting an appointment is now available on the Internet. This can be provided by your competitors or by peers on social media (forums, LinkedIn, Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc). If you keep your expertise and information to yourself then your potential customers will find it on the Internet from another source. Thus bypassing you completely. This could make your company and its’ products obsolete as people won’t find you on the Internet. Not getting found increases missing…

  • How bonding Marketing and Sales

    The Leads Explorer
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:19 pm
    Leads in funnel – Sales deals Marketing needs to prove their marketing spending’s by showing as many leads as possible. Although Marketing will qualify the leads before entering them into the funnel they have the tendency to let more leads qualify. On the other hand the more under-qualified leads the Salesman gets the more time he waists by qualifying each of the leads in his sales funnel. Hence the lesser time he can spend on the really well qualified leads. This creates the perception with salesmen that the marketing leads are of lesser value. In the worst case the salesmen will…

  • Completing Content Marketing for the Complex Sale in B2B

    The Leads Explorer
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:09 pm
    Content marketing As people are fed up with interruption marketing (ads, emails) it seems that content marketing is the way to go as people prefer to search online for solutions and products. Content marketing will drive your inbound marketing for the complex sale in B2B. Having just a few text documents, presentations or video’s might be sufficient for starting the process of generating interest, however you need to cover the entire purchase cycle and address to all of the people involved in the purchase decision. Your content needs to support the purchase process just like a salesman…

  • Should the salesman be liked or trusted ?

    The Leads Explorer
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:56 am
    Being liked versus trusted The customer might like you as a salesman or sales rep. but that doesn’t mean they trust you. People might buy from you because they like you, but that will be limited to smaller amounts of money as they need to trust the salesman for larger purchases. Getting sympathy or being liked might be a first step in the right direction which might lead to being trusted. On the other hand being trusted doesn’t mean you are being liked. The customer can trust someone without liking him. Being trusted will help getting larger sales deals closed. A trust…

  • The marketers’ diet for a recession

    The Leads Explorer
    17 Jan 2012 | 1:08 pm
    Cutting marketing expenses The current recession will require companies to scale back and decrease their operating costs. Cutting back on: - Sales can only be achieved by less salesmen and staff. - Administration will require to lay-off administrative employees - Research and development is again about firing and is a risk for the future - Production quality will come back as a boomerang One of the most obvious and most convenient to achieve is to decrease marketing costs as these involve third parties, hardly involves firing people. It’s the easiest but maybe not the best to do as…
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    Insights & Ingenuity

  • Is a Google+ Brand Page or Facebook Brand Page Best For Your Business?

    Heather Rast
    11 Jan 2012 | 7:06 am
    Guest post by Lior Levin In November, Google launched a competitive product to Facebook’s Fan Pages, called Google+ Brand Pages. Companies can set up Brand Pages to connect with customers and affiliates in the same way that they can with Fan Pages. Brand Pages and Fan Pages, at least in appearance, are incredibly similar. They both feature a primary image, a row of images, a collection of fans/followers, and a stream of updates that can be commented on or shared by those who visit their page. Which is better? Is there a benefit to having both? Let’s compare the two. 1. Usage and Adoption…

  • Tips for curating content that reaches readers

    Heather Rast
    13 Oct 2011 | 8:48 am
    Good content is an essential element to any digital marketing strategy. Content “scent trails” can help generate awareness and give prospects a stronger sense of your organization and its offerings. It keeps them interested. I’ve written about organizing and managing a team blog for business, and shared some pointers about how to choose the perfect authors to generate juicy content. These two posts will get you started in terms of creating original content. But unless you (or your team) is a lean, mean, content production machine, chances are you need additional material to stay…

  • Is your brand concerned with everybody or the right somebodies on social media?

    Heather Rast
    6 Oct 2011 | 8:37 am
    Several good posts have been written about how much time brands should spend minding their social media store. Jeff Esposito related the time question to business objectives when he wrote a post evaluating these four areas as ready matches for social media: Customer support Brand awareness Sales Thought leadership His post touches on two important, individualized factors influencing the time equation: company size (resource availability) and level of target customers’ social savvy (profile). You think you know but you (probably) don’t Assuming you’re not still trying to sell your…

  • Avoid the 7 deadly sins of online communities

    Heather Rast
    29 Sep 2011 | 8:29 am
    So you’re a community manager in charge of growing online engagement for your brand. Now what? Where’s the manual for this thing? What else should you be doing? The concept of community is an evolving one and may carry a variety of responsibilities at every company, depending on size and basic organization. But by overlaying the time-tested 7 deadly sins on the most general of community management job descriptions, we can build  an initial list of “Don’ts.” The 7 deadly sins of community Lust If you long for a vibrant, active (and straight-up conversational) community…

  • A clever Twitter trick small businesses can use to best the competition

    Heather Rast
    22 Sep 2011 | 8:35 am
    Small and local businesses have gotten the telegram: social media can play an important role in marketing and sales planning. The channel has reach, allows for user-generated context, offers immediacy and is accessible. And because it’s an opt-in channel, small businesses reaching out to prospects with a deft touch stand a good chance of breaking through customer trust barriers. The simple knowledge that your direct and indirect competition is using Twitter and Facebook is one thing. But it’s far more valuable to know who they’re developing online rapport with, and what those…
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    Customer Experience Optimization

  • Payoff for Coordinating Customer Experience Management Enterprise-wide

    Administrator
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:52 am
    Connect your customer experience management efforts across the company, and enjoy exponential benefits, according to the 2011 Business-to-Business Customer Experience Management Benchmarking Study. Companies with managers (of their top five methods to achieve CEM goals) who meet together quarterly or more often for coordination purposes, or have dotted-line reporting to a single executive or committee tend to enjoy advantages* in the following areas: Role of CEM: Top management’s day-to-day activities indicating that customer experience is a competitive differentiator, CEM is a formal…

  • 6 Success Factors for Customer Experience Excellence

    Administrator
    19 Dec 2011 | 5:15 pm
    The 2nd Annual ClearAction Business-to-Business Customer Experience Management (CEM) Benchmarking Study has identified six best practices for strong market performance and customer experience excellence: Coordination among managers of CEM methods. CEM as a determinant of corporate strategy. Presentation of survey results to all employees. Calculation of customer lifetime value (CLV). Action on survey results by owners of customer experience key drivers. Funding of cross-organizational collaboration. These findings may be instrumental to the future of customer experience as the majority of…

  • Valuing Customer Value Management

    Administrator
    25 Aug 2011 | 6:59 am
    Customer Value Management (CVM) is widely undervalued in the way we practice customer experience management (CEM). Excellent resources on the CVM topic abound, yet few executives — and even few CEM professionals — are aware of them. Sometimes CVM seems too quantitative or difficult to grasp or implement, but the companies that have distilled customer value management principles are certainly reaping higher value for their stakeholders, especially customers! In addition to step-by-step calculations for customer lifetime value, return on customer, customer equity, customer…

  • Customer Value Creation Essentials

    Administrator
    6 Aug 2011 | 3:57 pm
    Value creation is perhaps the single most important aspect of any executive’s job. As such, crystal clarity on what it is and how it’s done should certainly be top of mind. Shareholder value is fueled by customer value; shareholders leave when customers leave, not the other way around. Customer value is an ambiguous term, as it can be used either from the company’s or the customer’s perspective. Few companies know the lifetime value of their customers, or collective customer equity, and more importantly, fewer still know how much customers value their brand, and why.

  • What You Aren’t Hearing is Affecting Your Customer Service

    Administrator
    1 Jul 2011 | 7:45 pm
    Guest Blog by Peggy Carlaw A sizeable percentage of customers who are displeased with service, or irritated, never provide feedback about their experiences, according to the BusinessWeek article titled Blind Spots in Customer Service, citing recent research drawn from the customer service data of financial institutions. Say you have a customer who is frustrated but not fuming—in other words, not upset enough to take the time and energy to contact you about the level of service received (and keep in mind—some people who are upset will never contact you). It takes energy and time—a…
 
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    Loud Amplifier Marketing

  • Leadership: Are You A Visionary Or An Empowerer?

    Bryan Stapp
    17 Jan 2012 | 7:31 am
    Great quote from from Professor Henry Mintzberg on leadership that really got me thinking..... Related posts:Are You Talking To Yourself? Internet marketing and Rock n Roll go together on the Loud Amplifier Marketing blog.

  • Government Raids Gibson Guitars

    Bryan Stapp
    2 Sep 2011 | 7:43 am
    Gibson Guitars raided by the government. Really, was this necessary? No related posts. Internet marketing and Rock n Roll go together on the Loud Amplifier Marketing blog.

  • Back To Basics – Call Your Leads

    Bryan Stapp
    17 Aug 2011 | 11:32 am
    Here’s a shocker – most companies don’t call their leads. I really don’t understand how this is possible, but I see it all the time.  And there is a new “secret shopper” study to confirm it. As a sales and marketing guy for mmmmmm years now, this really goes... Internet marketing and Rock n Roll go together on the Loud Amplifier Marketing blog.

  • Which Landing Page Will Win?

    Bryan Stapp
    14 Jun 2011 | 9:07 am
    Compare these two landing pages and see which one you think will generate the most calls and leads. No related posts. Internet marketing and Rock n Roll go together on the Loud Amplifier Marketing blog.

  • What Charlie Sheen Can Teach Us About Branding

    Bryan Stapp
    25 Mar 2011 | 3:43 pm
    Charlie Sheen has reinforced for me one of the immutable laws of branding -- The Law of The Word. If you’ve read Al Ries’ famous book The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding,  you’ll remember the fifth law.   This law simply states that the goal of any brand is to own one word in the... Internet marketing and Rock n Roll go together on the Loud Amplifier Marketing blog.
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    OrangeSoda Blog

  • Success featured in Target Marketing magazine

    Evan Griffin
    13 Jan 2012 | 12:14 pm
    One of the most exciting things about working for OrangeSoda is seeing how our marketing efforts can transform businesses. These experiences occur every day and often go unrecognized by the general public, however on occasion the work of our team members is showcased in a public forum. Such an experience occurred recently when Target Marketing Magazine published an article spotlighting the results of Colorado Seamless Gutters, one of our long-time clients. “We’re getting 50 leads per month,” Drugmand says. “They’re solid leads. We’re finding that…

  • Happy Holidays

    Dan Garfield
    20 Dec 2011 | 5:30 pm
    As we wind up another year I can’t help but reflect on some of the best moments. Being chosen for the Inc. 500 was pretty awesome. Getting hundreds of positive notes from happy clients was the best and it’s energized us all here to blow things up even more for next year. We’re cooking up some exciting new things and we’re really excited to show everyone what we’ve been working on. In the meantime, a couple of our bottle rockers put together this fun video to celebrate. Happy holidays, everyone.  

  • Small Business Marketing at Its Simplest

    Kevin Wunder
    6 Dec 2011 | 5:06 pm
    I’ve heard it said that marketing is simple; tell people what you do, and tell them over and over again. For the average small business, I think that marketing should be that simple.  Small-business professionals wear multiple hats and their demands require simple and effective execution. However, marketing is only this simple with one key piece in play: you have to know what you really do and why a prospective customer should come to you.  Knowing what you REALLY do can lead to simple and easy marketing messages and will help dictate what types of marketing you do.  Here are a couple of…

  • How Social Media Has Changed the Way Customers Demand Service

    Erika Potter
    17 Nov 2011 | 11:45 am
    In a previous post, I talked about how social media can be a very effective tool for improving customer service as it allows for direct customer engagement. While this aspect social media is usually very beneficial for most businesses, it can also turn ugly when it’s not handled correctly. Social media gives people to ability to become broadcasters of information to the rest of society at literally the click of a button. Lately, people have been discovering that social media is one of the most effective ways to capture the attention of businesses whose traditional channels of customer…

  • How to Create Quality Content for Link Building

    Erika Potter
    10 Nov 2011 | 4:43 pm
    Link building is a hot topic in the SEO world. While there are thousands of factors that go into the ranking equation for each site, having high-quality links to your site is always a benefit. Not only do high-quality links help in the ranking equation, but they are also beneficial in drawing visitors to your site outside of search engine results pages. If you have the time and want to put forth the effort to do some link building for your site, guest posting on various blogs can be a great way to build quality links.  SEOMoz posted some great tips for blogger outreach a while ago. However,…
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    Social Media Marketing

  • Social Media and Travel

    Scott Monty
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:37 pm
    If you're like me, you spend a good deal of time on the road. Whether it's at an airport, on a train or in a car, you're mobile and your digital life is mobile too.The pervasiveness of tablets and smartphones (in addition to the already ubiquitous laptop) is growing daily. Just this week, Apple announced that it sold 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. It means that more of us are doing things on the web (or mobile web, as the case may be) while we're on the go, and there are certain things those of us in the digital world look for when we travel -…

  • Revealing a New Ford in a New Way

    Scott Monty
    13 Dec 2011 | 8:00 pm
    Ford Motor Company has been at the forefront of social media for some time. The Fiesta Movement, the Explorer reveal on Facebook, Doug the Spokespuppet, Ford Social (formerly known as The Ford Story) and being the first brand on Google+ all stand as examples of Ford's success that spans from clever campaigns to a daily commitment to engage.Ford played a significant part in how the automotive industry thinks about social media (and in some cases how large companies think about social media) and now, as we near the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), at Ford we have an…

  • Infographic: 5 Companies That Are Rocking Social Media

    Scott Monty
    29 Nov 2011 | 10:47 am
    This infographic was created by Voltier Digital, a content marketing agency based in Florida, specializing on the creation and promotion of impactful content marketing campaigns for businesses of all sizes.We all know the usual names of companies that are doing well in social media. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the lesser-knowns and why they've had success, either on an ongoing basis or with some one-off efforts that stood out.And since infographics are all the rage, what better way to look at them? Of course, for SEO purposes, I've listed them here as…

  • Twitter Business Guide

    Scott Monty
    7 Oct 2011 | 10:53 pm
    I was recently introduced to a compact guidebook for businesses trying to get a sense of Twitter. The microblogging site that allows you to update in no more than 140 characters at at time is deceptively complex and nuanced - especially for a newcomer.This short guide, entitled Twitter Business Guide: Communication and Marketing was written by Jean-Christophe Barré and Dr. Andreas Schroeter and in just 32 pages covers some of the things that may be keeping you and your business away from this platform. For someone who is new to Twitter, this e-book will prove a helpful compass as you…

  • iLife

    Scott Monty
    5 Oct 2011 | 7:04 pm
    Steve Jobs has died at the age of 56. His life's work at Apple literally changed the face of the earth. Undoubtedly, he'll go down in history alongside the likes of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.Let's remember Steve in his own words, "How to live before you die," in his Stanford Commencement speech of 2005:R.I.P. Steve Jobs. We thank you for the innovation you brought to this world. May we all live such a life.-- (Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/5)
 
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    Connect - Digital Marketing Expertise from iCrossing

  • Google privacy announcement: “will benefit us…I mean users”*

    Sam Zindel
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:47 am
    [*not an actual Google quote] On Tuesday Google announced via its blog that from 1st March, more than 60 of its privacy policies will be helpfully consolidated into one, easy to read document. What a fantastic idea! We all know how sensitive the issue of internet privacy has become and anything that provides transparency in a simple way has to be of great benefit to internet users. But before we shake Google by the hand for doing the honourable thing and distinguishing themselves from privacy flouters like Facebook, let’s investigate what this privacy update actually means…are Google…

  • Is Google using gamification to increase engagement on Google+?

    Daniel.Fernandez
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:54 am
    A new game of Google maps will be available for Google+ customers next month. Below is a screenshot of the video called “Play Your World with Google Maps” released by Google a few days ago. It is not a surprise that Google and other large companies such as Nike, McDonalds or eBay amongst others are taking the online gamer community very seriously.  Let’s take a look at the numbers: Gamer community stats According to Jane McGonigal, author of the book ‘Reality is broken’ the online gamer community –including console, PC and mobile phone gaming – counts for: More than 4m gamers…

  • The BIG Fight – Internet Privacy vs Google Analytics 5

    Sam Zindel
    20 Jan 2012 | 6:14 am
    Following the connect post on the content battle by Jeremy Head there is another head-to-head brewing in 2012… With the old Google Analytics (GA) interface being phased out later this month, I take a look at the duel between Internet Privacy and Google Analytics that is likely to be more heated than ever in the coming year. Analysts like myself are preparing to wrestle with reduced data samples and doubts over the reliability of tracking data in Google Analytics. [The purpose of this blog post is to inject an element of humour whilst identifying some of the new GA5 features and…

  • Google addresses sites with too many banners

    Mark.Williams
    20 Jan 2012 | 5:31 am
    Have you ever clicked on a search engine result and been presented with a page heavily laden with adverts above the content you are looking for? Well over the coming weeks Google will be rolling out a new algorithm update, the direct target of which will be these pages. The algorithm change is being referred to as a “page layout algorithm” and is in response to complaints that Google has been receiving from its users. It looks as though it will work in a similar manner to the Panda updates that we have seen in previous months. The algorithm will assess the amount of advertising above the…

  • Hidden Facebook messages

    jelly
    20 Jan 2012 | 4:15 am
    If someone told you that there is a hidden folder of messages waiting for you on the internet, full of elapsed party invites, unclaimed competition prizes, missed connections and even job offers from months ago, would you believe them? Of course not. But this is no scam or hoax. Facebook – that very website you rely on to keep you in touch with friends, family and important messages like these – has been deciding on our behalf which personal messages we are likely to want to see, and which it thinks won’t be of interest to us. The messages we receive notifications for on a daily basis…
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    The Web Pitch

  • How To Clean Unwanted Apps in Social Media

    Jas
    5 Jan 2012 | 8:48 am
    Tweet Avi Charkham has created a wonderful site called http://mypermissions.org/ which helps users to manage the ever growing list of apps, that we are associate our social accounts too.  It is good to practice to prune services and apps that you no longer use for good security best practice. To make life easier, I’ve posted the direct links below: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=applications Twitter: http://twitter.com/settings/connections Google: https://www.google.com/accounts/IssuedAuthSubTokens Yahoo:…

  • How To Build a Winning Facebook Page

    Jas
    3 Jan 2012 | 6:06 am
    Tweet   Buddy Media’s Michael Lazerow delivered a fantastic talk at LeWeb11 on the latest trends for Facebook Pages, and Michael highlighted some of the best ways brands are currently using Facebook to engage with people and grow their business. The entire video is well worth watching and Michael’s deck from the talk is also available in this post. I have highlighted my own notes in bullet form which you can read below. Facebook is massive – 850M active users on one global platform 50% login everyday 94% of digital marketers focus on Facebook 9M businesses have a page on…

  • Microsoft Predicts a Future That I Want

    Jas
    31 Oct 2011 | 5:32 am
    Tweet In 5-10 years, how will people get things done at work, at home, and on the go? Watch Microsoft’s concept video to get a glimpse of the future of productivity. Watch how future technology will help people make better use of their time, focus their attention, and strengthen relationships while getting things done at work, home, and on the go. This video is a follow up to their excellent ‘vision’ video in 2009. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Microsoft Predicts a Future That I Want is a post from: The Web Pitch…

  • @Jonin60Seconds says “Your World Has Changed”

    Jas
    3 Oct 2011 | 4:46 pm
    Tweet Your world has changed View more presentations from Jon M Bishop My good pal, Jon M Bishop recently presented at Digital Surrey last Thursday, on how mobile is changing our world. He delivered an engaging talk and described a number of excellent examples on how mobile phones are enabling mobile transactions in Africa. Here are some key statistics from Jon’s talk: There are around 6 million Internet users in South Africa. Only 750k are on fixed line broadband South Africa’s MXit also created the most engaged social network in the world and it all on mobile, despite only being…

  • Social Media Analytics–A Book Review

    Jas
    13 Sep 2011 | 6:13 am
    Tweet Every two to three years, a book comes along that makes a big difference to the way you think about your work and more importantly it helps you to become more productive. Marshall Sponder’s recent book, Social Media Analytics is this year’s must have book for social media practitioners. The book gets right to the issues that social media managers face in their daily jobs and covers ideas and tools that can be used by businesses of all sizes. It helps marketers understand the kinds of data that should be collected and how it can help the business. Overall, a stunning read and a great…
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    Jim's Marketing Blog

  • How to love what you do

    Jim Connolly
    28 Jan 2012 | 4:14 am
    I’m in the process of launching a new site right now, dedicated to helping people think more creatively. You will love it! It’s a new and exciting project, which reminds me a lot of how I felt when I launched this blog, almost 4 years ago. Interestingly, I am even more passionate and enthusiastic about Jim’s Marketing Blog today, than the day I wrote my first post. It is something that has grown into an increasingly important part of my life. This got me thinking: Why is it that some projects enthuse and excite us more as time goes by, and others fade with time? I’d…

  • 6 Common errors that crush small businesses

    Jim Connolly
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:06 am
    After 17 years spent helping thousands of small businesses, here are 6 of the most common errors I’ve seen. Negative association. There is an undeniable link between how successful you will be, and the people you habitually associate with. Mix with pessimists and those lacking direction and one day, everything they have will be yours! Starting without the commitment to finish. Many small business owners are wonderful at starting projects, but less good at finishing them. If you have an idea and you think enough of it to get started, at least give it the effort it needs in order to fly…

  • Dream again – Believe again!

    Jim Connolly
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:17 am
    My mentor, the late great Jim Rohn used to say: Just as you once dreamed, you can dream again. Just as you once believed, you can believe again. No matter where we are right now, we still have the ability to change it all. Changing course It’s easy to look at where we are right now and think that this is it. The reality, is that we are in a constant process of becoming. As soon as we decide we want something better, we can change the set of our sail and point ourselves in the correct direction. It starts with the decision to improve our thinking. Just as our past thoughts led us to…

  • How to stop your competitors getting the sales leads you deserve

    Jim Connolly
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:43 am
    Do you ever feel frustrated, when you see low quality competitors making all kinds of inaccurate claims about their services? If you do and you would like to ensure your genuinely awesome service attracts the high quality clients it deserves, you will love today’s post! First, a question! Let us assume I am a prospective client of yours. I have a question in my mind, which you need to answer if you want me to invest in your services: Why should I use your services, rather than one of your competitors? Here’s the thing: Your competitors, even those who offer low quality services,…

  • 7 Things to help you build a super successful business!

    Jim Connolly
    23 Jan 2012 | 2:37 am
    Almost exactly 17 years ago, I set up my marketing business. In the months leading up to the launch, I took the 10 most successful businesspeople I knew out to lunch, to ask their advice. The following 7 pieces of advice were the most useful to me, so I wanted to share them with you. They are as true and valuable today, as they were back in 1995, maybe even more so. Keep it human. Business is all about people. Do all the work. Most business owners claim to give their business 100%. What they really mean, is they do 100% of the comfortable stuff and neglect the rest. Every business owner with…
 
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    Epiphany Marketing's Strategic Marketing Blog

  • Time to Update Those Copyright Notices!

    David G. Johnson
    2 Jan 2012 | 12:36 pm
    Out with the Old! Have you changed the copyright notice at the bottom of your website? Now’s the time to do it! After all… nothing says, “we aren’t paying attention” like last year’s date (or worse: an even earlier year!) being displayed on a website through mid-June (or whenever it is we happen to catch it). So… in addition to all the other calendar-changing exercises — remembering to write 2012 on your checks, ditching last year’s desk blotter, swapping the wall calendar, etc — make sure you check out your websites. And no fair…

  • How to Handle Negative Reviews and Feedback

    David G. Johnson
    21 Dec 2011 | 7:27 pm
    Recently, I was talking with a client who was reluctant to set up a profile on Google Places for his business. “What if people leave negative reviews?,” he asked. “You can’t do anything about it, can you?” A valid point. Unlike a WordPress blog or even a Facebook page, profiles in Google Places (and many other business listings locations around the web) do not permit the business owner to remove negative comments. Most of the time, a concern like this isn’t because the business is in the habit of disappointing the majority of its customers — usually…

  • Convert Your Facebook Profile into a Business Page

    David G. Johnson
    8 Nov 2011 | 9:47 am
    Convert Your Facebook "Profile" into a "Page for Your Business Almost every time I speak to an audience of business owners, there’s at least one in the crowd. Someone (or their nephew) created a Facebook “profile” for their business instead of a business “page.” What’s the difference? A Facebook “Profile” (soon to be called a “timeline”) has a first and last name, and can send and receive “Friend” requests. A Facebook “Page” (formerly called a “fan page”) has a business (or…

  • How to Celebrate Columbus Day in 2011

    Penelope Wheeler
    10 Oct 2011 | 1:28 pm
    Once in a while, we have to make room for the wacky humor of ye olde Epiphany crewe to get out in the open. Today’s post is a guest blog from one of the team we usually keep hidden away from the general public. Enjoy! – David Today is considered a holiday by some and a distant memory of politically incorrect history by others. Whichever camp you’re in, everyone loves a reason to celebrate and add an extra fun spin on a regular old Monday.  I’ve searched for some suggestions on how to celebrate Columbus Day and here are a few of my favorites – with my added thoughts:…

  • Free Stuff on National Coffee Day!

    David G. Johnson
    29 Sep 2011 | 2:37 pm
    Today is National Coffee Day. I still haven’t figured out whose idea that was, but hey… I’m all for celebrating! Especially the beverage that I spend so much of my time with, and even attribute some of my business success to! Why do I attribute some of my business success to it, you ask? Well… aside from keeping me awake so I can be productive, I frequently use an example from Starbucks when speaking to audiences and training small business leaders to get better results from their marketing. With the Starbucks example, we are essentially trying to help business owners…
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    60 Second Marketer | @AskJamieTurner

  • 5 Keys to Success and Influence Found in Digital Leader Book

    JamieTurner
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:03 am
    Erik Qualman, bestselling author of Socialnomics (affiliate link), has just released a new book called Digital Leader: 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence (ditto). In Digital Leader, Qualman has assembled a first-rate manual for leadership in the digital age, worthy of a place on your bookshelf right alongside Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Covey’s 7 Habits. He sets forth five principles, forming the acronym STAMP: Simple, True, Act, Map, and People. Qualman expands on these principles using lessons that are drawn predominantly from real-life experiences, and emphasizes the crucial…

  • Which Email Subject Line Beat the Other by 40%?

    JamieTurner
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:46 pm
    Not long ago, we conducted an A/B Split Test with a 60 Second Marketer e-newsletter subject line. Which subject line won? See if you can guess. Subject Line A: “Where Does Your Brand Fall on this Brand Spectrum Chart?” Subject Line B: “Apple, Google, GoDaddy and the Brand Spectrum” Can You Guess Which Subject Line Won? Normally, when we do tests like this, one subject line might beat the other by 10%. But in this case, the winner outperformed the loser by 40%. Yup, you heard right. The subject line with “Apple” and “Google” in it generated 40%…

  • Six Top Apps to Help You Save Time on Twitter

    JamieTurner
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:50 pm
    There are so many Twitter applications available it can be extremely difficult to know where to begin, and what to select. I continue to try out new applications at the rate of at least one a week. Some barely last longer than it takes to set them up, because they are clearly not for me. That is not to say there is anything inherently wrong with them, they just don’t improve on what I am already using. Others tend to stay around on my desktop or in my browser for the duration of an evaluation period, while I try to give them a good test. Some of the tools I use are now…

  • My Speaking Offer for You

    JamieTurner
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:04 am
    Every year, it’s my honor to speak professionally at organizations such as The Coca-Cola Company, Markel Insurance and the National Restaurant Association. For reasons I can’t quite explain, audiences seem to really enjoy my informative, upbeat and interactive presentations on social media and mobile marketing. This year, given the fact that my new book Go Mobile is the #1 mobile marketing book in America, my requests for speaking engagements will increase. At that time, the law of supply and demand will kick-in and my speaking fees will go up as a result. Before that happens,…

  • What is Mobile Marketing?

    JamieTurner
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:22 pm
    If you’re like a lot of people, you might be asking, “What is mobile marketing?” It sounds like a basic question, but in doing some keyword research for the 60 Second Marketer, I found that “What is mobile marketing?” is the third most common mobile search phrase after “mobile marketing” and “mobile media.” So, given that, I thought I’d shed some light on what mobile marketing is and how it’s used. The definition of mobile marketing is pretty straightforward — it’s the set of techniques and practices that enable…
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    columbus imPRessions

  • Pinterest and One of My Favorite Pins

    24 Jan 2012 | 8:29 pm
    I love Pinterest.  What is Pinterst? Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard. It is growing in popularity daily. Why do I love Pinterest? It lets me organize and share images I like on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Brands use Pinterest to boost consumer engagement, showcase their work or products, and sell more products.

  • Welcome newest client: ColumbusJobs.com

    19 Jan 2012 | 7:16 pm
    I'm thrilled to announce my newest client ColumbusJobs.com. Continuing my social media partnership with Dispatch Digital in 2012, one of my first client assignments is with a Dispatch product. The Columbus Dispatch and ColumbusJobs.com with renowned employment site Monster.com is central Ohio's #1 job source. Featuring thousands of local jobs, ColumbusJobs.com/Monster is the #1 destination

  • Using Social Media In My Monthly Journey to Better Health

    9 Jan 2012 | 7:11 pm
    This new year I decided instead of making one or two large new year's resolutions I would create monthly goals for a better life. This way my goals are more attainable, I will be successful, and it will keep me motivated throughout the year. My tools to help me achieve these goals - my determination and social media apps. I started the year with a mild detox - two weeks (or possibly four) of no

  • Hello 2012! Good-bye Washington Township.

    6 Jan 2012 | 8:37 am
    It's a new year. That's always exciting! It brings a time to start new, change, excitement for what's to come and it's also a time to reflect on the past year. 2011 was very good to columbus imPRessions. Professionally it was one of the best year's of my life. What started out with two wonderful clients quickly grew to six, all different and exciting in their own way. Most of my focus was on

  • Holiday Cheer from columbus imPRessions

    12 Dec 2011 | 8:37 am
    Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy holiday season and a bit of Christmas spirit all year long!
 
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    Stevens Consulting Group

  • Video: Chiropractic Marketing Success

    Drew Conley
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Friday Video: Chiropractic Marketing Success!

  • Tips for Stopping Sales Failure

    Drew Conley
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    It is unbelievable that so many people think that they can sell. Selling like any other profession requires tenacity, patience and professionalism. Suggesting that anyone can sell is similar to saying anyone can be a surgeon, fly a plane or become an Olympic champion.   Everyone has a certain set of innate qualities that allows them to excel at craft. And similar to any profession there are those that have these skills for selling and some that don’t. This is the reason why so many sales people fail and why so many companies fail to make revenue targets. When there is a common belief…

  • Monday Motivation – If You Lack Confidence

    Drew
    25 Jan 2012 | 5:28 pm
    Monday Momentum Monday Focus – While awaiting a recent flight home a passenger befriended me speaking of all the ills in their business.The first question I asked was, “What activities are you using to market the business?” The answer nothing. Folks, you cannot blame the economy, the weather, the president, the price of beef, local soybean growers etc for bad business if you are not doing anything to attract consumers to you! Stop becoming a victim of business and start becoming a creator of it. There is a quote from one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, “I guess it comes…

  • Podcast: Success Tips Reminders for the New Year. (After one month, how is your new year going?)

    Drew Conley
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  • Using Sales Methods to Find A Job

    Drew Conley
    24 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    With the dawn of a new economy and a new year there are many individuals that continue to suffer and seek work. However there is a reason why some continue to struggle while others fight for positions. The rationale is sales and marketing. Business professionals must represent themselves as products. This requires the use of branding techniques similar to the big boys. It is incumbent to create key messages that establish value and get the others to become attracted to you.   Here are a few tips.   Never send a blind resume without reading the job specifics. It is a requirement to…
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    Inbound Internet Marketing

  • Target Marketing: Good News for Small Businesses!

    John Flynn
    12 Jan 2012 | 12:44 pm
    The days of buying the whole pie are over.  Small and medium size retailers were stuck with paying a lot money for advertising that they didn’t needed.  The theory with Newspapers, Radio, Television and many other mainstream adverting is that you had to buy the whole pie in order to get the slice you wanted. So if you wanted Women who were 24 – 35 who were interested in Sailing and lived no more than 10 miles from your store,  you had to buy advertising that was shown to an audience that was comprised of 95% of people you did NOT want to have a conversation and PAY for the pleasure of…

  • Grading how the 2012 Republican Candidates for President are using Twitter

    John Flynn
    1 Aug 2011 | 8:01 am
    Last Presidential Election President Obama used Twitter in an effective way.  It didn’t hurt to have one of the co-founders of Facebook helping him.  Obama had many followers and followed many people (which is key).  He used Twitter to promote exclusive content and participated in the conversation. Since the field of Republican Candidates for 2012 is heating up we are going to take a look at who is using Twitter wisely and who doesn’t have a clue. Grade F Jon Huntsman (Followers: 6,462 Following: 88 Tweets: 23) Huntsman present Twitter program is not only bad but embarrassing. …

  • Car Dealerships: Five Reason While You Should Stop Advertising in Newspapers

    John Flynn
    19 Jul 2011 | 8:02 am
    One of the only things holding up some Newspapers up is revenues from car dealerships.  The Auto Industry spends more money on advertising than any other sector.   For some reason Auto Dealerships are stuck on print.  They are addicted. Once they realize how little print is doing for them and how Inbound Internet Marketing can give them they finally may end their dependence.  Here are five reasons why car dealerships should use Inbound Internet Marketing: First reason why Auto Dealers should not be using print advertising: It is way too expensive.  You are pouring thousands and…

  • Small Businesses: Six steps to starting your email newsletter

    John Flynn
    29 Jun 2011 | 8:02 am
    There have been some different opinions about Email Marketing.  Some feel that it does not fit into an Inbound Internet Marketing strategy.  I have to disagree.  Email Marketing is a great tool for small and medium size business.  Here are some steps on how you can get started. First, build a list.  You need to ask your customers if they want to participate during check out and have a few small signs in the store.  Offer a discount on the next purchase if they sign up.  Something like “10% you next purchase over $100”.  Make sure the offer is attainable.  You want customers to…

  • Are you providing ridiculous customer service?

    John Flynn
    3 May 2011 | 6:09 am
    No matter what business you are in you are in the customer service business.  Accepted it now. Small and medium size businesses ask me “How much customer service did I need to offer?”  The answer is a “ridiculous amount”. You must be offering so much customer service that your customers are contemplating getting a restraining order on you because you are calling and bothering them so much to insure their absolute bliss with your product and/or service. Also you need to be listening.  Sometime great customer service is just listening.  When one of my customer’s call me I try to…
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    Think customers: The 1to1 Blog

  • How Social a Social Customer Are You?

    Ginger Conlon
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:26 am
    When it comes to considered purchases it seems that everyone--B2B and B2C buyers alike--wants a second opinion. In fact, 100 percent of the nearly 100 respondents to 1to1's recent survey "How Social a Social Customer Are You?" seek recommendations on occasion before purchasing an item important enough to research before buying. While only about a third of the survey respondents seek recommendations prior to every considered purchase, only 4 percent rarely ask for recommendations. There’s more… To read the rest of this blog posting click here or visit www.1to1Media.com/weblog

  • Three Deadly Social Engagement Traits to Break

    Guest Blogger
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Instead, many companies use social to promote a product, to sell, or to monitor brand mentions. To be truly effective at leveraging social to engage customers and foster loyalty, organizations must transition from using social as a one-dimensional broadcast device to a two-way communications channel that enables meaningful and personalized dialogue. There’s more… To read the rest of this blog posting click here or visit www.1to1Media.com/weblog

  • Dell's Three-Pronged Approach to Social Media

    Cynthia Clark
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:13 am
    Customers are communicating with their favorite brands in an ever-increasing number of ways; along with phone calls and emails, today's customers are increasingly using social media channels not only to follow and interact with companies they're interested in, but also to share their experiences with these organizations. There’s more… To read the rest of this blog posting click here or visit www.1to1Media.com/weblog

  • Hiring the Right Call Center Agents Essential for Customer Satisfaction

    Cynthia Clark
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:34 pm
    Unless you have fresh ingredients, following a great recipe will not lead to a delicious meal. It doesn't matter which Michelin-starred chef penned the recipe or how well you follow it, the stars of the show are the ingredients, and they can make or break your dinner. Similarly, the stars in any company are employees, making hiring the right people and giving them the needed training, as well as constant retraining, an essential factor in creating a fantastic customer experience. This was a recurring theme during the second day of the IQPC's Call Center Week Summit, with experts underlining…

  • Social Personalization Improves Targeting and Engagement

    Anna Papachristos
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    Often, while browsing the Internet, I notice advertisements that pertain directly to items or topics I've just searched. When shopping at the mall, I'll suddenly receive an email that connects me with an offer for the very store I just left. The eerie wave of awareness stops me dead in my tracks and I wonder, where is Big Brother and how does he know my every move? There’s more… To read the rest of this blog posting click here or visit www.1to1Media.com/weblog
 
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    Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Insights - By Mitch Joel at Twist Image

  • A World With No Keyboard And No Mouse

    Mitch Joel
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:16 pm
    How's that user experience working out for you? I often ridicule the masses (I know, that's very snide of me). When computers were first introduced the mantra was that, "screens are not easy to read or work on." Forget the fact that many dismissed the power of a mobile phone ("is your life that important that you need to make calls when you're not at home or at the office?"), and let's not forget the many people who would often say, "I could never type with my thumbs." To this day, there are still people who don't see the value in platforms like Facebook, YouTube…

  • How To Do Everything Wrong In A Presentation

    Mitch Joel
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:55 am
    Watch this video... Brutal (and funny)... I know. I was unaware of the book, Habitudes For Communicators, so Dr. Tim Elmore gets high marks for not only cutting through the clutter, but for creating something so funny (because it's true). What's scary is that this video (in all of its humor) is a basic round-up of about ninety-percent of the presentations I attend (I'm sure your experience is similar). The tools are here for us to get better. If you want to make a difference in your world (and the world of your co-workers), please pass this video around, watch it... and then go out and read…

  • And In The End...

    Mitch Joel
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:20 pm
    Do you have a morbid fascination with the end? I'm not sure why (but I'm pretty certain that a psychiatrist would love to figure it out of with me), but I often think about the end. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm scared about how my life will end (which is in direct relation with the many issues I have around control) and that I don't want it to end any time soon. There are plenty more things that I want to accomplish in my life and I often play the "which would you rather game" when it comes to deciding between family and the rest of my life (in case you're wondering, family…

  • Does This Blog Make Me Look Fat?

    Mitch Joel
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:49 pm
    Is it just a question of getting the facts straight when it comes to our media? What Blogging brought forth is the notion that opinion lies neatly next to news (and that it is sometimes very difficult to tell the difference between the two). In fact, it's worth arguing that opinion is the new news. Without looking at the political sphere for examples (you get more than enough of that here on The Huffington Post and on other websites, news outlets and Blogs),what does it take create great media? The heart of the matter. Emotion is key to driving interest. Human beings are creatures of habits.

  • Thinking Smarter

    Mitch Joel
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:18 pm
    I've been thinking a lot about thinking lately. I know, that's very "meta" of me. When was the last time you spent five minute thinking about not only how you learn, but where it's all taking place? People often laugh when they hear that I am reading all of my books exclusively on my iPhone with the Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks apps. In fact, most people scoff at the notion (as if I'm doing some kind of retinal damage or that it's heresy). The truth is that technology has not only facilitated our ability to learn but it has sped it up. I read over thirty books last year,…
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    Chris Abraham

  • Are you social media agoraphobic?

    Chris Abraham
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:46 pm
    To follow up on my last post, Being pretty isn’t enough for social media success, I wanted to discuss what I like to call Social Media Isolationism or Social Media Agoraphobia. And there are two forms of this sort of isolationism: invitational and exclusionary. They both mean you don’t venture outside your own four social [...] To follow up on my last post, Being pretty isn’t enough for social media success, I wanted to discuss what I like to call Social Media Isolationism or Social Media Agoraphobia. And there are two forms of this sort of isolationism: invitational and…

  • There’s a 5% Increase in Homelessness in DC

    Chris Abraham
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:17 pm
    I just received this missive from the gang at Miriam’s Kitchen. The email is titled “Homelessness increases 5% in DC” and here’s what it said: Last week, we shared with you the The National Alliance to End Homelessness‘ new report, The State of Homelessness in America 2012 (you can view the highlights here.) This week, [...] I just received this missive from the gang at Miriam’s Kitchen. The email is titled “Homelessness increases 5% in DC” and here’s what it said: Last week, we shared with you the The National Alliance to End…

  • Beauty is only a small part of achieving social media success

    Chris Abraham
    23 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am
    I always tell clients that it is no longer enough to be beautiful when it comes to marketing online. The Internet has become more like an Oscar after-party than it is like the airport Ramada. Online, you’re never the lone beauty in the hotel lounge. Online, you’re surrounded by equal or greater beauties. What’s more, [...] I always tell clients that it is no longer enough to be beautiful when it comes to marketing online. The Internet has become more like an Oscar after-party than it is like the airport Ramada. Online, you’re never the lone beauty in the hotel lounge. Online, you’re…

  • Run blogger outreach the way you run Google AdWords campaigns

    Chris Abraham
    17 Jan 2012 | 5:19 pm
    Last week, I wrote about how to succeed with B-list bloggers, but maybe some of you aren’t convinced. So, this week, I want to draw an analogy to successful Google AdWords approaches so that you can see how to apply that same technique to blogger outreach. When it comes to reaching out to bloggers online, [...] Last week, I wrote about how to succeed with B-list bloggers, but maybe some of you aren’t convinced. So, this week, I want to draw an analogy to successful Google AdWords approaches so that you can see how to apply that same technique to blogger outreach. When it comes to reaching…

  • The Business of Football Infographic

    Chris Abraham
    13 Jan 2012 | 9:36 pm
    Via IBM Via IBM
 
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    Marketing Conversation

  • The anachronistic social media agoraphobic

    Chris Abraham
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    To follow up on my last post, Being pretty isn’t enough for social media success, I wanted to discuss what I like to call Social Media Isolationism or Social Media Agoraphobia. And there are two forms of this sort of isolationism: invitational and exclusionary. They both mean you don’t venture outside your own four social [...] To follow up on my last post, Being pretty isn’t enough for social media success, I wanted to discuss what I like to call Social Media Isolationism or Social Media Agoraphobia. And there are two forms of this sort of isolationism: invitational and…

  • Using Consumer Loyalty to Determine Your PR Medium

    speters
    24 Jan 2012 | 1:23 pm
    Public relations in the non-digital world can certainly be a messy and complicated affair. If your business is looking to offset bad press, respond to a story, advertise business speaker for conferences, or highlight a new promotion there are numerous strategies for properly conveying that message to the public. But regardless of the content, the [...] Public relations in the non-digital world can certainly be a messy and complicated affair. If your business is looking to offset bad press, respond to a story, advertise business speaker for conferences, or highlight a new promotion there are…

  • Creating A “Unique” Social Media Experience

    speters
    23 Jan 2012 | 3:16 pm
    These days, it often seems as though every person with a business or a product has chosen to market their idea via social media. The impetus behind this is completely understandable: social media is cheap, highly accessible, and provides access to a wide demographic of current and potential consumers. A business loses nothing and stands [...] These days, it often seems as though every person with a business or a product has chosen to market their idea via social media. The impetus behind this is completely understandable: social media is cheap, highly accessible, and provides access to a wide…

  • Where’s the social media beef?

    Jenna Levy
    21 Jan 2012 | 10:28 am
    I’m hungry. A burger sounded good. Any West Coast suggestions? While you ponder, check out this week’s social media infographic from Bundlepost Social Media. Yes, I know there’s many Wendy’s advertisement connotations but it’s also an interesting way to look at the substance of strategy and execution in online marketing. Okay enough brainstorming time, where [...] I’m hungry. A burger sounded good. Any West Coast suggestions? While you ponder, check out this week’s social media infographic from Bundlepost Social Media. Yes, I know there’s many…

  • Chris Abraham- television debut

    Jenna Levy
    20 Jan 2012 | 1:26 pm
    Our esteemed leader had his television début on Washington Business Report a few weeks ago on WJLA ABC7. He was invited on by Rebecca Cooper because she stumbled upon the Abraham Harrison website and liked our humor and our business.  So, here’s the video of the segment for you to check out: Happy Friday! Related articles Abraham Harrison featured on Washington Business Report (chrisabraham.com) Abraham [...] Our esteemed leader had his television début on Washington Business Report a few weeks ago on WJLA ABC7. He was invited on by Rebecca Cooper because she stumbled…
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    MediaPost | Marketing Daily

  • Calling All Lovebirds: Tiffany Corrals User Photos

    27 Jan 2012 | 3:18 pm
    As the nation's jewelers gear up for Valentine's Day, Tiffany is encouraging even lovers with empty pockets to join the action, expanding its What Makes Love True website to include a new photo gallery.

  • Pantene Signs 11 Well-tressed Olympians

    27 Jan 2012 | 2:14 pm
    In the U.S., TV and print ads will rely heavily on swimmer Natalie Coughlin, an 11-time Olympic medalist. P&G says she is the first American female athlete to win six medals in one Olympic Games.

  • Russell Athletic Signs Pro Golfers

    27 Jan 2012 | 1:10 pm
    Russell Athletic Brands, LLC, based in Bowling Green, KY has tapped golfers Kenny Perry and Josh Teater as golf ambassadors. Both Kentucky natives, Perry and Teater will wear apparel from the Russell Athletic Dri-Power performance line. They will also use the full line of Russell Athletic apparel in their off-course training and fitness routines.

  • J.D. Power: What Drives Auto Avoidance

    27 Jan 2012 | 10:34 am
    "For some brands, namely those that have created marked improvements in their quality and reliability in recent years, it's even more vital to tell their improvement story, rather than just waiting for perceptions to change over time."

  • Ball Park: Men 'Easier Fed Than Understood'

    27 Jan 2012 | 10:18 am
    The campaign spans TV, print, digital, social media, in-store activations and public relations. The brand's site and Facebook page (which currently has about 138,000 "likes") have also been relaunched.
 
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    mobileYouth®

  • Kodak vs Apple: Key lessons for the mobile industry when focusing on youth

    Graham Brown
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:49 am
    Kodak Could Have Been in the Mobile Business By Now   This week was a tale of two brands. On the one hand, Kodak. Kodak could have been the Apple of photography but last week, the iconic American brand filed for bankruptcy protection. On the other, Apple’s latest earnings figures surpassed analyst expectations. The difference? Not [...] (click the item title for the full story)

  • Students are the Future of Mobile Customer Experience

    Graham Brown
    19 Jan 2012 | 3:36 am
    Craig’s Journey 19 year old Craig from New York is hunting down a patch to solve an upgrade problem with his Android phone. He’s tried T-Mobile customer service but gave up after the rep referred him back to the manufacturer claiming they didn’t support his OS anymore. He shows me a list of forum posts [...] (click the item title for the full story)

  • Where would Blackberry be without women?

    Graham Brown
    12 Jan 2012 | 2:19 am
    image (c) Flickr The Change Agents that Made Blackberry The world’s 1 billion youth female mobile owners are key to the future of Blackberry. Rather than employing creative agencies to engage this segment, RIM needs to focus on strategies that partner with the key change agents – Disruptive Divas. Increasing female representation in innovation, marketing [...] (click the item title for the full story)

  • 100 Key Trends in Youth Mobile Culture

    Graham Brown
    1 Jan 2012 | 7:08 am
    New Presentation to Download mobileYouth is pleased to announce a new 4 part PDF for 2012. You can download all 4 parts of the PDF free by signing up to the newsletter below at the end of this post. Here’s what you’ve been saying about it… (click the item title for the full story)

  • Will Teenage Pirates turn Mobile into a Social Business?

    Graham Brown
    15 Dec 2011 | 4:23 am
    (c) Flickr Social Business – Raising the Bar Social Business means replacing numbers with people. Social Business means turning the data into stories. Every customer has a story to tell. It’s the businesses that help customers tell their story, engage them in dialogue and then make these insights count that will win in the next [...] (click the item title for the full story)
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    Curiously Persistent

  • What do we mean by engagement?

    Simon Kendrick
    8 Jan 2012 | 8:51 am
    Engagement is one of those nebulous buzzwords that often get thrown into business or strategy conversations because it sounds like something that should be sought after.  To be encouraged, measured and reported on. Yet it needs to be defined before any of these can occur. And few of the many articles on engagement actually do so. When Anne Mollen spoke at the MRG Conference last month, she outlined three schools of thought on engagement: The behaviourist school that views “Engagement” as the outcome of a complex algorithm of behavioural footprints The experiential school that…

  • My five fives of 2011

    Simon Kendrick
    1 Jan 2012 | 9:15 am
    Following on from my 2010 and 2009 lists, here are some of my favourite things from the past year. I’ve only read one book in the past year – this – so I’ve changed the book list to one for TV programmes: Top 5 Films (Released in UK cinemas in 2011, which I have seen – so The Artist (not officially out until 6th January) doesn’t count. Links point to IMDB) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Hugo Kill List Moneyball Rise of the Planet of the Apes Top 5 Albums (Released in the UK in 2011, which I have heard. Links point to Spotify) David Comes To Life by Fucked Up…

  • Notes from MRG Conference 2011

    Simon Kendrick
    15 Dec 2011 | 1:33 pm
    A couple of weeks ago I took part in a short session at the 2011 Media Research Group Conference, which took place in London. I took some notes during the day (mainly with the earlier speakers). They are below and in chronological order, though firstly a quick exec summary: The four papers I enjoyed most were Tim Harford’s keynote on life in a complex world Sky and Cranfield University’s examination of engagement, presented by Becky McQuade and Anne Mollen Claire McAlpine of Mediacom’s overview of behavioural economics Richard Curling of YouTube on skippable pre-rolls…

  • Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Antifragility

    Simon Kendrick
    4 Dec 2011 | 9:55 am
    At the Royal Society on Thursday I saw Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at Polytechnic Institute of New York University) in conversation with Rohan Silva (Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister) and Matthew Taylor (Chief Executive of the RSA). The subject was Taleb’s latest book – Antifragility – which he hopes isn’t as simplified as his previous book (he seemed to dislike the fact that The Black Swan was bought and read in airports by people who subsequently misinterpreted it). I think he has succeeded, as at times I struggled…

  • My MRG Conference 2011 speech

    Simon Kendrick
    1 Dec 2011 | 2:30 pm
    At the MRG Conference 2011 (pdf link to programme here) I was given a three-minute slot to talk about anything I wanted under the banner “Six industry speakers share the good, the bad and the ugly from our industry”. This is (roughly) what I said: Good afternoon everyone. As Research Manager for Mobile, Social and Syndication at the BBC I’m understandably enthusiastic about these areas. So today I’m going to take the first area I mentioned – mobile – and explain how its characteristics make it appropriate as a research platform. The first is universality – mobile has…
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    The ramblings of one man...

  • iPhone iMessages don’t count towards your text usage

    Alan Hart
    3 Jan 2012 | 4:39 pm
    Business Insider Chart of the Day I like to think I am ahead of the curve on understanding technology and especially wireless, but some how this iOS feature for iPhone to iPhone messaging did not get through. iMessages do not count towards your text usage.  This is doubly painful since I recently upgraded my plan to include unlimited text on our family plan because my lovely wife has all but left email behind and replaced with texting. Maybe I should reconsider? Anyway, I would love to know why I haven’t heard about this until now? Was it downplayed by Apple because it wasn’t…

  • Can We Save Marketing?

    Alan Hart
    15 Nov 2011 | 4:32 pm
    Image by snigl3t via Flickr Over the last six years, I have had a personal interest on the verge of a crusade to better understand and study lead marketers and CMOs across industries. My concern, after meeting well over 300 leaders, is marketing is lacking influence and at some companies is considered “damaged goods”. How do we fix it? The question I hope to answer over the coming months. There are three areas of concern, which I believe highlight the main issues. 1. Communications heavy, impact light Historically, marketers and our peers in the executive ranks have been hyper-focused on…

  • Kindle Fire vs. Apple iPad: A Story in Innovation Strategy

    Alan Hart
    27 Oct 2011 | 12:43 pm
    First, after a year away I am back to blogging. More to come on what I have been up to for the last year, but until then, please read on… After reading tons of stories on the recent Fire launch and why we should “thank Amazon”, I found myself asking a different question: What is the innovation rationale for each product and will the Fire win or lose? Wikipedia Well it is hard to say for certain, but I will take some leaps to explain one view. It would seem that Apple had been eyeing the tablet space for some time and watched as other companies from HP to Toshiba had tried.

  • The Power of “Why”

    Alan Hart
    23 Oct 2010 | 1:22 pm
    Simon Sinek’s TED Talk has been haunting me for months… “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. What is it that you believe? What drives you? What does your organization believe? Does it drive how you do what you do? Is it inspiring, motivating, intoxicating? If not, maybe you need a change. I did. Tagged: business strategy, marketing strategy, power of why, purpose, Simon Sinek, strategy

  • The New Face of Marketing Leadership

    Alan Hart
    17 Jun 2010 | 12:45 pm
    In the below slidecast, I highlight the findings of our recent research (starting around 7 minutes in) that spans over 60 interviews with CMOs… I welcome your thoughts, comments, and questions. The research is ongoing now in the 3rd year. Tagged: Chief marketing officer, CMO, CMO Agenda, leadership, Marketing, marketing strategy, transformation
 
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    Marklives!com

  • Magazine covers we love (this week)!

    Herman Manson
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:51 am
    MarkLives.com runs a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week. We recognise well thought out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three in one) magazine covers and celebrate the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them. By media blogger MediaSlutZA. NTERNATIONAL Interview, February 2012 (Russia 1st, and Germany 2nd) Readers of my blog will know they I have a grudge against publishers of international titles who just ‘copy and paste’ a cover from another edition onto their own. It shows no creativity.

  • RIM appointment points to possible sale

    Herman Manson
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:55 pm
    by Arthur Goldstuck BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) Monday announced that it was replacing its co-CEOs with Thorsten Heins, ostensibly paving the way for a new phase in product evolution, but possibly also preparing it for sale. A civilised “passing of the baton” at BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) may well presage a messy struggle to find the right buyer for the company. The announcement of the appointment of Thorsten Heins as President and Chief Executive Officer was couched in deeply diplomatic terms, to ensure that it is characterised as planned succession,…

  • Does the #DASO campaign make good advertising?

    Herman Manson
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:36 am
    by Johann Schwella The new poster released by the Democratic Alliance Student Organisation (DASO)has, to put it mildly, caused a stir. Many commentators have quoted race, sex, and countless other reasons as to why this is a good or a bad advert. I’m going to try and stay away from the obvious ‘traditional’ South African tensions and dissect this from a brand and advertising point of view. Firstly, let us look at Brand DA. The DA has gone to great lengths to sell itself as an all-inclusive, equal brand that avoids controversy, ignores racial lines and targets supporters of all creed and…

  • Martin MacGregor, ex-MD of Nota Bene CT, joins M&C Saatchi Abel

    Herman Manson
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:02 am
    by Herman Manson Martin MacGregor, the former MD at Nota Bene MEC Cape Town, has joined M&C Saatchi Abel as managing partner: connection (we’ll get to that in a moment). MacGregor joins the agency as it turns two years old this February and follows an announcement that M&C Saatchi Abel is increasing its head count to 100 by the end of Q2 2012. Revenues have reached R50 million. MacGregor (@MartMacG) had started his career at TBWA before landing a job at Ogilvy alongside M&C Saatchi managing partner Mike Abel (@abelmike). MacGregor joined Nota Bene MEC in 2003, heading up the…

  • Magazine covers we love (this week)!

    Herman Manson
    20 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    MarkLives.com runs a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week. We recognise well thought out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three in one) magazine covers and celebrate the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them. By media blogger MediaSlutZA. INTERNATIONAL Maclean’s, 23 January 2012 The coverline reads ‘Veils, who are we to judge?’ (a story which makes for an interesting read all on its own) but the cover image is what made me think twice about the face-value differences, especially with the black…
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    About.com Marketing

  • Ten Ways Restaurant and Entertainment Industries Can Use Social Media to Market

    24 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    Many businesses are trying to figure out how to use social media to grow their business and increase their revenue. The industries of restaurants and entertainment is no different. I'm always surprised at how many of these businesses are not using social media marketing, but for most, it boils down to the lack of knowledge on how to use this new medium to create commerce in their businesses. Commerce won't come overnight; that I can guarantee you, but by getting involved and adopting social media as a way to engage and interact with your customers and patrons you will find that commerce will…

  • Content Marketing - Understand the Why and How

    20 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    Are you using content to market your business? Content is king. I know, you've heard it and if you haven't I'm afraid you've had your head in the sand and it's time to dig it out. It's true content is very important when it comes to marketing and I'm going to show you why....Read Full Post

  • 5 Steps To a Winning Social Media Strategy

    15 Jan 2012 | 5:12 pm
    Are you frustrated with the results that you are seeing from social media marketing? Did you ever stop to consider that maybe you are doing it wrong? Over the last few years I've seen companies sign up for a Facebook account, a Twitter account, put their profile on LinkedIn and sign up for Google+ and they can't figure out why the sales are not pouring in....Read Full Post

  • What Impact Will Google's "Your World" Have on Search Marketing?

    10 Jan 2012 | 4:21 pm
    Are you ready for Google to bring Your World to your search results? I hope so, because that's what they announced today. Your World marks the third major move toward social search. Google's goal is to transform the search engine into a tool that not only understand content, understands people and relationships....Read Full Post

  • Marketing Campaign Checklist

    7 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    There are many things that go into a marketing campaign and it's important to make sure you have done your due diligence to ensure the campaign's success. That due diligence includes identifying your target, conducting market research, and determining the best way to reach your target. In today's world planning a productive and successful promotional campaign is crucial, especially with the cut in marketing dollars that many of us are experiencing....Read Full Post
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    THE NEXT WAVE...

  • We’re All Marketers Now

    paultroberts
    16 Jan 2012 | 8:46 pm
    Courtesy of McKinsey Quarterly For the past decade, marketers have been adjusting to a new era of deep customer engagement. They’ve tacked on new functions, such as social-media management; altered processes to better integrate advertising campaigns online, on television, and … Continue reading →

  • Bare Naked Brand Names

    paultroberts
    11 Jan 2012 | 10:14 am
    Courtesy of Internet Business Law Journal  by Naseem Javed Last century business names were colorfully dressed with uniquely stylized lettering, colorful logos, slogans and contextual support. This century, such ‘stylized dependency’ has been pushed over the cliff by neo-socio-mobile-media-lingo. They’re … Continue reading →

  • Use Storytelling Skills to Transform Your Web Content

    paultroberts
    14 Dec 2011 | 5:43 pm
    Courtesy of PR NEWS. By Stephen Terlizzi Traditional PR approaches relied mostly on a well-defined network of contacts to whom you pitched news or an idea and some facts, and the reporter created a story. However, like that famous book … Continue reading →

  • Introducing the NEW Facebook Timeline

    paultroberts
    23 Nov 2011 | 2:28 pm
    Courtesy of SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY. You may have heard that Facebook will be rolling out their new profiles and features, including “Facebook Timeline”. As developers for Facebook, the team at MarketMeSuite got early access to it.  This post explains the … Continue reading →

  • When Your Brand Message Doesn’t Match How People Search

    paultroberts
    4 Nov 2011 | 5:38 pm
    Courtesy of SEARCH ENGINE LAND. SEO is all about words. Which words people search with; how to use them; and where to put them. Choosing the right keywords is imperative to the success of any SEO campaign. Unfortunately, selecting these … Continue reading →
 
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    Internet Direct Marketing Tip of the Day

  • Tell Me What You Want Me to Do

    Larry Chase
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:23 am
    How many times have you gone to a Website, and you can’t figure out what they want you to do? Even if visitors don’t want to take action, they often want to know what action you would like them to take if they were so inclined. This telegraphs to the site visitor where you’re coming from. I see nothing wrong with being straightforward about exactly what your agenda is on a Website. In fact, when I see such clear-headed directions, I’m relieved that I don’t have to spend more time trying to figure out what you’re trying to sell me, how you make money or what…

  • Talk to Many as If They Were One

    Larry Chase
    29 Dec 2011 | 11:22 am
    You might have tens of thousands or millions in your audience. But, you really talk to only one person at a time, and your words should come across that way. When you write to faceless thousands or millions, it comes across as superficial as a TV commercial. We all know how meaningful TV commercials are in our lives … not. Pick an audience member or imagine one person, and write to that person. Talk his/her language and reflect the person’s thoughts and feelings in your copy. Can you imagine talking to a friend or colleague in the language and terms of a TV or radio commercial?

  • Identifying the Next Small Thing

    Larry Chase
    13 Dec 2011 | 10:20 am
    If you want to stay a couple steps in front of your competitors, keep a sharp lookout. Very often, the next big thing is really a small thing, greatly magnified. Look at Twitter. There’s not much to it. Only 140 characters, in fact. And that’s because the founders wanted to make sure you could easily interact with Twitter on your cell phone. They wanted it to be as easy as, well, texting … which is another one of those small things you see everywhere. But, just because you’ve identified a small thing that takes off, this doesn’t mean you have a meal ticket for…

  • Twitter as a Direct Response Channel

    Larry Chase
    24 Nov 2011 | 10:19 am
    Online or offline, a marketing campaign that asks for the sale is called a direct response campaign. Twitter has hundreds of feeds that offer deals on everything you can think of, and then some. Blow-out deals or clearance deals are a natural commercial use for Twitter and other forms of SocMed. Twitter is a good channel for Customer Relationship Marketing, which is also a subset of Direct Marketing. Many B2B sales relationships can take 12-18 months before resulting in an actual sale. Direct Marketers of many disciplines are used to having direct contact with their audiences. Cataloguers and…

  • Shifting Search Habits

    Larry Chase
    8 Nov 2011 | 10:18 am
    Paid search is about to go through major changes. The extent of change has yet to be determined. But it is already happening. Why? Because people’s search behavior is already shifting. There are now millions of Twitter- and Facebook-specific searches rather than the traditional types of searches conducted at Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. How PPC ads perform in Real-Time Search will be one metric to watch closely. Will people who are searching for “What’s happening right now?” rather than “I need more info on XYZ” be more or less apt to click on paid ads? Maybe…
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    Don't drink the koolaid

  • Coopertition and the State of US Travel Tourism

    Indra
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:26 am
    Last week I attended the ONE Travel Conference for Shopping, Dining and Cultural Tourism in Orlando. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but the speaker line up looked good and I thought the conference’s focus on shopping, dining and cultural heritage made sense; it certainly hit our agency’s sweet spot in consumer marketing. The women who co-presented the conference Rosemary McCormick, President of Shop America Alliance and Sheila Armstrong, Executive Director of U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council are a formidable pair with surprising energy, a…

  • Ads from a Consumer’s Perspective

    Meredith
    18 Jan 2012 | 12:26 pm
    I recently went to the San Diego Auto Show and it was awesome!  I remember my dad dragging me along to the Los Angeles Auto Shows as a kid.  Aside from the time I got to spend with him, I never had an interest in any of the cars or what was going on.  The San Diego Auto Show changed my mind. My car is 9 years old now and I’m starting to think – maybe I should get a new car?  I definitely have a couple of years left on my 2003 eclipse, if I want them.  But seeing all the new cars made me seriously think about making a purchase. As a person who has worked in media my entire life, and…

  • 3 core advertising trends to watch in 2012

    Ryan
    12 Jan 2012 | 11:15 am
    Hello 2012. The year flew by fast didn’t it? Do you feel overwhelmed with all the information out there these days? Things are changing so quickly it’s hard to keep up, even for the super techno genius. Even though technology is evolving at light speed, what we really need to pay attention to is how to use these tools to best communicate with our target audiences. As marketers we need to understand the audiences we intend to interact with and how we can best achieve a valuable interaction. Technology will continue to evolve and offer us different avenues to communicate, for commerce, for…

  • Logos, typefaces and ruminations

    Greg
    6 Jan 2012 | 8:40 am
    Awhile ago I watched a documentary on the creation of Helvetica.  I was glued to the TV.  The efficiency, the directness, the flexibility and the simplicity of it is fascinating.  My wife on the other hand thought my watching the documentary only added to the list of things that make me weird to her.  So be it.  It made me think how things we consume daily on the surface appear very simplistic but when you scratch below that surface there is complexity.  Helvetica is the most used typeface in the world.  The theory behind its design was about efficient communications.  No serifs to…

  • Twelve Social Media Trends for 2012

    Whitney
    3 Jan 2012 | 7:07 am
    The truth is, you cannot really predict what will happen next week in social media, but nonetheless here are 12 predictions and thoughts we have going into 2012. 1. Content is (still) King - Over the past few years we’ve seen brands become their own publishers and content curators. The trend will continue in 2012, and brands will find more and more ways to integrate content with commerce and their communities. Brands with the most authentic, engaging, integrated, and useful content will find the most success. Those who tumbl just to tumbl will not find the digital community they hoped…
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    Better Closer

  • Using Social Media to Prep Your Next Sales Call

    Bill Rice
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:16 am
    Bill Rice originally wrote Using Social Media to Prep Your Next Sales Call.Getting your prospect to listen to your first sales call can be a matter of 1-3 seconds. Success in this first 1-3 seconds is often the result of making some sort of personal connection–you voice, location, common interest–something that makes you seem human and interested in the person you called. Unfortunately, you are typically calling a complete stranger and that makes it hard to personally connect that fast. Unless you use the power of social media to warm up that relationship. Here are a few of my…

  • Wednesday Webinar: SEO Fundamentals

    Bill Rice
    3 Jan 2012 | 6:59 am
    Bill Rice originally wrote Wednesday Webinar: SEO Fundamentals.I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year’s Eve. Are you ready to take it up a notch in 2012? I sure am. January is always an exciting time–fresh beginnings and new challenges. On the flip side it can be a little scary. It’s kind of like an artist staring down a blank canvas hoping to create a masterpiece. Starting from scratch is always hard. That’s why I like to start a New Year by reviewing the fundamentals. In my business (and probably yours), that means taking a look at how I am doing SEO for each of my…

  • 5 Sources of New Business

    Bill Rice
    1 Nov 2011 | 6:45 am
    Bill Rice originally wrote 5 Sources of New Business.As sales folks we’re always looking for leads, right? Over the years the most productive trick for me is to have a lot of sources of prospects always churning around in my daily prospecting routine. Here are some of my regular money-makers… Keep Up on the News Whether it’s Google News online or the good old-fashioned newspaper, keep in the know. At least once a week I will spot a person, an organization, or a trend that has an interesting business angle for me. These opportunities are going to look a little different for every…

  • 5 Ways to Make Your Sales Numbers Outrageous

    Bill Rice
    31 Oct 2011 | 10:38 am
    Bill Rice originally wrote 5 Ways to Make Your Sales Numbers Outrageous.I’m not going to try to convince you that I have the silver bullet. But, I am going to give you the basic philosophy that consistently makes me money. Good money. Some might even say outrageous money. Be Nice…To Everyone It just makes sense. You’re in the business of referrals. You don’t have to do deals with the devil, but good old fashion manners and politeness will ingratiate you to lots of potential clients. Even those who aren’t will think of you when others ask for a “good guy (or gal)” to…

  • 5 Tips to Better Sales Emails

    Bill Rice
    27 Oct 2011 | 9:56 am
    Bill Rice originally wrote 5 Tips to Better Sales Emails.Email is still the most effective marketing technique. It’s easy to automate and highly efficient at bringing in qualified new leads. Whether you are managing a large marketing list or trying to open the door on a new major accounts, these are a few tips proven to increase your email sales results. 1. Subject Line That Look Human It all starts here. Even the best of emails will go unopened 60-80% of the time. That’s why repetition and frequency is important, but that’s another topic. However, to get that 20-40% open rate you have…
 
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    The Quisenblog

  • Just Another SOPA Opera.

    admin
    24 Jan 2012 | 4:53 pm
    Last week, the Internet showed itself to be effective at more than streaming cute cat videos and finding the latest deal on shoes or videos. In a single day, the Internet enabled millions of people to assemble and form what is perhaps the largest protest in the history of the world. Wikipedia's home page on the day of the protest. An almost spontaneous movement that culminated in one historic day of protest effectively killed two bills being debated before Congress, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). I’m definitely not the most well-versed person in regard to…

  • Editor’s Choice: The Best of the Quisenblog 2011.

    admin
    29 Dec 2011 | 5:11 pm
    When you publish 12 months of blog posts, some are going to stick out. As we bid adieu to 2011, we thought we’d use our final post of the year to revisit a handful of our favorite posts from the past year. To succeed in Social Media, think like a B-to-B marketer. To be a successful business-to-business marketer, you need to spend time building relationships with your potential customers. And guess what. That’s what social media can help you do. The first janitor in space. Does everyone in your organization—from the C-suite to the folks who mop floors at the end of the day—understand…

  • Five resolutions to make in the New Year.

    Mickey
    19 Dec 2011 | 6:27 pm
    Got room on your list for one more resolution for the upcoming year? If you’re a marketer, you won’t go wrong picking one of these: 1) Think mobile. Already, it is reported that more than 40% of smart phone owners have made a purchase by using their smart phone. In fact, about half of them made the purchase while in the store. The mobile phenomenon is just getting bigger. By 2014, it is predicted more people will access the Internet via smart phones and tablets than with all other computers combined. So if your web site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’ll miss a lot of web traffic. Use 2012…

  • Where Pepsi got it wrong, Coke got it right.

    Mickey
    14 Dec 2011 | 6:04 pm
    I’m talking about the soft drink marketers’ uses of Social Media here. As you may recall, Pepsi was one of the first big-name marketers to aggressively go “all-in” in a Social Media sense, with its much talked-about “Pepsi Refresh Project.” This was a commitment from Pepsi to support worthwhile causes recommended and voted on by its customers and fans. Pepsi used Social Media (primarily Facebook) to elicit suggestions, to “crowd source” the causes (have fans and friends vote on them), and to report news developments. What gathered a lot of media attention for Pepsi wasn’t so…

  • The pleasure of anticipation.

    Mickey
    5 Dec 2011 | 6:17 pm
    Think back to some purchase you’ve made that entailed a decent degree of planning, research and preparation. Maybe it was for a new house, a new appliance, a new car or a well-deserved vacation. Now ask yourself: did you derive more “pleasure” from the house, vacation or car itself? Or from the planning and anticipation that preceded the purchase? If you’re like most people, it’s likely the planning period before the purchase provided the greater high. Social Psychologists have shown in study after study that we get enormous amounts of pleasure from looking forward to good things in…
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    Digital Strategy

  • Kill Them With Kindness

    Rich Nadworny
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:10 am
    It’s election season and in the U.S. we’re getting ready for a good solid year of negative advertising. It’s sad that it works so well. The negativity so easily spreads to the social channels. There we end up with a cacophony of anger and insults rather than any interesting interaction. As a result, one ends up disliking all of the candidates (which may be a good description of what’s happening with the GOP voters this year). But what about brand and product advertising? Does negative advertising work there as well? Most of the negative advertising we see today is clearly aimed at…

  • Sweden’s Social Experiment

    Rich Nadworny
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:45 am
    For the last several weeks, the tourism and marketing arm of the Scandinavian country of Sweden has allowed various Swedish citizens to take over its Twitter account. Called “Curators of Sweden” The idea is: “...that the curators, through their tweets, create interest and arouse curiosity for Sweden and the wide range the country has to offer. The expectation is that the curators will paint a picture of Sweden, different to that usually obtained through traditional media.” The end goal, though unstated, is to attract more tourists to visit the country. I’ve been following this…

  • Use Social Media to Connect Friends and Family

    Rich Nadworny
    13 Dec 2011 | 4:18 am
    Brands want people to connect with them through social channels. Social media usage among U.S. Internet users has more than doubled in the last three years (28% to 65% between 2008 and 2011). So brands are increasing the time and money they spend in these channels with the hope of attracting people through deals, content and, in some cases, customer support.  That’s what brands want. What do most people using social media want? They want to connect with family. They want to connect with their current friends. They want to find old friends. Only a small group of people wants to use social…

  • Social Gift Shopping

    Rich Nadworny
    5 Dec 2011 | 8:16 am
    Every year, we are continually challenged to find good gifts for our spouses/kids/parents/friends for the December holidays. I had one friend who kept a running list of things she wanted throughout the year. Every time she went shopping she made sure to add one or two things to her list. Whenever someone asked her what she wanted for Christmas/birthday/anniversary, she had a good answer! Most of us, unfortunately, aren’t like that.  So I was interested to check out some of the new social gift finders this year, in the hope that they would make my life easier over the next few weeks. The…

  • What we really need from Google, Facebook and Apple

    Rich Nadworny
    14 Nov 2011 | 8:04 am
    As a parent indoctrinating his kids with all the things I liked when I was young, I was struck by a simple fact. While watching (re-watching) many of my favorite shows and movies with my children, like original Star Trek and Mission Impossible, Sean Connery James Bond movies, and Get Smart, I realized that what most of these shows talk or fight about is Science and Scientists. That idea was reinforced after this summer’s visit to the Spy Museum in Washington. The Cold War, and our future success as a nation, boiled down to one thing: Those with the most, and best, geeks win. Back then we…
 
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    MarketingProfessor.com

  • 7 Ways Marketers Can Leverage Google’s Personal Search

    Travis Campbell
    18 Jan 2012 | 11:10 am
    There has been a lot of activity recently with our friends at Google. Last week they announced the rollout of Google Plus Your World. This is essentially a more elegant version of personal search, with a snazzy video (shown a bit later). Now that the dust has settled, the question marketers are asking is how to leverage this? What does it mean for SEO?  It means a lot. We’ll cover that and share 7 things you can do now to make the most of Google’s recent changes. 7 Ways Marketers Can Leverage Google’s Personal Search The farm. Google is pretty much betting that on their…

  • Say It With Me ‘I am a marketer’

    Travis Campbell
    10 Jan 2012 | 7:20 am
    Let’s agree on something right now. Internet Marketing is not simple. Principles exist, as with any business, but as a whole it’s not simple.  What makes it ‘not’ simple? The first half of that phrase, Internet. Agreed?  Good. Marketing is simple. Couple it with Internet, and things get complex in a hurry. You may not have world-class mad skills at copywriting, email marketing, blogging, video, social media marketing, SEO, PPC, or any other point technical Internet marketing skill, marketing  alone still equals (=) simple. Say It With Me ‘I am a…

  • Our Greatest Asset in the New Year

    Travis Campbell
    5 Jan 2012 | 12:04 pm
    You’ve likely read a handful of posts, tweets, and articles online when it comes to everything of the New Year. There are some really great nuggets out there. Which brings you here. What to do with all those fancy ideas? How to implement all those power tips? Don’t. What? Don’t. Don’t seek to implement many of those things, without focusing on the main thing. Your greatest asset. Well, that’s what I’m doing. Focusing on a skill. Well, skills that master all other skills. Skills that help marketers implement. Get more done. Fast. Let me share with you what I…

  • This Year’s Top Content Awards Go To

    Travis Campbell
    30 Dec 2011 | 12:55 pm
    Hard to believe that another year is behind us. I recently was reviewing some Google analytics stats for this site to get ideas for content in the coming year, and saw some interesting trends. There were posts that were highly trafficked, some that were highly engaged by readers, but not all highly trafficked posts were highly engaged. I’ll get to these in a moment. Google analytics can provide valuable insights as to traffic, engagement, conversions, keywords, etc. but what it doesn’t do is clarify the experience of human visitor. What really matters is what you think as a…

  • Super-Charge Your Marketing Career

    Travis Campbell
    21 Dec 2011 | 2:29 pm
    There are many ways to accelerate and supercharge a marketing career. It involves hard work, salesmanship, and even a little luck. It’s important to understand your goals in light of the phase of your career and why change might be just what you need. If marketing is indeed your game there are three possible avenues to consider. As always, your comments an input are welcome. Super-Charge Your Marketing Career Understanding Your Goals Zig Ziglar is to have said “Aim at nothing, and you’ll hit it every time.” For those of you “running your own show”…
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    She-conomy

  • When Marketing to Women, Don’t Be A Man: Ask For Directions

    sheconomy
    19 Jan 2012 | 1:47 pm
    To know that brands must target women is great. But can you still mess up? Absolutely. Dawn Billings, founder of The Heart Link Women’s Network, polled women small business professionals from three countries to find mistakes made by businesses when marketing to women. We have actually discussed most all of these at one time or another, [...]

  • Is Marketing To Women All Fun and Games?

    sheconomy
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:08 am
    Social games have become serious business. In 2011, the total market in North America increased from $1 billion to $1.4 billion, an overall growth of 35%. And of the 13 hours each week that gamers spend on social networks, they play social games for an average of 9.5 hours (study conducted by RockYou® and Interpret, [...]

  • Auburn University Is Getting An Education in Social Media

    sheconomy
    30 Nov 2011 | 2:09 pm
    As social networks continue to grow on a daily basis, one thing remains constant: Expectations for transparency and honesty are on the rise. Marketers, please keep in mind: Apologies and/or explanations are more forgiving than cover-ups. Auburn University and Gus Malzahn, Auburn’s Offensive Coordinator are likely going to find this out – the hard way.  [...]

  • @aplusk Has Lost His Voice

    sheconomy
    11 Nov 2011 | 2:15 pm
    I believe this could possibly be the biggest faux pas or sell out in social media to date.  Below is @aplusk’s first “fake” tweet. I say “fake” because we have no way of knowing if it is really him or not. He has officially handed the management of his Twitter account over to his media [...]

  • On A Painting It’s Art. For A Car Commercial It’s CREEPY.

    sheconomy
    4 Oct 2011 | 1:41 pm
    CREEPY was the first word that came to mind as I watched Toyota‘s new “Family People Person” Prius commercial. Next was “disturbing” and then “I don’t get it.” (I actually do “get it” now or rather, I get what they are “trying” to say after it was explained to me in the “Making of Toyota [...]
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    LOHAD - random rumblings on marketing and more

  • Quote o’ the Day

    admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am
    “The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” —Salvador Dali

  • Is Advertising On The Super Bowl Worth It?

    admin
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:41 pm
    For half of this year’s advertisers, the answer is definitely or probably not. Business2Community explains.

  • Watch It Wednesday

    admin
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:17 am
    Did you watch the State of the Union last night? If so, you might be interested in comparing and contrasting what President Obama said about the economy with what President Kennedy said 50 years ago.

  • Infographitize Yourself

    admin
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:49 pm
    As if we’re not drowning in infographics already, here comes a nifty little diversion: Create an infographic of your Twitter account–or any Twitter account, for that matter. For example, here are infographics for Ringling Bros., John C. Dvorak, The Onion and me. (Hat tip to Sarah’s Faves for the heads up on this one.)

  • Google Plus Mandatory Signups

    admin
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:15 pm
    When you see those press releases months from now trumpeting the rapid growth of Google Plus, keep in mind that all new Gmail accounts now require users to sign up for G+ too. ReelSEO explains.
 
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    Online Marketing Blog

  • Online Marketing News: Women Dominate Community Management, Google Privacy, FBI Social, Twitter Censorship, McD Hashtag Gone Wrong

    Ashley Zeckman
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:40 am
    The 2012 Community Manager Report Community Manager is an essential, yet still uncharted territory for many companies that are expanding their presence on the social web.  What should you know about the current state of this position? 67% of Community Managers work for a brand The most popular city for Community Managers is New York 65% of Community Managers are Female Be sure to check out the rest of this report presented by Social Fresh. Google & FBI: All Your Social Data Are Belong to Us For non-geeks, here’s the reference (Zero Wing video) “Google Privacy Changes: What…

  • 5 Basic SEO Troubleshooting Tips for Content Marketers

    Lee Odden
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:34 am
    Content Marketing Not Performing? Troubleshoot SEO Basics. This post is a preview of a new downloadable guide I will be offering for those who pre-order Optimize by March 13, 2012. The full guide will have screenshots, examples and more “SEO Deep Dive” advice. If you want the full, illustrated Content Marketing SEO Troubleshooting Guide, visit OptimizeBook.com to pre-order and subscribe to our mailing list for more details. Content Marketing at its core is about planning information that is thoughtful about the needs and interests of target customer groups as they take the…

  • Optimize Your Social Media Schedule: 4 Tips for Avoiding the Social Media Time Suck

    Ashley Zeckman
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:56 am
    Making the time to execute on a social media strategy can rattle even the most experienced marketers.  Unlike traditional marketing, social media marketing can present many different challenges and distractions.  According to a study by eMarketer 73% of marketers say finding the time to create content as their biggest marketing challenge. I recently ran a poll of @TopRank Twitter followers to get a sense of how they spend their time online.  I asked “If you had only 20 minutes a day to spend on social media what would you focus on?”  Some of the answers we received were:…

  • 11 Ways to Get Smarter & Stay Current in a World of Social Information Overload

    Lee Odden
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:41 am
    Online Marketing is all about information. And people. Making connections that solve marketing problems in today’s environment of social and technological innovation can be challenging. Like many readers of this blog, a big part of what I do as an Internet Marketer centers around being able to consume large amounts of information or better, the right information, synthesizing it and using insights to help others make sense of the challenges and opportunities they face with marketing on the web. As an author, frequent speaker at industry conferences, advisor to clients and the people who…

  • Online Marketing News: Say NOPA to SOPA, Google+ Strikes Again, Coca Cola “Gets It”, Twitter Gobbles Up Summify

    Ashley Zeckman
    20 Jan 2012 | 6:31 am
    The Social Job Seekers The social media job market is hot! This infographic visualizes the 2011 Social Job Seeker Survey that was conducted by Jobvite.  It examines who the job seekers are and how they are utilizing social media to find jobs.  Some interesting statistics you may not be aware of: 61% of all employed Americans are open to a new job or actively looking for a new one. 4 out of 10 job seekers are “Super Social” and have 150+ contacts on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin. 1 in 6 job seekers found their last job through an online social network. This Week in News About Google…
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    Mindshare Strategy

  • Domains, Registrars, and DNS … oh my!

    Eric
    13 Jan 2012 | 2:35 pm
    About a year ago, I bought a short url so I didn’t have to use tinyurl.com or bit.ly on Twitter.  It’s a .me address, and at the time the best/cheapest .me registrar was GoDaddy. I don’t host sites there, but I registered the domain there anyway.  Then I immediately pointed the domain at my old shared hosting account over on 1and1. Things worked perfectly! After a few weeks, I decided to add an email at this short url.  But I didn’t want to use 1and1′s email system, so I set up Google Apps for the domain and pointed my MX records at Google. Again, things…

  • Post Supplements – A Concept

    Eric
    22 Dec 2011 | 9:37 pm
    A few months ago, WordPress UX Lead Jane Wells posted a request to WordPress’ Trac ticketing system.  The idea was to find a better way to insert “stuff” below WordPress posts: Inserting the sharing and like rows at the bottom of the post text before the byline/classification metadata seems wrong. It should go below that, so it is closely related to commenting, not part of the content itself. The plugin-generated widget is not “by” the post author, after all. I haven’t used very many social media plugins for exactly this reason.  Nor have I ever used a…

  • Apple Patents Multi-tasking

    Eric
    21 Dec 2011 | 12:00 pm
    The Apple-vs-Google-vs-EveryoneElseInTheWorld patent battle has gotten beyond ridiculous. I just read that Apple’s latest patent victory is for: A portable electronic device displays, on a touch screen display, a user interface for a phone application during a phone call. In response to detecting activation of a menu icon or menu button, the UI for the phone application is replaced with a menu of application icons, while maintaining the phone call. In response to detecting a finger gesture on a non-telephone service application icon, displaying a user interface for the non-telephone…

  • Should Free Software Have Free Support?

    Eric
    16 Dec 2011 | 9:38 am
    I do professional (paid) consulting for WordPress.  But I also write and distribute free plugins and themes for WordPress.  My paid business depends a lot on my reputation on the free side of things. And that’s where I face a dilemma. A lot of people use my free stuff.  And several of them come to me from time to time asking for new features, bug fixes, or just regular “I can’t figure this out” support.  Up ’til now, I’ve offered that support for free. And that’s proven to be a bad idea. So my question to you, how much is reasonable to charge for…

  • Finally! Microsoft Decides to Auto-Update IE

    Eric
    15 Dec 2011 | 11:21 am
    I’ve always been a fan of the way Chrome automatically updates itself.  New features come on line as soon as they’re ready and much of the emerging HTML5 standard just works. Even Firefox has changed their release schedule to push out updates more frequently.  And for those of you who don’t know, when Firefox ships a new version, they cut off support for older versions. From a web development standpoint, this is fantastic.  It means you can use cutting-edge technologies as soon as they’re ready and you don’t need to worry about supporting clunky, legacy…
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    Post-Advertising

  • The Future of (Auto)Mobile Advertising

    Adam Uhrynowski
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:23 am
    Growing up, all I wanted was a black Pontiac TransAm that spoke to me and helped me fight crime through a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of criminals operating above the law. What I got was a 1985 Peugeot 505s with cigarette burns on the canvas seats and a tape player that didn’t have a reverse button. Cars have come a long way since the “forward-thinking” days of Knight Rider. Cars not only speak to us, they can drive for us, give us directions, and show the kids some Dora the Explorer while en route to a ski trip in Vermont. And this is just the beginning. Like it…

  • Is Google’s Social Search the New Normal?

    Jon Thomas
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:56 am
    Additional reporting by Story’s Director of Audience Generation Cyrus Karimi. In early December, Google updated their search algorithm to provide each user with personalized results—the information Google deemed most relevant to the specific user. The news garnered little chatter in the social media realm. According to Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land, less than 50 news articles and blog posts were written about in its initial week (and only 290 to date). Earlier this month Google made another important change, updating their search algorithm to include personalized search…

  • Social As We See It: Digital Trends For 2012

    Jon Thomas
    19 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am
    This post originally appeared in our January issue of “Live Report from the Future of Marketing,” our monthly Post-Advertising newsletter. Subscribe for free here. In the marketing world, getting in on the ground floor of the latest digital trend can pay huge dividends for users, particularly if they’re brands. But it’s difficult to know exactly which emerging site or app to dive into with both feet. Not every idea pans out, regardless of how much VC funding is acquired. True success depends on widespread adoption of the masses, or at least a dedicated community who simply…

  • When Political Ads Attack, Everyone Loses

    Andrea Fjeld
    11 Jan 2012 | 12:58 pm
    With additional reporting by Adam Uhrynowski. We’re all familiar with mudslinging in political commercials, debates and speeches. In the recent Iowa caucuses, negative advertising was more apparent than ever. But why do America’s leaders spend so much time pointing out the competition’s flaws and defending their political (and personal) histories rather than promoting themselves? Does it even work? What if brands reverted to this tactic? We’ll answer these questions and more after the jump. In a recent debate, war raged between Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich as the Mitt…

  • Is Frictionless Sharing a Boon or Black Hole for Brands?

    Katie Edmondson
    4 Jan 2012 | 11:20 am
    As frictionless sharing becomes the norm for applications like Spotify and Huffington Post, it feels like we’re at the cusp of an era of increasingly intense oversharing. Facebook’s new sharing mechanism has already contributed to a distinct decrease in manual curating and the rise of automated sharing through software. But the real question is: Will frictionless sharing create a true paradigm shift in the way we interact and share on the web? And what are brands to do about it? Facebook’s recent integration with various websites and applications is the latest and largest move toward a…
 
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    Chief Marketing Technologist

  • CMOs to agencies: adapt or die

    Scott Brinker
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:19 am
    The CMO Council released their latest report on client/agency effectiveness this week. (You can download a free executive summary from that link, or spring $199 for the full report.) Out of the myriad of survey-driven stats from 6,000 corporate marketers across a wide range of major brands, one figure stands out as particularly striking: only 9% of senior marketers believe traditional ad agencies are doing a good job of evolving and extending their service capabilities in the digital age. When 91% of your customers think you're a dinosaur, that can't be good. From the CMO Council's press…

  • The Marketing Technology Frenemy Triangle

    Scott Brinker
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:05 am
    The title of an article in last week's AdAge Digital was Tech-Consulting Giants Slide Closer to Creative-Shop Turf. The subhead read, "Deloitte, Accenture are among big IT players looking to learn digital biz of marketing brands to consumers." You can almost hear the sound of cappuccino being sneezed out in a Madison Avenue office somewhere. Brian Whipple, the CEO of Accenture Interactive, was quoted as saying, "Clients, in my view, are finding it more credible to reach into marketing from technology" rather than the other way around. Why? Because web sites and online advertising now require…

  • 2011 was a big year for marketing technology

    Scott Brinker
    5 Jan 2012 | 8:25 am
    The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI), a leading investment bank in the marketing space, issued a report yesterday of 2011 M&A activity across media, information, marketing services and technology sectors. JEGI reports that those sectors "saw nearly 900 transactions in 2011 totaling $47 billion, a 9% rise over 2010." From a marketing technology perspective, the marketing and interactive services sector is the most interesting, which had "291 transactions announced at a total value of $15.1 billion in 2011, up 17% and 33%, respectively, over 2010." Some of the notable Q4 transactions in…

  • You are what you don't automate

    Scott Brinker
    19 Dec 2011 | 2:51 pm
    "You are what you don't automate," one of ion's engineers commented in a meeting the other day. It was in the context of a series of time consuming, manual steps that had to be done for a particular task. He attributed the adage to super-programmer Jeff Atwood, although I've not been able to find the reference. It struck me as a brilliant way to frame the challenge of marketing automation. See, in software engineering, most developers feel that time spent doing anything other than designing and coding great software is, well, kind of a drag. So they try to automate as many of the boring…

  • Why marketers should learn how to program

    Scott Brinker
    16 Dec 2011 | 6:08 am
    If you work in marketing, you might want to learn a little computer programming. Buy a book. Watch a screencast. Check out Codeacademy. No, really. Suspend your incredulity for a minute. I'll explain... It's not because you should have to roll up your sleeves and start writing your own marketing software. I'm the first to acknowledge that not every marketer needs to become a technologist. However, I do believe that every marketer should develop a comfort with technology. And, over time, advance from comfort to understanding to intuition. It's this intuition about how software works —…
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    FUEL LINES Fueling Ad Agency New Business Through Social Media

  • Leo Burnett Still Wins Ad Agency New Business 40 Years After His Death

    Michael Gass
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:22 am
    Leo Burnett is one of the most enduring ad industry legends. He broke all the rules. Even after 40 years since his death he is still winning new business for his agency. “The Burnett agency has accomplished something that has eluded so many other businesses: It has managed to keep the spirit and drive of its founder alive and well almost two decades after the founder himself passed on.“ Rita Koselka of Forbes To celebrate Leo Burnett Worldwide’s 75th anniversary, Lobo, an animation and design studio, produced this animated spot. It is based on a speech given by Mr. Burnett…

  • Bob Hoffman: 101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising

    Michael Gass
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am
    An ad agency principal who is an example on how to use content marketing and social media to build awareness and new business opportunities for your agency. I am a Bob Hoffman fan. I have read everything he has written, from his book The Ad Contrarian, to every ADWEEK and blog post article and now his new book, 101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising. Bob is the CEO of Hoffman/Lewis advertising located in San Francisco and St. Louis. Bob has created marketing strategies and advertising for some of the world’s most successful companies: McDonald’s, Toyota, Shell, NBC, Pepsico, Bank of…

  • B-2-B Agency Gains New Business from a Narrow Niche and Social Media

    Michael Gass
    16 Jan 2012 | 9:41 am
    Social media can end the anxiety of creating a niche and differentiation for ad agency new business. John Sonnhalter, CEO of Sonnhalter, a B2B ad agency located just outside of Cleveland, OH, shares an example of an agency that found a way to finally “draw a line in the sand” and openly declare his agency’s area of expertise for a particular market. John was able to first ‘test the waters before jumping in’ by creating a ‘niche blog’ clearly targeted to a very specific audience. Sonnhalter’s primary ability was knowing how to reach the…

  • It is time for ad agencies to pay attention to Pinterest

    Michael Gass
    13 Jan 2012 | 10:01 am
    Pinterest has great potential for ad agencies: storyboards, branding strategies, concept ideas, campaign ideas, design ideas, even organizing agency pitches. Time Magazine named Pinterest one of the top 50 websites for 2011. It is one of the hottest new social media sites with enduring specialties that qualifies it as the next ‘Twitter.’  Its value through venture financing has soared from $40 million to over $200 million in only a few months. Pinterest (pronounced to rhyme with interest) is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create…

  • How to Qualify Leads for Ad Agency New Business

    Michael Gass
    11 Jan 2012 | 10:16 am
    To begin a successful agency new business program one of the first steps is to identify and qualify your best prospects. A business development person without leads is like a fish out of water. Neither can survive very long. Yet … Only 30% of B2B marketers know the names of decision makers in the companies they are targeting. The RAIN Group It is imperative that you know who your prospects are or you are wasting time, energy and valuable agency resources. Here are a few things you should know: Your agency’s best target market (industry, geography, size, etc.). Specific names of…
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    Kneale Mann

  • Does This Scare You?

    Kneale Mann
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:44 am
    In 1999, the Cluetrain Manifesto was ahead of its time and in a lot of respects it remains there. Like so much of the book, one passage that is even more relevant today... “We are not seats or eyeballs or end users or consumers.  We are human beings and our reach exceeds your grasp. Deal with it.”  They Are The Future. We Must Deal With It. Kneale Mann visual credit: phdworldwide

  • Is it Business or a Hobby?

    Kneale Mann
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:12 am
    In the last four or five years, I have met more entrepreneurs than the previous two decades. Some is through my work and some is the time spent on the social web. We can get intoxicated by the numbers and paralyzed by the activity. Many have confided that they have spent a lot of time trying to build their online presence yet business isn’t where it needs to be and it’s time to get serious. Building business takes time and hard work. Building a strong online presence for your business can seem like an endless climb. Collaboration: Working together to achieve a goal, a process where two or…

  • Clay Shirky says SOPA and PIPA are Bad

    Kneale Mann
    21 Jan 2012 | 10:25 am
    Millions have been vocal online lately about two pieces of legislation in Congress in the United States. One is SOPA - the Stop Online Piracy Act and the other is PIPA - the Protect Intellectal Property Act Mainstream media have been trying to figure out a way to stop us from sharing (and in some people’s minds, stealing) content for years. This has taken the Napster issue to a level no one ever imagined. If you create content, I think you should be compensated. But it's not as simple as to label us thieves with a sweeping piece of legislation. Mega sites like…

  • No One Wants a Boss

    Kneale Mann
    20 Jan 2012 | 5:30 am
    As our days are filled by commiserating about that stuff that may be missing from our work, we must look at the top. If you work long enough, you will eventually be given more responsibility and perhaps other people who will look to you for direction. Most don’t want you to dictate their actions but rather guide them and back them up. A friend emailed me this week about her boss who feels compelled to raise his voice in every meeting like the alpha male pounding his chest to remind the minions who’s in charge. Perhaps you've met this guy. Collaboration Personified Simply because people…

  • Fear Be Gone

    Kneale Mann
    17 Jan 2012 | 9:12 am
    The human mind is a marvel of engineering we may never understand. We can run countries, survive 127 hours trapped in a cave or overcome monumental odds. Our brain can also keep us from succeeding, present obstacles that may not be there and create deep depression. In business, you know that everyone in your company has a powerful force that can create magic and solutions. It can also produce damage and destruction manifested in subtle ways such as sick days, wasted meetings, lack of leadership, butt covering, that’s not my department and I didn’t get the email. I’m busy can quickly…
 
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    Five Sparrows Marketing Blog

  • What Happened to Your Website?

    Lauren Hobson
    18 Jan 2012 | 11:30 am
    If your small business website was built a few years ago, you may be surprised to hear that it may soon be obsolete (if it’s not already).  Big changes in digital marketing have affected how users access and use the web today, and new technologies have made many old-school websites inaccessible, unreadable, or completely unusable (Read More...)

  • 5 Tips to Boost Web Conversion Rates

    Lauren Hobson
    13 Jan 2012 | 12:30 pm
    If you’re like many small businesses, you want to squeeze every last drop of value out of your website and online marketing activities.  But do you know which initiatives are worth your time and money?  Do you know the mistakes to avoid? Here are five tips to help you focus on where to put your (Read More...)

  • Tip of the Month: “Google Plus Your World” Has Arrived

    Lauren Hobson
    10 Jan 2012 | 12:46 pm
    In case you haven’t heard yet, last week Google announced a big change to its search algorithm, called “Google Plus Your World.”  Basically, Your World combines social search (introduced in 2007) with personalized search (introduced in 2009) into a single algorithm that also includes relevant Google+ results.  Google+ was designed to be the overriding glue (Read More...)

  • Tip of the Month: Quick Keyword Check

    Lauren Hobson
    9 Dec 2011 | 11:01 am
    Ever notice that as you start typing a search term into Google or Bing, it starts “guessing” what you are typing?  That’s the auto-complete feature, and the terms it displays are often related search phrases and keywords that other people have used when searching.  You can use this feature to check your existing keywords to (Read More...)

  • 5 Marketing Take-Aways from 2011

    Lauren Hobson
    8 Dec 2011 | 2:07 pm
    Yes, it’s that time of year; when marketing experts begin compiling their “best-of” lists for the events, tips, lessons, developments, and/or advice gathered from the past year.   And for small businesses, the year brought some very big changes that have already affected the way in which companies must now position themselves in order to stay (Read More...)
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    iMediaConnection Blog

  • How Best to Implement a Mobile Barcode Campaign

    Roger Marquis
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:18 pm
    Over the past 18-24 months, more and more companies have been hoping on the mobile barcode (e.g., QR Code, Microsoft Tag, SnapTag, Data Matrix, etc.) bandwagon, and have been doing so without fully understanding the technology behind the various code formats and how best to develop and implement an effective mobile barcode-based campaign. When operating in this manner, more often than not, the mobile barcode based advertisement or promotional campaign will result in a failed attempt to deliver for both the consumer and the advertiser, and the question could be asked, why bother with the…

  • Back to Where It All Began

    Michael Burke
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:32 am
    One of my favorite songs of all time is playing in my head, “Back to Where it All Began” by the Allman Brothers. Why? Because Facebook's announcement recently of more than 60 new apps into the Open Graph, including Pinterest, eBay and Foursquare, among dozens of others, enabling users to add anything they want, including their activities, into their timelines, is the most exciting opportunity for non-gaming developers to take advantage of the Facebook platform since its launch in 2007. Over the years we've seen "Lifestyle" applications on Facebook lose ground to games, those with huge ad…

  • Does Your Company Need Reputation Insurance?

    Jennifer Bilotta
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:28 am
    In today's hyperactive, always-on-the-go digital-crazed world we live in... where one misplaced Tweet can undo a lifetime of brand equity, having a crisis management plan in place is imperative. But does it make sense to pay an added expense for proper reputation management? Chartis, a division of AIG, recently launched a new insurance product that would cover the cost of crisis communications counsel for companies facing a public relations debacle. No stranger to bad press, it seems AIG now understands the importance of outside help during a crisis. AIG claims the policy would cover…

  • What Brand Managers Can Learn From The Music Industry

    Adam Leiter
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:12 am
    Engaging your customers across a wide array of channels and in the process offering the chance to buy your product at the same time... that's a winning recipe for the music industry, and brand managers and product managers would be wise to do the same. After multiple years of declining music sales, 2011 finally saw a stabilization and slight growth, but most reports trying to decipher the reason have it all wrong. By trying to match the industry’s success to the success of certain artists, even experts are missing the point. The music that artists created wasn’t necessarily more…

  • 3 Brand Benefits of Klout

    Tom Edwards
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:56 am
    Identifying topical influencers has been a key to driving awareness and activation for many socially progressive brands over the past few years. One of the measurement variables many brands have come to rely on is Klout. Much has been written about Klout since it's founding in 2008. Some praise & swear by the service, others question the validity of the score and ability to "game" the system. Regardless, users work each day to increase their Klout score and brands are eager to reward those indiviuduals. At it's core, Klout provides social media analytics to measure a user's influence…
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    Modern Metrix

  • Klout vs. Peer Index Scores: analyzing differences

    Modern Metrix
    27 Jan 2012 | 3:01 pm
    While searching for some articles on influence, I stumbled upon this blog post by Christopher Penn, where he was challenging readers to dig into a small dataset of Klout and PeerIndex score to explore the differences between these two metrics of influence. I quickly ran some numbers which I included in my comment to his post, but would like also to share here.The dataset that Chris was kind enough to post contains Klout and PeerIndex scores for 15,737 Twitter users who tweeted at least once in the past month, presumably on topic related to #Marketing (data is available on his blog, in CSV…

  • Four new and growing "disruptive" business sectors

    Modern Metrix
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:42 am
    This article in 'Enterpreneur" discusses current "hottest" growing business sectors. Among the most "disruptive" categories, in my opinion, are the following four: Decision Support: recommendation and discovery engines and platforms, particularly, when it comes to consumption and sharing of content, could be potentially discruptive for media companies. People increasingly choose to read and watch content that either is reflecting their interests (yep, not everyone watches ESPN channel) or recommended by someone they know and trust. Also, opening your content to…

  • Nielsen Releases Address-Based Sample TV Diary Data for Academic Analyses

    Modern Metrix
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:45 am
    This should be interesting: As part of an effort to further research on address-based sampling (i.e., the sampling of addresses from a near universal database of household listings), The Nielsen Company is releasing data and paradata from its February 2011 Television Diary Measurement for analysis by eligible academic and student researchers. The February 2011 dataset contains information on respondents and non-respondents from 767,011 sampled addresses and includes more than 2,441 variables for each household record. The data/paradata capture all phases of recruitment and diary returns,…

  • AAPOR's 2012 Research Challenge

    Modern Metrix
    6 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    AAPOR just announced the 2012 Research Challenge: To participate, researchers or research teams can submit a set of up to 10 survey questions for an upcoming in-person survey of Chicagoans. The “winning” submission(s) will be included in the in-person survey, and the winning researcher or team will receive the response data to their questions along with demographic data, and the first rights to publish results of their survey findings. For full rules and contest information visit http://www.rti.org/researchchallenge 

  • Digging into Metro Card data

    Modern Metrix
    3 Jan 2012 | 10:16 am
    I had a very interesting discussion yesterday with a friend of mine who stopped using his Foursquare application, mainly because of the "privacy" concerns. He said that while he didn't mind getting all those discounts and special deals, he did not feel comfortable sharing his location with friends and acquantainces on Facebook and Foursquare, and a Big Brother. I suggested that he could opt for not sharing his particular "check-ins" with others by simply toggling a switch on his Foursquare app, and also pointed out that the reason that he is getting…
 
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    Michael Durwin

  • Product Review: Hague Mini Motion-Cam Stabilizer

    Michael Durwin
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:41 pm
    I did a little research on camera stabilizers because I found any moving footage was every choppy. I’ve known about Steadicam for years, they were used in both the MTV and Pantene commercials I worked on. I needed a Steadicam for my iPhone! I had no idea if such a thing existed but lo and behold it did! Sort of. Most stabilizer manufacturers make a prosumer device for small, light weight consumer cameras, perfect for an iPhone. I checked out reviews, specs and videos for stabilizers from Steadicam, Hague, Lensse and some great DIY stabilizer videos. Seeing as how I don’t have a…

  • Review of Splice and SlowMo

    Michael Durwin
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:28 pm
    While working on my iPhone film, I’ve been testing various editing applications, many of which I’ve mentioned already. I wanted to share more detailed info on a few of them. Tis post covered SlowMo and Splice. The former is strictly for slow motion, the later handles editing and slow motion. I won’t be reviewing Splice as an editing tool, you’ll see why soon. SlowMo SlowMo is pretty basic; shoot or load video, slow it down, purview and export the final footage. Splice Cool opening page and easy interface for an app that handles editing, cropping, slow motion. As you…

  • A New England Love Story Documentary Part 5

    Michael Durwin
    22 Jan 2012 | 1:07 pm
    I finally got a chance to do some lighting tests using my SIMA (SL-10HD) LED light. It connects via cold shoe to my AR-4i, OWLE, or my iPhone via its connector arm and iPhone tripod adaptor. The SIMA uses 2 AA batteries, has no DC input. It comes with an arm that allows you to attach it to a tripod, or tripod adaptor-equipped iPhone. It provides 600 lumens for 45-60 minutes.     Here are some test photos and a test video.   Share and Enjoy:

  • A New England Love Story Documentary Part 4

    Michael Durwin
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:44 pm
    I spent the day working on my script. I had been using Evernote for writing until it became useless. When typing the app froze, when saving it crashed. Apparently users have been having this problem for months with no resolution. So, I switched to Pages, Apples version of Word. Unfortunately there is no movie script app and formatting in the iPad was seriously slowing me down. I spent some time today checking out script writing apps on the iTunes store. There weren’t many, only 2-3 of the apps below are for film script writing, and I found one other under “script”, but that…

  • A New England Love Story Documentary Part 3

    Michael Durwin
    15 Jan 2012 | 7:30 pm
    In this post I discuss a creative block that almost led me to drop my entire story line and start from scratch. Luckily, I had an epiphany. I also ran into a technical issue, I expect it’s the first of many, but resolved as well. It was a good week. Share and Enjoy:
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    Thinking aloud

  • Really smart take on Media by Graeme Wood.

    26 Jan 2012 | 4:21 pm
    Mainly about media, humans and advertising, but so much more than that.     Read a great commentary on the subject by only dead fish Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • Ten paradoxical traits of the creative personality.

    25 Jan 2012 | 10:56 am
    Having the title "creative" attached to your job description sets high expectations.  From the outside-in means that you need to (you are expected to) be creative 24-7. I guess we share this with comedians who are always expected to be funny, no matter where or with who. From the inside-out is more a "curse"... your brain is always on, generating ideas, connecting dots, seeing possiblities. Is a life spend in tension with our environment. All this just means that we are a complex mind to understand, even by our own.  Most creative people, the ones that are truly creative (not by…

  • And Nietzsche was not crazy!

    24 Jan 2012 | 11:52 am
    In his 1878 book Human, All Too Human he wrote: Artists have a vested interest in our believing in the flash of revelation, the so-called inspiration…shining down from heavens as a ray of grace. In reality, the imagination of the good artist or thinker produces continuously good, mediocre or bad things, but his judgment, trained and sharpened to a fine point, rejects, selects, connects…All great artists and thinkers are great workers, indefatigable not only in inventing, but also in rejecting, sifting, transforming, ordering. via Jonah Lehrer  Permalink | Leave a…

  • Kids and why they, in fact, don't ruin your life.

    24 Jan 2012 | 9:31 am
    It pays to visit swissmiss everyday. One of the few sites that actually rewards you everytime you drop by. Today's surprise was a post about parenthood. Specifically Jeff Atwood’s on what it means to be a parent. Many can relate to the subject, but having spent a few "play-dates" with Tina and her beautiful children, the post and the subject inspired me to write about parenthood too. @hazeliz and I have 5 kids. They challenge our foundations like nothing I have ever experienced before. Patience sometimes works, but sometimes it doesn't. Getting very serious sometimes works and…

  • The concept of Scale.

    22 Jan 2012 | 11:04 am
    Permalink | Leave a comment  »
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    FOLDEN eMarketing Blog

  • Fostering Communications using Socialbots

    FOLDEN.INFO
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:03 pm
    This story is both fascinating and scaring. While working on the Web Ecology Project, a social media research project, scientists examined the claimed ability of social media experts to foster communications between people and to increase the amount of followers. This research had the character of a competition between groups of scientists and some decided [...]

  • Study about Cases of Data Utilization in Online Marketing

    FOLDEN.INFO
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:39 pm
    To marketers utilizing the large amount of data available today is one of the hottest trends and most important up to date tasks. The IAB has conducted a study about this usage and put together first approaches on data aggregation, management and deployment as well as case studies. Two major trends have been identified, the [...]

  • Facebook Study by Facebook itself

    FOLDEN.INFO
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:24 pm
    Facebook has analysed its data in a study and published it. The study examined the sharing behavior of 250 million members who shared 75 million links in two months, according to an article by WOMMA. The Role of Social Networks in Information Diffusion FOLDEN.INFO Directory Sources: Document Sharing, Business Networking – Market Research, Studies – [...]

  • Twitter soon will reach 500 Million Users

    FOLDEN.INFO
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:53 pm
    According to up to date numbers Twitter soon will reach the enormous amount of 500 million users. Currently and according to the article below the microblogging service has 465 million users and each second 11 new members are joining. Facebook by the way will reach 1 billion users during 2012 and according to another resource [...]

  • Data about Effectiveness of Targeting based on Social Graphs

    FOLDEN.INFO
    18 Jan 2012 | 7:09 pm
    This study is called the most comprehensive study about targeting based on social graphs and interests by MediaPost News. It has been conducted by 33across, a social media advertising solution provider. As the company is in the social media advertising and especially the social targeting business itself the data need a critical view, but at [...]
 
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    Digital Marketing Inner Circle

  • Chinese Migroblog Infographic

    19 Jan 2012 | 11:27 pm
    Social media has become an effective medium for influencing our ideas and views andhas drastically changed the rules of an effective Brand Marketing campaign. Due to the growing importance of e-commerce and online activities, reaching customers through digital means has become an essential part of marketing plans globally.    In times when social media influence is flourishing, new technologies and ideas can be embraced and adopted with astonishing speed, instigating significant and often unpredictable consequences.  Recent evidence of this is the unexpectant rise of…

  • Digital Jungle gets Festive (and a little crazy)

    17 Dec 2011 | 8:52 pm
    Around this time of year, many lucky or depending on how you look at it, unlucky people are attending their awkward, alcohol-fueled office holiday parties.   For this year, Digital Jungle went with a 'talent show' theme. Where the various groups got the opportunity to show us their 'talent' ! Within the various 'acts' there were some party games played- mostly because is it fun to watch your colleagues do crazy things in the name of Christmas but the Digital Jungle crew got out in full force and showed  the world that we have many more talents beyond 'social media' 'search…

  • 5 Best Practices for an Effective Weibo Presence

    9 Dec 2011 | 8:21 pm
    With many Western Brands wanting to create a voice in the Chinese social media world it is not surprising that most turn to Weibo. With over 200+ million users on Sina Weibo alone (not including the Tencent Weibo users), this rapidly growing microblogging social networking platform offers an easy way for businesses to stay in front of and stay engaged with customers on a daily basis.   Unfortunately, many businesses struggle with optimizing this opportunity, not fully understanding the full potential of the tool. Here I have put some simple practices that should help your business…

  • How to traverse Chinese Social Media jungle

    7 Dec 2011 | 8:17 am
    Expert Interview with Dr. Mathew McDougall, CEO & Founder of Digital Jungle Social Media is widely known to be an effective medium for influencing our ideas and views which makes it an obvious channel for tourism and destinations marketers to use in promoting their hotels, airlines, and countries tourist destinations.     Social Media serves as an effective marketing tool. The idea is not new, but it has reached new horizons in China. China is growing its Internet users. Everybody wants to get on this train of promising perspectives, especially global brands and celebrities…

  • Sina Weibo... Super Hot for Marketers

    9 Nov 2011 | 7:21 pm
    When I explain to people about the rapidly changing social media landscape in China I simply bring this point to a sharp point by conveying the Sina Weibo story. Twitter clone come China Internet Superstar. From microblog to Entertainment and eCommerce hub.   These are all part of the remarkable journey that this platform has taken over these past few years. Today, my praise of this platform has be amplified by the Sina corporate news that advertising revenue hit $101 million in the latest quarter thanks to a 200 million and growing user base on Weibo. Wow!  
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    Big Marketing For Small Business

  • 15 YouTube Marketing Tips for Your Small Business

    Guest Author
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:03 pm
    Video Marketing on YouTube is a must for small businesses and startups in 2012. YouTube videos are longtail pieces of marketing content that can drive organic traffic to your website for many years to come. Here are 15 tips to know about marketing on YouTube. 1. Anyone Can Do a Video The best part of YouTube Marketing is you do not need to hire models, buy fancy equipment, or have a baller studio. Most of the “highest viewed” videos are shot by a simple cell phone or webcam. Another option for those who are camera shy is to use Powerpoint or a similar program to make the presentation.

  • How to Use Digital Marketing to Promote Your Small Business

    Rajan Sodhi
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    The Internet is the great equalizer, allowing a small business to effectively compete with the 800-pound gorilla in their space. But, there are some fundamental ways to go about setting yourself up for success. Here are five affordable tips to promoting your small business using digital marketing: 1. Build a Quality Website, Use WordPress The best place to start is to launch a website for your business, but not just any website. Create one that is clean, easy to navigate, has good content, and is optimized for search engines to crawl and rank – WordPress is a great place to start. Use SEO…

  • How to Use YouTube for Marketing

    Guest Author
    7 Dec 2011 | 4:44 pm
    Have you ever seen the Old Spice commercials? Chances are if you have, you’ve seen them on YouTube. The Old Spice commercials first premiered as a television campaign, quickly turning viral once they appeared on YouTube. Viewers sent the links to their friends, rapidly spreading them throughout the Internet. Eventually, the view count for Old Spice commercials reached over 110 million views. Although most associate YouTube with homemade videos and music videos, many companies and businesses are turning to YouTube as an alternative means to social marketing, and it’s working. Because…

  • 10 Ways to Amplify Your Email Marketing Ripple Effect

    Guest Author
    3 Nov 2011 | 4:17 pm
    Is your email marketing program fizzling? Here are 10 ways to improve your email marketing strategy to drive higher response and engagement. 1. Deliverability, verifiability, and bounce reduction. Permission-based lists and clean data have the best chance of getting response. Make sure your email solution has high deliverability rates and can track message activity (deliveries, bounces, clicks) or you’re just wasting marketing dollars. 2. Aim before you send. Email marketing starts with targeted, clean and compliant lists. Build your email lists based on specific attributes and behaviors of…

  • The Wrong Way to Use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in Your Marketing

    Guest Author
    3 Nov 2011 | 12:31 pm
    According to Facebook‘s blog, there are over 800 million users on the site. According to Alexa’s rankings, Twitter is the third highest rated social media site, with Facebook being the first and YouTube being the second. Many online marketing experts agree that social media can play a major role in small business marketing. However, many (if not most) small businesses are using social media the wrong way for marketing. Here are three common mistakes being made that you can avoid: 1. Brand Confusion When launching a new business, it is common (though not wise) not to have your…
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    Logo Design Blog

  • Why is it Necessary for the Domain Name and the Website Name to be Similar?

    Ben Johnson
    23 Jan 2012 | 4:05 am
    Most people make the mistake of naming their websites and their domains differently. It is good to be creative with names but sometimes this creativity may cost a lot. Most effective website names are usually the ones where the domain name is either identical or at least similar to the website. This will do one good thing, something which every website businessman wants for their websites; it will make the name search engine friendly.

  • How to Find a Reliable Web Design Service?

    Ben Johnson
    17 Jan 2012 | 4:44 am
    The foremost thing to understand is: what do we mean when we say that we are looking for a reliable web design service? In simple words, it means that we need to acquire the expertise of a company that will create a design to perfectly represent our business model. Plus, a reliable service also offers revisions to ensure your complete satisfaction. If for some reason you are not satisfied with the design, they will happily make modifications according to your needs and business requirements.

  • Make Your Facebook Timeline a Social Resume

    Ben Johnson
    12 Jan 2012 | 12:20 am
    As most of you probably know, Facebook is in the middle of updating everyone’s profile to the new Timeline format. Not only does this new layout and design enhance your Facebook browsing experience, but it can also be used as a tool to affirm what you’ve stated on your curriculum vitae and cover letter.

  • Logo Evolutions in 2011

    Ben Johnson
    2 Jan 2012 | 12:03 am
    In 2011, some big organizations thought of bringing change to their corporate identities and accomplished it brilliantly through small amendments in their logo. They needed the change for better positioning, an enhanced brand image and for a stronger market presence.

  • Make a Purchase and Set the Ball Rolling

    Ben Johnson
    28 Dec 2011 | 4:20 am
    Happy New Year to everyone! We have entered 2012 and this calls for blasting celebrations. Start your year with a terrific welcome party keeping all your plans for the year right in your head. A sound start will surely continue to lead your way all through the year.
 
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    yinkaolaito.com - the branding gavel, brand communication expert, nigeria brand consultant, social media expert

  • Brand Communication: Can you differentiate your crowd?

    yinkaolaito
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:17 am
    Knowledge about brand is unending. It is only a foolish person who says he knows it all. Today, I am able to confirm I do not know as I ought to know. We have been working hard on convincing ourselves on a better way to enlighten a friend who feels with thousands of followers, he [...]

  • How to enhance brand engagement with brand platform

    yinkaolaito
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:23 am
    Brand’s performance and wellbeing is tied to several factors. One of such and very critical foundation is the Brand platform. Brand platform helps brand to identify the position it seeks to gain in the marketplace. In my research on what a brand platform really is, an online resource captures the essence of what brand platform [...]

  • Brand Communication: How to avoid death trap

    yinkaolaito
    22 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm
    A brand’s life, like that of human is full of dynamics. Not obeying these dynamics as at when due makes life worthless. It is no longer news the great brand-Kodak, is gone and never to remain relevant again. The hand writing on the wall was obvious for this former strong analog film brand. It had [...]

  • Online communication: Why your strategy fails

    yinkaolaito
    18 Jan 2012 | 1:17 pm
    Every communication effort and process needs proper planning to succeed. That a platform permits easy access or next to nothing in terms of cost does not mean lack of knowledge in its operations will be overlooked. A concerned online friend asked me a question yesterday and he would like me to discuss my response on [...]

  • How to develop strategy that guarantees victory in crisis

    yinkaolaito
    15 Jan 2012 | 5:48 am
    Every brand will encounter crisis in its lifetime. No brand is immune from crisis. There are varied degrees of crises. Some are known, based on associated brand environment. Certain crisis may be unknown, unpreventable or what is considered crisis beyond human control
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    Rocky FU

  • How to Increase Your Facebook Fans

    Rocky FP
    3 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Image via Wikipedia Getting “likes” on Facebook Page is usually the first thing marketers focus after setting up the Page. But how? It’s important to first understand why people “like” and “unlike” a Facebook Fan Page and learn from them; experiment, track and optimize channels and tactics you attempt to increase your Page fans. Why People Like A Facebook Fan Page Learn from the best practices; find out what worked for other companies. A survey by Lithium and the Chief Marketing Officer Council revealed the top three reasons why marketers believe…

  • Why Is Singapore’s First Virtual Shopping Wall A Failure?

    Rocky FP
    13 Dec 2011 | 6:12 am
    SMRT QR Codes Shopping Singapore’s public transport service provider SMRT, working with retailer Cold Storage,  transformed some of the wall spaces at its stations into virtual ‘shops’ where commuters can make purchases on the move. The idea is this (via SMRT PR release, PDF): they can order the latest tech gizmo while standing at the station platform, or do a bit of grocery shopping while waiting for their friends at the station foyer; without having to step into a shop, queue, send an SMS or make a call. All that is required is a QR code reader, which is installed in most…

  • How To Get Consumers Talking About You

    Rocky FP
    12 Dec 2011 | 5:49 am
    When consumers talk about your company, they’re sharing personal experience with friends and those they don’t know. That could have a positive or negative impact on your business. First of all, it’s important to understand what get consumers to share experiences. Why Consumer Share Company Experience NM Incite’s data shows that 61% of social media users share company experience to “give recognition for job well done”. You should realize that social media is not merely for marketers as its real power can hardly be utilized until it’s embraced by the…

  • How to Get High Ranking on Google and Nothing Else

    Rocky FP
    6 Dec 2011 | 6:35 am
    I’m very surprised to see in the past few years that many people conduct search engine optimization (SEO) as if they could outsmart tech giants like Google who have top-notch scientists in the world. Whatever you do for your business via digital, don’t forget the ultimate objective — revenue. To achieve the long-term growth, companies must create “value” for customers and the prospects. Search engine traffic is very cost effective; but don’t ever think the goal of SEO is to drive traffic to your website; your sites may rank very high for competitive keywords,…

  • 7 Most Valuable Content Types for B2B & B2C Marketers

    Rocky FP
    22 Nov 2011 | 6:27 am
    e-book reader via Wikipedia A few years ago, you might often hear people saying that "content is king" whether or not they truly understood what that meant. I talked to a friend the other day and he asked me, "is content still king as social media is getting all the attractions. Content was, is and will be king, no matter what platform the content is on. Let me share seven types of content that are helpful supporting marketing objectives to both B2B and B2C industries. Blog Posts The wrong question you may often hear is, is blogging for B2B? The answer is yes and you should ask…
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    GoodBuzz App - Blog

  • How People Spend their time Now compared to 15 years ago

    Mawuna R. KOUTONIN
    20 Jan 2012 | 3:45 pm

  • Love letters from our customers

    Mawuna R. KOUTONIN
    19 Jan 2012 | 2:56 pm
    We are in love with our customers, and they send us some lovely letters

  • More feedbacks, critics and suggestions from our Awesome users

    Mawuna R. KOUTONIN
    18 Jan 2012 | 6:43 pm
    “GoodBuzz has digged out the unknown/neglected value of ‘tips’. The world now understands that ‘tips’ have value and so GoodBuzz!” “This site is great! I’ve never seen anything like it in my life! I think you’ll change my life. It is a new step for human evolution.” “Very interesting website providing tips to spread message,good for small business,artist,designer.Website is providing grater importunity to earn more than now earning from the existing source.proving message to service each other.” “I think that…

  • The best advertisement for a Startup

    Mawuna R. KOUTONIN
    18 Jan 2012 | 4:11 pm
    Without comment here are the 2 best advertisements ever for startups that made history. “You press the button, … We do the rest.” Kodak “You make the music … we sell it worldwide” Cdbaby.com Lesson learned: Help your customers kick ass  

  • Tilly choses to make money online with Goodbuzz

    Mawuna R. KOUTONIN
    17 Jan 2012 | 5:02 am
 
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    Simon Mainwaring

  • Why effective branding is about doing, not telling

    Simon
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 am
    Image: Absolut/Fader I had the pleasure of speaking at the San Diego Ad Club last week after Dan Burrier, the Chief Innovation Officer at Ogilvy and my former boss on the Motorola account. Not only is Dan a friend and someone I greatly admire, but he said something that evening that struck me very deeply. He said that branding is now more about the “doing” than the “telling.” I think Dan is absolutely right. For too long, branding as practiced by advertising agencies has been focused on the Big Idea that, well told, will connect emotionally with a customer and…

  • What’s the real value of the We First Social Branding Seminar?

    Simon
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:07 am
    We’re now in the final week of registration for the We First Social Branding Seminar and I wanted to share some thoughts as to its real value to your business. There are so many conferences and training events to choose from, and your time and resources are so precious, that it’s important to know why this one is any different. The idea behind the seminar is to make sure your brand (whether they’re a non-profit, a start up, a social entrepreneur, social enterprise, mid-size company or Fortune 500 brand) doesn’t get left behind in this fast changing marketplace by…

  • How social technology will change your world, literally.

    Simon
    18 Jan 2012 | 10:24 am
    I wanted to share this video with you that features David Kirkpatrick, the author of The Facebook Effect, talking about the impact of social tools and technology on the way consumers and citizens around the world are demanding change. He does a wonderful job of articulating how the internet has heightened awareness around the world of economic inequality, and how social media has given citizens and customers all around the world an unprecedented platform to have those grievances heard. Specifically, David does a very effective job of framing a series of questions that every brand must…

  • Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.: Using social media to realize his vision of economic equality

    Simon
    16 Jan 2012 | 10:35 am
    Image: AP In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, I’m sharing the epilogue to We First in which I reference famous words from his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech that still ring true today. Economic equality was an important part of his vision and legacy, and while strides have been made, we still have far to go. It is my hope that enlightened and purposeful brands can help to better share prosperity and create a fairer, more equal and sustainable global community. I opened this book [We First] by asking the question: Is this the world you want? For the many reasons…

  • This week in social media: Google+, citizen activism and the future of journalism

    Simon
    13 Jan 2012 | 10:11 am
    Last week I had the pleasure of joining other guests on This Week in Social Media with host, Robert Tercek. As always, it was a lively discussion ranging from the rise of Google+, to citizen and consumer activism, to the future of journalism. I hope you enjoy it.
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    Free Sales & Marketing Magazines and Downloads from alltop.tradepub.com

  • Get Found By More Prospects And Convert More Of Them Into Leads And Customers

    26 Jan 2012 | 1:20 pm
    Why would HubSpot offer such valuable information? Because HubSpot's software helps you take advantage of how people research and shop for products and services today - bringing together a suite of Internet marketing tools for the small or medium sized business, including tools for:search engine optimization,business blogging,website content publishing,lead tracking and intelligence,marketing analytics, andcompetitor analysisHubSpot is web-based, does not require any IT staff, and is designed to be used by a marketing person, not a techie. You will be contacted by a HubSpot representative for…

  • Papa Gino's Boosts Sales and Customer Loyalty

    24 Jan 2012 | 8:50 pm
    See how they have been able to fine-tune marketing campaigns to not only increase the frequency of customers' online visits by 33 percent, but also boost the size of online customer orders by 40 to 70 percent.Request Free!

  • 4 Steps to Maximize Customer Profitability

    24 Jan 2012 | 8:20 pm
    You'll discover the basics of customer analytics, how it is being applied in today's banking environment and the benefits it can deliver for your organization. You'll also learn about the proven IBM solutions for customer analytics that banks around the world rely on to improve customer profitability.Request Free!

  • Increasing Profits, Slashing Expenses at Primerica

    24 Jan 2012 | 8:20 pm
    Download this case study and see how their sales reps can dynamically drill-down into sales data, receive online commission statements and identify down-line representatives that need help with performance.Request Free!

  • Insurance Study: Transforming Customer Relationships with Analytics

    24 Jan 2012 | 8:20 pm
    Read it now and understand the impact business analytics are having on today's insurance industry.Request Free!
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    On Social Marketing and Social Change

  • Applying Service-Dominant Logic to Social Marketing Programs

    Craig
    13 Jan 2012 | 3:25 pm
    Many social marketing programs, and most public health ones, have shied away from working with their customers or members of their priority groups. Rather, we have stuck with the ‘marketing-to’ approach that Lusch (2007) describes as one of stimulating demand through use of the 4Ps in order to get customers to purchase goods, use services or adopt behaviors, and then be satisfied with their decision, in order to meet organizational (or social) objectives.Service-Dominant marketing Logic (S-D Logic) marks a shift from this 'marketing-to' approach to a 'marketing-with' perspective (Lusch,…

  • Service-Dominant Logic and Social Marketing

    Craig
    9 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pm
    Is it time for more of us to loosen our grip on the 4Ps of the marketing mix as a necessary ingredient or benchmark for social marketing programs? In the broader marketing world, a growing dissatisfaction with the 4Ps framework has been driving a fundamental shift in the conceptualization of marketing since the 1980s (described as “merely a handy framework” of managerial decision-making variables; Day & Montgomery, 1999). Constantinides (2006) summarized over 40 papers that have been critical of, or presented alternatives, to the 4Ps marketing mix framework. The essence of their…

  • Stump the Maven

    Craig
    3 Jan 2012 | 3:38 pm
    Last week I asked for nominations for the best papers in the field of social marketing. Prizes were offered for any nominations that were unfamiliar to me. I received quite a few suggestions and five people came through with "stumpers." The winners are: Alan Andreasen, PhDProfessor of MarketingMcDonough School of BusinessGeorgetown UniversityWashington, DCSteven Chapman, PhDSenior Vice President & Chief Technical OfficerPSIWashington, DC Nurit Guttman, PhDChair, Department of Communication Head, the Chaim Herzog Institute for Media, Politics & Society Faculty of Social SciencesTel…

  • Top 10 Papers on Social Marketing for 2011

    Craig
    29 Dec 2011 | 4:57 pm
    It's that time of year for retrospectives on the state of whatever. Here we offer our top 10 papers on social marketing published in 2011. Each title has a link to the full article as an html and/or a choice of downloading a free pdf (toll gates are coming down slowly, but surely). They represent a diversity of theory, practice and research from around the globe, and several may get you rethinking your understanding of social marketing in 2012. That might be a good thing - ring in the new year with these! EPODE approach for childhood obesity prevention: methods, progress and international…

  • International Social Marketing Association: 2011 Review

    Craig
    27 Dec 2011 | 3:49 pm
    Regular readers have shared the history of developing a global network of social marketers. In 2011, the International Social Marketing Association (iSMA) has been developing the promise to be the catalyst for a global infrastructure to serve social marketing practice, education, research and management. The hard work of developing the legal and operational framework for the iSMA has been done by a small group who have volunteered their time and expertise to serve as founding board members. These people represent various parts of the world and are committed to crafting an organization that is…
 
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    Kim Skildum-Reid's Corporate Sponsorship Blog

  • We Only Sponsor if We Can Get Naming Rights

    Kim Skildum-Reid
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:50 am
    I hear that phrase with alarming regularity, and it takes every fibre of self-control I have not to just tell those sponsors to put it back in their pants. Come to think of it, I probably have said that to sponsors once or twice. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking naming rights sponsorship – in the right circumstances, and for the right reasons. But as a blanket strategy, you’ve lost me. If you find naming rights to be the default position, or the position that your company is focussed on far too often, there are some strategies that can put naming rights back in the category of…

  • Beyond the “Sponsor Summit”: The Next Wave in Sponsorship Servicing

    Kim Skildum-Reid
    21 Jan 2012 | 11:44 pm
    When I first got into the business, sponsorship servicing was limited to delivering the contracted benefits and possible buying lunch or inviting a sponsor to the sky box, with maybe a fruit basket during the holidays. A decade or so ago found the advent of the “sponsor summit”, and that’s been ticking away as the pinnacle of sponsor servicing ever since. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of getting sponsors together and doing something productive, but given that sponsor summits tend to be one long, boring presentation after another, punctuated by a couple of long, messy nights on…

  • Should You Have Opt-Out Clauses in your Sponsorship Contracts?

    Kim Skildum-Reid
    18 Jan 2012 | 4:59 pm
    I was recently involved in a debate about whether multi-year contracts are preferable to year-to-year deals. I make no bones about my preference for multi-year deals (in most cases), but there was a compromise suggestion put forward that had me, frankly, gobsmacked. One sponsorship seeker said that their standard contract was for three years, with an annual review, where the sponsor could opt out of the rest of the contract. Several others chimed in saying that either sounded like a great idea or that they were doing that now. Ummm… not to put too fine a point on it, but how is that any…

  • Now Booking Corporate Sponsorship Training and Strategy Sessions for 2012

    Kim Skildum-Reid
    17 Jan 2012 | 12:50 am
    The holidays are over, and I’m now booking in a lot of corporate sponsorship training and strategy sessions. The first half of 2012 looks like it’s going to be busy, so if you’re interested in booking a session, it might be worthwhile having a chat to me about your needs sooner, rather than later. There are a number of options available for groups on both sides of the sponsorship equation. I’ve listed them, below, along with what you can expect to achieve through the various types of sessions. Training for frontline sponsorship staff This training is a balance of the…

  • Five Reasons Sponsors Should Consider an Umbrella Portfolio

    Kim Skildum-Reid
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:55 pm
    I love umbrella portfolios. I make no bones about it. They featured heavily in my previous post, “How to Structure a Sponsorship Portfolio”, but I think they’re an important enough element – for both strategic and workflow reasons – that it warranted addressing this portfolio management technique specifically. 1. You only have so much time It is unrealistic to think that one or two people are going to be able to negotiate, manage relationships, leverage, and measure two hundred, or even one hundred, individual sponsorships. That’s not to mention dealing with all of the unsolicited…
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    Interval

  • Are you playing on the intermural digital marketing team?

    chris
    18 Jan 2012 | 6:28 pm
    As more hospitals and health systems move away from traditional mass advertising and marketing strategies, digital is taking center stage. In many cases, the focus is developing a digital marketing strategy to drive integration among various tools and tactics, such as websites, social media and search engine marketing. In his latest blog post, “Intramural vs Intermural Digital Strategies,” Interval president Chris Bevolo looks at why integration is a smart goal, but only when considering how to integrate digital marketing with the rest of the marketing mix, rather than solely…

  • Interval develops new brand identity for client

    chris
    18 Jan 2012 | 3:26 pm
    Interval led Human Services Inc. (HSI), a behavioral health organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the development of a new brand identity, Canvas Health. The new brand, which helps reflect the organization’s shifting vision and offerings, launched on January 3, 2012. Interval helped the organization develop the new name, corporate identity, website and more. “Interval was instrumental in helping us create a new brand identity that truly captures our vision for the organization,” said Canvas Health CEO Mark Kuppe. “Their experience in healthcare branding was crucial to landing…

  • Wellness program drives 3,000 participants

    chris
    15 Jan 2012 | 6:29 pm
    “Step By Step,” a wellness program developed by Allegiance Health and its public health partner, the Health Information Organization, registered more than 3,300 participants during its six-month run in 2011. The program, which included a community-wide health competition and a website encouraging healthy activity, saw participants from eight different states, and 90 cities within Michigan. Interval created the campaign theme, website design, marketing plan and promotional components of the campaign.

  • A digital short: The three rules of healthcare advertising

    interval
    12 Dec 2011 | 11:00 pm
    Hey, if you can’t have fun talking about advertising, then you can’t have fun at all. We’ve tried to use a little humor to make three important points about healthcare advertising in this short video. Take a look – you might be surprised by our take on the highest-level budget item for most hospital marketing departments.

  • Oncology campaign reflects empathy for patients

    interval
    12 Dec 2011 | 4:19 pm
    A cancer diagnosis is a life-changing event that presents patients with many challenges and unknowns. A campaign for the new Gayle M. Jacob Cancer Center at Allegiance Health (Jackson, MI) seeks to demonstrate empathy for patients facing the scary diagnosis of cancer. Developed by Interval, each ad shows an illustrated scene featuring a patient facing the difficult journey ahead, asking the question “Now what?” “As we thought about what patients go through with cancer, time after time they face new challenges and questions, going back to even before a diagnosis is made,” said Interval…
 
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    Digital Examples

  • Things I Love - Friday 27th January

    27 Jan 2012 | 11:33 am
    This video of a Lego Man sent into (near) space by two Canadian teenagers.  Full story here.The amazing 'log cabin' effect for the Circus shop in Brixton Village, achieved by using cardboard tubes. 'Bon Joviver'This clip that a Hungarian colleague sent me:  It's like a clip from an unseen Reeves & Mortimer show.  Jaw Dropping!There's a whole meme around it, including this Prodigy version

  • Putting ads on pictures

    27 Jan 2012 | 11:26 am
    Vibrant media just bought Image Space Media, which means that Image Space's technology, which allows publishers to put ads onto online pictures, in a contextual way, could spread.Have a look and see what you think:In-Image Advertising in 90 Seconds from Image Space Media on Vimeo.I find Vibrant's text ads pretty annoying.  They make a box jump up if you mouse over a random word that they've managed to sell, like 'power' generally completely out of context.  However if this is done well, a bit like the relatively unobtrusive YouTube ads it could take off.

  • The return of Ferris Bueller

    27 Jan 2012 | 6:12 am
    This is a teaser for a Super Bowl ad.  Please let the full ad be good!There's so much excitement on the internet for this.  If it's bad it'll rebound badly on which ever brand it is.  I think I'd forgive most sins if Alan Ruck was in it too, though, or Mia Sara, or Ben Stein...  What's the betting Ben Stein does a voiceover..?(Although I always thought that American Beauty worked pretty well as an unofficial sequel, with Kevin Spacey as Ferris)

  • Next Generation Media - January 2012

    26 Jan 2012 | 3:59 am
    This is my most recent Next Generation Media Quarterly presentation, showing examples and stats that have really impressed me over the past 3 months.Take a look!Next Generation Media Quarterly January 2012 View more presentations from Dan Calladine

  • Vicks use clever targeting based on 3 types of data

    25 Jan 2012 | 12:27 pm
    This is very smart, and shows how brands can use the new sorts of data that are available to them.Vicks used historical data from Google Flu Trends (see earlier) to predict which areas were most likely to be affected by flu outbreaks.  They then advertised their Behind Ear Thermometer on mobile apps in these areas, but only to mothers, where they could identify them.So they:Constructed a model using historical search dataAdvertised within apps, using geo-targetingChose apps that had collected user data, like Pandora, to target further demographicallyFull info on Springwise
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    Idaho Ad Agencies

  • Ignite Boise 8

    Brian
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:14 pm
    Apr197:00 pm Mark your calendars — Ignite Boise 8 is coming up on Thursday, April 19th, starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre in downtown Boise. Doors open to ticket holders at 6:00 p.m., and general admission begins at 6:30. More details on tickets will be available soon. And if you’ve ever thought about getting up on stage and presenting, stop thinking about it and go submit your idea as soon as they open it up for submissions.

  • REMINDER: Rockie Awards Call for Entries Deadline

    Brian
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:08 am
    Just a reminder — the deadline for the Rockie Awards submissions is just a week away. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to get your entries in for judging in this year’s competition.

  • Job Opening: Project Coordinator / Administrative Assistant

    Brian
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:07 am
    Peppershock Media Productions in Nampa has an opening for a Project Coordinator / Administrative Assistant.  From the job listing on their website: Ideal candidate will have friendly, sunny disposition, maintain a neat & professional appearance and workspace, have a willingness to grow with an eight year old marketing/advertising/creative production small business. Be extremely able to multi-task, maintain/organize office, remain flexible in job duties as small business employees tend to wear many hats, be a team player, pay very close attention to the little details that all add up to…

  • Gem Advertising Awards Banquet

    Brian
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:07 pm
    Feb26:30 pm The Idaho Falls Advertising Federation is presenting the 2011 Gem Awards Advertising Banquet on Thursday, February 2nd at the Elk’s Club Lodge in Idaho Falls. The Casablanca-inspired banquet kicks off with a social mixer at 6:30 p.m., and dinner will be served at 7:00 with the awards ceremony following soon after. Tickets for the event are $40 per person, $70 per couple or $195 for a table of six. For questions or to purchase advance tickets, contact Tina at (208) 524-1777 or email her at tina@mightymcs.com.

  • Freelance Opportunity: Drupal Programmer

    Brian
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:39 am
    An unnamed ad agency in Boise has an opening posted on Craiglist for a freelance Drupal Programmer: Ad Agency looking for a Drupal freelancer. Immediate large project for the right fit. Must be available to work during normal business hours and able to handle projects under pressure. WordPress experience a plus. Must have the ability to find work-arounds and solve issues. Unless you happen to be an art director this is for programming contract work only. If you have what to takes and would like to be a part of our team please send a resume. We will review and respond asap. See the original…
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    retailwire.com

  • Social Networking From Within

    27 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    There's much discussion about social networking and how companies can use it to strengthen customer loyalty, but not so much about companies using it within their own organizations to increase employee loyalty. Do you think retailers should make more use of internal social networking?

  • Getting the Ratings You Pay For

    27 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Deceptive reviews on e-tail sites are not a new problem. A New York Times article that says a seller of cases for tablet devices, VIP Deals, offered to rebate Amazon consumers $2 a star for reviews. Do you see any danger that reviews may soon be seen as worthless by consumers as a result of such cases?

  • Delhaize Offers Bottom Dollar Deals in Pittsburgh

    27 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Limited assortment grocery stores have been on a growth tear in recent years as consumers go in search of extreme savings in tough times. Delhaize has an answer to this challenge in the form of its own Bottom Dollar Food. Will we see continued rapid growth of limited assortment grocery stores across the U.S.?

  • Penney CEO Brings 'Reality Distortion Field' From Apple

    26 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Current J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson must have spent a lot of time with Steve Jobs when he was at Apple because it appears as though he too has the power to create a "reality distortion field." What do you think is the most exciting aspect of the plan to turn J.C. Penney around?

  • CSD: Are Customers Always Right?

    26 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    As anyone even remotely associated with the service industry will tell you, the customer is king. But a new book is challenging that theory and takes a critical look at the true value of disgruntled customers. Are retailers overreacting to disgruntled customers? How should stores handle high-maintenance shoppers?
 
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    Ad Mavericks

  • Something to Bark About. Wow.

    Josh Fleming
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:04 am
    Digg this! Post on Google Buzz Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Email this via Gmail Email this to a friend? Get Shareaholic

  • Dear CEO:

    Josh Fleming
    17 Jan 2012 | 1:33 pm
    Dear CEO: The choice is no longer yours. Your clients, prospects, vendors, distribution channels and the rest of the free world expect you to be on Twitter. Failure to adapt to this shift in communications is a personal failure. A failure that will continue to limit your long term career goals and the overall success of the business you’re charged to run. Not to mention the business success your employees count on for their paycheck and livelihood. The choice is no longer yours because you can no longer market to people where and when you want to. Consumers today have too many choices.

  • Nicholbeck

    Josh Fleming
    16 Jan 2012 | 2:27 pm
    We spend a lot of time talking on this blog about other people’s marketing, and probably not enough time talking about the things that happen around Lessing-Flynn. So upon the news that our own Emily Beckmann (that’s two N’s) is now engaged to Mr. Levi Nichols. Here’s a gem that sprouted up on Twitter, courtesy of Chris English. As always, we remind you to tweet responsibly, but using the #Nicholbeck hashtag is highly encouraged. Congratulations Emily and Levi! Digg this! Post on Google Buzz Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Tweet This! Share this on…

  • Case Statement: Reaching a Unique Audience

    Joe Winn
    9 Jan 2012 | 11:04 am
    BTC Capital Management – a wealth management firm owned by Bankers Trust Company – aims to reach a unique audience: high net-worth individuals, corporations and institutions. We knew communicating with these audiences would require a unique strategy. Websites, blogs and social media alone wouldn’t suffice. Nor would conventional tactics like direct mailers, brochures, press releases or media buys be effective for persuading high net-worth individuals, corporations or institutions to entrust millions of dollars to BTC Capital Management. No, there needed to be something personal and…

  • Ad Placement is Everything

    Josh Fleming
    3 Jan 2012 | 10:21 am
    When it comes to ad placement, there are two types of marketers. 1. Highly targeted.  These are the folks that talk demographics, geo-graphics, psycho-graphics, contextual based, seasonal, regional and the list goes on. 2. Blitz. These are the folks you see everywhere. Even when its not at all relevant. While writing a different blog post about Flash technology, I came across a story about Catherine Zeta Jones being flashed (not the technology) with some amusing pictures of her running and looking shocked. Turns out, this is a scene from a movie she is filming and not real. So while being…
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    Creativity_Unbound

  • A brief history of advertising

    edward boches
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:25 pm
    Welcome to Strategic Creative Development View more presentations from edward boches Thought I’d share a deck I recently used to kick off Strategic Creative Development, a class I’m teaching this semester at Boston University’s College of Communication. The premise behind the syllabus is simple: advertising is no longer about making ads. At least not all of the time. Now it’s as much about digital experiences, gaming dynamics, mobile utility, Facebook apps, and creatively leveraging the interest graph as it is about crafting a message. Of course you know that. Nevertheless, it was fun…

  • Brandbowl is back with new features

    edward boches
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:15 pm
    Brandbowl is back with more features than ever It’s that time of year again. The online Superbowl party that Mullen started three years ago to celebrate the age of Twitter is well into development. If you remember, we began our annual project when there weren’t very many ad types on Twitter. In 2009, most of the industry was still like “huh?” A few of us at Mullen, the kind folks at Radian 6, and some friends like Sally Hogshead and Lisa Hickey made the effort to get ad land excited. We launched what was then called Trash Talk from the Twitter Section, shared instructions for how to…

  • Can advertising really help Bank of America?

    edward boches
    15 Jan 2012 | 2:35 pm
    The bank we love to hate is looking for a new advertising agency. While still the second largest bank in America – JP Morgan recently snuck past BofA in assets, $2.289 trillion to $2.219 trillion – Bank of America’s stock – both on Wall Street and on Main Street has plummeted. It’s share price toppled by more than half in 2011 and its public opinion fell even more sharply. In fact it’s hard to find much positive sentiment anywhere. The Occupy Wall Street movement targeted the financial giant at every opportunity. A  congressman from the bank’s home state of North Carolina went…

  • I need an Internet car

    edward boches
    12 Jan 2012 | 12:37 pm
    Fact: Twenty percent of the price of a new car is for the software.   My car didn't stop itself from hitting this tree, either. Monday I take my seven-year-old car in to have the front end repaired. I hit a cement block in a local garage because my car didn’t let me know that it was there.  It tore off the bumper and part of the grill. As you can see from the image on the left, hitting things head on is a recurring problem.   If I had an Internet ready car, it would have warned me.  It would also have checked me in on Foursquare so that people would know where I was. It…

  • Social media gets interesting

    edward boches
    4 Jan 2012 | 8:26 pm
    What everyone in Silicon Valley and “Venture Land” conceive of as the real game-changing model involves capturing and capitalizing on the “interest graph. The company that succeeds in doing so would be “close to the Google search paradigm because it would be right in line with demand generation and with discovery that relates to product purposes.” Thus, it is the interest graph that defines the middle ground between Google and Facebook — between search, advertising, and the social graph. The above paragraph comes from a year-old post in Tech Crunch, following last winter’s…
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    More Than A Logo

  • Patagonia - Legally Bound to its Purpose

    Nicole Armstrong
    21 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    Finally, a brand, other than Apple, we can express immense admiration for, or as my flatmate tweeted this week, "open-mouth kiss" - hello Patagonia! Last week, I wrote about its Common Threads initiative, where Patagonia clearly establishes its role/purpose within the global community - "to build useful things that last, to repair what breaks and recycle what comes of its useful life"- then asks its customers to do the same to help accomplish its purpose. Now, Patagonia has asked the government to help it truly live by its purpose without boundaries, becoming California's first Benefit…

  • 2012 - Let's Say Less and Play More

    Nicole Armstrong
    16 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    Image Found Here Happy 2012!!  I think we're in for another exciting year, and I'm rather pleased where branding is going, maybe slowly, but it's in the right direction...let me explain... With so much distrust and uncertainty - lots of skepticism - towards corporations and advertising, people are more receptive to brands that are consistent in their actions, transparent with information and good to everyone around them. However, a consistent, transparent and good brand cannot be developed through an ad campaign any more. People are too smart and have endless access to information…

  • Happy Holidays

    Nicole Armstrong
    11 Dec 2011 | 8:21 am
    Note: Image from flickr With another year coming to a close and an exciting 2012 just around the corner, I'm going to sign off from my blog while I travel back to Canada to spend some time with family and friends for the holidays!! Thank you for continuing to follow my blog and challenge me to explore my great passion for branding and all that it encompasses and impacts! Although I would have loved to write so much more, this year was very exciting with many adventures, from making the difficult decision to leave Blast Radius, to volunteering in Tanzania for a month and then coming back to…

  • The Experience is the Brand

    Nicole Armstrong
    27 Nov 2011 | 6:04 am
    A couple weeks ago, my flat mate, Roger, made a wrong turn and went to use the map on his Blackberry (having just switched from an iPhone - I should note not by choice), and it was anything but an intuitive experience. This led to an immediate trip to the Apple store, where he bought the new iPhone outright, and will never look back at Blackberry (BB) again. This got us talking about where BB went wrong, and why the once market leader in smartphones seems to be stumbling all over the place. I believe BB lost sight of its core competency - mobile business solutions. Rather than focusing on its…

  • Remarkable Stories = Social Currency

    Nicole Armstrong
    6 Nov 2011 | 3:04 pm
    I've been wanting to write this post for some time now, but oddly haven't got around to putting it down. I want to talk about stories again. I did so a year-plus ago, but it's a topic that seems to be continually popping up. Everyone has a story to share and/or are working towards creating them. I find it slightly amusing when I'm walking around London seeing people pose for the perfect picture, which immediately makes me think - profile pic! People are continually striving for social currency. Social currency is a concept that comes from the social capital theory, which is about increasing…
 
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    Marketo B2B Marketing and Sales Blogs

  • Tying Facebook Leads Directly to Revenue: A Marketo Example

    Jason Miller
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:22 pm
    by Jason Miller Want to know the ROI of social media? So do we. With our latest Facebook campaign, we are doing just that; tying leads generated by Facebook directly into our revenue pipeline via Marketo. How did we do it? We developed a custom Facebook application that generates a special offer and is powered by a Marketo form. Sticking with our Revenue Rockstar theme, we designed three limited edition “Marketing Rockstar” decals. Visitors to our Facebook page are prompted to “Like” our page which then lets them select their favorite decal. Once they make their selection a form pops…

  • How to Measure Engagement of Your Thought Leadership Program

    Jason Miller
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:17 am
    by Jason Miller I’m pleased to welcome Heidi Bullock, Sr. Director of Marketing at Ingenuity Systems as a guest blogger. She discusses thought leadership and how she developed a successful campaign to overcome the challenge of accurately measuring her thought leadership efforts. For b-to-b organizations, thought leadership is a critical component for driving awareness, sparking excitement, and creating engagement within a very skeptical market.  While thought leadership has always been part of Ingenuity Systems’ marketing mix, in the past it had never been a formal program.  This…

  • Can B2Bs Use Social Media to Improve Marketing Effectiveness?

    Maria Pergolino
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:42 am
    by Maria Pergolino Have you ever stopped to think which segment of marketers hold the bag on marketing effectiveness when it comes to social media?  Many might think that B2Cs clearly leverage social better than B2Bs.  However, the numbers show that B2Bs are making up ground. A study by Accenture found that while B2Bs lag in integrating social media into marketing plans, they are realizing the value of social media use.  Nearly two thirds of marketing execs questioned said they believe social media is an important way to reach customers. Even though there hasn’t been a huge explosion in…

  • How to Use LinkedIn to Generate and Qualify B2B Leads

    Jason Miller
    18 Jan 2012 | 12:43 pm
    by Jason Miller LinkedIn is often considered a jobseeker-only social media platform. As a result, B2B marketers sometimes overlook the professional social media site’s ability to support lead generation and qualification. LinkedIn enables brands to offer bite size chunks of content that support business objectives. To better understand LinkedIn’s value, it’s useful to understand its usage patterns. At first glance, LinkedIn’s main usage appears to be during the workweek across the U.S., with less activity on the weekends. This is in contrast to Twitter and Facebook, which seem to have…

  • 5 Tips for a Social Media Profile Extreme Makeover

    Jason Miller
    17 Jan 2012 | 12:04 pm
    by Jason Miller It can be difficult to stand out in the fast paced world of social media, but having a well branded cohesive design across your social profiles can help differentiate your business from the masses. Doing so will help reinforce your brand with existing customers and give a fantastic first impression to new prospects. We just finished a complete social media profile redesign across all of our channels and we are thrilled with the results. Here are five tips to help your business do the same. Have a running theme – It’s a good idea to unify your social profiles with a…
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    adverlicious

  • Virgin Australia “The Total Sydney Experience” 700×500

    admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:36 am
    No tags for this post.

  • ASPCA “Be Their Miracle” 300×250

    admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:33 am
    No tags for this post.

  • Toyota Yaris “Goes From “A” To “B” And Back” 300×250

    admin
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:28 pm
    Hey! We've got ads that are similar to this one: Toyota 2007 Yaris “Yaris Meet Yaris” 300×250 Toyota Yaris “With A Trunk” 300×250 (Canada) Toyota Yaris “YarisWorks.com” 300×250 Toyota 2007 Yaris Hatchback “Eases The Discomfort Of Gas Prices” 300×250 (Canada) Toyota Yaris “It’s A Car!” 300×250 Tags: 300x250, Automotive, Toyota, Toyota Yaris

  • Virgin Australia “The Total Sydney Experience” 300×250

    admin
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:24 am
    Hey! We've got ads that are similar to this one: Virgin Atlantic “Friggin Brilliant” 300×250 V Australia “Richard Branson’s Newest Airline” 300×250 V Australia “The Way Flying Should V” 160×600 Virgin Atlantic “Fly To London” 300×250 Virgin Atlantic “Your Airline” 300×250 Tags: 300x250, Airline, Australia, Sydney, Travel and leisure, Virgin, Virgin Australia

  • USAA “Go It Alone” 300×250

    admin
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:44 am
    Hey! We've got ads that are similar to this one: USAA “Meaning Of Trust” 300×250 Charles Schwab “They All Count” 300×250 Fidelity Investments “Some People Are Born Planners” 300×250 Northwestern Mutual “3.2 Million People Have Let Their Worries Go” 300×250 Schwab “What’s The Bubble Over Your Head?” 300×250 Tags: 300x250, financial planning, Financial services, military, retirement, USAA
 
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    Gemma Went

  • Social media management systems: A comparison

    Gemma Went
    6 Jan 2012 | 7:21 am
    I just read a very handy post on We Are Social’s blog detailing a recent report by  Altimeter’s Jeremiah Owyang comparing Social Media Management Systems. “A Social Media Management System (SMMS) is a software tool that uses business rules and approved employees and partners to manage multiple social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. … Read more

  • Looking backwards and Forwards: What we’ve learnt in 2011 vs what’s next in 2012

    Gemma Went
    21 Dec 2011 | 10:48 am
    This time last year I ran a ‘looking backwards and forwards‘ post and it was pretty popular. So it made sense to give it another airing and ask some clever comms folk the following questions: What was your biggest learning from a comms perspective in 2011? What is your one key comms forecast for 2012? … Read more

  • My tool de jour: Buffer

    Gemma Went
    19 Dec 2011 | 4:51 am
    Most social folk tend to have their own special way of doing things. A suite of favourite platforms, a certain way of using them and the tools that tie it all together. I’m no different. A big part of my social strategy is to curate and share interesting content and I have a list of … Read more

  • Infographic: The psychology of social commerce

    Gemma Went
    5 Dec 2011 | 5:45 am
    Now this is a nice infographic that looks at the psychology of social commerce (or in other words, it looks at our behaviour and what drive us to purchase online). I can certainly relate to this and rely on reviews and recommendations of my peers for most purchases. In fact I rarely search for anything … Read more

  • The best advent calendar. Ever.

    Gemma Went
    2 Dec 2011 | 8:03 am
    I had to share this. Had to I tell thee. The master of finding awesome stuff (aka James Whatley) shared this on Twitter yesterday and I fell in love. It’s brilliant. It’s now on my bookmark bar so I can visit it daily and smile. I suggest you do the same. Click here to see … Read more
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    Fletcher Prince

  • Advertising Tips from Fletcher Prince

    Mary Fletcher Jones
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:46 am
    Image via Wikipedia This year, as you make your marketing plans, I hope you are allocating money for advertising.  While advertising may be the most expensive component in the marketing mix, it is often highly effective. There are two upcoming opportunities to expand your knowledge about advertising opportunities in the DC area.  One is the local ADDY awards, which will be presented by the DC Ad Club in mid-March.  This is the perfect occasion to scout out the agencies that are producing award-winning work.  The other is DC Ad Week, which will occur in mid-September.  You have the…

  • Defining your marketing objectives

    Mary Fletcher Jones
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:28 am
    If you run a business, or help manage a nonprofit organization,  you may be considering a number of tactics this year, such as starting a Facebook Page, recording YouTube videos, creating a new brochure, or revamping your website.  And these are all good plans. However, one of the basic, initial tasks you have to tackle is defining your marketing objectives, as well as your target audiences. Here’s a quick list of some typical marketing objectives.  Review this list — or expand it — when you are in the planning stages of your next project. With this tool, we hope to . . .

  • YouTube, We Need to Talk

    Mary Fletcher Jones
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:06 pm
    There comes a point in every relationship where people just need to hash things out. Today, I am asking you, YouTube, please don’t impose the March 1 “upgrade!” on all subscribers!  We don’t want it! For those who want it, great. But you PROMISED we could switch back to the old design.  Even in your new documentation guide, there is wording about how we can switch back to the old design if we prefer.  But now, all of a sudden, there is this notice that the Channels will ALL be switched to the new design on March 1.  Not voluntarily.  You’re just going to do…

  • Marketing Tips from Nicole Wanzer, Washington Business Journal

    Mary Fletcher Jones
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:58 am
    Nicole Wanzer, Washington Business Journal I have enjoyed getting to know Nicole Wanzer, who is an advertising representative for the Washington Business Journal.  If you’re interested in discussing your advertising options, I recommend you contact her.  You can meet Nicole in person at the Book of Lists Celebration this Thursday night at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Recently, I asked Nicole about the marketing advice she shares with her diverse group of clients. Here are some of Nicole’s excellent tips Think about who your ideal audience is.  Who are you…

  • Question of the week: How can I make my YouTube video go viral?

    Mary Fletcher Jones
    20 Jan 2012 | 9:35 am
    Viral videos — videos that are shared and exceed 100,000 views on YouTube — have certain characteristics in common. Videos become “viral” when they are shared among people (just like the common cold).  Viewers eagerly share it via email and social networks. Many viral videos are “accidents.”  They were not produced to go viral.  Typically, the videos offer shock value (bride accidentally falling into a swimming pool) or humor (talking cats).  Viral videos are almost always brief (typically less than 2 minutes in duration). Other video content that…
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    Healthy Conversations

  • Insight for healthcare marketers: rise of the e-patient

    Eric Brody
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:51 am
    Good presentation from Pew Internet Project Director Lee Rainie to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CA, on understanding social networking and online health information seeking. You can view the presentation here. Key takeaways: • new social operating system: networked individualism • impacts include: “second opinions, allies and complements for care delivery, providers assessed and judged in public ways” • empowered and engaged: 61% getting health info on line, 29% contributing, 19% consult rankings/reviews of providers and hospitals • relevancy of mobile:…

  • Health brands’ “ideal-driven” opportunity

    Eric Brody
    18 Jan 2012 | 9:47 am
    Improving lives = customer and brand energy = brand success. Great article on mediapost.com – Fastest-Growing Brands Are Ideal-Driven. It recaps the research conducted by Millward Brown and Jim Stengel, former global marketing officer of P&G. It seems that the common denominator across the 50 brands showing the fastest growth both in depth of customer relationships and financial value between 2000 and 2010 is that they’ve been built on an ideal of improving lives in some way. By “ideal, they’re referring to a “higher-order” purpose or benefit that the company/brand…

  • Blast from the past: 10 brands to watch in 2001

    Eric Brody
    13 Jan 2012 | 8:09 am
    I was going through some old files and found the January 2001 issue of (now defunct) Brand Marketing. This is actually pretty surprising, as I’ve rightfully earned the nickname of “the great purger” of old files at Trajectory. The cover article is ten brands to watch in 2001. And the sub-head reads Brand Marketing picks the consumer products and services most likely to make an impact this year. It’s their top picks for the biggest potential newsmakers. Not necessarily the most successful, but those judged to make the biggest impact. Here they are. Hot off the presses…

  • Better questions, better branding, better marketing

    Eric Brody
    10 Jan 2012 | 10:50 am
    Your brand is only as strong as the customers you create. The customers who you advance through your marketing beyond what they can do on their own, and beyond the reach of competitors. One important key to unlocking this value is the power of a BETTER QUESTION. Obvious questions yield answers that are more affirming and validating. Better questions lead to new perspectives, new insights, new ideas. They provide answers that lead you to “wow, I never thought about that in this way before”,  ”never imagined they felt this way before”, “never imagined they looked…

  • Healthcare marketing: it’s time to evolve

    Eric Brody
    5 Jan 2012 | 7:42 am
    Can we evolve healthcare marketing? Yes we can. This was the topic of a recent talk of mine, which included five reinforcing themes.  As a foundation for these themes, it was agreed that whatever form of marketing you undertake, it needs to be: • Grounded in truth: genuine to an organization’s story, values and ambition • Relevant to audiences: in ways that are real and genuine • Deliverable based on promises: able to be reinforced through the patient experience (which means deliverable across the organization) The five themes included: 1. Wider Angle Lens: seeking out new…
 
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    Marketing Donut feed

  • Business success: your 2012 calendar launched

    Georgina Harris
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:46 am
    Surrounded by the brightest and best of the UK’s entrepreneurs, business minister Mark Prisk MP launched rather a useful tool for the UK’s small businesses at BIS HQ this week – a definitive calendar of events to help small business throughout Britain for every month in 2012. Targeted at pre start ups as well as established and new businesses, the calendar marks the first time all Britain’s best business events feature on the same site in a searchable format.  There are 600-plus events listed already – and Mark Prisk is aiming to get 1,000 online in the near future. He said:…

  • Empty government offices to be let to start-ups

    27 Jan 2012 | 3:22 am
    Start-ups and small-business owners will be able to rent empty government offices at reduced rates, under new plans unveiled by the Prime Minister. More than 300 vacant government buildings around the country could be opened up to fledgling small businesses, with flexible one-year leases and extras like business support to help firms get established. Announcing the plans, David Cameron said the Government had a “huge stock” of buildings at its disposal. “The first priority for the ones we are not using is to sell them off but, in the meantime, many are going to be sitting idle,” he…

  • Facebook to offer free web advertising to small businesses

    27 Jan 2012 | 3:20 am
    Facebook is set to give away free advertising on its website to thousands of small firms across Europe. The social network has pledged to give £4.3 million worth of free advertising to small businesses in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Announcing the move, Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said 50,000 small businesses across Europe would each be able to claim credits worth around £80 to use on the site, in a bid to help start-ups reach a wider audience through social media. “Facebook is about a lot more than sharing pictures or keeping up with friends.

  • Staff prefer good working environment to big name employers

    27 Jan 2012 | 3:20 am
    UK employees are less impressed by big name companies than by a job that offers a good work environment, good pay and benefits, and an attractive work-life balance, research has highlighted. A survey carried out by YouGov for HR adviser Croner found that while big names such as Google, Apple and John Lewis attracted the most frequent mentions, just 11 per cent of respondents said a great brand makes a good company. Of the 2,133 people surveyed, 82 per cent rated a good working environment as the best feature of a good employer, followed by attractive pay and benefits, a good work-life balance…

  • Rise in self-employed leading to “odd job” culture, claims CIPD

    27 Jan 2012 | 3:18 am
    A rise in the number of self-employed to a record high is evidence of an “odd job” culture emerging in the UK, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has claimed. According to a new study by the CIPD the number of people in the UK working for themselves has gone up by 8 per cent to a record high of 4.14 million since 2008. But the newly self-employed are not traditional sole traders, with one in five being unskilled, 60 per cent women and 89 per cent working fewer than 30 hours a week. This profile suggests an “odd job” culture where people are doing whatever they…
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    Direct-Response Marketing Copywriter Tom Trush | Advertisements, Website Content, E-mail Autoresponders, Sales Letters

  • Marketing’s Monumental Shift (watch this video)

    Tom
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:55 am
    Ever feel like the marketing game has changed and you’ve been left sitting on the sidelines? Check out the following video. It explains a phenomenon affecting many in the business community. The video is also the trailer for my new book, The ‘You’ Effect: How to Transform Ego-Based Marketing Into Captivating Messages That Create Customers. Understand you’re not along in seeing a marketing shift. Just yesterday, The Wall Street Journal ran an article detailing Target’s troubles in dealing with a more connected and educated consumer. If a corporate giant is screaming for help, then…

  • Social Media Strategies That Silence Skeptics

    Tom
    17 Jan 2012 | 9:43 am
    How many times have you watched someone conquer one of your most difficult challenges with relative ease? I’m going through this experience right now while following Alan Rudnick’s activities on social media. Thanks to his involvement on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as frequent blogging, Alan is often featured in major media and has even secured a multi-book deal with a publisher. And get this … he’s not a conventional social media “guru.” In fact, he doesn’t even work in what many would consider a traditional business. He’s the pastor at the First Baptist…

  • How to Incorporate Press Releases Into Your Marketing Strategy

    Tom
    10 Jan 2012 | 10:39 am
    The press release (or news release) has progressed … When I entered the newswire business in early 1999, press releases were primarily used by big corporations (especially public companies) to announce major events to journalists. These days, press releases are no longer just a way to reach media in hopes of getting featured in an article or news story. The audience is much larger now and, thanks to distribution options on the Internet, includes direct access to your buyers. So what’s this mean for you? Well, first and foremost, you can’t limit yourself to only sending press releases…

  • Tim Tebow’s Heroics (Again) Provide Marketing Lessons for Business Professionals

    Tom
    9 Jan 2012 | 3:01 pm
    Lost in the late-game heroics repeatedly performed by Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow are the lessons his brand offers businesses wanting to enhance their marketing efforts. Few athletes have captured the nation’s attention more in recent years than Tebow. This fact alone should serve as a wake-up call for businesses wanting to get their brands in front of more eyeballs. The key characteristic that makes Tebow noteworthy off the football field is his polarizing personality. His religious beliefs are well-publicized, creating a long list of critics. But as his detractors voice their…

  • Trailer for My New Book, “The ‘You’ Effect”

    Tom
    9 Jan 2012 | 9:56 am
    It’s time to rattle the business community. Here’s the trailer for my newest book, The “You” Effect: How to Transform Ego-Based Marketing Into Captivating Messages That Create Customers, set for release this spring. I invite you to join me on my challenge to make this an Amazon.com bestseller.  
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    WordPress.com News

  • Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension

    Christopher Finke
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pm
    Want to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button…

  • Your Stats Have a New Home

    Andy Skelton
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 am
    Are you addicted to checking your site stats? You are not alone. The stats dashboard has always been one of the most popular admin screens. It’s gratifying to know that people are visiting your place online. With the WordPress.com front page evolving into a one-stop shop for posting, exploring, following and reading blogs, it seemed natural to put your blog stats there, too.  Stats are becoming more and more about interacting with your readers and other bloggers. You’ll still see your summary stats and chart on your main dashboard, and the full stats page in your dashboard will…

  • Reblogging is Back!

    Erica Johnson
    22 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pm
    As we mentioned last week, you can like and reblog posts directly from your reader, which displays a stream of all the updates published on all the blogs you follow from your WordPress.com account. We’ve also brought the reblog button back to the toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you’re logged into WordPress.com. Note that you’ll only see the like and reblog options while you’re looking at individual posts. For example, you’ll see this on the left side of your toolbar while viewing http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/read-blogs: And your…

  • New Theme: Newsy

    Philip Arthur Moore
    20 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pm
    It’s been an extra big week in the news ’round these parts, so much so that the launch announcement of our latest premium theme seems like an extra extra good way to headline our Friday. Newsy is a versatile business and news-friendly theme that offers up to ten different layouts, four footer columns, custom link and accent colors, and a custom site header. Brand and content-focused editorial teams will love publishing with this theme. Newsy: Home Page Designed by Themify, Newsy comes with an impressive set of Theme Options that afford you a great deal of flexibility with how you…

  • Read All Your Favorite Blogs in One Place

    Erica Johnson
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pm
    If you feel like it’s a chore to keep up with all your favorite blogs, you can now read posts from all the blogs you follow (even the ones that aren’t on WordPress.com!) in one convenient place on the WordPress.com home page: Your reader displays all the posts across all the blogs you follow in the order they were published, with the most recent content appearing at the top. You’ll see an excerpt of the introduction to each post, the first image in the post, and thumbnails of any other images that the post contains. You can even like and reblog WordPress.com content directly…
 
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    Chief Marketer Most Recent

  • Coke Capitalizes on Second Screen Media, Polar Bears for Super Bowl

    27 Jan 2012 | 2:41 pm
    In the continual search to find new ways to connect with digital consumers, Coca-Cola has outfitted its iconic polar bears with the same technologies that Super Bowl XLVI fans across the country will be using to view the game and socialize with friends. Their antics and reactions to the game, and much-anticipated commercials, on Feb. 5 will be streamed live on digital and mobile screens as they share a Coke in their ice cave with fans invited to join in.

  • 4 Tips for Integrating Inserts and Social Media

    25 Jan 2012 | 12:47 pm

  • Is Now a Good Time to Sell Your Marketing Company?

    25 Jan 2012 | 10:47 am
    More than a few owners of marketing service companies are wondering if now is a good time to either sell their company or raise capital. Given the countless number of factors that must be considered when going to market, the short answer is "it depends." That said, there are three definite considerations for owners in any transaction: (1) the current level of interest from buyers and the investment community (2) the current valuation ranges relative to previous multiples and future estimates (3) the reasons the company's owner or owners are considering a transaction.

  • Three Steps to Toughen up Your Loyalty Offensive

    25 Jan 2012 | 10:41 am
    Many programs have fallen into the “best practice” trap of copying others, focusing on pragmatic value and discount-based rewards. This tendency has created a commoditization of loyalty programs, which increasingly look alike to consumers. In fact, according to a new Colloquy white paper, when asked whether “it pays to be loyal to your favorite brands,” only 12% of U.S. consumers “strongly agreed.” For companies to win this battle for consumer hearts and minds, there are three tactical initiatives to deploy:

  • Florida Dentist Prospects With Postcards

    25 Jan 2012 | 9:18 am
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    DigitalMarketingLab

  • Australian brands a no show at the mobile party

    Teresa Sperti
    21 Jan 2012 | 5:59 am
    Only a few years ago, marketers and industry experts were waiting with baited breathe for the year of the mobile. But now it seems like a distant memory with mobile internet usage set to overtake... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Digital thinking for 2012

    Teresa Sperti
    11 Jan 2012 | 1:33 am
    Digital predictions for 2012 are a dime a dozen so to mix things up this article will cover what marketers need to think about in 2012 and where you should focus your energy in the year ahead. Read... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Search Marketing: Reflection of 2011 & Predictions for 2012

    Teresa Sperti
    4 Jan 2012 | 6:57 pm
    Keeping up with all things digital is near impossible – even staying abreast of developments in search alone is tough particularly in a year like 2011. Whilst for some 2011 may have been a year... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Australian Digital in 2011

    Teresa Sperti
    26 Dec 2011 | 2:27 am
    2011 was a big year for digital in Australia with many brands embracing the channel. Unfortunately for some however 2011 is a year they would rather forget. Read Full Article > [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Increase conversion with social logins

    Teresa Sperti
    18 Dec 2011 | 5:33 am
    Whilst purchasing online provides consumers with a convenient way to shop – the process of transacting in some ways is still very inconvenient Read Full Article > [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    Design and Photography Highlights

  • Fall in Love with our new Valentine’s day images

    admin
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:50 pm
    Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. We have the images you need for your last minute projects, (news) letters of love, blog posts, and to freshen up your website!   Find all the above images by clicking on the links below.   http://cutcaster.com/photo/901326756-Grungy-Tulips/ http://cutcaster.com/photo/100740710-Toddler-in-a-Fairy-Outfit/ http://cutcaster.com/photo/901392325-Happy-valentine-s-day/ http://cutcaster.com/vector/901376196-Grunge-Valentines-day-card/ http://cutcaster.com/photo/100313572-Vintage-Valentine-hearts/…

  • Interested in working with Cutcaster’s API to add images to your business

    admin
    19 Jan 2012 | 3:26 pm
    If you have not heard yet, recently we released Cutcaster’s simple to use API that lets developers and small businesses quickly integrate a diverse database of images into their business models and workflows. Using our API is very simple and it is well documented. If your business, website, online tool or product needs millions of high quality photos and vectors, Cutcaster wants to team up so you can integrate our stock photography library into your business. At the same time, you can work with our experienced business development team to determine the best path for achieving your…

  • New Referral Program banners and graphics

    admin
    19 Jan 2012 | 2:54 pm
    Want an easy way to make more money and be the first to share with your friends and colleagues a great website for finding the perfect images or illustrations? Kill two birds with one stone by adding the banners to your website, blog or social network sites in order to refer new members to Cutcaster and get paid. The banners are automatically linked with your unique referral ID and you just need to cut and paste the code into your website. See the details below and check out the new referral page to download your unique referral banners and graphics. Create a referral link Add a referral…

  • Happy Holidays and New Year from Cutcaster

    admin
    23 Dec 2011 | 3:24 pm
    From the team at Cutcaster, we wanted to wish all our members, friends and supporters out there a happy and safe holiday season. Thanks to you, who helped support and grow Cutcaster with all of your hard work and emails of encouragement in the last year. We wouldn’t be here without you. 2012 is sure to be another impressive year of growth and success for our entire community and company. We’re blessed as a company to have this opportunity to serve you and let’s kick some ass together in the New Years. Happy Holidays and New Year from Cutcaster

  • Where to find the best Christmas photos and illustrations this Holiday

    admin
    7 Dec 2011 | 8:10 pm
    Everyone knows the holidays can be some of the best times of the year to give and hopefully receive!! Spread the love with this holiday season with images from Cutcaster.com‘s. Find high quality, beautiful Christmas photos that are perfect for an office flyer, e-cards for your client, or your holiday emails. At Cutcaster, you will find the perfect image for all the December holidays for just a few dollars! Best wishes for the holiday season!  Find the above holiday images at Cutcaster. Magic gift box Christmas holiday woman with snow Beautiful gold Christmas tree background Santa…
 
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    Magnitude Media

  • Metrics Snapshot Tool

    Leslie
    16 Jan 2012 | 11:33 am
    Considering I’m writing Social Media Metrics for Dummies, I don’t talk about metrics often on this blog. Mainly that’s because I’m too busy helping clients figure metrics out in real life. I did want to take a minute to mention the Social Metrics plug in for you. It’s not a tool for deep metrics analysis but it is a great tool for quick content analysis – seeing what’s working for you as a social network, as well as what’s emerging as sharable topics on your blog. For example, you can see that Digg, as a whole, is not a social network where we…

  • Pinterest and the Power of Play, Google Plus and Search Changes

    Leslie
    11 Jan 2012 | 12:03 pm
    I didn’t have time to write a post today, finishing the next book is my main focus this afternoon, but I did quickly chat about Pinterest and Google’s new social search. I’m interested in your thoughts: Video inspired by this post on Facebook today and this post on Google Plus

  • One Bad Apple: Boutique Business Challenge

    Leslie
    9 Jan 2012 | 12:52 pm
    I have about a million other things to get done today that don’t include writing a blog post, but I’m all about being as open and helpful as possible and I feel this post might help other boutique business owners see a way through a problem, or just feel less alone. When I started working for myself in the 90s I just wanted to work on something I loved doing and am great at. As my business grew I found my time increasingly divided between maker and manager and the budget strained (I talked about starting my business with no cash flow here). But I also found success for my clients,…

  • Sea Change In Knowledge and Education

    Leslie
    29 Dec 2011 | 3:40 pm
    Education has been on my mind the last year or so. On one hand we have this public push to devalue all college education for not being some kind of magic bullet leading to getting a job in a down economy. While I agree student loans and college prices have gotten out of hand, I think to devalue education and knowledge for not having enough immediate monetary “ROI” is something we will come to regret as a society. On the other hand we have knowledge for the sake of knowledge – completing something for the sake of having done so – these things have merit to individuals…

  • What Does “Be A Rockstar” Mean To You?

    Leslie
    21 Dec 2011 | 2:13 pm
    I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments. It’s such a vague phrase so casually bandied about, and so open to a variety of interpretations by everyone.
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    Helping Hands For Coaches

  • 28 Jan 2012 | 1:40 am

    Rachel Pradhan
    28 Jan 2012 | 1:40 am
    <a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdreampracticeblog.com%2Finternet-marketing%2F10-traffic-generation-strategies%2F”> If you’ve been following my coaching work for some time, you’re already aware that I consider your practice website to be the critical hub that your practice revolves around.  Whatever you are doing to get more patients/clients in the door centers around having a strategically designed website that positions you as an expert and builds relationships and trust with people new to your work.  Here’s an overview of 10 of…

  • From Our Sponsor: Selecting An Orange County Family Photographer

    Rachel Pradhan
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:22 pm
    Family photos are a cherished possession that many people give to each other from generation to generation. These photos are a gift that reveals images of past generations and loved ones that we hold dearly. While many of the most wonderful photos are often taken candidly at home, there is still something special about the professional family photos that are in almost everyone’s photo album. These are pictures that depict milestones, different generations of family trees, and special relationships between relatives. If you want to have photos like these that you will be certain to…

  • The 3 Biggest Obstacles to A Fulfilling and Lucrative Private Practice

    Rachel Pradhan
    30 Dec 2011 | 5:40 pm
    After coaching several hundred health practitioners over the past few years, it has become quite clear to me what prevents them from achieving the level of success that they desire.  As with most small businesses, the odds are stacked against the average practice owner.  It is said that about 80% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years.. and 96% will perish within 10 years. In my experience, this statistic rings true for holistic practitioners and other service-based businesses.  It’s easy to look at this number and feel discouraged about your future.  The good news is…

  • My Interviews With Suzanne Monroe from the International Association of Wellness Professionals

    Rachel Pradhan
    30 Dec 2011 | 5:40 pm
    Suzanne and I did a couple of content-rich teleclasses today and I wanted to share the recording for each with you here.  In this first one, Suzanne interviewed me on 3 steps to getting more clients online.  In this teleclass, I shared a ton of really important information on how to use the internet to build your business. You can listen to it here–>  3 Steps to Get More Clients Online In this second one, I interviewed Suzanne on how to create a lifestyle business that leverages your talents and knowledge to work on a bigger scale, help more people, and create more personal…

  • 5 Tips to Prevent ‘No Shows’ and Last Minute Reschedules

    Rachel Pradhan
    30 Dec 2011 | 5:40 pm
    If you see at least 20 clients per week in your private practice, you already know how frustrating it can be when people don’t show up or they cancel at the last minute.  I have worked with quite a few practitioners who see this as one of the greatest practice struggles they face.  From lost revenue to a choppy schedule, missed appointments can severely undermine the positive momentum of a practice.  Let’s talk about a couple of simple ways to prevent this from happening in your practice. There are 5 main tips I want to share with you: 1.  Make sure that you have a set…
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    Advertising and Marketing Ideas That Build Business | HEILBrice

  • “Here’s an Idea” – Has DIET Become a 4 Letter Word?

    admin
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:38 pm
    In this Here’s an Idea, Hal Brice shares some new insights on a familiar topic as he explores the latest trends in diet food products, packaging, and marketing. “Diet” is out and “Functional Foods” are in! Here’s an Idea!

  • Curated Commerce: How Retail Brands Can Cash in on the Latest Craze

    admin
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:10 pm
    With a little practice, shopping curated collections can be a lot like shopping in a real-life boutique — a boutique where the goods are selected and stocked to meet the needs of its best customer: you. And because these collections are created by real people (in many cases, friends from within the shopper’s own personal social network), the resulting shopping experience is authentic, powerful and hugely influential on purchase behavior…  Read more Full article from Mashable.com

  • Clippers get Massive in L.A.

    admin
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:14 pm
    The Clippers are taking over Los Angeles and with some fast action from HEILBrice they’ve taken over Hotel Figueroa. Watch an imposing 125 ft. Griffin, Paul, and Jordan reign over downtown L.A. in another demonstration that the Clippers have arrived.

  • Online ad spending to pass print for the first time!

    admin
    19 Jan 2012 | 1:44 pm
    US online advertising spending, which grew 23% to $32.03 billion in 2011, is expected to grow an additional 23.3% to $39.5 billion this year—pushing it ahead of total spending on print newspapers and magazines, according to new forecast by eMarketer. Print advertising spending is expected to fall to $33.8 billion in 2012 from $36 billion in 2011…               Read more Full article from eMarketer.com

  • “4 Tips to Keep Your Website Ahead of the Curve in 2012″

    admin
    16 Jan 2012 | 1:35 pm
    2012 is heralding a new wave of innovative web technologies and design, and a page that stays in step with these trends is bound to pique interest and lower your bounce rate. Even more, a well done and on-trend website remains effective well after the year is over, reeling users in with thoughtful design and building a design-conscious and taste-making reputation. Keep these tips in mind when you clean up your company’s website, and stay ahead of the curve for the new year.  Read more Full article from Mashable.com
 
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    bWyse Blog

  • So Much Yarn

    27 Jan 2012 | 9:15 pm
    Another fabulous client of ours is So Much Yarn.  We were introduced to Lauren Lindeman back in 2005 through our weekly networking meetings. 

  • Facebook Announced Everyone to Get Timeline

    26 Jan 2012 | 6:45 pm
    On Tuesday, January 24th - Facebook announced that over the next few weeks, EVERYONE will get the new profile TIMELINE layout.  It’s a little b

  • YOU`RE INVITED! Small Business Networking

    25 Jan 2012 | 6:45 pm
    As an Internet Marketing company, Wendy and I do a lot of different things to market and promote our business using the Internet.  However, one o

  • Pinterest: New Social Networking Website

    24 Jan 2012 | 7:00 pm
    When things show up in my life, or cross my path, I try to listen.  In the past two weeks, I’ve heard the word “Pinterest” twice, from two diff

  • February Holiday Marketing Ideas

    23 Jan 2012 | 6:00 pm
    February has a few holidays with which we are all very familiar, such as: Ground Hog Day on the 2nd Super Bowl Sunday 5th Valentine’s Day on the
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    The Aquarium

  • Why We Endorse the Retirement of Email Appending

    Dave
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:43 am
    The industry defines email appending as the process of matching e-mail addresses you get from an append vendor to postal addresses already in your database.  The point here is to grow a mailing list quickly.  The problem is, you’re doing this without explicit opt-in from the address owners, and that’s wrong. About 10 years ago, [...]

  • 5 Benefits of an Email Newsletter

    Ryan
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:27 am
    The email newsletter is one of the most versatile tools that a digital marketer can wield.  Why?  Simple, a stock email newsletter provides an excellent canvas for launching a variety of marketing campaigns.  I won’t cover all the uses and benefits of an email newsletter in this post, but I will give you a few [...]

  • The Second Date

    Sherin
    19 Jan 2012 | 9:58 am
    In my last post I discussed acquisition email marketing.  To illustrate my point, I drew a comparison between customer acquisition and dating.  I’m going to continue that analogy in this companion piece.  This time we’ll focus on the second date. So, you’ve sent your first campaign.  Now what? Do you stop there? Of course not, [...]

  • Pull a Houdini: Escape the SPAM Trap

    Ryan
    17 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am
    As an acquisition email marketer, you face a plethora of pitfalls and potential trouble spots.  Among others, you need to worry about fatigue rates, creating inspiring headlines and CTAs, conversion rates, and above all, SPAM filters.  SPAM can spell ruin for even an established lead generation email marketing program.  Nothing sullies your sender reputation like [...]

  • New Year’s Resolutions?

    David Fowler
    13 Jan 2012 | 9:31 am
    So, here we are in 2012.  As usual, I have made the same resolutions: eat less, drink less, exercise more etc. etc. After many years, and with some success I might add, I may sound like a broken record. How old school of me, the correct term in 2012 is probably more accurately stated: like [...]
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    SiteFox

  • Politics, Small Businesses, and You…

    Samir Balwani
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    We don’t often talk about politics here, but we came across this awesome infographic that is definitely useful for all small business owners. If you’re not sure who you’re voting for this year, check out the infographic below to see how each candidate stands on small business issues. I’m sure it will change and hopefully we’ll get some updates. In the mean time check it out and let me know what you think. How much of an impact does the candidate’s stance on small business issues impact your choice? Credit: FastUpFront – Business Loans Made Easy.

  • The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide [Free Download]

    Samir Balwani
    9 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Let’s face it. Online marketing is difficult to understand and even harder to execute successfully. There’s so much talk about using Facebook and Twitter or having a conversation with your customers. How are you, a small business owner, supposed to find the time to learn all the in’s and out’s of online marketing? That’s why we put together the SiteFox Marketing Guide. It’s a 99-page guide that explains exactly what you need to know about marketing your business online. It also includes a set of action plans to help you execute a successful online marketing…

  • Definitive Guide to Word of Mouth Marketing

    Samir Balwani
    22 Dec 2011 | 11:16 am
    Think back to a time you had a problem you needed solved. How’d you find the business you’re using now? Most likely you did one of two things: searched a business directory (maybe online) OR you asked a friend for a recommendation. Having people recommend your business is the basis of word of mouth marketing. It’s doing something so memorable that people talk about you; it’s tied to customer service, viral marketing, and just being a business people like working with. How are you maximizing your word of mouth marketing? What are you doing to make sure people talk about…

  • Our Marketing Tracking Document [Free Download]

    Samir Balwani
    20 Dec 2011 | 1:00 am
    When we first started marketing SiteFox, we realized that it wasn’t all about big marketing campaigns or messaging programs. We quickly learned that it was really about maximizing our returns from each channel. One of the things we did early on was setup a document to track each channel and gauge its efficiency for registering new clients. The efficiency is based off a number we derived after deciding on how much of our revenue we wanted to invest in marketing. We’ve been using the spreadsheet for a while now and it’s really helped us strategically invest money in ways that…

  • Dos and Don’ts for Your Small Business Newsletter

    Samir Balwani
    15 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am
    Although social media gets all the buzz, email marketing still continues to be an extremely lucrative marketing channel. Businesses are continuing to grow their email lists and connecting with consumers through their newsletters. Making sure you’re creating an active newsletter list directly effects your revenue from your emails. Following a few core rules will make sure you get the most from your list and keep your subscribers happy and opening your emails. Do: Use a Professional Template The first tip is to use a professional template. You’ll notice that a lot of people use the plain…
 
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    InfoProduct Marketing Insiders Tips And News

  • 3 Critical Ways To Sell Your Ebook

    jeff
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:43 am
    There's no feeling better than launching your 60-100 page ebook to your market and then seeing your first orders come in within minutes or hours of your launch.  You've put a few weeks work into creating an information-based ebook, a "how-to" guide to help people do anytihng from losing weight, to managing stress, getting a better job through improving their relationship and now it all comes down to this….(if you don't yet have your own ebook – take a look at the Ultimate Information Product Success Guide to help you get started quickly and easily). How…

  • Ebook Marketing – Stacking The Deck In Your Favor

    jeff
    25 Jan 2012 | 4:04 pm
    You're well on your way to completing an ebook, now the question becomes what ebook marketing techniques should you use to stack the deck in your favor? It's true, the very best book, ebook, course or information product will fall flat on its face without superb marketing...I've seen it happen many times before. It's also true that there are only so many hours in a day, so you want to spend time on the the BEST methods for ebook marketing. Though there are many ways to market ebooks on the internet, the system we outline inside InfoMarketer'sZone (and the one we have…

  • 3 Mind-Blowing Realities of Writing Your Own Book

    jeff
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:02 pm
    Getting set to write your own book, have it all planned out and you're ready to rock & roll? Not so fast…makes sure you take a good look at these 3 realities of book writing that blow the mind of authors who are otherwise surprised.  1. You must spend as much (likely more) effort on marketing your book or ebook as you do writing it.  Wait a minute, don't publishers take care of marketing your book?  Not at ALL!   Even more important is to understand that the book marketing game has changed significantly.  Members of InfoMarketer'sZone are completely surprised by…

  • Finding Your Passion In Business

    jeff
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:48 pm
    You want to start your own business and have been told that it takes passion to really succeed You admire the passion that others bring to their business and wonder…"how did they find their passion" or "what drives them to try harder and ultimately succeed?"  Surely, finding your passion is both one of the most important, yet misunderstood and elusive things we all struggle with in life as well as in business.  To be a successful entrepreneur, you need passion…but what if you don't have 100% passion? Re-Thinking The Role Of Personal Passion In Business…

  • 5 Ways To Quickly Learn Internet Marketing Basics

    jeff
    20 Jan 2012 | 3:03 pm
    Are you ready to start your own online business or expand your offline business to earn more from the internet?  Chances are your next qustion then is …where can I learn internet marketing basics quickly so that I can make the most of my time and effort?  Having gone through the process and continually growing an Enterprise of online businesses, here's the techniques we can share with you that helped us learn the basics  and continue that learning more than 10-years later: 1.Study successful online businesses carefully - not just WHAT they were doing but WHY it was working. …
 
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    Marketing Trenches

  • How the Ravens WOWed with Digital Marketing

    Alecia Farley
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:08 pm
    I’m a huge Ravens fan and I like all things Ravens.  Of course I have season tickets, and I also wear purple on Fridays, have Ravens license plates, listen to talk radio about the Ravens to and from work, have Ravens collars for my dogs, bought a string of purple lights for the porch for playoff season…need I go on? I’m also passionate about helping companies find unique ways to engage their customers and prospects through digital media. It’s rewarding to assist our clients with a campaign and then to see the positive impact it had at the end of the month. Two weeks ago these two…

  • Social Media Lessons from the #MDGovTweetup

    Tracy Gold
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:09 am
    Social media catalyzed revolution in Egypt and basically stopped SOPA. But it’s also affecting the way politics and government work on an everyday basis, in states and neighborhoods throughout the world and the U.S. Yesterday, I took part in a Government 2.0 experiment—the first tweetup organized by @governoromalley’s team at the State House in Annapolis. Here’s my take on how it went. Social Media is Changing How We Work Together While technology and new media is nowhere near as powerful as the human heart, O’Malley stated in his opening remarks, it has enabled humans to be more…

  • Why You Need Better Content, Not Just More Content

    Mike Sweeney
    19 Jan 2012 | 2:30 pm
    As part of a marketing evaluation we delivered to a client this week, we covered Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and in particular how the volume of indexed content plays a major role in the success of any SEO effort. The situation was simple: one of this company’s biggest competitors showed hundreds of indexed content pieces, and our client showed around ten. Game, set, match to the competitor, right? Not so fast, my content marketing friends. First, think about the sales funnel: While there’s no universally accepted set of steps in the sales funnel, I typically use the following:…

  • Feed Me Seymour – Why Your 2012 Marketing Approach is Hungry for Content

    Will Davis
    12 Jan 2012 | 3:17 pm
    As I sat down yesterday with a couple members of the Right Source team for our check-in on our 2012 tactical plan, I was reminded how our marketing, like that of many of our clients, is heavily dependent on content.  We use the term content marketing all the time in our industry, yet to many folks outside of the industry – and to many of our potential clients – it means very little.  What I’ve realized is that a post Mike wrote nearly 2 years ago – What is Content Marketing and Why is it Hot? -is still incredibly relevant today and maybe even more so.  Why? Many People Still…

  • 12 Questions That Should Guide Your Content Marketing Plan

    Mike Sweeney
    10 Jan 2012 | 3:07 pm
    When I sat down to build the content marketing plan for Right Source Marketing, I initially had a case of “planner’s block.” I’ve helped a number of clients with this type of planning, and yet I could not figure out exactly where to start. How is it possible that I didn’t have some type of template or process that would push me through this barrier? The answer was simple. I wasn’t asking myself the right questions, and I wasn’t asking them in the same determined manner that I use with clients. I was letting myself off the hook. After a good deal of back-and-forth (mostly in my…
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    [mcgraw | marketing] Sales and Marketing Services

  • How to Improve Customer Retention and Spending

    patmcgraw
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Sometimes, you need to divide and conquer versus try to take on everything at once.  And when it comes to your customers, you might want to try this approach. The first step is to rank them based on two simple questions: Once you’ve done that, you should have a graph that looks like this: So ...

  • Customer Referrals: Understanding Net Promoter Score

    patmcgraw
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:05 am
    Customer referrals can have a significant impact on your business – and a quick, simple way to determine how likely your customers are to refer others is the Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS is based on the fundamental assumption that every company’s customers can be divided into three categories: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. Then, by ...

  • 5 Ways to Improve Sales Plus FREE Revenue Calculator

    patmcgraw
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Here are 5 ways to improve sales just by leveraging your existing resources – in other words, you don’t have to spend a dime. And, at the end of the post, is an example of a Revenue Calculator that will help you forecast the impact of improving your conversion rate and average order size.  You ...
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    Multichannel Magic

  • How to WOW! Customers the Adidas Way

    Debra Ellis
    17 Jan 2012 | 1:51 pm
    Wowing customers isn’t as hard as one might think. It doesn’t require over the top service or free everything. It is as simple as managing expectations and delivering on the promises made.Adidas does that well. When my son needed new basketball shoes, he searched his favorite brands for the perfect shoe. His first request was a custom designed pair but his feet grow faster than a Georgia Pine. Replacing custom shoes every quarter offends my sense of value. He had to “settle” for an off the rack pair of performance sneakers.He chose the adizero d rose 2. After listening to his sales…

  • Answer These Five Questions before Launching a Marketing Campaign

    Debra Ellis
    10 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    How much money was wasted last year on marketing campaigns that didn’t deliver tangible results? If the truth were told, it was probably the most wasteful year in marketing history. New channels created a competitive frenzy of one-upmanship to see who could deliver the most viral content with little regard to bottom line management. Proven strategies were left behind in the search for the most fans, followers, and views. In theory the increased exposure would deliver more results at less cost, but it didn’t work for most companies because their marketing team forgot the fundamentals.The…

  • How to Find the Marketing Rules that Work for Your Business

    Debra Ellis
    21 Dec 2011 | 9:02 am
    There is a certain safety in following the rules. When a marketing path has been tested, there are few surprises or unexpected challenges. Mediocre entrepreneurs can create successful companies by following the steps of the innovators who have gone ahead. Odds are that the copycat businesses won’t last more than a few decades without a significant management change, but they will provide income for the founders until the industry declines or something new comes along.When I joined the direct marketing industry ages ago, there were a couple of dozen catalogs that were so similar it was…

  • Is Foodzie the next Netflix?

    Debra Ellis
    16 Dec 2011 | 10:18 am
    Foodzie, the Artisan food company has a story. Actually, it has lots of stories. The food, the vendors, the founders, and the business model all have a story (or ten) to tell. There are so many stories to be told, the company launched a search for a head storyteller to share all of the tales with the world. Somehow, in the process of captivating “our customers with colorful insights and anecdotes about the producers and food,” a key component of engaging people was missed. Someone forgot to listen to customers and bring the service.When service is missing, customers become storytellers.

  • Mission Possible: Letting Go of the “If Onlys”

    Debra Ellis
    15 Dec 2011 | 9:01 am
    If only our marketing would go viral…If only we hired the brilliant analyst that went to our competitor…If only the other department team members would work with us…If only we had a larger budget…If only __________________…“If only” are very dangerous words when they are put together. They are a combination of blame and regret that do nothing to move you or your business forward. When allowed in the boardroom, they undermine the future and excuse poor performance. Statements like, “Our sales would have been better if only the economy hadn’t tanked” are usually followed…
 
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    B2Bbloggers.com

  • The Top Three B2B Marketing Themes for 2012

    Ed Hadley
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:04 am
    While 2011 was coming to a close, I noticed a slew of articles on what B2B marketers should anticipate this year. Of the 10 or so articles I read regarding B2B marketing predictions for 2012, there were three top themes consistent amongst each article. 1. SOCIAL MEDIA According to an article by Gary Halliwell on iMediaConnection , a wider range of employees and departments will be representing brands on social media in 2012. The employees and departments will increase as companies find broader uses for social media beyond sales, marketing and brand recognition. Some potential broader uses as…

  • 7 Reasons You Can’t Afford to Ignore Lead Nurturing

    Sarah Goliger
    12 Jan 2012 | 12:17 pm
    As a marketer, your most important job is to generate leads for your business.  But what good are those leads if they’re not managed properly?  These 7 statistics show that if you’re not taking advantage of lead nurturing, you’re losing customers and revenue, and very quickly. 1. Only 25% of leads are legitimate and should go to sales.  50% are qualified but not ready to buy. (Source: Gleanster Research) Nearly half of your leads will not be ready for a sales call immediately after their first conversion.  But that doesn’t mean you should just ignore these leads or throw them…

  • There’s More to Pipeline Metrics Than Leads

    Laura Patterson
    17 Nov 2011 | 3:51 pm
    Many marketing organizations use lead volume as the primary way they evaluate program effectiveness.  This metric is too limiting.  Here’s a common scenario to help illustrate why marketing organizations need to use metrics beyond lead volume when evaluating program effectives and marketing’s contribution. Imagine you have two new customer acquisition programs in play:  Program Excalibur produces 100 qualified leads and Program Camelot produces 50 qualified leads.  At first glance, it might appear that based on volume or the quantity of qualified leads, that Excalibur is the better…

  • Five Steps To Better B2B Lead Generation

    Brian Whalley
    9 Nov 2011 | 12:59 pm
    Many marketers who have discovered tips or tricks about their field keep those items close to their chest. It’s understandable why they would want to preserve these secrets, whether for competitive advantage, job security or simple jealousy. They use these strategies to help create leads for their sales teams, and watch their secret tools or methods mature over time and find ways to improve them or get a little more out of them. A lot of these hidden tools and tricks are around finding ways to pull in more leads to the top of your marketing funnel, whether to increase your social media…

  • Social Business Is Spreading, But Is Anybody Listening?

    Craig Woods
    1 Nov 2011 | 6:54 am
    A recent Gartner survey asked the question “Who is leading social media initiatives in your business?”. 35% of the respondents answered “Marketing.” 10% said “PR.” Nobody said “Sales” or “CRM” teams. The immediate conclusion to this is that companies are still falling short of using social media, and the web to listen. While marketing departments are getting much better at tracking brand in the B2C space, most B2B organizations would most likely hold their hands up and say they still ‘don’t get it.’ There are several reoccurring themes as to why…
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    Social Media B2B

  • 12 Revealing Stats About B2B Social Media Marketing

    Jeffrey L. Cohen
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:30 am
    Articles about B2B social media marketing adoption often paint a rosy picture of the current landscape, but when you dig in deeper, there are many challenges in effectiveness and understanding the results. In a recent survey of 5,000 B2B marketers from all industries, Penton Marketing Services found some pretty revealing statistics. Click the link for the full report (registration form required). 1. 81% of B2B Marketers find online marketing moderately to extremely challenging. 2. 77% of B2B Marketers said their websites are not that effective at generating leads. 3. 60% of B2B Marketers have…

  • The B2B Social Media Book Launches

    Jeffrey L. Cohen
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Many months ago, Kipp and I looked forward to January 24, 2012 as a monumental day in our lives. That was the publication date of our book, The B2B Social Media Book: Become a Marketing Superstar by Generating Leads with Blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Email, and More. The manuscript was due in the middle of August and January seemed so far away. Well, it turns out that not only did it get here before we knew it, but the book came out a little sooner than we thought. It turned out to be a soft launch. In the world of online commerce, once books arrive in the warehouse, they can be…

  • 4 Reasons For B2B Marketers To Explore Pinterest

    Karlie Justus
    20 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Pinterest has made a big splash on the social media scene, by quickly earning passionate users who log multiple hours per day on the site. Pinterest saw a 4,000% increase in site traffic from June to December of last year, and many consumer-facing and female-centric brands are already using it well. While Nordstrom pins its latest shoes and fashions by boards organized by department, Whole Foods uses the site to pin kitchen design inspiration and recycling projects in addition to recipes using its foods. But despite its reputation as a service for brides and decorators, only 58% of the…

  • 6 Ways to Create and Share B2B Social Media Content Without a Blog

    Jeffrey L. Cohen
    18 Jan 2012 | 10:33 am
    One of the best ways to use social media to drive traffic to your B2B website is to create a blog on your website and publish relevant articles to your prospects and customers. Rather than posting this content only on your social media channels, it is hosted on a site that you control. And you can use your social channels to share your content and bring visitors to your site. For some organizations it is not currently possible to create a blog, but B2B marketers are still interested in creating and sharing content. In addition to the awareness benefit that sharing new content brings,…

  • Awesome Content is Key to B2B Social Media

    Jeffrey L. Cohen
    13 Jan 2012 | 6:41 am
    Whether you believe that content is king, queen or the court jester in your B2B social media activities, there is no disputing that creating and distributing remarkable, valuable content is key to success. No matter if your goals are to drive awareness, traffic or leads, content is a big part of that. Below are several articles that help frame the discussion around content, as well as tips to create better content. I have also included the latest in string of awesome infographics (read “content”) from the partnership between Eloqua and JESS3. If you have one great tip about…
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    The Internet Marketing Lounge

  • Exploring Server Solutions – What Exactly Is A Plesk Dedicated Server?

    SLV
    20 Jan 2012 | 10:33 am
    Many people are looking for technology that is easy to use. This is also true of many businesses where it is necessary to take advantage of opportunities as quickly as possible to ensure success. UK dedicated servers hosting is a big part of having access to the resources that are a available. It does not have to be tricky or complicated to use and there are servers that are designed for different purposes. A dedicated managed server is different from a regular one in that one does not have to share it with anyone else. These types of servers are designed to meet the needs of the business…

  • Effective and Power-packed Podcast Production

    SLV
    16 Jan 2012 | 9:10 am
    Generating multimedia presentations uses ability and technical expertise on the part of the graphics artist assigned to produce them. In the same manner, podcast production can also better apply the expert help of podcast providers in order to successfully accomplish its commercial purpose. Developing good quality podcasts in exceptional MP3 formats and publishing the audio productions to your host web servers entail effective technical talents. This is to assure the superb proficiency of podcast programs that would pull in progressively more members and acquiring buyers to your target…

  • A New Year And A New Web Host

    SLV
    9 Jan 2012 | 9:46 am
    The perfect time to think about looking for a new web hosting provider is the New Year if you are feeling let down by the one that you are currently using. Starting the new year in the right way does make a lot of sense but it pays to be careful when considering switching to a new web host. Before you make the switch you need to ensure that you have done sufficient research into which web hosting provider to choose; otherwise, next year you will probably be in the same position again. The following are just a few tips that you can follow to make sure this doesn’t happen.   One of…

  • Precisely What is Link Building?

    SLV
    5 Jan 2012 | 10:05 am
    Link building is a term which refers to the whole process of making inbound links to your own website. This process can improve your online traffic because if you have more links available to internet users, more people will visit your site. Therefore, the more link building you have to your website, the better. Nowadays, virtually all SEO service companies offer this type of service. Exchanging links, which is an essential part of link building, is the method where a couple of site owners exchange their own links and display the other’s link on their websites. A few SEO service…

  • Managed Cloud Webhosting – Ways It Takes Stress From Your Company

    SLV
    3 Jan 2012 | 3:09 am
    Understanding and using managed hosting servers will take pressure off of any business, because of its security, inexpensiveness, and availability. Managed hosting provides both the redundancy and cost benefits of public clouds, combined with the availability and security of private clouds. This service is typically offered to businesses on a monthly contract basis, for their critical applications. Instead of monitoring servers, businesses will have the freedom to focus on essential functions. Public clouds utilize the same payment structure as public utilities. Users pay a charge based on…
 
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    Blogging Tips on How to Make Money Blogging - Donny Gamble

  • Top 10 Most Important Things an Online Entrepreneur Needs to Know

    Donny
    11 Jan 2012 | 7:55 am
    In today’s world, the internet has not only made it easier to network, shop and socialize, but it has also made it easier to make money. For this reason, there’s no surprise that many entrepreneurs are jumping headfirst into the giant online pond to build their businesses.  However, if you aren’t equipped with the proper floatation devices, your online empire just might drown… To avoid such a fate, be sure to check out the following ten tips that every online entrepreneur needs to know: #1:  Be creative. No matter how original the idea for your company may be, keep in mind that…

  • Twitter Testimonials: A Powerful Business Tool

    Donny
    27 Dec 2011 | 11:28 am
    Testimonials are a popular marketing tool used by both small and large firms to promote their product or service to prospective customers or existing clients. While testimonials may be less important for existing customers that have already developed a certain loyalty to your firm, for new customers, testimonials are the closest thing to a personal recommendation. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform where users update their states or share new information in 140 characters or less. More and more businesses are devising create ways to use the twitter platform to market and promote their…

  • Does advertising on social networks work and to what degree?

    Donny
    20 Dec 2011 | 8:01 am
    Carrying out the advertising on social networking websites is a new subject of debate. Thanks to the excessive use of social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter, the entrepreneurs have started taking this world seriously to market their products. However, the answer to this question is both yes and no. People who are against this idea say that they work at certain extent, since at social networks people do not come to see advertising but to interact with their friends and community. But, the recent reports by the Knowledge Networks reveal a new picture wherein it says that around 16…

  • Top 5 Elements of Making Money Online Selling Your Skills

    Donny
    13 Dec 2011 | 8:11 am
    Do you want extra income from your online business? You should sell your skills. There are several business opportunities online that promise to make you an instant millionaire if only you can join. I’ve discovered a long time ago how distracting these offers are. Affiliate marketing is actually the simplest way to start making money quickly – but not the easiest. Well, there is a big difference between easy and simple. But my goal in this article is to show you how to earn some decent income online selling your own skills. I’m talking about freelance business. However, you need to…

  • How Social Media Will Impact the Future of SEO

    Donny
    6 Dec 2011 | 6:44 am
    We see an incredible number of users all across the world over various social networking platforms. The users of these sites are seen sharing, communicating and doing other things day in and day out. This is the reason why even the SEO has to pay a heed over these sites for the number of web searches. The attributes of social networking sites seems to be a latest lure for the SEO specialists. Hence they are putting more and more efforts in using social media platforms for the SEO thing. The other vital reason for this new trend is that these social media solutions come out to be a cost…
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    Elaine Fogel - Totally Uncorked on Marketing

  • Your Audience Needs to Hear You 3-5 Times

    Elaine Fogel
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:15 am
    BufferNew research from Edelman (with chart compliments of Marketing Charts) shows that your audience needs to hear your message 3-5 times in order to believe it to be true. Does that surprise you? I actually thought it would take more exposure than that. What does this tell us? Right Message + Right Time + Reach + Repetition = RESULTS

  • People Trust Traditional Info Sources More than Digital

    Elaine Fogel
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:33 am
    BufferSo, what's all this about digital marketing taking over the world? According to a new study by Edelman which is captured by Marketing Charts: 32% of informed publics* in 20 countries around the world say they trust traditional information sources a great deal, representing a 10% rise from 29% in 2011, and remaining ahead of online sources, which rose 18% from 22% to 26% of these respondents. It's true that social media showed the largest growth in trust of the various media sources, with 14% citing a great deal of trust, up 75% from 8% in 2011. And that's a good thing. BUT,…

  • Dreaming of a Better Nonprofit Sector

    Elaine Fogel
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    BufferNancy Schwartz, nonprofit marketer, keeper of the Getting Attention blog, and host of the first Nonprofit Blog Carnival of 2012, invited me to submit a blog post about my dream for the nonprofit sector. "Pick any dream you have – for your cause, organization or the nonprofit sector - and write about it, and how you plan to make it real." I thought about it, and boy, could I create a long list! How to narrow it down. Hmmm. Since I don't work on the "inside" anymore, I'll pass on writing my dream for a cause or specific organization and stick with my…

  • Does Your Social Media Manager Convey Your Brand?

    Elaine Fogel
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:31 am
    BufferWith social media being a relatively new marketing communications channel, how many social media managers working today have a background in the marketing or communications field? Many probably do and yet, I'll bet there are loads of them who don't. Social media managers are at the forefront of their employers' brands. Every comment, discussion, and interaction is a reflection of the brand. How they write, their word choices, their tone, and yes, even their spelling and punctuation, all contribute to the brand impressions that followers will have. Whether your organization…

  • Why Don’t People Say Thank You Anymore?

    Elaine Fogel
    20 Jan 2012 | 8:12 am
    BufferI don't want to sound like a curmudgeon, but I am miffed. Yes, ticked off. I just don't understand why people don't say "thank you" anymore. Is it so hard??? I have many examples but I'll refrain from venting too much, so here are just a couple: For the holidays, we mailed out gifts to our clients, colleagues, and some prospects we know personally. Because we distribute promotional products as part of our marketing services, we chose a lovely leather business card holder with our logo embossed on it. We sent black ones to men and either red or bright orange…
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    Access Brand Strategies

  • My Minute With Tim Tebow

    Paul
    18 Jan 2012 | 5:40 am
    I had a great opportunity to get first hand exposure to the Tim Tebow frenzy prior to the 2010 NFL draft.  Already a football history-maker and college superstar, Tebow chose to prepare for the NFL combine at a facility in a suburb of Nashville because people were mobbing him at his Florida training facility...

  • Is Saying Merry Christmas Politically Correct? Good For Business?

    Paul
    15 Dec 2011 | 11:29 am
    If you’re a marketer and care about the political correctness of the phrase “Merry Christmas”, you’ve already lost. Several retailers realized the importance of the phrase to their customers.  Randy Sharp, director-special projects at the American Family Association, said that in the past five years the group has seen the percentage of retailers recognizing Christmas in their advertising rise from 20% to 80%...

  • 5 Ways to Make Your Brand Culturally Relevant

    Paul
    17 Nov 2011 | 3:42 am
    How we build brands has changed dramatically.  Marketing departments are thinly staffed, saddled with higher expectations and less time to meet them.  Most likely, you’ve become blinded by the process of brand building and lost sight of what excited you about this business in the first place.

  • What Role Does Faith Play in Building Brands?

    Paul
    14 Oct 2011 | 1:23 pm
    The ad industry works so hard to keep faith out of the mix that is has backfired.  Forget the fact the 92% of Americans believe in God or a higher power (Pew study) or that this country was founded on the notion of freedom to worship as you choose, faith is just not a welcomed subject outside your home. If you have anything to do with branding, it’s critical to accept the fact that we are a faith-based nation and our faith often serves as a guide in the brands we support...

  • Six Ignorant Stereotypes About Middle America

    Paul
    5 Oct 2011 | 4:38 pm
    What do you think of when you hear “Heartland”,  “the South” or “Middle America”? If you’re like a lot of people I know on the coasts, the first things that come to mind are usually not positive... Stereotypes exist for a reason, but if you’re trying to build a brand and engage consumers at a deep level, oversimplifications will hurt your cause. Stereotypes, taken to cynical extremes, are big-time brand killers.
 
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    The Rise to the Top

  • The 7-Figure Sex Expert: How David Wygant Became Known as an Expert on Dating, Relationships, and Sex

    David Siteman Garland
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:22 am
    Today on The Rise To The Top: The #1 Non-Boring Business Show: A good ole “living case study” today on the show. David Wyant, who has been referred to as a “real life Hitch”, reveals all the behind-the-scenes details of how he’s built a 7-figure online business through his expertise of dating, relationships, and sex. Get ready for some wild stories, actionable tips, and more, as we discuss everything from building credibility and building a name for yourself, to turning your expertise into products. I use RISE partner Wistia for video hosting because they rock.

  • How She Got Started: The Barefoot Executive Carrie Wilkerson on Launching Her First Product and Building Her Credibility

    David Siteman Garland
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:54 am
    Today on The Rise To The Top: The #1 Non-Boring Business Show: You probably know today’s guest, Carrie Wilkerson, as the massively successful “Barefoot Executive” who has created an empire around helping work at home professionals. Her empire includes Barefoot Executive TV, her book The Barefoot Executive (affiliate), live events, training, and more. She has raving fans and customers that number in the multiple thousands. But, how did she get started on the path to success? In today’s interview, Carrie reveals how she began, came up with her brand idea, built up her…

  • What Separates Top Internet Marketers, Bloggers & Mediapreneurs From The Rest Of The Herd

    David Siteman Garland
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:34 pm
    Boom. What do you think?

  • How Ramit Sethi From IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com Monetized After Giving Away Content for Years on His Blog

    David Siteman Garland
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:50 am
    Today On The Rise To The Top: The #1 Non-Boring Business Show: One of my most requested guests of all time. The creator of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, New York Times Best-Selling Author (affiliate), and amazing Internet entrepreneur – Ramit Sethi – is in the house and spilling the beans on all kinds of secrets, including how his blog got so popular, how he monetized by launching his first product (and what he learned from it), his rigorous research process, and much more in this super naked interview. I use RISE partner Wistia for video hosting because they rock. Check ‘em…

  • Want to Stick Out from the Pack? Internet Legend Yanik Silver Shares His Secrets of Differentiating by Astonishing

    David Siteman Garland
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:16 am
    Today on The Rise To The Top: The #1 Non-Boring Business Show: So, one of the big questions I always here over and over again is “How do I stick out?”. Meaning, how can my brand/blog/show/product stick out from everyone else out there? I tracked down the man, myth, legend who has done exactly that (in a very crowded space), Yanik Silver, and today on the show he is giving us all kinds of actionable advice on how we can all differentiate by astonishing – based on his experience and not fluffy theory. Enjoy! I use RISE partner Wistia for video hosting because they rock. Check…
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    Digital Connections - 360i Blog, Digital Marketing Agency

  • Coca-Cola Will Be First Brand Ever to Select Super Bowl Ad Spot On the Fly

    360i
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am
    Football fans won’t be the only ones invested in the outcome of Super Bowl XLVI. Execs at Coca-Cola will also be watching closely – on the ground in Indianapolis, in fact – as they will determine the brand’s 60-second spot in real time based on the direction of the game. It’s a breakthrough strategy that has never been done before in the Big Game’s storied past, but one that aligns with consumers’ ever-growing expectation for content that’s relevant to what’s happening right now. To pull this off, Coca-Cola created two spots – one of which will air during the second…

  • 360i Named No. 1 on Ad Age’s List of “Standout Shops”

    360i
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:23 am
    We are honored to announce that 360i has been named in Ad Age’s Agency A-List Issue as No. 1 on its roster of “10 Standout Shops”. The annual A-List issue highlights the top agencies in Ad Land, with this particular distinction citing our near-perfect client retention, track record for innovation, responsible growth and  thought leadership program that provides regular insights across nearly every facet of digital. Watch the video below to learn more about our agency philosophy: This honor follows recent accolades which including spots on both Ad Age and Crain’s “Best Places to…

  • 360i Report on Hispanic Digital Influencers

    360i
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am
    Today, we’re launching the first in a series of reports exploring the role social media plays in the lives of Hispanics living in the United States. Reaching and engaging this population has become increasingly important to marketers over the past decade. The growth of this population presents both the promise of reaching a dynamic and engaged audience – armed with ever-increasing purchasing power – and the challenge of understanding the cultural nuances of a demographic with unique digital behaviors. » Download 360i’s Report on Hispanic Digital Influencers Why a POV series?

  • 6 Tips for Creating a Successful Second-Screen Experience

    Annie Maguire
    18 Jan 2012 | 9:58 am
    As a television network, how do you plan to succeed in making TV social? With recent studies pointing to buzz from social networks to be a possible driving force behind television ratings, networks are now looking to capitalize on this fact by creating social TV experiences designed to keep fans talking longer, consuming more content and providing valuable show insight. Second-screen apps are no longer the “future” of TV; they’re becoming an integrated part of the entertainment experience right now. These apps offer fans a place to not only converse about their favorite TV shows, but…

  • What Mattered for Marketers at CES 2012

    David Berkowitz
    17 Jan 2012 | 2:04 pm
    CES 2012: A Comprehensive Guide for Marketers View more presentations from 360i The Consumer Electronics Show is a massive labyrinth. As soon as you enter Las Vegas for the event, and especially by the time you reach the Convention Center, you may feel like you’ll never escape. The good news is that once you get free, it’s possible to put down your 3D glasses and reflect on what happened. If you weren’t there, then it’s all the more important to mute the hype (“Ryan Seacrest joined Steve Ballmer for Microsoft’s keynote!”) and get a sense of what…
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    bwagy

  • The Top Ten New Years Resolutions

    Ben Young
    9 Jan 2012 | 1:55 pm
    Google anything with the Top Ten before it chances are you’ll find a list.I even had an idea several years ago to build a site just all around top 10 lists.  Pretty sure someone has done it since.It’s when we get stuck in comparing us against others that often pull us from our strategy.  That’s why political parties end up so middle of the road, they keep comparing rather than sticking to their plans.  It’s why brands start to compromise from their values rather than holding fast.You could stack yourself up against that or just stick to what’s important to…

  • Massive Year – Enjoy the downtime

    Ben Young
    22 Dec 2011 | 4:06 pm
    This is the final post for 2011.Posts have been a bit sporadic of recent, due to an ever increasing timetable, things are back in balance now though.  So we should scream into 2012.Few things to celebrate with Young & Shand, 290 proposals written in the last year, 250% revenue growth, 1 prototype product, 2 in development.  Couldn’t be more stoked with progress!How’s your year been?Time to take some time off, reflect, read some good books, figure a plan of attack for the new year.  Wherever you are – enjoy the festive season.Look forward to tackling 2012.

  • Personal Media Creation, no longer at the fringes

    Ben Young
    19 Dec 2011 | 3:20 pm
    Two years ago running a user generated initiative was hard work.  A lot of work for little entries.Now it’s 10 times easier, getting feedback, pictures, participation.People feel more confident creating & sharing their personal content.It’s now a habit, it’s that easy.If you’ve given it a go in the past but didn’t work, time to rethink.  

  • In creating change, your job is to make things easy

    Ben Young
    13 Dec 2011 | 7:26 pm
    People speak of Steve Jobs & his reality distortion field.If you’re in the business of change, it is your job to make it easy.Break it up, provide the path, make it super easy for people to take the first step & get started.Ultimately they may go off the path but it’s easy to readjust and get them back on it.If you can do that, synthesise big ideas, make it easy to understand, get started & take part. You’ll be massively effective.

  • Paying for the attention of the exact same people

    Ben Young
    12 Dec 2011 | 3:49 pm
    Paying for the attention of the exact same people over and over.It’s a habit that marketers have fallen into.  Yes we should use the opportunities available to get our message out there.But do we really need to keep paying exorbitant sums of money to talk to the same exact people? Probably not.Simply ask for permission.  Permission to talk to them again.It doesn’t necessarily mean we stop doing the former, it’s just we are missing out on massive value from the latter, the exact people that want to hear from us, that care about us.
 
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    Never get out of the boat

  • a war we have to win

    19 Jan 2012 | 8:16 pm
    On the off chance that even just one person who may read this is not up to speed with the implications of SOPA and PIPA, and has not been exposed to the clip above; if you are that person then please spend 15mins at some point to watch this video shot during the week at the TED offices.Clay Shirky explains the real effects and the threat of the proposed legislation.Of course, the details of the shutting down - and arrest of key staff - of file sharing service Megaupload, by US agents earlier today gives a clear indication of why this is an international issue, not simply US legislation.'None…

  • can you count, suckers?

    19 Jan 2012 | 3:52 pm
    Anything that kicks off it's pitch with Cyrus from the Gramercy Riffs, gets my vote.Part of the Make It Count campaign — Life is a sport. Make it count - the NikeFuelband is a Nike+ extension, a rubber bracelet worn on the wrist during exercise and sports activities to measure 'steps, calories, time & Fuel metric'.It syncs with your iphone and also integrates with social flavour of the month Path, to journal your daily activity.HT The Kaiser

  • unique talking point

    18 Jan 2012 | 3:42 pm
    While I'm not a data geek by any stretch a couple of things were interesting about some of the top line data that emerged around the Golden Globes TV coverage in the US and it’s impact on brand mentions within social networks.Firstly, in spectacle terms, the NFL match between Giants and Packers pipped the Globes as number one socialtv (sic) show on Sunday with over 1.5m social mentions by circa 950,000 unique authors.The Globes came number 2 with 1.1m mentions from a smaller but more active group of 492,000 unique chatterers.Twitter activity is said to have peaked at 6,162…

  • needle: fan sourcing sales

    18 Jan 2012 | 3:25 pm
    In theory, Needle would be about taking customer advocacy to the next level, by partly 'fan-sourcing' both the sales and customer service platforms for online businesses.Needle claims to be able to tap into an existing fan base, train it up to be able to sell your product or service, and then allows them to do it online from wherever they are.They say:'Customers want to know how your product applies to them. They want their questions answered live by an expert who speaks their language, and whose suggestions they can trust. Trained experts on the Needle platform engage customers by asking…

  • flogging a dead horse

    12 Jan 2012 | 2:31 pm
    This is so much post of the week, and even an early contender for post of the year, that I am simply going to quote it in it's entirity.From the always wise, and now slimline, Jonathan MacDonald who's recent weight-loss success has also apparent side effect of further sharpening his, already incisive wit and insight...Tribal wisdom of Dakota Indians: when you discover that you are riding a dead horse, your best strategy is to dismount.However, in business and in Government, more advanced strategies are often employed such as:Buying a stronger (and more expensive) whip.Changing…
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    One Half Amazing! - Digital Marketing Blog

  • The era of social commerce is here

    Bob Hazlett
    18 Jan 2012 | 5:55 pm
    Back in May of 2009 I commented on a video from Jeremiah Owyang about the future of the social web. In the video, he theorizes that the web will go from social relationships (simply connecting with people via facebook, twitter, etc) to social functionality (apps) and onto eras of social colonization and context where your friends will go wherever you go and the messages you receive are tailored to your likes. In one of the final phases of the social web he talks about social commerce. In that he means that communities will come together to define the products and features they want and…

  • You’re going to use Google+ and like it

    Bob Hazlett
    12 Jan 2012 | 6:36 am
    MG Seigler commenting above on Google’s latest announcement to closely integrate Google+ features into search results. Starting now, search results will be more closely tied to your Google+ profile. The rub is that very little of your Facebook, Twitter or other connections or content will be integrated into these results. To me and a lot of other users, this feels like Google is shoving their Google+ social network down your throat and essentially forcing you to use it or suffer with poor search results. As a marketer, that means you better get on the boat now. You’re going to use…

  • Have you been to an Apple store lately?

    Bob Hazlett
    11 Jan 2012 | 5:09 am
    The quote above is from a piece by Larry Downes about the downfall of Best Buy which was also covered by John Gruber of Daring Fireball. Gruber covers Apple related news and gives great insight on the industry. I’m a fan of both Apple and Gruber, but let me ask you this. Have you been to an Apple retail store lately? Recently the experience is not much better than Best Buy in my opinion. The last few times I’ve tried to go to an Apple retail store, I’ve been met with a barage of customers waiting around for an employee to basically hold their hand reset their iPhone.

  • Can I pick your brain?

    Bob Hazlett
    9 Jan 2012 | 6:56 am
    It’s flattering to be asked for your advice, but such a let down to know that the other party is just there to suck you of all your hard earned knowledge. If they’re serious about the project, they’ll find something of value to pay you with. Good read in Forbes. Can I pick your brain? is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

  • How to raise prices and avoid a social media backlash

    Bob Hazlett
    6 Jan 2012 | 6:29 am
    This past year saw a number of high profile brands attempt to implement fees or raise prices, only to backpedal and grovel after facing a scathing flood of angry and vocal customers. Great advice from Experience. How to raise prices and avoid a social media backlash is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!
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    Rebel Industries Blog

  • New Amsterdam Shave Lounge

    Josh Levine
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:42 pm
    Rebel Industries kicked off a 12-event series for New Amsterdam Vodka last week at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, UT. Guests at the Slamdance opening night party were the first to experience the New Amsterdam Shave Lounge, an early 1900s-style barbershop / bar setup that offered free straight-razor shaves, shoe shines, and of course cocktails. You can read Event Marketer’s coverage of the program here The New Amsterdam Shave Lounge will be seen 11 more times this year at key special events around the country. Hit us up to find out where, or to suggest an event that…

  • Rebel Industries Is Hiring | Account Executive

    Michal
    6 Dec 2011 | 9:51 am
    Job Description: Rebel Industries needs an entrepreneurial, engaging and polished Account Executive with experience across experiential, grassroots, and social media marketing.  Account Executive position description: The Account Executive holds overall responsibility for account management for major consumer brands and leads the relationship with clients, vendors and team members, actively participating in the strategic direction of grassroots and social media marketing programs, while also owning the day-to-day project details, including tasks, budget, scope and schedule management,…

  • No ‘Brake’

    Michal
    28 Nov 2011 | 6:02 pm
    Marketers give the food truck craze extra miles with social media integration. “The assumption from some chefs is that they know how to make these recipes, so they’ll do it their way, but if you have consumers waiting a half hour for food, that’s a problem and you’re not going to leave the kind of brand impression you intended,” says Josh Levine, ceo at Rebel Industries. “It’s balancing fresh food and speedy service.” The goal is for consumers to linger for 10 minutes or so to discuss the product with brand ambassadors as they wait for their food. Read the full article on…

  • Wasting Time

    Josh Levine
    12 Nov 2011 | 6:48 pm
    Found this on the Touchstone site. The average person wastes 150 hours a year. Don’t be one of those people! Think about where you are wasting time that you can get back, for yourself. That time you could be sleeping, working out, practicing your art, traveling, or putting to good use to make more money for yourself and help Rebel Industries build a better company. You could be learning, exploring, growing. Or just having more fun. How many meetings are you in that you don’t need to be in? Or that don’t need to happen at all? How much time are you spending commuting to an…

  • How Playing Limit Holdem Poker Will Help You Build Your Business

    Josh Levine
    5 Nov 2011 | 10:59 am
    Here’s what I learned listening to a talk by David Freidberg, part of Stanford’s brilliant Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders series. He’s building a massively profitable company called The Climate Corporation, and he equates the process of building his business with the lessons he learned from playing Limit Holdem poker in college. Unlike No Limit Holdem (which sounds better), you don’t make money at Limit Holdem by going all in and getting lucky. You make money a little bit at a time, by grinding.   Same goes for building a business, Friedberg says. “You…
 
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    The eMarketer Blog

  • January 27, 2012: eMarketer in the News

    Veronica Sepe
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:01 pm
    Here are a few of the top stories in which eMarketer data and analysis were featured during the past week or so: The New York Times – Yahoo’s Income Drops 5% [...]

  • January 20, 2012: eMarketer in the News

    Veronica Sepe
    20 Jan 2012 | 4:46 pm
    Here are a few of the top stories in which eMarketer data and analysis were featured during the past week or so: The Economist – Cheerio to the Chief Fond of [...]

  • eMarketer Webinar: Measuring Social Media Success

    Daniel Caridi
    20 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    To listen and watch playback of the webinar, Measuring Social Media Success, click here. You can view the PowerPoint deck below. View more presentations from eMarketer The webinar will address [...]

  • January 13, 2012: eMarketer in the News

    Veronica Sepe
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:59 am
    Here are a few of the top stories in which eMarketer data and analysis were featured during the past week or so: The Wall Street Journal – Hulu to Create More [...]

  • January 6, 2012: eMarketer in the News

    Veronica Sepe
    6 Jan 2012 | 5:06 pm
    Here are a few of the top stories in which eMarketer data and analysis were featured during the past week or so: The Wall Street Journal – Yahoo Leaves Investors in [...]
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    Media Hunter

  • Its a war for web supremacy and you’re in the crossfire

    Media Hunter
    26 Jan 2012 | 8:47 pm
    Larry Page & Mark Zuckerberg. (Image originally atlanticwire.com) Every time you go online you are entering a war zone. It might not feel like it, but there is an almighty battle taking place between two superpowers and you are caught in the crossfire. Welcome to the war for web supremacy. The super powers, if you haven’t already guessed, are the search behemoth Google and social heavyweight champion Facebook. The prize is you and your data. Sure, there are other combatants in this war; Twitter, Apple, Bing, LinkedIn…even Yahoo!, but they are merely involved in skirmishes and…

  • How to create a kickass online marketing strategy

    Media Hunter
    17 Jan 2012 | 12:04 am
    Andrew and Elise had a dream to launch a business that provided people with the mind-blowing experience of swimming with dolphins in the wild. They now receive bookings online every day and meet their (pre-paid) customers dockside just prior to the swim. They did it with a kickass online marketing strategy. Don decided it was time for his innovative Australian-based software solutions company to launch in the most competitive market in the world, the USA, and compete against the might of software giants Oracle and SAP. Two years later they’ve not only launched in the USA, they’re…

  • Rethinking media consumption for improved productivity

    Media Hunter
    8 Jan 2012 | 11:37 pm
    originally uploaded by http://www.intersectionofonlineandoffline.com Ok, I’ll admit it….I’m a little bit addicted to social networks. Using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ is an important part of my work, but it probably fair to say that over the course of a day I am exceeding what is needed to effectively get the job done. When you add the many different blogs and websites I check daily for great content and industry news, I am beginning to consume an amazing amount of media. And then it becomes a default habit, something that can easily fill the day and lead you…

  • The digital revolution is complete

    Media Hunter
    26 Dec 2011 | 9:03 pm
    Do you still believe the digital revolution is the domain of cool young Gen-Y’s and upwardly mobile Gen-X’s? Do you still think your business is immune? Think again. As I spend the Christmas break with my extended family I can’t help but notice how connected everyone now is. With ages from 5 to 68 filling the house, nobody here could be considered a Luddite. My father flits between his MacBook, iPad and iPhone. He downloads his books and music, reads all his news online and buys golf gear, fishing gear, clothing and more online. The iPad is his favorite device. Mum just…

  • 9 ways people are interacting with brands via social media

    Media Hunter
    18 Dec 2011 | 11:48 pm
    US market research firm AYTM have just published an excellent infographic, Branding and how it works in the social media age, which has some handy statistics for modern marketers. I have paraphrased a few of the best stats here or you can look through the entire infographic by clicking on “read rest of this entry”. 1. 85% of internet users have Facebook accounts; 49% are on Twitter 2. 74% of internet users use Facebook daily; 35% use Twitter daily 3. 19% of people follow a brand on Twitter  4. 39% of people have tweeted about a brand on Twitter  5. 58% of Facebook users…
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    Occam's Razor by Avinash Kaushik

  • The 2015 Digital Marketing Rule Book. Change or Perish.

    Avinash Kaushik
    9 Jan 2012 | 4:26 am
    It is the season to be predicting the future, but that is almost always a career-limiting move. So I'm not going to do that. It is a lot easier to predict the present. So I'm not going to do that either. Rather, I'm going to share a clump of realities/rules garnered from the present to help ready you for the predictable near future . Now here is the great part… if you follow these rules and act on these insights I believe you'll be significantly better prepared for the unpredictable future. Awesome right? Now here's another surprise: These rules/insights/mind…

  • Best Web Metrics / KPIs for a Small, Medium or Large Sized Business

    Avinash Kaushik
    12 Dec 2011 | 4:11 am
    We have access to more data than God wants anyone to have. Thus it is not surprising that we feel overwhelmed, and rather than being data driven we just get paralyzed. Life does not have to be that scary. In fact a data driven life is sexiest digital life you can imagine. In this blog post we are going to bring the sexyback. I am going to attempt to significantly simply your life by recommending the critical few metrics you should use to analyze performance of your digital marketing campaigns and website. You'll be able to quickly go from "omg what can I do!" to "omg what…

  • Smarter Data Analysis of Google's https (not provided) change: 5 Steps

    Avinash Kaushik
    21 Nov 2011 | 4:22 am
    It is astonishingly common that we are asked to analyze the impossible. In perhaps a career-limiting move I'm going to try to do that today (and for a controversial topic to boot!). In this post about an important Google change, I want you to focus less on the data and focus more on the methodology. And – so important – I want you to help me with your ideas of how we can do this impossible analysis better, in the complete absence of data :). So please share your ideas via comments and let's together make a smarter ecosystem. On board? Let's go…. In an effort…

  • Data Analysis 101: Seven Simple Mistakes That Limit Your Salary

    Avinash Kaushik
    31 Oct 2011 | 4:42 am
    Data analysis is not easy. It takes years to get good at it, and once you get good at it you realize how much more there is to learn. That is part of the joy. You are always learning. You are always growing. This blogpost is a collection of tips I share with my friends who are just starting out. Each tip is a "simple" mistake that is easily avoided. My hope is that you'll skip them if you are aware of them, and move on to making more important valuable mistakes. :) My plan is to wrap each tip with additional observations, context that will be of value even to those who have…

  • Best Social Media Metrics: Conversation, Amplification, Applause, Economic Value

    Avinash Kaushik
    10 Oct 2011 | 5:01 am
    I am going to break one of my unspoken cardinal rules: Only write about real problems and measurement that is actually possible in the real world. I am going to break the second part of the rule. I am going to define a way for you to think about measuring social media, and you can't actually easily measure what I am going to recommend. So why break the rule? Social media is evolving at an incredible pace. Most of us have no idea how to participate optimally in this unique channel – we are doing TV on Twitter (breaks my heart). The impact on the data side of the ecosystem is that…
 
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    Conversation Agent

  • Digital Intent, Behavioral Targeting, and Relationships

    Valeria Maltoni
    28 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Intent is the new black. I was at a dinner in New York City hosted by Human 1.0 the other night. We were there to learn about Big Data and a big part of the conversation around the table shifted to talking about intent. While social technology has given us effective ways to express our “likes”,... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]

  • What Keeps You up at Night?

    Valeria Maltoni
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    I'm a night owl. Often people will hear back from me in the wee hours because I get creative at around 4pm and then stay in flow for hours after that. By the time I realize I'm cold from the heating going to low for the night, it's way past bed time. When I get into flow, I shut everything else... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]

  • Keep the Faith. Demand Proof. Relentlessly.

    Valeria Maltoni
    26 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    There are two aspects to doing business -- believing in what you're doing, and verifying that it works for your customers and clients. To succeed, you need to do both, relentlessly. When it's only about keeping the faith, you may be worshiping at the altar of hope (or its shady cousin, ego), and... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]

  • How to Win Customers and Influence Word of Mouth

    Valeria Maltoni
    25 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    When I met Stan Phelps for coffee a little over a year ago, I learned for the first time there was a term -- lagniappe -- that meant a small gift given to a customers by a merchant at the time of purchase. It cannot be faked of forced, for it to work it must feel real. Our conversation on the... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]

  • The Truth About B2B Social Media Adoption

    Valeria Maltoni
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    While we've been sharing examples of creative content strategy executions for a couple of years here, it's easy to forget that the rest of the business world may still be wrestling with different issues. The truth about social media adoption, according to the results of a survey conducted by Penton... [Click on the title to read this article in its entirety at Conversation Agent]
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    Msgme Blog

  • Mobile Marketing For Corporate Local Businesses

    kane
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:20 am
    So today my colleague was a in a Starbucks* in San Francisco. Clearly a person at a Starbucks in San Francisco isn’t big news. This particular trip, however, was interesting for two, contrasting, reasons: He saw a beautifully branded QR code on an in-store display promoting the purchase of Starbucks bags of coffee. Scanning the QR code was stellar: it connected to a mobile optimized page where he could vote for his favorite roast, watch a movie, post to social networks, make comments, i.e. everything he could ever want. As my colleague held up his phone to scan the code, he heard an…

  • SMS Marketing And Dynamic Data Management

    kane
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:41 am
    Today we look at another one of SMS marketing’s intricacies: dynamic data management. Somewhat more complex than integrating zip codes or unique codes into message flows, but that’s what makes working at a technology company fun. Within dynamic data management, we’re going to explore two concepts in particular: making SMS conversational and integrating with external data inputs. Conversational SMS As we all know, SMS continues to run rampant in the U.S. One of the main reasons for this we can find out by talking to anyone who uses text messaging: it’s easy to have an interactive…

  • 77177 Campaign Spotlight: Sundance Film Festival and Finding North

    kane
    20 Jan 2012 | 6:50 pm
    Exciting news today: TakePart and Participant Media just announced their latest mobile campaign – set to go live during the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. The campaign is in support of TakePart and Participant Media’s latest film, Finding North. In a long line of brilliantly executed activist films, including Inconvenient Truth, The Cove and Waiting For “Superman”, Finding North focuses on the impact of hunger in the US. The film details how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and how exactly it can be solved once and for all: the…

  • How SOPA & PIPA Affects Mobile Marketing

    Esther
    18 Jan 2012 | 6:24 pm
    January 18th, 2012: Blackout Day. By now you’ve probably heard of the public outcry against the SOPA & PIPA bills as leaders of the free internet (including Google, Wikipedia, Reddit, Facebook) take up the march against them. So what exactly are SOPA and PIPA? In order to understand how these bills affect your mobile marketing initiatives, it’s important to have a bit of background on the issue first. SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, is an anti-piracy/censorship bill currently making its way through Congress. It gives law enforcement and content creators (i.e. the…

  • QR Codes and Mobile Apps

    kane
    18 Jan 2012 | 4:14 pm
    Some good stats today on two mobile marketing channels: QR codes and mobile apps. They caught my eye not just for the information that they shared, but because of the conclusions that the authors drew. Let’s take a look: QR Codes: eMarketer released stats on QR codes, their recognizability and why consumers are scanning them. The first, entitled “U.S. Internet Users’ Familiarity With QR Codes, October 2011,” breaks down a key difference between how consumers perceive QR Codes: Percentage of consumers that have heard of QR codes: Percentage of consumers that can identify a QR code when…
 
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    Direct Creative Blog

  • 3 little hints for effective limited-time offers

    Dean Rieck
    10 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    People are procrastinators. That’s why the limited-time offer remains one of the most effective direct marketing techniques in the known universe. It’s not an insult to call your prospects and customers procrastinators. It’s just true. I readily admit that I procrastinate. And I’ll bet you do too. After all, making decisions takes effort. And every day forces us to make an endless series of decisions. What will we wear? What will we eat? What will we buy for that birthday? Will we go to the beach or the mountains for vacation? Which school will our kids attend? Will we…

  • 9 editing tactics to supercharge your selling copy

    Dean Rieck
    13 Dec 2011 | 1:36 pm
    As any professional copywriter knows, writing copy is often the easy part of a project. It’s the editing that’s hard. After all, who wants to mess with copy once it’s written? It’s agonizing to rip into your own prose. But that’s exactly what it takes to turn good copy into great copy. Here are 9 ways to polish and energize your copy when you give it that second go-around. Write long and cut. It’s easier to overwrite and cut than to underwrite and add. Get everything down — no matter how sloppy or rough — then go back to trim and rearrange. Be…

  • 10+ tips for making the most of your customer testimonials

    Dean Rieck
    16 Nov 2011 | 11:24 am
    Around this time last year, I shared my SPURF method for collecting testimonials. I’m sure you’ve been spurfing up a storm and have tons of testimonials by now. So let’s look at how to make them work for you. Select testimonials from customers similar to your prospect. This increases the feeling of identification and relevance. A teacher will believe other teachers. A business owner will believe other business owners. The more similarity you can show, the more weight your prospect will give to your testimonials. Even seemingly nonsensical similarities, such as where people…

  • The Cedar Plank Salmon Secret of Selling

    Dean Rieck
    2 Nov 2011 | 3:24 pm
    Fine restaurants in the Pacific Northwest had been serving cedar plank salmon for years. But Harry Aldrich and David Maddocks wanted to sell a home version. Their idea was to manufacture a 6” x 12” piece of cedar wood. You put your salmon on the wood plank, put the plank into your home barbecue, and—voilà—cedar plank salmon. When Aldrich met with the seafood buyer for the Fred Meyer stores in Portland, Oregon, he didn’t bother with sales patter. He just said, “I’m here to help you sell more salmon.” Then he let the buyer taste a filet cooked on one of his cedar planks.

  • 6 secrets for winning pointy plastic creative advertising awards

    Dean Rieck
    19 Oct 2011 | 7:30 am
    Here’s an article I wrote a while back that infuriated agencies and award show supporters all over the country. It generated criticism, diatribes, tirades, personal attacks, verbal abuse … and quite a bit of praise. I guess it really hit home. So I’ve decided to share it with my loyal, savvy readers here. If you’re the typical advertising type, you can get pretty fed up with all those direct response techniques. How dare anyone suggest that your job is about something as crass as getting people to read a sales pitch or generating profit. After all, you’re a creative genius, right?
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    Greatest Stuff In The World

  • Web Development With Symfony2

    Chad
    6 Jan 2012 | 3:19 pm
    Without a doubt, the Symfony2 framework from Sensio Labs – www.symfony.com is an incredibly robust, “componentized” PHP-based framework that will scale from the smallest of sites to enterprise class E-Commerce implementations.  For those that are currently PHP savvy, this is the logical next step for those wanting to expand functionality, while minimizing development time. While the number of benefits are many, here is my personal take on “the big ones”: Fully Componentized You are never “locked in” to the entire platform, if you desire, you can use…

  • Email Marketing 101 – How Clean Is Your List?

    Chad
    14 Feb 2010 | 1:37 pm
    Whether you are getting started in Email Marketing or been an “old hand” at it for years, it might be worth re-evalutating your list hygiene practices.  This provides an opportunity to maximize deliverability in addition to ensuring your Customers are being targeted with appropriate content. Even with CAN-SPAM laws, spam continues to wreak havoc for legitimate Email Marketers.  This forces email list management best practices to be an ongoing, forever evolving, iterative cycle.   While there are many books written on this topic, here are just a few key points that should be a…

  • To iPad, Or Not To iPad?

    Chad
    30 Jan 2010 | 11:29 am
    That seems to be the big question following Apple’s announcement earlier this week.  Which, is certainly a different theme that followed the iPhone announcement – it carried more of a “when” are you getting an iPhone as opposed to “if”. iBooks on the iPad Personally, I agree with the direction Apple is heading with the iPad.  However, I must admit iPad 1.0 seems to be more of a focus for Apple to enter and capitalize on the fast growing eReader market.  I say this mostly because of the clear lack of features that you would expect for even version 1.0 of…

  • When Email Becomes ‘So 10 Minutes Ago’

    Chad
    20 Jan 2010 | 8:14 pm
    As someone that works for a marketing agency, it still amazes me all of the effort that goes into effectively using Email as a marketing tool!  From a technology standpoint, there is infrastructure in place to support both batch and real-time integration to our Email Service Provider (ESP).  Then there are all the ‘best practices’ that ultimately take the form of  a well-oiled execution machine when it comes to Email copy, creative, subject line testing, tracking, html landing pages, handling opt-outs, deliverability, send time optimization……etc, etc. With the…

  • Mobile Applications Meet Web 2.0

    Chad
    18 Jan 2010 | 10:36 pm
    Now that other mobile platforms besides Apple are coming to the table with something worth more than a picture in marketing brochure, you might need to rethink your mobile development strategy as it relates to multi-platform support. The obvious suspects are smart phones using Google’s Android platform and Blackberry is finally discovering there is more to mobile than email.  Microsoft, however, is still playing catch up in this area, sigh. What this means for both mobile application developers and marketers is simple. In the very near future (now), the market will demand…
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    The Fast Growth Blog

  • Someone Has To Write It

    Doug Davidoff
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:06 am
    In the last week I’ve had at least five conversations about the importance of content to support the sales and marketing process.  It’s probably a result of the Making Marketing Work webinar we held last week, but the resistance seems to be the same with everyone. We talk about the importance of content, the strategy to direct the content and the incredibly positive impact this approach has on sales results.  Inevitably, the person I’m discussing this with acknowledges the weaknesses they have without it, and its benefits.  Then I get the “but.”  As in, “But, someone will have…

  • To Break Your Growth Barrier – Sell Through Capacity

    Doug Davidoff
    19 Jan 2012 | 7:12 am
    Having owned and run multiple small businesses, I know, firsthand, that managing capacity is one of the most difficult challenges facing owners and executives.  It’s taken me years of trial and error to learn an important lesson to consistently growing a business – you must sell through capacity. I’ve learned that capacity is often an illusion at best and an excuse at worst.  When small and mid-size companies start thinking about capacity, they take their foot off the proverbial gas pedal. Two negative things occur when that happens: You eliminate your margin for error by doing…

  • Harness The Power of Effective B2B Marketing

    Doug Davidoff
    11 Jan 2012 | 12:38 pm
    In July of 2011, I wrote a somewhat controversial rant as to why marketing just doesn’t work for the vast majority of small and mid-market (SME) B2B companies.  As John Wanamaker famously said, “I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half.”  If you’re involved in a small or mid-market B2B company, you probably wish you were only wasting half.   In our experience, those companies that even do marketing not only find that half of their marketing efforts are a waste, but the half that is having impact is only creating about 50% of…

  • The Key To High Margin Sales

    Doug Davidoff
    5 Jan 2012 | 2:47 pm
    I don’t know about you, but Varuca Salt was my favorite character in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.  “I want an oompa loompa, and I want one now.” I think of her virtually every time I work with an entrepreneur on their go-to-market approach.  “I want more high margin sales, and I want more high margin sales now.” The biggest frustration in building an effective go-to-market approach is simply the time that it takes.  Recently I had a prospect ask one of my references, “Why does the process [referring to our process] take so much damn time?  What…

  • Is Your Business Ready For Growth?

    Doug Davidoff
    4 Jan 2012 | 3:40 pm
    11 months ago I released my eBook, Successfully Growing In A RecoveryI announced the release of the book with a blog post titled, The Great Recovery.  The post turned out to be somewhat controversial, as many readers and business executives expressed their belief that I was, at best, premature in my call. I tried to remind these executives that, too often, we confuse “recovery” with “expansion.”  Recoveries are very bumpy and are quite treacherous.  As I share in the book, recoveries can be even more dangerous than recessions if not handled properly. The main thought I shared was…
 
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    Michael Carwile

  • Not Being Noticed? Do Things Worth Noticing.

    Michael Carwile
    14 Jan 2012 | 6:55 am
    Feeling Small I recently made a conscious decision to form a new habit: to connect with more people both online and offline. I’ve always known that connections, social media and content production were important to my success. But, like many, I’ve always struggled with these things. As is typical in many stories you read about when someone begins down the path of content development and social media interactions, I held/hold onto fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what people will think. Fear of my own success. Fear of looking like an idiot – or worse, not even being noticed. I know in…

  • Power Napping To Boost Productivity

    Michael Carwile
    21 Dec 2011 | 7:47 pm
    Image Credit: Amir Jina I wake up early. I stay up late. On an average night, I sleep for about 5 or 6 hours. It is usually plenty for me. Though my recent run-in with Shingles might make some people believe otherwise. I normally wake up refreshed, energized, and ready to enjoy the day and its many adventures. Every once and a while, though, too many 5-hour nights in a row, combined with a starchy lunch, creates for a slow-paced afternoon. You know the feeling. That “2:30 feeling”. 5-hour Energy has made millions of dollars on that slogan. Interestingly enough, I’ve…

  • In Defense of Luxury Car Christmas Ads

    Michael Carwile
    12 Dec 2011 | 5:44 pm
    I’ve heard a lot of people around me complaining about the “ridiculous” luxury car commercials that are currently being flooded into the market. Most of the complaints I’ve heard have been in reference to the fact that they are simply unbelievable. Like this one: It seems a bit far-fetched that such a young couple, in this economy, can afford such an elaborate Christmas present. Sure, there are the outliers that would disprove this consensus. But the fact remains, most people don’t “buy” it. The other comments I often hear are similar to, “If I…

  • Overcome Writer’s Block: My “Writer’s Fiber” Formula

    Michael Carwile
    19 Nov 2011 | 5:17 pm
    Image Credit: chelseagirl Just start typing. That’s what I often read when I search for ways to overcome writer’s block. Writer’s block. Such an interesting phrase, really. Could it be that there is really a double meaning to the use of “block”? Why not call it “writer’s constipation”? It’s really a better description, in my opinion. Maybe it’s because I grew up playing football (and I’m coaching it now, too) but when I think of “blocking” I think of an outside force intentionally stopping you from achieving an objective.

  • Starbucks Even Got Their Gift Card Holders Right

    Michael Carwile
    17 Nov 2011 | 12:52 am
    Image Credit: Me I love everything about Starbucks (except maybe their prices). I’ve always been impressed by their customer experience and branding. It’s all so cohesive. Even this gift card holder matches the brand and provides an small but elegant engagement with their brand. Nerd alert: The holder stock is a recycled paper stock with a simple spot UV coating. Potentially Related Pre-Ordering best practices & the iPad (my version) Breakfast + Brisket + Guns + Football = Awesomesauce Sharing Life’s Adventures Dear Website, You Lost Me At Hello (You don’t have RSS)
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    B2Bento

  • Herding cats – CRM, Social CRM, Data Hygiene and more [#B2BChat]

    Anol
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am
    Tweet [updated with recap] Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the strategy for managing interactions with sales prospects, current and past clients. The growing influence of social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has given rise to a new genre of CRM commonly referred to as Social CRM. Both “traditional” CRM and Social CRM rely on a common backbone: the contact database. As time passes the size of the database increases and there will inevitably be duplicate or obsolete information. So how do you maximize the efficacy of campaigns using your database?

  • Best of B2Bento 2011

    Asuthosh
    22 Dec 2011 | 4:09 am
    Tweet The first year of this decade is about to bid us adieu. Time for work to wind down (ever so slightly at least) and festivities to take centre stage. Friends and family get together to forget misgivings and forge relationships anew. We take stock of accomplishments past, take charge of new responsibilities and set new expectations for the year ahead. Yes, it’s that kinda time. B2Bento’s had an eventful year (quite literally). Beginning with Click Asia Summit 2011 in Mumbai and finishing off with SES Singapore, we’ve had the pleasure of covering several leading marketing events…

  • Integrated Marketing: Myth or Reality? [#B2BChat] (Updated with Recap)

    Anol
    30 Nov 2011 | 7:53 pm
    Tweet Integrated marketing is often referred to as a strategy to unify different marketing methods such as mass marketing, one-to-one marketing, and direct marketing. But, what does it really mean to us B2B marketers? Does it work as advertised? Is there a clear ROI to be derived from it? This week’s #B2BChat will attempt at shedding more light into this somewhat nebulous area. We discuss: What does Integrated Marketing really mean to you? What are its objectives? How do you put Integrated Marketing into practice? What goes into the mix? What are the strengths of each channel? How do…

  • Celebrating Search and Social Marketing: SES Singapore 2011 Cliff Notes (Event Recap)

    Marco
    28 Nov 2011 | 12:46 am
    Tweet The first ever SES conference to be held in Singapore was a resounding success. Kudos to the wonderful folks at Incisive Media for delivering yet another fantastic serving of the latest trends, best practices, industry insights and integration strategies in the fields of search and social marketing. SES Singapore 2011 was an exhilarating affair that had two frenetic days of presentations and executive panels by brilliant thought-leaders (there were more than 50 of them) from across the globe. Check out the complete coverage of all sessions: Day 1: Keynote and Panel Discussions, Track 1…

  • SES Singapore 2011 – Day 2 “Hot Topics” Track – Live Blog

    Asuthosh
    22 Nov 2011 | 6:58 pm
    TweetDay 2 (Nov 23) coverage of what’s hot and how can you ride the heat wave – all set for a incisive look at the what’s shaking up the social and search marketing fields. See live report of the Keynotes and Fundamentals Track here. [3.30 pm] Display 2.0: Retargeting and remarketing by Vikas Gulati, Vice President, Marketing & Business Development, Asia Pacific, Sprice, Andrew Tu, Vice President, Business Development Asia-Pacific, Brandscreen, Jonathan Tilbury, Regional Director, ValueClick, Arshan Saha, Regional Director, Innity. Moderated by Matt Harty,…
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    MoxieWorks

  • The Reformer and Idealist

    goodwolve
    19 Jan 2012 | 9:59 am
    Years ago I lived with nuns in Orange, California. It was a tremendous experience. One Sister in particular was very dear to me, Sister Olivia. During my time with them they taught me to meditate, about iridology, and about the Enneagram. At at the time, over 20 years ago, all of that was kind of far out New Agey kind of stuff. Now it is all pretty commonplace with meditation being touted as one of the healing properties of our stress filled lives and the Enneagram being used by corporations to better understand thier employees. When I took the long form Enneagram test years ago I was a 1 -…

  • Social Media the Evolved Mommy Way

    goodwolve
    20 Oct 2011 | 5:32 pm
    I first met Stephanie online and then we went to events but never saw each other (you'd think we lived in some mega place and not the middle of nowhere). I just kept bugging her until she agreed to come teach a Blogging 101 workshop in my town. Obviously, I think she is pretty great and her rules are spot on! You are a Social Media rock star, but how did you get started? It's kind of like the "chicken/egg" question. I honestly can't remember which came first: my blog or my twitter account. I want to say Twitter. Yep, that's probably it. I was pregnant and needed…

  • Really Getting It Done

    goodwolve
    7 Oct 2011 | 7:22 am
    I have written a lot about how I manage my time and I was really happy to see that Space for Living had taken my To-Do list and added it to their free downloads. Being productive to me is more about being focused and not distracted - so any tool that works for you is a good tool. I thought I should share where I am now with task management. Because the other thing to know is that it is an evolving state - you keep honing your to do system until it really works for you. Current To Do Strategy: Right now I am using composition books that I buy in bulk at the Back to School sales. They are easy…

  • iSad

    goodwolve
    6 Oct 2011 | 5:17 pm
    "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Steve Jobs Note: Image was posted on Apple site October 6, 2011

  • Stay Motivated

    goodwolve
    26 Sep 2011 | 1:41 pm
    Sometimes just staying motivated can be incredibly difficult for small business and solo entreprenuers. Some things to consider when you are feeling out of sorts and wanting to just quit what you are doing are: Wait it out: If you are really doing what you love to do you can begin to accept some of the ebbs and flows of energy. It isn't always like flying to the moon and understanding that makes it a bit easier. If you know you are doing what you are meant to do or are at least discovering that you are on the right path. Ride out the times of unfulfilled moment and busy yourself with…
 
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    JosephRatliff.com™

  • The One Thing You NEED First To Become A Great Copywriter…

    Joseph Ratliff
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:47 pm
    There’s no doubt, copywriting (and marketing — more on that in a later post) has been a great business for me. One reason is the freedom and control of my schedule. Another lies with the income potential. But there is one thing I didn’t learn until my 3rd year or so as a copywriter…and it almost cost me my whole copywriting career. What is this one thing? A reason why. If you don’t have a “reason why” you’re in business as a copywriter, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Here’s why… It’s easy to say “I want to be a…

  • With So Many Areas Of Business To Focus On…Where Do You Start?

    Joseph Ratliff
    22 Jan 2012 | 10:04 am
    You’re business seems to be succeeding… or is it? Is it really producing the revenue it could?  If you’re as “busy” as you want to be because of your referrals, are you sure you couldn’t streamline operations and uncover more profits? With so many areas of business to examine… where do you start? One word answers that question… leverage. You start with the areas of your business that provide the most leverage for increased profits.  And, while that sounds good on its surface… can you really take the time as a business owner to look? Most…

  • The Truth About Google Slaps And What To Do About It…

    Joseph Ratliff
    21 Jan 2012 | 4:18 pm
    If you’ve been slapped by Google, it’s time to get the scoop about what to do to avoid the next one… …if you haven’t been slapped… this will be the best 90 minutes of video you ever watch… All presented by my buddy X: Click Here To Get The Google Truth Most Commented PostsThe Great Filtering Of Online Marketing…Blog ArchivesFree Download For My Blog Followers ($27 value)Affiliate Marketing And Google: The Death Of…The Rebirth Of…Huh?Social Media: The Hatfields Versus The McCoys

  • Will Google Ever Make Up Its Mind About Affiliates?

    Joseph Ratliff
    20 Jan 2012 | 9:13 am
    Internet Marketing Infographics by SEO Book If you liked this article, you might also like...Original Content From My Point Of View…Google Trick? Or Treat?Big Google AnnouncementAffiliate Marketing And Google: The Death Of…The Rebirth Of…Huh?ZMOT: The Zero Moment Of Truth by Google

  • Focus On Your Business

    Joseph Ratliff
    16 Jan 2012 | 11:02 am
    Good Lord. If you’ve been listening to the “hype” lately… there are prominent bloggers and other tech journalists suggesting you give up your website and make Google Plus your website. Fuck that. Instead follow the advice given in this thread. Never, and I mean never, blindly follow the advice of a bunch of techies and geeks to market your business.  Research what they are doing if you want to, but don’t fall for the hype and hail mary approach of shifting your entire business to another platform… or your business could fail as a result. EDIT 01/18/2012: …
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    Exodus Online

  • The State of the Internet – 2012

    Kevin Maxwell
    10 Jan 2012 | 12:22 pm
    With a huge thank you to Frank Kern, I am very pleased to present this to you all.  Please stick with it until the very end for some great information.  For those of you who are not familiar with Frank Kern, you should be!  His story is fantastic and this is a phenomenal video. Enjoy! The Magic Bullet Related Posts:Twitter Business Magic PLRAd Unit MagicWordPress Video TutorialsHome Business Success – Helping You Make Money OnlineFacebook and Social Media – The Next Marketing Opportunity

  • Aladdin – A Family Pantomime

    Kevin Maxwell
    10 Nov 2011 | 11:39 am
    Is Aladdin one of the most popular family pantomimes ever? Oh yes it is! Long before Disney commercialised it, the story of Aladdin has been a popular one in its own right. Enjoyed by children and parents alike from around the world, there is nowhere that this tale is expressed better than in the form of a Christmas family pantomime, where it is one of the most popular stories to perform. Pantomimes are fun, exaggerated kinds of plays, with the emphasis very much on family entertainment and audience participation. Sometimes the roles of men are played by women, and the women by men. And…

  • Aladdin – A Family Pantomime

    Kevin Maxwell
    10 Nov 2011 | 11:23 am
    Is Aladdin one of the most popular family pantomimes ever? Oh yes it is! Long before Disney commercialised it, the story of Aladdin has been a popular one in its own right. Enjoyed by children and parents alike from around the world, there is nowhere that this tale is expressed better than in the form of a Christmas family pantomime, where it is one of the most popular stories to perform. Pantomimes are fun, exaggerated kinds of plays, with the emphasis very much on family entertainment and audience participation. Sometimes the roles of men are played by women, and the women by men. And…

  • 5 Ways to Make a Killer First Impression

    Kevin Maxwell
    4 Nov 2011 | 5:44 am
    Most people will judge you within the first second of meeting you and their opinion will most likely never change. Making a good first impression is incredibly important, because you only get one shot at it. Princeton University psychologist Alex Todorov and co-author Janine Willis, a student researcher who graduated from Princeton in 2005 had people look at a microsecond of video of a political candidate. Amazingly, research subjects could predict with 70-percent accuracy who would win the electionjust from that microsecond of tape.This tells us that people can makeincredibly accurate snap…

  • Four Destructive Myths Most Companies Still Live By

    Kevin Maxwell
    2 Nov 2011 | 10:46 am
    Myth #1: Multitasking is critical in a world of infinite demand. This myth is based on the assumption that human beings are capable of doing two cognitive tasks at the same time. We’re not. Instead, we learn to move rapidly between tasks. When we’re doing one, we’re actually not even aware of the other. If you’re on a conference call, for example, and you turn your attention to an incoming email, you’re missing what’s happening on the call as long as you’re checking your email. Equally important, you’re incurring something called…
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    Ask Spike

  • Protect Your Ambassadors

    Spike Jones
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pm
    Ambassadors. They go by many different names these days. Some call them advocates, some just call them community members. But no matter what they’re called, they are a huge, HUGE asset to your company. And what do you do with assets? Everything within your power to protect them. It is so fascinating to see how those inside and outside of a company view the role of ambassadors. Remember, at the very core, an ambassador is someone who spreads goodwill. And in the context of brand ambassadors, they are spreading goodwill on behalf of your company. That’s it. That’s all. Case…

  • Get Real With Spike Episode 7: People, Egos and Marketing

    Spike Jones
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:30 am
    Teaming up with the mighty fine kids at SocialFresh, here comes Episode 7 of Get Real With Spike. In one minute and 25 seconds we’ll talk about egos (and how to work with them) and elevating and empowering people. Of course, this episode is brought to you by the letter E.   Get Real with Spike 7 from Social Fresh on Vimeo.

  • Solving the “Measuring Influence” Problem

    Spike Jones
    11 Jan 2012 | 11:48 am
    Or maybe not. But I have an idea. Please follow the bouncing ball for a moment. Working at a global agency and for big ‘ol brands, I can tell you this: in the real world, your online influencer rating will probably get you some sort of special treatment or a one-off sursey (that’s Southern for “free, unexpected gift”) every now-and-again. Apart from that, as you might have guessed, your Klout or Kred score isn’t worth much – if anything. And, as you also know, when it comes right down to it, brands engage in social because they wanna sell more stuff. That’s where all marketing…

  • Taking Social Back

    Spike Jones
    3 Jan 2012 | 10:09 am
    And just like that, it’s 2012. Yeah, he's being social. I don’t do resolutions. Or lists. Not that there’s anything wrong with those that do. (There is.) But here’s one thing that I will say about 2012: I’m taking the word “social” back. Somewhere along the way, after it got slapped in front of anything old that marketers wanted to make new again (I’m looking at you media, business, community, etc.), “social” lost its way. If you were to go to a marketing conference or walked into a PR company and asked 20 people what social…

  • Guest Appearance on The BeanCast

    Spike Jones
    17 Oct 2011 | 9:35 am
    Bob Knorpp was kind enough to invite me back for a third appearance on the most well-known podcast in the marketing industry. And, as always, I was humbled to be in the company of the other guests: Kevin Briody, Director of Strategic Innovation, Ignite Social Media Joseph Jaffe, Author/Speaker/Consultant, GetTheJuice.com and JaffeJuice.com Noah Kerner, Founder/President, Noise (Check out Intel Innovators Program) We chatted about a lot of things, including the leaked Google+ memo, Netflix’s flip-flopping, social presence versus social ad buys and the (non) staying power of…
 
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    Neu Concepts

  • Weekly Roundup: January 23, 2012

    Brittany Miller
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:52 am
    Keeping up with the latest marketing, social media, web design and trade show can be a bit of a challenge especially when you are juggling a busy work schedule. That is why we created the Weekly Roundup. Check out these eight great articles from last week: #1.  New Google Users Now Forced to Join Google+ New users signing up for a Google account have no other choice but to join Google+. Now anyone with a Google account can be counted as a member of the new social network whether he or she is active or not. Has Google finally gone to far? #2. 4 Simple Steps to Get Ramped Up With Mobile…

  • Weekly Roundup: January 16, 2012

    Brittany Miller
    16 Jan 2012 | 8:51 am
    Staying up to date on the latest search algorithm changes, web design trends and hot new social media channels can be a challenge. Each week we try to help you out by rounding up noteworthy articles about web design, trade show exhibits, marketing and social media . Check out these eight great articles from last week. #1. 5 Strategies for Creating Magnetic Online Content Traditional advertising worked by distracting or interrupting peoples daily routine. To get people’s attention in this digital world, you need to add magnetic content into your marketing mix. Check out these five strategies…

  • Tweet and They Shall Come

    Brittany Miller
    13 Jan 2012 | 7:37 am
    Looking for ways to create buzz around your booth at a show? Twitter is a great tool anyone exhibiting can use to help drive traffic to their booth and ensure their show is a big success. But why Twitter? If you are not familiar with Twitter, it is a form of microblogging that allows you to share news, post status updates and carry on conversations with people all around the world. It is a very easy way for you to connect with people who have the same interests or who are in a similar field and discuss topics that you are interested in. It is very important to come up with a Twitter strategy…

  • Weekly Roundup: January 9, 2012

    Brittany Miller
    9 Jan 2012 | 9:38 am
    With the New Year comes new resolutions. Are some of your resolutions growing your business? Each week we try to help by rounding up the best articles on web design, marketing, trade show exhibits and social media. Here are nine noteworthy articles from last week: #1. 10 Brand-Building Steps for Beginners Was your business New Years resolution to finally get into social media to build a brand for your business. Don’t worry if you aren’t social media savvy. Here are ten easy steps for building your brand online through social media. #2. Stop Designing Pages and Start Designing Flows A…

  • Weekly Roundup: January 3, 2012

    Brittany Miller
    3 Jan 2012 | 1:20 pm
    Happy New Year! To kick this new year off right, here are seven noteworthy articles about web design, trade show exhibits and marketing from last week that you might have missed: #1. 8 Modern Ways to Crush Your Trade Show Competition Are you looking for ways to stand out at your next trade show? Making a lasting impression on attendees will be easy after you utilize these 8 awesome suggestions. #2. Pinterest: A Beginner’s Guide to the Hot New Social Network Pinterest is the hot new social network that has grown from 1.2 million users to over 4 million in little over 5 months. If you are new…
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    Imagine Your Reality

  • Your Business is an Extension of your Spirituality

    taylor
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Your business is part of your identity, that ontological essence that describes who you are to the world around you, and to yourself. It’s also an extension of your spirituality, in its own way. I don’t care if you’re an Atheist, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan, etc. Regardless of what your spiritual choice is on some level it intersects with your business. And even though you may never talk about your spirituality to your clients or fellow business owners, this doesn’t mean that its partitioned off from the rest of your life. In my business, my spirituality…

  • Turn Your Notifications Off

    taylor
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    The other day I did something radical. I decided to turn off all email notifications from Facebook. That probably doesn’t sound very radical, but I realized that every time I received an email from Facebook, I’d end up going onto Facebook and in the process waste a bit of time to answer a comment or check whatever else it was that brought me to Facebook. And when I looked at my other social networking accounts I saw similar distractions being sent that clogged my email. As a business owner, I have to protect my time jealousy. If I don’t, I won’t get a lot done.

  • What do you do when you inherit a business?

    taylor
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    An acquaintance of mine told me recently that her husband had started up a business and then decided to go back to work and consequently she inherited the business from him. One of my clients also had a similar experience. Both of them face some similar challenges, and these might be challenges that you or someone else faces. What are they? How Do I make this business my business? It’s true you’ve inherited a business, complete with clients and specific services and products. But is that business an accurate version of what you do? In other words, is the vision of the business in…

  • Fear and Transparency

    taylor
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    I read a blog entry today about transparency in Marketing. The author asked why people thought businesses didn’t become more transparent in their marketing. In thinking about it, I think the main reason boils down to fear. Fear of what? Fear of loss of income. Businesses live and die by the bottom line and one of the main fears is that by being transparent they will anger their customers and lose business as a result. Businesses think its better to not be transparent to avoid making someone unhappy. The problem is that those approach no longer works in a social media era. It’s…

  • Numbers on Social Media that matter

    taylor
    18 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
      The other day I attended a talk where the presenter claimed that all of us needed to be on social media and all of us has had to have a certain number of people following us to be relevant. With Facebook it was 1000 fans, LinkedIn 250 connections, Twitter 500 people, etc. To be honest my Facebook page only 280 fans at the time of this writing. I exceed the minimum numbers on the other accounts, but numbers doesn’t matter that much to me. What matters is that I have relationships with people that have chosen to follow me. The relationships you have are what define your business. I…
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    Webbiquity | B2B Marketing Blog

  • 39 More (of the) Best Social Media Guides, Tips and Insights of 2011

    24 Jan 2012 | 6:59 am
    The notion of using social media for business has gone from cutting edge to commonplace in an amazingly short time. And for those laggard firms still resisting social media, recent changes by Google now make it all but imperative. Of course, there’s no single cookie-cutter approach to social media marketing that works for every enterprise. And many companies that jumped in early experienced failures and disappointments, pulled back, and then re-approached social media from a more strategic angle. While certain aspects of social media have stabilized (e.g., Facebook is the largest social…

  • Web Presence Optimization Software Review: gShift Labs

    19 Jan 2012 | 6:44 am
    gShift Labs is the first (at least that I’m aware of ) integrated software package for managing web presence optimization (WPO). Given that WPO is the fusion of SEO, social media, interactive PR, and online reputation management, that’s a tall order. But based on a good look at the product, gShift has a great headstart on meeting the challenges of this discipline. Unlike pure SEO management tools (e.g., Web CEO, SEO Powersuite), social media monitoring tools (e.g., Radian6, Alterian SM2), or inbound marketing suites (e.g., HubSpot), gShift isn’t a point solution, but a…

  • 24 (of the) Best Business Blogging Guides, Tips and Tools of 2011

    16 Jan 2012 | 7:25 am
    Despite any recent recent rants you may have seen about how blogging is dead or blogs are passé, the fact of the matter is that business blogging is now more important than ever. With Google’s most recent Panda algorithm updates, attributes like content freshness and social signals (strengths of blogs, not corporate websites) will gain increased importance in search ranking. But as the blogosphere continues to expand (as noted by Diana Adams below), it becomes more difficult to stand out and be heard above the noise.  How can a company launch (or relaunch) a new blog properly? Write…

  • How to Get the “Best of” Social Media Posts All Year Long

    12 Jan 2012 | 6:40 am
    TradePub has just launched its first report in a series for 2012, the Social Media Wrap Up report. Each report will highlight a selection of the best social media posts from leading authors published the preceding month. The inaugural report includes posts from authors such as marketing agency veteran Drew McLellan; Marc Meyer, digital and social media strategist at DRMG; and author, speaker and SVP of Social Strategies at Social 5150 Neal Schaffer. The topics covered range from social media strategies and hiring a social media agency to guidance on Tweetchats, blogging and measuring social…

  • Best Twitter Tips, Tools and Tactics of 2011

    9 Jan 2012 | 6:25 am
    In just a few short years, Twitter has transformed from an odd little sort of public IM service where people posted what they just ate for lunch or what their cat was doing at the moment into one of the big four social networks and a significant channel for news, PR & marketing, politics and more. It has enabled revolutions in real life as well as in digital marketing. Twitter’s 200 million users collectively tap out a billion tweets per week. Nearly 3/4 of active Twitter users are bloggers. More than 80% of U.S. governors, senators and congressional representatives use it, as do 87…
 
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    RESULTS.com Business Growth Tips

  • SWOT Analysis – part 2

    21 Jan 2012 | 12:59 pm
    As mentioned in SWOT Analysis – part 1, you need to start with a clear strategy, before you even look at doing a SWOT Analysis.    Then you need to keep the concept of “Dual Vision” in mind.   Strategic planning requires us to look at how to improve our current business - “improving what is”, balanced with what we need to build to succeed in the long term - “creating what will be”. Make it obvious. Capture your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) in a three to five word phrase format.  E.g. it is meaningless…

  • SWOT Analysis – part 1

    19 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am
    Early in my business career, (prior to joining RESULTS.com) I had the experience of having external consultants come into my firm to do “strategic planning” with us on an annual basis.    We would go to an offsite meeting.  They would start by having us do a SWOT analysis (an assessment of company Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), and then we would create a long list of action items and go back work and do our best to get these things done – with varying levels of success. I am embarrassed to admit that for many years I mistakenly thought…

  • It's time to review your high level strategy again

    7 Jan 2012 | 10:35 am
    "If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete" - Jack Welch The pace of change is such that many industries are being transformed seemingly overnight, and in many cases, entire new industries are being created.  According to science-fiction writer William Gibson, "The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet."   Albert Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended upon the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask.  Once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem…

  • Business execution: Tips for getting things done

    11 Dec 2011 | 10:31 am
    Define what “done” looks like. As part of the quarterly strategic planning process, we see too many companies choosing projects to improve their business without clearly defining the end point.  One of the keys to business execution success is to specify very clearly what the completed project looks like (or the specific milestone that you intend to reach this quarter), and enter a specific due date for each project.  It needs to be obvious exactly what “done” looks like, so you know precisely when to “pop the champagne cork” to celebrate your…

  • Evidence-based people management

    6 Dec 2011 | 9:11 am
    Stanford university professor, Robert Sutton has written a number of very insightful business books which present evidence to expose many of the commonly held management practices – as being nothing more than myth.  Just because “all the books say that’s what you should do” does not make it true. Here is our take on a presentation Prof Sutton gave to a group of Human Resources managers.     Belief:  Find rock star employees and pay them whatever is necessary to keep them happy (the "Wall Street" mentality) Fact: The best performing…
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    Emma Email Marketing Blog

  • The anatomy of Emma’s response page - Understanding delivery stats, opens, click-throughs and more

    Molly Niendorf
    25 Jan 2012 | 1:12 pm
    Once you send out an Emma campaign, your response results immediately start building on the main response page. If you’re like us, you spend the next few hours obsessively refreshing the page to see how many folks are opening, clicking and sharing your campaign. It’s exciting stuff, for email marketing nerds anyway. But it’s even more exciting when you’ve got a solid handling on what you’re looking at — and what you should be striving for. Let’s take a closer look at an Emma mailing, one of our Agency Insiders. I’ll break down Emma’s…

  • Hollywood in your pocket: 7 tools for creating killer web content with your iPhone

    Tom Martin
    20 Jan 2012 | 1:57 pm
    Last year, Tom interviewed 45 digital leaders for Talking with Tom. Editor’s note: Emma sponsored Tom’s video project this year, and we were so intrigued by the idea of capturing video content on the go that we asked him to pass along his best tips. For the last year, I’ve been managing my video blog Talking with Tom using nothing other than an iPhone. I’ve been interviewing digital thought leaders and then sharing those video interviews once a week via the site. That’s right: shooting video, pictures, writing posts and publishing the entire thing using nothing but the…

  • Typography 101: Know your serif - Get familiar with a few typographical terms and see your font library in a whole new way

    Cody De Vos
    20 Jan 2012 | 11:22 am
    The printer wasn’t always a machine that sat in the corner of your office, beeping out cryptic warning messages and accumulating slap-shaped handprints. Even a few decades ago, most people would have thought of a printer as a person — somebody whose work consisted of manually arranging and printing text and images. Professional printers are still plying and improving upon their trade, but thanks to the advent of the personal computer, we’ve inherited a great many of their tools in digital form. The problem? When those tools arrived, they didn’t come with any knowledge…

  • You have a list of email subscribers, but are you ready to send? - Creating a positive subscriber experience before your first email campaign

    Mallory Hull
    17 Jan 2012 | 12:17 pm
    Sometimes you procure an item that you just know will serve a grand purpose later but, perhaps, the timing of its use isn’t quite clear yet. For me, it’s an electric sander for all of the furniture re-finishing I plan to do in the rooms of a house I don’t own yet (but that’s the subject for another post). For some of the companies I talk to each day, that item is a precious, albeit outdated, list containing the email addresses of all of their closest friends, customers and prospects. You may know what I’m talking about: you’ve gathered a rather impressive email…

  • A roundup of successful holiday campaigns - Taking a peek at four email campaigns by the Union Square Hospitality Group

    Molly Niendorf
    11 Jan 2012 | 12:03 pm
    If you crafted and sent out your holiday emails on time this year, give yourself a pat on the back. There’s a sense of relief that comes with negotiating the busy holiday season and getting your newsletter out before the new year. But make sure you haven’t checked the task off your list and forgotten about it. Now’s the time to review your holiday response rates and learn from them as you kick off your 2012 email marketing efforts. Let’s take a look at a few email campaigns crafted by Emma agency partner, Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). USHG includes some of New…
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    The Lunch Pail

  • Announcing Our Strategic Partnership with Gigya

    Patti Renner
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:40 pm
    Here at Knotice, our focus has always been about providing service and software that helps marketers increase ROI with more relevant messaging across channels. Ours is the only platform that unites the channels from the ground up, with data collection and channel execution natively unified within the same platform. Now that elegant solution extends into social. Yesterday we announced our strategic partnership with Gigya, the #1 social choice for websites. This new relationship will allow marketers to leverage permission-based Facebook data for use across addressable digital media and for…

  • More Mobile Predictions for 2012

    Dave Lawson
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:07 am
    It’s been great to see all the predictions and prognosticating about what’s to come this year – especially as it pertains to mobile. That said, today I’d like to expand on some of the points from an earlier post of mine about mobile expectations for 2012. People check their email on their mobile devices. In 2012, marketers should expect to see mobile email leading to m-commerce. There are very few occasions where you have the amount of personally addressable data at your fingertips. This can make individual optimized commerce experiences within a single click a reality and is the…

  • Thoughts on the Future of Flash and HTML5

    Mike D'Agruma
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:23 am
    Since its inception, Adobe Flash has given designers and developers an innovative way to create content that went beyond HTML, CSS and in some rare cases, JavaScript. It became an extremely popular tool to build interactive animations and effects and combine video and audio elements into one package. The beauty of it is its cross-platform compatibility – it’s operating system and browser independent. If a user has the correct Flash plugin, an animation will be viewed correctly on just about any Web browser. It also has its share of problems, though. Development time takes longer; it takes…

  • CES Roundup 2012: Trend Watch

    Elizabeth Huebner
    20 Jan 2012 | 11:12 am
    The Consumer Electronic Show (CES) took place last week in Las Vegas, and whether you walked through the 1.8 million square foot convention area or followed it through a multitude of RSS feeds, blogs, video, articles, etc. there’s still a lot that can be easily missed. This year I opted for the latter and followed the show online. Through the eyes and ears of numerous reporting technophiles, I may have been able to gain a more in-depth understanding of the new products than some of my co-workers who navigated the vast show floor. The show delivered a number of new products and concepts,…

  • Thoughts on SOPA/PIPA

    Dave Lawson
    18 Jan 2012 | 12:30 pm
    As with many things, the spirit behind the SOPA and PIPA acts, to protect creativity and to control deliberate acts of piracy and copyright infringement, is well intended. I’ve realized myself that there are few things more ire-inspiring than others making gains from something you have legitimately imagined or created. However, as with many things making their way through our legal system, these acts have become bloated with attachments and aspire to give too much power to an uninformed enforcement entity with its own agenda. Once this power is granted, as consumers and citizens of a free…
 
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    Yodler Marketing Blog

  • Yodle CEO Selected as Speaker in Stellar Lineup for 2012 Local Advertising Conference

    lisa.wess@ellislab.com
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:39 am
    Yodle CEO Court Cunningham has been selected to speak at the 2012 Local Advertising Conference in New York in March. The conference brings together online advertising professionals who are looking to learn from leaders in the local space. In addition to talks from 50 speakers, four workshop sessions will be held focusing on organizational structure, sales strategies, and revenue performance.  The conference is hosted by Borrell Associates, an advertising research and consulting firm that assists local media Web sites in maximizing their ad revenue. Speakers are chosen because they are…

  • Yodle Partnership with Rogers Takes Things International

    lisa.wess@ellislab.com
    18 Jan 2012 | 1:50 pm
      Yodle announced today an exclusive agreement with Rogers Communications. Rogers is the largest provider of wireless voice and data communications in Canada, as well as a leading provider of cable television, high-speed Internet and telephony services. Through their partnership with Yodle, Rogers will be able to offer small and medium-sized businesses options from Yodle's stellar product suite of online marketing services, including websites, paid search marketing, search engine optimization and display advertising. “Out of more than 2 million small and medium businesses in…

  • Google Rolls Out “Search Plus Your World”

    lisa.wess@ellislab.com
    13 Jan 2012 | 11:35 am
    Google rolled out “Search Plus Your World”, which will make a pretty dramatic impact on search results, further personalizing the search experience for users. The way it works is that when you are logged into your Google profile on Google.com and search for a specific term, say “banana smoothie,” Google will return results from personal, private, public, and social sources in one place. This means that certain private content you and/or people in your Google+ circles have shared on Google’s social network and other services like Picasa will appear on the search…

  • Yodle Austin Supports CASA

    lisa.wess@ellislab.com
    21 Dec 2011 | 8:36 am
      I’ve lived in Austin for 21 years. Over those years I have seen the city grow dramatically. The downtown skyline is filled with buildings that did not exist a decade ago, freeways now run in places where there were two lane roads, celebrities live and work in a city few had heard of when I moved here. Despite all this change one thing has remained the same throughout the years and that is the spirit of Austin. As the sound of live music still fills downtown nightly, local businesses still thrive and are celebrated. Concerts, festivals and other events are held almost weekly not…

  • Yodle Boston Supports ABCD

    lisa.wess@ellislab.com
    15 Dec 2011 | 8:38 am
    Bostonians are known for being loyal and passionate about whatever they focus their energy on. Whether it's rooting for a local sports team or standing up for what they believe in, the city has a passion that spreads across the entire community. At Yodle, we believe Action for Boston Community Development is a great fit with Yodle's core value of committing yourself to greatness. ABCD has been dedicated to serving the Boston community for 50 years now, and their commitment to our community has a positive impact on the lives of over 94,000 low-income individuals and families each year.
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    Crenshaw Communications

  • TGIF: Who Doesn’t Enjoy a Good Laugh?

    Liz
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:58 am
    The answer is, almost no one.  Humor is an invaluable tool for getting through the day, whether you’re pounding out a proposal, prepping for a big meeting, or just buried under a mountain of work at the office.  (Make that, especially if you’re buried under a mountain of work at the office.) Humor can be an excellent kick-start to creativity.  Once I worked at an agency where brainstorm conference tables were littered with Legos, Slinkies, rubber balls, Play-Doh and other toys.  The fun stuff got everyone laughing in a hurry and helped speed up the brain’s journey from the previous…

  • Why Gringrich Is Winning the PR War (For Now)

    Dorothy Crenshaw
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:52 am
    Who would have thought it? Newt Gingrich, the temperamental former House Speaker with a checkered personal history, has made a comeback. Again. Of course, political advantage is notoriously short-lived during primary season, particularly the debate-larded GOP one we’ve seen so far. And the Gingrich rise may say as much about the shallowness of Romney’s support, and his campaign’s missteps, than it does about the former Speaker. But there are some lessons here. The Gingrich campaign has shown real PR smarts in recent weeks, including mastery of the following communications…

  • Tuesday Tips – What Your Font Choice Says About You

    Marijane
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
      Every year the graphic design world is treated to a variety of new fonts – the good, the bad and the ugly. Because we PR types are always looking for ways to make correspondence stand out, we checked out some of this year’s contenders. They include some pretty out-there fonts, with names like Bleeding Cowboys, Ransom Note and Aristotle Maple Hero. These may not be up to par for business correspondence but your choice of typeface does say something about your character, your personality and your attitude, according to researchers at Wichita State University. Here is a primer on a…

  • Paula Deen’s Diabetes Disclosure: A Recipe for Poor PR?

    Dorothy Crenshaw
    20 Jan 2012 | 2:43 pm
    As the queen of “comfort cuisine,” Paula Deen has been a favorite among many members of my family, all of whom live in Georgia or the Carolinas. I’ve admired Paula for her unapologetic taste for indulgence, and for her Southern fried authenticity and down home charm. I’ve never even watched her show, yet I feel I’ve known her for years. I even took her side in her food fight with Anthony Bourdain, though Bourdain was largely in the right. But Paula’s recent revelation that she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes has left a bad taste. And from a PR perspective, I’m not convinced…

  • TGIF: Is it Time for a Mid-Season Replacement?

    david
    20 Jan 2012 | 10:11 am
    It’s that time of year again, the cold doldrums of January and a ton of mid-season TV replacements. It’s the television industry’s annual do-over, where TV execs get to press reboot and give it another try.  Much like a PR campaign that isn’t working, new strategies occasionally need to be implemented mid-way through the year. Any good PR pro knows when to learn from your initial miscalculations, adapt, and make those necessary changes.  For every The Playboy Club and Free Agents, there could be a classic (or great client campaign) in the waiting.  The Simpsons was a midseason…
 
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    Business 2 Community

  • Four (Free) Ways to Build Backlinks for SEO

    Brendan Cournoyer
    28 Jan 2012 | 6:15 am
    There’s no way around it – backlinks matter. But as SEO practices go, building quality backlinks ranks among the most difficult to pull off. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most important page rank factors for search engines like Google. Essentially, backlinks are created any time an external website posts a link pointing back to your own site. Keep in mind that this can be any of your site’s pages, not just the homepage. Every time this happens, Google interprets it as a “vote” for that particular webpage. The more votes you get, the more link juice is given to your page, and…

  • Is Breaking News Worth Breaking if it isn’t Credible?

    Deborah Bates
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:05 pm
    Last Saturday, a “source” from Penn State University revealed that Joe Paterno, the 85-year-old ex-football coach embroiled in said university’s sex scandal, had died. The confirmation, announced via the university’s student news Twitter account, Onward State, prompted many news outlets to publish their own reports. Amongst them were CBS Sport and the Huffington Post, according to a Poynter.org timelime. The world began to take notice as a result… but not as much notice as they did when a family spokesperson said the claims were “absolutely not true”. Although he was admittedly…

  • Social Media Q&A with Jive’s Deirdre Walsh & Megan Cynaumon of Quest Software

    David Greenberg
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:00 pm
    Jive Social Media Monitoring Helps Quest Software Increase their Social Reach by 90% Jive  recently introduced a new member of our social media monitoring app family, called Fathom. It’s available for free from the Jive Apps Market, making it easer than ever for all Jive 5 users to listen to the social web. Read more about Fathom at Can you Fathom the future of the social web? To explore the increasingly critical role that social media monitoring plays for our customers, I sat down with Megan Cynaumon, Social Media Coordinator at Quest Software. Over the past year, Quest has had great…

  • What Makes a Good Logo?

    Jennifer Dinehart
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:00 pm
    Logos can be one of the most important marketing pieces a company has because it is the foundation of your marketing or branded look. Therefore, a good logo should be a unique and timeless representation of your company, defining your services in a memorable way, and work well across a multitude of mediums. Whether your logo is on a billboard, a TV screen, the Internet or whatever, you may only have a split second to get your message across and still make an impact. So with a sea of images and brands out there, what makes a good logo? It starts with a creative concept. Keep it simple. If your…

  • It’s Hip to Chat About Online Safety

    Hilary Decesare
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:45 pm
    Today, with so many social media sites popping up right before our kids’ eyes, it’s hard to keep on top of what they are doing and where they are going online.  According to Crimes Against Children, Cyberbulling Research Centers, 1 in 5 kids have been bullied or approached by a predator online. Everloop.com, the ground-breaking social media site for kids under 13, is leading the charge in keeping kids safe, including helping parents carry out important conversations with their kids. Everloop has identified tips below for parents on how to start the online safety talk with their kids…
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    B2B Marketing Insider

  • Integrating Social Media Into The B2B Marketing Mix [Slides]

    Michael Brenner
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:34 am
    This presentation covers the change that is occurring in marketing. Marketers are no longer in control of the message. We are in a battle for customer attention and focusing just on social media is a mistake too many businesses are making. Only effective integrated marketing approaches can help us reach consumers when, where and how they want… I spoke Wednesday night to an amazing crowd at the Philadelphia Business Marketing Association (@PhillyBMA). I challenged the group of marketers and business people from companies both large and small to first determine their objectives before…

  • The Battle For Customer Attention

    Michael Brenner
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:53 am
    It used to be so easy. With the right amount of budget and the right Madison Avenue “Mad Men,” any business could reach their target audience. But now, the consumer marketplace is fragmented almost beyond recognition. We receive more marketing messages than we can handle and the battle for customer attention has moved from being mainly about the medium to technology to content. If “content is king,” then customer attention is the “Holy Grail.” That was how I kicked off my presentation to the International Advertisers Association in New York on January 20,…

  • Online Advertising Ready To Takeoff In 2012

    Michael Brenner
    19 Jan 2012 | 7:41 am
    Earlier this week, I wrote about the multiple reports coming out that identify massive growth in mobile marketing ad spend and impressions. The largest estimates came late Tuesday from InMobi who estimated smart phone advertising revenues have increased by almost 500% and tablet advertising was up nearly 800% from a year ago. Then this week, BtoB Magazine released their “2012 Outlook survey” showing how online advertising is poised to see significant growth in 2012 as well. With all this recent news, I believe it offers hope that marketers are beginning to catch up to consumer media…

  • 2 Recent Reports Show Mobile Ads And Apps Are Hot!

    Michael Brenner
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:15 am
    One of my “no-brainer” marketing predictions for 2012 was that mobile advertising and app development would begin to take up more than the meager 1% or less of marketing spend as reported by businesses in 2011. Well it didn’t take long for reports to surface that both were taking off – maybe even faster than mobility experts predicted. In the last week, 2 reports surfaced: bid management firm IgnitionOne reported that mobile search advertising was up 269% in the fourth quarter vs. the same period last year. Then, mobile analytics firm Flurry updated it’s…

  • Get Found: 7 Steps to Fire Up Your Inbound Marketing

    Michael Brenner
    12 Jan 2012 | 9:29 am
    I’ve said many times before that the overwhelming majority of marketing activities are dreadfully unsuccessful. And now, after playing in the traditional marketing margins for years and chasing smaller and smaller response rates, many marketers are realizing that we have quite literally reached the point of no return with much of our outbound marketing. The future of marketing is inbound. And one of the biggest challenges with inbound marketing, or pull-based marketing across businesses of all sizes is establishing the mindset for pull. Pull puts customers first. Pull seeks to deliver…
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    The Marketing Sutra of Alex Grechanowski

  • My Tweets. My Precious – January 22, 2012 – Sync Your SocialSEO

    Alex Grechanowski
    22 Jan 2012 | 8:23 am
    It’s been an awesome week for news, podcasts, videos and how-to articles related to online marketing, including SEO vs. Social and traditional vs. new. Here’s what I shared with you on my twitter streams. PPC A cool new video uploaded – this time from @ROIRevolution: Measure Web analytics in 2012: the experts’ view http://bit.ly/xKRYgp ”BI & web analytics will keep moving closer together” via gcharlton The End of an Era for Urchin Software http://bit.ly/xCVHZg Google+ Top 21 Ecommerce Brand Pages on Google http://bit.ly/yKbji4 (my blog post…

  • Meet the Boss: Tõnu Runnel, CEO of Edicy

    Alex Grechanowski
    17 Jan 2012 | 5:47 pm
    Think Globally! With a little help of his Estonian friends, Tõnu has built a global-oriented lean startup  - Edicy. They reworked their ten year of web design experience and pulled it out into a single, simple, fresh web app “understandable for your grandma”. So grab your coffee and come watch the presentation he made at Start Smart!   Just in case you’re clueless, Edicy is a super simple tool to make a website or blog. Just sign-up and your site will be online in minutes. You can start adding pictures, texts, forms, videos or whatever else to your new site…

  • Google Analytics Certification Tips – Part II

    Alex Grechanowski
    9 Dec 2011 | 2:56 am
    The Google Analytics Individual Qualification is a proof of proficiency in Google Analytics that is available to any individual who has passed the Google Analytics IQ test. In the first installment of the Google Analytics IQ Tips series, we covered pretty much all the major topics of GA. Since Google Analytics evolved dramatically during 2011, this post will guide you to all the new changes and, hopefully, will make your preparation to GAIQ much easier. 1. The New Google Analytics Streamlined Interface – get to the information you want faster, inluding multiple dashboards. 2. Real-Time…

  • A Sneak Peek of My SEO Strategy v2012

    Alex Grechanowski
    11 Nov 2011 | 1:35 am
    “I’ll just sit and grin, the money will roll right in” ~ Nirvana. I used to write detailed Online Marketing Proposals and SEO plans. Quite often, after initial excitement or even wondering – “it has really brought something to our attention” – it figured out that some clients are not ready to implement things they initially requested and even paid money for: “we believe that we are a premature in putting together an SEO plan because we have not fully defined our goals.” Fair enough. SEO is a process, it’s a rapidly moving target and it all comes down to ongoing…

  • Make Your Google+ Page Look Awesome

    Alex Grechanowski
    10 Nov 2011 | 2:09 am
    Connect with the customers and fans on Google+ Pages: not only can they recommend you with a +1, or add you to a circle to listen long-term. When you upload pictures to an album on your Google+ Page, they are visible in two places: 1) Stream 2) Your albums. What I wanted with some pictures was to be able to use them on the top of Marketing Sutra Google+ page. The way good folks at Eloqua did: Jesse Noyes helped me on Twitter: So now it’s a matter of finding the scrapbook section. For this, go to your Google+ profile page. Click the Edit Profile button. Just under your profile name…
 
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    KaneCo Conversations

  • It’s Alive! Creating Your Social Media Frankenpolicies

    Jennifer Kane
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:48 am
    Social media policies are kind of like health insurance…you can get away with not having any, but if a train wreck occurs, you going to be screwed. So make sure your business is safe, not sorry, and draft some. By taking some inspiration from Frankenstein and cobbling together information you have on hand and find...

  • Branding for the Social Brain

    Jennifer Kane
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:17 pm
    Branding is all about making an impression. And, making an impression is all about doing two things– making an impact at the moment in time in which a person interacts with your brand, and making that impact in such a way that the person will remember it. Marketers tend to invest a lot of energy...

  • Do You Know How to Report Suicidal Posts on Facebook?

    Kary Delaria
    11 Jan 2012 | 7:42 am
    Knowing how to report suicidal content that you see on Facebook can ensure people get the help that they need. It might even save a life.

  • 2012: Let’s Turn This Mutha Out

    Jennifer Kane
    3 Jan 2012 | 11:28 am
    It’s 2012. Are you ready to put the pedal to the metal, your money where your mouth is and a dozen other idioms you’ve heard a hundred times? No? Good. ‘Cause 2012 is the year you’re going to do something better, something groundbreaking, something that lives up to your inherent awesomeness. Here are seven suggestions...

  • If I Were a Social Media Guru…

    Jennifer Kane
    27 Dec 2011 | 4:00 pm
    If I were a social media guru I’d dispense with the superfluous morning pleasantries And get on with the business of inspiration Shouting “Embrace Authenticity!” out of the blue on a Monday morning Like a demanding dentist, bent over an unflossed mouth. If I were a social media guru I’d remind you that I know many,...
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    Insivia Marketing + Web Design

  • NBC Nightly News Interview with Insivia

    Alexis Hazboun
    9 Jan 2012 | 12:44 pm
    NBC Nightly News visits Insivia to discuss growth and hiring. Cleveland, Ohio – January 6th, 2012 - Insivia was recently featured for large growth during a difficult economic environment by NBC news and WKYC. Insivia, a strategic marketing agency founded in 2002 by Andy Halko, has recently seen significant growth despite a lack luster economy. In recent months we have expanded our staff and within the first 6 months of 2012 expect to grow even more. A recent TV segment by Tom Costello on NBC Nightly News spoke to Andy about Insivia’s continued growth and outlook for the economy.

  • CALFEE’S Ad Spotted in Crains!

    insivia
    12 Dec 2011 | 3:29 pm
    Congratulations on the big move! Our friends at Calfee are moving to a new space in a few short weeks. We are proud to have you as a client and love the way the advertisement we designed turned out!  

  • Andy Halko Recognized in Crain’s 40 Under 40

    Laura Wright
    23 Nov 2011 | 1:20 pm
    We are very proud of our CEO, Andy Halko, on his achievement of being named one of Cleveland’s 40 under 40. It is nice to see one’s efforts being honored. As a team, we are excited to be part of northeast ohio’s economy and commitment to business. Congratulations to Andy, and the 39 other young professionals, on being recognized for being established leaders in Northeast Ohio!

  • Greater Cleveland Aquarium Featured in Plain Dealer

    insivia
    20 Nov 2011 | 4:19 pm
    We are super excited for our client the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. So much happened last week for them including Insivia launching their new website redesign at greaterclevelandaquarium.com, the start of selling annual passes, press conferences and so much more. The Plain Dealer shot a little video of the progressing construction here: Video of Greater Cleveland Aquarium Construction So check out all that is going on and keep visiting their site to get more updates prior to the opening on January 21st, 2012. We love Cleveland! Support you town and buy Aquarium Annual Passes too.

  • A Can Castle for The Foodbank

    Laura Wright
    18 Nov 2011 | 3:17 pm
    Getting into the giving spirit, Insivia participated in a Can Castle Contest. The team members of Insivia donated canned goods that were used to build the castle. The cans will be donated to the Cleveland Foodbank which will help provide food for families on Thanksgiving day. If you want to find out how to donate to the food bank and help the cause go to clevelandfoobank.org to find out how.
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    Value Acceleration

  • Another money maker for a branding agency

    valueacceleration
    27 Jan 2012 | 5:03 pm
    Apparently Hyundai is aiming to move the brand to a new position of “modern premium.” That would be a phrase their agency made up. The problem is that they also want to keep making a wide range of vehicles from low-cost to higher priced. The Koreans may be obsessed with creating a higher end image and their U.S. brand agency may be feeding that delusion. Nissan (Datsun) and Toyota both recognized that they could not brand extend successfully in that way. (Alfred Sloan understood that almost 100 years ago.) Thus they created Lexus and Infiniti, two successful brands while…

  • It’s almost Super Bowl time … again

    valueacceleration
    24 Jan 2012 | 4:40 pm
    The teams are set and the day is approaching. For us, aside from those of us who like football, or have a “dog in the hunt,” it’s about the ads. As in earlier years, we will offer our insights on the ads after the game. (No, not in real-time via Twitter. We believe the insights can wait until the game is over anyway.) Our view on Super Bowl ads comes through in our commentary and regular readers will understand our bias. However, Jonathan Baskin wrote an article in Advertising Age, which we feel sums things up pretty well from our perspective. We commend it to you. Mitch

  • Since ink is free they just won’t go away

    valueacceleration
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:09 pm
    I posted twice last year about QR codes. My point was and is that they are fascinating to marketers, and another tactic they can use to raise the flag. But to what end? In yet another article which makes my point the author writes, “…consumers are not nearly as excited about QR codes as marketers are.” Further to my earlier points, the article states, “Experts cite three reasons that QR codes haven’t caught on. First, people are confused about how to scan them. Two, there’s little uniformity among the apps required to read them. Last, some who have…

  • Present sales in the future tense

    valueacceleration
    6 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am
    Been working on a couple client projects lately that required analyzing and straightening out sales data, and it brought to mind something that is often missing when management looks at sales.  Mitch and I (and others at CMG) come originally out of the computer industry (Mitch from semiconductors, me from systems), and we always knew that sales numbers weren’t the most important measure of…well, what sales numbers really meant.  Huh?  We knew that this period’s sales weren’t as important as the number of “design wins” we has made that period, because…

  • Why does everyone forget how to do surveys?

    valueacceleration
    6 Jan 2012 | 11:15 am
    The third-party survey company, doing a quality survey for my health care provider (doctor’s office), just caught me at a weak moment and I agreed to answer their questions.  20 minutes later, I’m off the phone.  What could possibly be wrong with this approach? 1) 20 minutes is way too long, and I’m now resentful.  I forget the exact number, but I seem to recall “three”, as the correct number of questions to ask in order to get helpful, cooperative, actionable answers.  This has been well-known for decades.  How could management approve something so…
 
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    ViperChill

  • How I Reached #1 on iTunes: A Guide to Launching a Podcast

    Glen
    16 Jan 2012 | 4:35 pm
    As many of you will know, last week I stuck to my promise of launching a Podcast in the new year and released the first episode, ‘How I Would Make Money Online If I Was Starting from Scratch‘. I had hoped that a lot of people would get some value from the recording and be able to start 2012 in style, but I didn’t anticipate what happened next. Within 24 hours the podcast made it to #1 in Marketing and #2 in Business on iTunes which totally blew me away – sandwiched in between 9 podcasts by the BBC and the Financial Times. In just 6 days (I don’t have stats for…

  • Case Study: How Campbell Makes Up to $10K/m in the Forex Niche

    Glen
    7 Dec 2011 | 10:49 am
    When I was working in a clothes shop, dreaming of making a living from the internet, I remember one thing that really kept me motivated was reading success stories from other people. Just knowing that someone, somewhere was doing exactly what I wanted to do was enough to keep me putting in the hours. Earlier in the year I shared an example of two moms making over $5k/m online. Today I want to share another case study with you and reveal how one guy in New Zealand is making up to $10,000 every single month in the Forex industry, one of the most profitable but competitive industries online. His…

  • Data Mining: The Ultimate Guide to Niche Analysis

    Glen
    29 Nov 2011 | 4:30 pm
    In my post on how to become a niche rockstar I said that in order to be at the top of your industry (in a lot of cases online) it’s important to know as much about it as possible. What your competitors are doing, how they’re making money and how they’re getting traffic are just a few things that you can discover with some in-depth niche research. In that particular post I looked at the green industry from the perspective of a blogger and shared some of my findings. Based on some of the comments and emails I received at the time, a few of you were interested in how I…

  • The Post on Productivity I Wish Someone Else Had Written

    Glen
    11 Nov 2011 | 2:30 pm
    Though the title of this blog is ‘viral marketing’, regular readers will know that it’s far from being the only thing I talk about. Sometimes I’ll share a case study to inspire you. Sometimes I’ll offer insights to educate you, and sometimes I’ll give you step-by-step advice so you can take action. This post is, purely and simply, for those who want more from their lives. If you’re happy with the position you’re in or at least like how you spend your days, then skip this post and come back next week (I have $7K/m case study on the way). Today…

  • It’s Here.

    Glen
    3 Sep 2011 | 5:41 am
    There’s more documentation on ‘how to make money online’ than most subjects out there, yet I can safely say that 99% of people who try to replace their offline income fail to do so. Many of you have seen the case studies of marketers – who clearly already know what they’re doing – building another successful website. Inspiring? Without a doubt. But obviously there’s still something missing. For a long time I wondered what it would take to fill that gap. What would increase the number of people who follow advice in this space and actually achieve some…
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    Create and Conquer

  • How to be Interesting Online (And Snap Some Sweet-Ass Attention)

    MarsDorian
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:23 pm
    You weren’t meant to be boring as fuck. There’s a shiny uniqueness within you that wants to get the hell out. And it’s not just a line I read in book, it’s actually a VITAL virtue if you want to make your online presence STAND OUT. Read the following cartoon-enhanced post and remember the stuff. Damn, your digital future’s is on the line ! BTW – I’m sorry for the crappy drawings. I didn’t sleep last night (creating too much), so my creativity is below toilet level. Don’t flush me down yet – this post can still edutain you. Time to…

  • The Bitter Truth You Have to Embrace (IF You Want to be Remarkable)

    MarsDorian
    19 Jan 2012 | 2:26 pm
        Here’s the problem: A lot of (online) solopreneurs read Seth GODin like he got the cure inside. They get infected with remarkablitis and think they’re now Purple Cows. They produce a lot of work and products that are merely good, while believing they’re creating OUTSTANDING work. They’re not. And this is the danger of delusion. Once you think you’re doing kick-ass work, you become complacent, and that prevents you from REALLY creating kick-ass stuff. What those people create is just “good” work, and in rare, and I mean very rare…

  • 10 CARTOONS That Will Inspire You to ROCK this Year with Endless Fire Inside

    MarsDorian
    6 Jan 2012 | 12:16 pm
    1) Make your mind go empire We all know that the world we want to build has to be first created in our minds. The moment you think something is impossible is the same moment someone else makes it possible. I challenge you to think big, and I mean really big this year. Even if you don’t achieve your crazy-ass goals this year, you’re going to get damn close. If you have unrestricted online access, you can build whatever the hell you want to build. Remember the cute animales in the imperial image above. Sure, they’re small  & look plush-y, but the weapons they’ve…

  • Read my blogging lessons of 2011 and avoid sucking as much as I did

    MarsDorian
    22 Dec 2011 | 2:42 pm
      Hellow my fellow digital crusader. Here’s a short, but juicy list of the good and bad I did with building my  online brand in 2011. I hope you soak up this post like a hungry Spongebob Squarepants – there may be  some “aha” – moments and warnings you don’t want to avoid. Achtung – strong language up ahead. Kids, please ask your parents for moral guidance ! Let’s start with the positive: What I did right: Sharpening my inner voice. In the beginning of this year, my style was mellow like Mr. Marshmallow . I was avoiding going all the way…

  • Why Being PUBLICLY Vulnerable Can Dramatically Advance Your Online Career

    MarsDorian
    10 Nov 2011 | 10:20 am
    Fuck fuck fuck. It’s been a long ass time since my last post, but I’m back into my groove. I want to write about an interview that changed the way I look at my brand and career, and I think the following story can also dramatically change the way YOU handle your online presence. A few weeks ago,  I listened to an interview on Endingthegrind.com Steve, the owner of the site, is a family guy who’s stuck in a 9-5 and wants to get out ASAP. He interviewed famed bloggess Penelope Trunk to get some tips on living and working on one’s own terms. The first 10 mins were…
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    The Online Community Guide

  • Responding To Members

    Richard Millington
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:46 am
    Yesterday a commenter asked how anyone can reply to all community member e-mails in an hour or less. It takes her nearly all day to get through them all. The answer is fairly simple.  You don't get all the e-mails done in an hour. You only give yourself an hour to go through it (the hour is arbitrary). You get through as many as possible in that hour. The rest of the time you spend developing your community.  The danger here is spending more time on unhappy members and ignoring the happy people in your community. Would you rather spend 20 minutes resolving a minor…

  • Essential Elements Of Community Platforms

    Richard Millington
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:23 am
    Don't compare community platforms by the features they do/don't have. Compare community platforms by the features that are essential to you and how well they execute on those features.  The number of essential features is very limited.  Discussion area. Members need a place in which they can interact. This will usually be a forum-based.  Notifications. Members need to be notified when people have responded to their posts. This keeps members coming back. It sustains activity.  Analytics. You need to be able to properly track what's going on. You need to know…

  • A Simple Way To Stimulate Interesting Discussions

    Richard Millington
    24 Jan 2012 | 3:14 am
    If you want to initiate discussions which get a good response, you need to know a few things: 1)   What do your members really care about? 2)   What are your members’ biggest problems? 3)   What do your members do? (habits online/offline) Once you know this, it’s relatively easy to initiate discussions along these lines (and highlight discussions initiated by members along these lines). For example, what is the best way to…? How many of you have found {x} is really difficult? Have you ever found that….? You don’t always need to ask for the…

  • Community Management: Planning The Week

    Richard Millington
    23 Jan 2012 | 5:57 am
    Professional community managers plan their week in advance. Their plans are based upon data collected from the community (growth, engagement and sense of community), and knowledge of what communities need to further develop.  Let's assume your community is in the establishment phase and you're a full-time community manager working 40 hours a week (I know, but let's imagine). Using the Community Management Map, you would spend approximately the following amount of time on each element of community management: Strategy: 2 hours (collecting/analyzing data) Growth: 10 hours…

  • The Internal Problems You Don't See

    Richard Millington
    20 Jan 2012 | 5:59 am
    Last week a number of community managers claimed their biggest problem was internal.  They didn't have the right support of the organization.  This had many manifestations including: Using the wrong platform. Lacking resources. Juggling multiple projects. No budget for training. Couldn't allow community members to contribute content. Forced the community manager to use formal language. Restricted off-topic conversations. Demanding results too early.  Removed criticisms.  Do these sound familiar? There are three problems here. First, when asked, many had no plan…
 
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    About Leads

  • What is Quora? Can it help my business?

    Rachel Longley
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:32 am
    If your business is involved in social media marketing, Quora.com should definitely be on your list of platforms - if it isn't already. It's a great resource to get involved in industry or product-related discussions. What the heck is Quora? Quora is a question and answer forum that covers a wide array of business topics: sales, marketing, small businesses, web development, social media - the list goes on and on. The great aspect is that anyone can pose and answer questions, follow discussions, and contribute content. You can easily share information on the web and prove your expertise in…

  • Where is your lead gen budget going?

    Jeff Gordon
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:37 am
    A recent article from eMarketer says you should be spending money on search, mobile and even video if you want to connect with B2B decision makers researching a purchase.Read the full article here.Key takeaways:73% of B2B companies looking to make a purchase turned to a search engine to do their research.Nearly 60% of B2B purchase decision makers are using smart phones to gather information, including nearly a third of C level executives.  While this research isn't groundbreaking, it does further underscore how much of the purchasing decision-making and research has not only moved…

  • LeadsCon is coming: are you ready?

    Jeremy Sacco
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:51 pm
    LeadsCon Las Vegas is February 28th and 29th this year, and we're already getting excited. It's probably the single most important tradeshow for those of us in the lead generation industry -- and it can be a gold mine of information for lead buyers, as well. In fact, this year LeadsCon has added a set of workshops specifically focused on lead buyers. With titles like "You're Buying Crap - More Than You Would Ever Know," I'm not sure what to expect -- but if I was a lead buyer, I'd be interested in those, as well as the Buyers-only events on Monday the 27th.If you're going to LeadsCon, make…

  • Keeping up with content marketing trends

    Liz Slattery
    13 Jan 2012 | 12:26 pm
    As Jeff recently mentioned, creating helpful content is an important focus here at BuyerZone. In addition to our lead generation white papers and our articles on how to buy everything from a hot tub to a digital copier, we've started exploring new ways of presenting information to our visitors. As part of this process, we published two new infographics - about payroll trends and forklift trends - using information gathered from our users. Rather than write text heavy reports, we created visual representations to present the information quickly and clearly. Check them out and let us know what…

  • ROI? That word... does not mean what you think it means

    Jeremy Sacco
    12 Jan 2012 | 7:57 am
    When you say "ROI" or "return on investment," do you mean getting something positive for your money, right? Like the entries on this list of social media ROI examples? No. A statement like "32,000 video views, 25% regular return visits to the site, and average of almost seven minutes spent on the site per visit." describes some good outcomes from a social media project -- but it has nothing to do with ROI. Olivier Blanchards' Brand Builder blog completely dissects the list I linked to above in an excellent post that really tries to drive home the difference between success stories and ROI…
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    Personal Branding TV

  • Personal Branding Interview with William Arruda renowned author and speaker

    Regina
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:38 pm
    This video interview by Zoe Sands, Head of Digital Marketing at Juniper Networks, with William Arruda was taken at the Juniper Networks Global Partner Conference on January 18, 2012. The interview covers the basics of personal branding and provides hints and tips on tuning your own personal branding and dealing with any digital dirt associated with your name and individual brand. The video is about 10 minutes in length, but well worth taking the time to listen. If you are interested in developing your personal brand then why not check out William’s book “Career Distinction“,…

  • Personal Branding With a Spin – Become Your Brand – Gears 5 & 6

    Regina
    19 Jan 2012 | 1:30 am
    This is the third video in a 5-part series outlining the 10 gears you need to shift through to become your brand and demonstrate your unique promise of value. In this video Peter covers Gear 5: your competitors / peers and Gear 6: your personal brand statement. BIO: Peter Sterlacci, Founder of BEYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

  • Commercial Break: Toyota Rav 4 …

    Regina
    12 Jan 2012 | 6:07 am
    From Issue 65 of YOUnique, the Reach Personal Branding Newsletter: Toyota Rav 4 Some Things in Life Can Wait I love this commercial because: I actually love the casting. I think the main character is the perfect mother – wishing for grandchildren; and love the way it is filmed flashing back and forth between the two scenes. This ad and YOUR personal brand: If your brand community sees your value in one way, how can you show them your versatility? Letting them know ALL the value you can bring to an engagement.

  • Leaders Know How to Build Relationships

    Regina
    9 Jan 2012 | 12:52 am
    Valerie Sokolosky Speaking at the Women in Transportation Summit about Leadership Presence, and Personal Branding. In this video she talks about leaders knowing how to build relationships. Bio: Valerie Sokolosky founded Valerie & Company in 1981, an international leadership development consulting firm focusing on people skills. Her executive coaching and training in Fortune 500 companies has motivated their employees which has resulted in significant profits for these organizations.

  • Fawn Germer Interview – Reach Personal Branding Interview Series

    reachproducer
    4 Jan 2012 | 10:30 am
    Click on the microphone to download the interview >>> Hard Won Wisdom This Reach Interview is sponsored by Stress Coach U. Learn to teach your clients effective stress reduction techniques while earning 5 ICF CCEs. This 5-session tele course starts February 1, so register now for the few remaining spaces: www.stresscoachu.com. We are delighted to start 2012 by hosting one of our nation’s most sought after inspirational speakers, Fawn Germer. Fawn’s recent book, Hard Won Wisdom, was declared by Oprah Winfrey to be “very inspiring.” And considering all…
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    newInternetOrder.com

  • Where to Get Backlinks to Your Site – Part 6 – Social News Sites

    Karol K.
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:42 pm
    (Note. This post contains a list of popular social news sites. In some scenarios, social news sites are great to get backlinks to your blog or website.) In the previous part we were discussing some popular social bookmarking sites. If I were to choose just a single biggest benefit of social bookmarking I would have to say that it’s the sole result of getting a link and all the SEO benefits that follow. Social news sites, however, even though similar in nature, provide a completely different main benefit. From a technical standpoint, you use social news sites very similarly to social…

  • Creating a Website People Will Actually Use the Way You Want Them To

    Karol K.
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:53 am
    Creating a website people will actually use the way you want them to is quite possibly the most important goal of every online business designer. Or at least it should be. Essentially, the problem is that just because you’ve got yourself an online store, for example, doesn’t mean that it will automatically do a good job at selling. Or that your new blog will do a good job at showcasing your articles. The world of web design is quite an extensive one, and I’m not here to teach you all ins and outs of it (not that I even know them). What I want to do, though, is show you the most basic…

  • 9 Tools and Software for Small Business – a Must-have Package for Every Online Entrepreneur

    Karol K.
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:02 am
    Strategies, strategies, you have to have those to know where you’re going with your work and actually accomplish something meaningful. But you also have to have another element of the puzzle, one that’s completely different… You see the headline of this post so you know what it is – tools and software for small business … no matter if your online business is actually small or not, there’s nothing like a big, nice set of tools, presumably free, or at least so brilliant that you don’t mind paying. The following list consists of various tools I use every day (i.e. very…

  • Add a Little Life to Your Content – Use Images

    Karol K.
    13 Jan 2012 | 4:54 pm
    The fact that I’m using images a lot on this blog is not accidental. It’s also not because I have some particular feelings towards photography and its different forms. Well okay, I do like to take a nice picture every now and then, but that’s not the point here. The main reason why I’m using images along with my posts is because they add additional impact to them, making the posts more memorable and distinctive. I’m sorry to use the cliché, but a picture is really worth a thousand words. Especially if it’s presented next to a post of 1000 words or more… A couple of weeks ago we…

  • Sexiest WordPress Plugins: Online Backup for WordPress

    Karol K.
    10 Jan 2012 | 11:07 am
    Today it’s time for another edition of this small series of mine. I know that WordPress plugins are a topic widely discussed around the internet, and that there are myriads of posts on “top 10 plugins for this” and “top 10 themes for that.” However, this series is not about showing you the next fancy thing … it’s about showing you something truly worth installing. The fact is, you can’t install every plugin out there, and hope that your blog will still be working just fine. Unfortunately, plugins slow things down. The more you have the slower your site gets. That’s why I…
 
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    BlogNotions - Marketers

  • Attributes of a Well-Qualified Lead

    Dan McDade
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:04 pm
    There continues to be a lot of talk about “BANT” (budget, authority, need, and timeframe) in the marketplace. Some managers still hold to the idea that each element of “BANT” must be satisfied in order for a sales opportunity to be truly qualified. I don’t actually believe in this practice, and I’m hopeful that you will agree with me. For many if not most “enterprise deals” (or “the complex sale”) it is not at all unusual for budget to be worked out during the sales process and via the use of a business case. If you prequalify for…

  • 6 Newsfeed Marketing Tactics

    dflamberg
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    The Facebook marketing challenge has evolved from accumulating to engaging fans. The new success objective is to efficiently and effectively beat the Edgerank algorithm to get the maximum number of posts onto fans walls and trigger the multiplier effect that places brand content in the NewsFeeds of your fans’ friends. On average only 3-7% of fans see any given status updated posted to a brand page. In general, there’s only a 2 percent chance that a given post will get any kind of viral pass-along. Brand pages with a million fans or more generally see 1.1% of fans clicking or sharing…

  • 5 Interesting Views on Technopreneurship From Matt Barrie

    jtan
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:35 pm
    Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.com I’d like to thank Mr. Matt Barrie, the CEO of Freelancer.com, for giving me this opportunity to interview him on his views and aspects of online entrepreneurship. Freelancer.com is the largest resource for freelancers in the world today–with over 3 million unique users from over 240 countries, territories, and regions. Hi Matt, firstly, I would like to congratulate you on winning the 2011 Ernst & Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year. How does it feel to be in the distinguished company of other award recipients, such as the CEO of Linkedin…

  • Why I Will Never Tell You What “One Thing” You Should Do in Social Media

    dvandenheuvel
    16 Jan 2012 | 3:01 pm
    I get it. Not everyone has the time and resources necessary to implement an all-encompassing social media marketing campaign. Especially when you’re spending 40 – 60 hours a week running a business or managing a department, it’s hard to find spare time to spend updating your Facebook page or writing blog posts. So for that reason, I’m never surprised when people ask me, “If I can only do one thing with social media, what would you recommend?” In all honesty, the answer they’re looking for does not exist. Yes, I could lie and say something like, “LinkedIn, of course!” Or I…

  • Is Forum Marketing Effective Today?

    jtan
    11 Jan 2012 | 10:25 pm
    How do You Tell that the Forum Post is Just a Company Self Talk? With too many self talks on internet forums that are mainly posted by companies owners and their marketing department, genuine prospects and consumers may not get the best review to support their buying decisions. Smart consumers are able to see through any signs of self talk on the internet. Hence, forum marketing today may not as effective as before. By the Way, Just When do the Word ‘Astroturfing’ Came About? Most online forums always have a special group of participants  known as the “Astroturfers”.
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    Rey(es) of Light

  • Christian? Yes. Religious? No.

    Patrick Reyes
    11 Jan 2012 | 8:12 pm
    This video made it’s way to me from my buddy Justin Brackett this morning.  WOW!  WOW!  WOW! In my mind, there is a difference between Christianity and Religion and this video from Jefferson Bethke gets at the heart of it. It’s funny that this video came right after I had read the verse below. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV Can you find power in weakness?

  • My Top 12 of 2011

    Patrick Reyes
    30 Dec 2011 | 8:39 pm
    As 2011 comes to a close, I thought I’d join the blogger party and share with you my Top 12 posts from 2011.  Below, you’ll find my favorites from each month of this year.  Since I started blogging, this has been a great way to relive some of the memories, moments, thoughts and experiences I’ve had in the last 12 months.  Enjoy!!!! A Hopeful Change For The Better Are You Smarter Than A Second Grader Maybe Glenn Beck Was Right I’m A Christian And I’m Sorry Moments How Are You Leading This You.  That You. Throwing Stones First – Ask Questions Later See…

  • Yes I Like Minivans

    Patrick Reyes
    21 Dec 2011 | 10:15 am
    If you were to ask me a few years ago if I liked minivans, I would have looked at you like you were crazy.  There was no way you’d catch me in the stereotypical family vehicle of choice.  That was until I had 4 kids of my own and a wife that extolled the benefits of said minivan. As luck would have it, my good friends Charlie and Elena Wollborg suggested The Suburban Collection and I connect for another one of their test drives.  Charlie and Elena drove a Cadillac SRX earlier this summer through this program and they were kind enough suggest me to Dan Boismier, head of all things…

  • Peace On Earth

    Patrick Reyes
    17 Dec 2011 | 9:23 pm
    Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:14 KJV) I just saw the Christmas service from Kensington Church tonight.  A few thoughts.  The 12 Days of Christmas will never be the same again for me.  I never thought Eminem would make his way into a church service.  I had 80′s flashbacks with Devo.  The arts team at KC is simply amazing. More than anything, the message was one of significance for me particularly as I continue to reflect on Christmas and what it means to me.  This year, the Kensington team went to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus…

  • Coca-Cola Where Will Happiness Strike Next?

    Patrick Reyes
    14 Dec 2011 | 7:00 am
    I came across this little nugget from a work e-mail I received today and just had to share for the following reasons: It’s about the Philippines It’s about Coke It’s about the real meaning of Christmas As we get closer to December 25th, I’m hopeful all of us realize that our families are our greatest gift.  More important than any “thing” we get.  The memories of families are what last and not what we got back in 1982.
 
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    Resource Nation Small Business Articles & Advice

  • Why You Can’t Overlook the Follow-Through in Business

    Guest Author
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    For the love of God, please just do what you say you will do. Simply follow-through. Professionally I interact with a lot of different types of people from young entrepreneurs and budding professionals to seasoned creatives and experienced venture capitalists. I’ve noticed that one common thread of success (or lack thereof) is the follow-through. At the end of our first or second call, it goes something like this: “Brent, it’s been great talking with you. Thanks for taking the time. You’re smart, creative, and sound very good looking (ok, I’m making this part up). I’d love to see…

  • Should You Hire A Facebook Page Designer?

    Jessica Sanders
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:01 am
    Facebook has taken its place as the number one social media site for businesses.  According to Hubspot Blog, 70% of all businesses use Facebook for marketing. With that said, how many of these pages are actually done well? Unfortunately, many companies still don’t know how to put their page together in a beneficial way. As a free source for marketing and user generated content, a poorly designed page can put a real strain on your business’s marketing effectiveness. Even with 50% of marketers having less than one year experience, according to socialmediaexaminer.com, only 28% of…

  • 2012 Presidential Candidates For Small Businesses [Infographic]

    Guest Author
    18 Jan 2012 | 6:59 am
    Which 2012 presidential candidate is best for small businesses? A summary of the top 2012 presidential candidates and the main issues related to small businesses including minimum wage, tax rates, business expenses, and more from our good friends over at Fast Up Front. � 2012 FastUpFront – Business Loans Made Easy.

  • The Lost Art of Business Etiquette

    Jessica Sanders
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:01 am
    In a business world that relies heavily on e-mails and phone calls, you may need a refresher course on what is necessary and appropriate for in person meetings. Interested in how your etiquette currently stacks up? Take a stab a Miss Business Etiquette’s Quiz. Regardless of how often you find yourself in a business meeting setting, keeping with proper business etiquette is always important. “As a businessman or woman it is important that you make a good impression. The way you dress, for instance, impacts the way you are perceived by others. Other peoples’ impressions of you should be…

  • Designing Offices with Productivity in Mind

    Rachel Hyun Kim
    11 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    A boring, uninspiring workspace can have employees dreading going into the office. When they drag themselves into their cubicles, oftentimes their motivation to work drastically decreases. As a result, productivity plummets and the company suffers all because of a mismatched color scheme or lifeless environment. However, companies can easily avoid this problem with a few office design makeover tips.  The office is the space in which they spend the majority of their time. Therefore, it is important that the workspace goes beyond providing basic needs and is designed to provide long lasting…
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    The Digital Letter

  • #OccupyInternet: How SOPA Threatens To Undermine Congress’ Ability To Lead & Your Freedom

    Ken Yeung
    15 Jan 2012 | 1:13 pm
    It’s somehow fitting that last night, as I was researching a bunch of articles about Texas Republican Lamar Smith’s latest attempt to stifle the freedom of speech that we have been given in the US Constitution that the blockbuster movie, Enemy of the State (starring Will Smith, Jon Voight, and Gene Hackman) aired on TV. The premise behind this movie is that a member of Congress, wants to push through a privacy bill that a Senator will not vote against, thus blocking its passage. What it would do is invade the privacy of Americans everywhere and allow the government to interfere…

  • HGTV’s “House Hunters” Should Have Social Tech Savvy Buyers In Episodes To Show Its Usefulness

    Ken Yeung
    15 Jan 2012 | 11:17 am
    A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon a tweet from my friend Jim Long (@newmediajim), cameraman from NBC, who mentioned that he was watching the HGTV show House Hunters. I’ve been a fan of this show for a while – quite frankly, I love the idea of seeing people review their homes and then pick one and then see how they decorate it. It’s become so popular that they’ve spawned off a new series called House Hunters International that focuses on the international community and those who are in the US looking to relocate or find a second home elsewhere. These are amazing shows…

  • Path Discovers Its Way To Being Useful With 2.0, But Could It Be Social Media Overload?

    Ken Yeung
    4 Jan 2012 | 2:19 am
    I’ll admit it…sometimes it takes me a while before I can really get into some form of technology. Why? Because it doesn’t make sense to me. It’s rare but I don’t know what the business’s use case will be and how it will cater to those people who are beyond the range of Silicon Valley. Is the product useful for the mainstream? I don’t know, but I’ll admit that when it does strike, it’s often one of those Eureka! moments – and that’s what I’ve found out about Path. A social network that failed, but is trying to succeed In…

  • NBC Sports Scores A Touchdown With The Rights To Livestream The Super Bowl

    Ken Yeung
    21 Dec 2011 | 12:58 am
    In what may mark a significant breakthrough and “validation” of the Internet television age, NBC announced today that the National Football League (NFL), has granted them rights to broadcast the post-season games, all leading up to the granddaddy of them all, Super Bowl XLVI. Surely lots of football games are being streamed online on the NFL’s website, but never has television’s biggest attraction, been shown online, potentially attracting millions more to NBC’s new sports site: NBCSports.com. This is most definitely a boon to the NFL and NBC while also…

  • LiquidSpace Sheds Some Light On Coworking Spaces To Help Your Productivity

    Ken Yeung
    12 Dec 2011 | 1:24 am
    Last week was the first annual Mobile Work Week in San Francisco and it was organized by the co-working space finder, Liquidspace. During this week-long event, participants had the opportunity to learn more about the co-working phenomenon and just how beneficial it is to not only the entrepreneur, but also other businesses and even local cities. It all kicked off with a co-working “crawl” throughout San Francisco. Starting at Carr Workplace, event organizers brought Santa Cruz Mayor Ryan Coonerty to speak about the effect co-working has had on his city. While disclosing his…
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    David Horne

  • On Social Fresh: Laying The Foundation For A Social Business

    David Horne
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:12 am
    Long term success in any business endeavor, social media or otherwise, requires a good foundation. The importance of laying the right foundation seems to be an after thought for most companies these days. Cornerstones set the position of a structure.  They function the same way for your business by giving you a reference for laying other stones in the foundation.  Jump over to SocialFresh.com and check out  4 cornerstones for long-term social media succes. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you are building the foundation for your company. photo credit: cornerstonersofny

  • Movie Lessons: 500 Days Of Summer

    David Horne
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:45 am
    Not only does 500 days of summer have a killer soundtrack, it also teaches us a pretty good lesson about the hidden opportunities in adversity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk8EC9OeWzk In today’s movie lesson we look at 500 Days of Summer. The story follows a boy who falls in love, has his heart broken, and overcomes.  The role of the boy, Tom, is expertly played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, with an equally great performance by Zooey Deschanel. The takeaway I want to highlight here is that there is always the seed of equal or greater benefit that comes from every adversity. ***Spoiler…

  • Make This Year Your Best Ever

    David Horne
    9 Jan 2012 | 5:55 am
     Make this year count There is a lot of talk this time of year about goals, resolutions, and change. Companies and individuals around the world have embarked on their new years journey to grow sales, lose weight, enhance customer experience, and improve relationships. Personally, I am not a big fan of resolutions. They seem more like wishes to me. Wishes lack commitment and sense of urgency. I also think rigid goal setting can get you in trouble. The circumstances in business and life change in real-time, and not giving yourself the flexibility to pivot can set yourself up for failure. Here…

  • Listastic 2011: My Top 5′s

    David Horne
    28 Dec 2011 | 9:32 pm
    2011 is almost over. Hope you have made the best of it. If not, it’s ok. 2012 can be your year. I appreciate all of you for stopping by each week or whenever to join me here. Here is my annual list of top fives (in no particular order). And if you haven’t subscribed yet, click here to get new posts sent to your inbox. See you in 2012!     Top 5 davidhorne.me  posts of 2011: Living Life On Purpose How To Build A Mood Board In 5 Easy Steps How To Create A Personal Brand Strategy With S.W.A.G.  The 3 Cannot’s Of Successful Content Marketing How I Use CRM My top 5…

  • Holiday Music

    David Horne
    22 Dec 2011 | 10:52 am
    Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! I hope you are enjoying the season. I am. But one thing. Holiday music tends to get really annoying. It’s not that I don’t like it. I just don’t like hearing the same songs played the same way over and over for 30+ days. Classics from The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Bing and David, Elvis, The Ramones, and even Run DMC have been played out.  If you are looking for some variety in your holiday music, here are a few songs you may enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9ZMU7Ka7_I If you can’t see the video, click here.
 
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    snap! Web Marketing & Copywriting Blog - Karri Flatla

  • Real Value Versus Fluff: A Study in Contrast

    Karri
    13 Jan 2012 | 4:25 pm
    I’ve always said that entrepreneurship is an inherently spiritual journey. You simply can’t grow a business without confronting your inner boundaries at some point. However, woo-woo alone does not a guru make. It also doesn’t substantiate some of the outrageous “marketing strategies” that are increasingly common in the online space, strategies that ultimately cause financial [...]

  • 7 Small Somethings to Boost Your Business in 2012

    Karri
    5 Jan 2012 | 5:55 pm
    I?m the first to admit that I don?t much care for the tradition of making New Year?s resolutions. If you?re ready for change you?re gonna make the change. If you?re not ready, a date on the calendar isn?t going to do much to help things along. This is especially true when the desired change of [...]

  • The Easiest Web Marketing Plan Ever (and Why Content is Like Cheese)

    Karri
    15 Dec 2011 | 3:07 pm
    In The Boring Truth About Internet Marketing I outlined seven ways to make marketing easier for you as an online business owner. This time I want to talk about strategic planning, or more specifically, why you’re probably making it way too hard. I’m going to strip away all manner of complexity and creativity so you [...]

  • The Boring Truth About Internet Marketing (and 7 Ways to Make Your Life Easier Now)

    Karri
    3 Dec 2011 | 8:11 pm
    The Internet may be relatively new, but any entrepreneur seeking to grow a business online is faced with incredible complexity. From what kind of website to build, to what to say, to how to create real conversation in a digital space, there are innumerable permutations and combinations to choose from. Yet the most effective marketing [...]

  • Good Debt, Bad Debt and the “Premium” Coaching Program

    Karri
    19 Nov 2011 | 1:46 pm
    Last week Mark Silver of Heart of Business posed the question: Is it possible to do financial harm to a client?�I know Mark and I know he wasn’t just looking for some viral blog action. He genuinely wants an answer to this question so that he and his colleagues can move to create a safer, [...]
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    The Loud Few - Interactive Marketing Agency

  • Writes & Wrongs of Internet Promotions and Sweepstakes

    sarahrockwell
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    WINNING! FREE STUFF! $$$$$$! ENTER NOW! In case you’re not an average human, here’s a helpful bit of news: people love to win things and stuff. And money. Now that we all know that, it should come as no surprise that internet promotions and sweepstakes are powerful tools. Powerful tools, that is, if they are used correctly. You know, because “with great power comes great responsibility” and all that. As a writer, it’s incredibly exciting to be tasked with developing online sweepstakes. It’s also challenging. As part of a robust program, a single online promotion brings with it…

  • Two Trusted Ways to Market at Retail

    kayleighkozemczak
    18 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Frequently asked question of a promotions agency: “How do I get my product to stand out when marketing at retail?” With a constant rush of new products entering the market, and many with similar features and prices, clients want to know what they can do to get their product to stand out amongst the clutter. Although there is no one right answer, we’ve encountered two tried and true strategies that have aided purchase intent: Value Added Content: Arm the consumer with rich, relevant product information. Research has shown that consumers are willing to spend more on a product if they feel…

  • CES Highlights: Feeling Apple’s Absence & Presence

    rodneymason
    12 Jan 2012 | 11:44 am
    The biggest and most important CES yet. There is a reason 150,000 people from all over the world converged on Vegas for the 2012 CES show. This is truly the first time in the history of the show, and the world for that matter, that the emphasis is less about hardware and much more about access to content, connectivity between devices and open operating platforms. Apple wasn’t at the convention, but its presence was felt everywhere. Smarter TV Moving forward, manufacturers of flat screen TVs are shipping fully loaded “smart technology” that turns TVs into fully functioning tablets. But…

  • CES News: Tom Hanks Producing & Starring in Yahoo Animated Series

    rodneymason
    11 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    Another update from the 2012 International CES (don’t miss a few pre-show looks I caught here.): Tom Hanks will produce a 90-minute series broadcast on Yahoo in 20 episodes. It will be the first originally scripted program for Yahoo. The animated series is called Electric City and will be viewable online on computers, smartphones and tablets as well as on the Yahoo Connected TV on Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio TVs. “Tom actually created this. He wrote and he stars in the lead voice,” says Erin McPherson, Yahoo vice president and head of video. “It is animated and it…

  • 1st Looks at CES: Windows 8 Eye Control, Nokia Lumia & Smarter TV

    rodneymason
    10 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am
    I’m here at the 2012 International CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow. I was granted access to a few pre-show looks that promise some exciting developments for technology in 2012. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the show by subscribing to our RSS feed and following us on Twitter. Eye Control Comes to Windows 8 Gaze Interaction from Tobii enables Windows 8 to identify precisely where your eye is looking on the screen, turning your view into a precision cursor. Tobii Technologies, from Sweden, revealed Gaze Interaction – a platform that enables users…
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    PropelGrowth

  • Seeking Marketing Alpha

    trendspotters@propelgrowth.com (Phil Donaldson)
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Marketing in the Capital Markets Having my head in emerging markets and cross-asset trading these days, I’ve been finding the term “alpha” unavoidable. TABBGroup’s Adam Sussman recently spoke on investment in emerging markets as a way to achieve alpha. The industry is all aflutter about cross-asset and multi-asset trading as a means to seek alpha. The concept of exceeding benchmark performance permeates our business in the form of whitepapers, webinars, forecasts and executive briefs. But let’s some of us be honest, that concept is sorely lacking when it comes to marketing strategy.

  • Cross-Asset Trading #005 (Part 2)

    trendspotters@propelgrowth.com (Phil Donaldson)
    17 Jan 2012 | 1:42 am
    In this the second part of this two-part TrendSpotters installment, I continue my conversation with Harry Gozlan of smartTrade Technologies and Greg Wood of Credit Suisse on cross-asset trading. You can listen to part 2 the discussion by clicking below: Cross-Asset Trading, Part 2 You can also click here to read a transcript of the conversation. During the second half of our conversation, we dig deeper into talking about the complexities of cross-asset/multi-asset trading, profitability and wallet share. To gain further insight on the evolving landscape of multi-asset trading, read…

  • Cross-Asset Trading #005 (Part 1)

    trendspotters@propelgrowth.com (Phil Donaldson)
    17 Jan 2012 | 1:41 am
    In this installment of the TrendSpotters Thought Leadership Series, we consider the evolution of cross-asset trading, how the industry is changing, and the drivers behind these changes. Joining me are Harry Gozlan, CEO and Founder of smartTrade Technologies, and Greg Wood, Futures Business Development Manager at Credit Suisse’s Advanced Execution Services. Because of the complexity of this topic, we’ve segmented this episode into two parts. This post contains part 1. My interview with Harry and Greg was fascinating. They stand at the forefront of this cross-asset trend, and the…

  • Emerging Markets: Now More Stable Than Developed Ones

    trendspotters@propelgrowth.com (Phil Donaldson)
    5 Jan 2012 | 12:42 pm
    The following is a guest post by Michael Speranza; Senior Vice President, Global Product Management at IPC Systems, Inc.   Investing in emerging markets used to be akin to riding a roller coaster. No longer, judging by new metrics from investments in those regions. I previewed some of TABB Group’s recent emerging markets research, and with their permission, am sharing a few nuggets… Faster Recovery / Stronger Growth Emerging markets are growing more reliably and recovering more quickly than developed economies. Consequently, they have enjoyed a lasting boom among investors that does…

  • Growth in Emerging Markets

    trendspotters@propelgrowth.com (Phil Donaldson)
    10 Nov 2011 | 2:31 pm
      Institutional investors know that emerging markets often provide the greatest opportunity for alpha. But putting money to work in those markets is not always easy. Liquidity, regulation, infrastructure, even local customs, can all become hurdles that can quickly shift the risk-reward balance away from the investors’ side. That said, emerging markets are still among the few around the globe that are offering solid growth rates. One of the key drivers of emerging market growth and stability is capital formation. On Nov. 22 in London and Dec. 1 in New York, live panel discussions are…
 
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    meryl's notes blog at meryl.net

  • The Joy of a Good Verb

    meryl
    23 Jan 2012 | 6:44 am
    Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Pesi Dinnerstein’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. We’re giving away a copy of A Cluttered Life: Searching for God, Serenity, and My Missing Keys! [affiliate] Read on to see how you can win. About Pesi Dinnerstein: Pesi Dinnerstein (a.k.a. Paulette Plonchak) has written selections for the best-selling series Small Miracles, by Yitta Halberstam and Judith Leventhal, and has contributed to several textbooks and an anthology of short stories.

  • Assumptions

    meryl
    19 Jan 2012 | 7:10 am
    One Halloween while helping my mom pass out candy, I saw a kid in a cute Bugs Bunny costume. The costume was made out of nice material instead of the weird smelling plastic mask and the stiff vinyl bodysuit. See Exhibit A for an lovely example of a vinyl Darth Vader costume. What’s up with my reaction in the photo? I wasn’t happy someone took my picture before I could get my mask on. I can’t recall exactly how the cute Bugs Bunny costume looked except that it wasn’t the vinyl most of us wore those days unless we were lucky enough to have a parent who could sew or pull…

  • Is a Blog Right for Your Business Update

    meryl
    11 Jan 2012 | 8:50 am
    Image from sxc.hu user typofi Although I wrote Is a Blog Right for Your Business? in 2007, people still mention the article or contact me with questions after reading it. Blogging has changed a lot since then, but one paragraph remains true. Some people like to read blogs, others like to read newsletters, still others like to rely on feeds and some read a few or all of them. No matter the method the information is distributed, each medium has one thing in common: content. Having a blog connects your newsletter, your website and your business with all of these readers. More people probably ask…

  • One Wrong Way to Get Business

    meryl
    3 Jan 2012 | 10:06 pm
    Michelle Rafter posted a letter of introduction (LOI) from a writer who took an ego trip. Instead of an ego trip, I heard from an accountant who must be taking a trip to find blockhead clients. The email introduction implies she thinks writers don’t have business sense. The email makes a bad first impression coming from a free email service provider using “free_lancer01″ in the address and “abc efg” in the display name. (Maybe the “D” key didn’t work.) Not only that, but she sent it to two others, one of which was someone I knew. Here’s…

  • Is Content Finally Getting Respect?

    meryl
    29 Dec 2011 | 9:27 am
    After a successful four-city tour, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs returned for three-city encore tour. The Dallas Museum of Art was one of those stops. I received an email from my cousins in Austins who planned to come to town for the exhibition. We set it up, reserved the tickets and had a memorable experience. (Yes, I remember my sons complaining. This cropped photo had my family, but only my daughter and husband cooperated.) It had been over eight years since I last visited the museum for the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition. When I finally visited Modern Art Museum of…
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    pamorama

  • Timing Your Social Media Marketing

    Pam Dyer
    20 Jan 2012 | 3:14 pm
    Social media marketers always wonder when the best time is to post on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and the myriad of other social platforms for optimum customer engagement. Is it in the morning, since many people check their Facebook page before they go to work? Is midday better because users look at their Twitter stream while they’re eating lunch? Is evening best? Which days of the week generate the most engagement? And what about B2B versus B2C — are the dynamics different? Eric Boggs, CEO of Argyle Social and Jay Baer, CEO of Convince and Convert, recently teamed up for a…

  • What Mattered In 2011 For Social Media

    Pam Dyer
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:10 pm
    2011 was a giant year for social media. Pandora, Groupon, and LinkedIn went public, Google+ launched, Twitter reached 100 million active users and was valued at $8 billion, and Facebook rolled out some big changes, including its major Timeline redesign. This infographic from Flowtown takes a look at the major social media events in 2011.  

  • Facebook’s New Timeline Could be a Boon for Brand Marketing

    Pam Dyer
    17 Dec 2011 | 6:54 pm
    Facebook rolled out Timeline this week, and brands are eager to take advantage of the new feature. The social network isn’t letting brands create their own Timeline pages yet and hasn’t given guidance about when that feature will be available. “We are currently focused on Timeline for individuals and will consider how to make consistent experiences for Pages, but we have nothing to announce at this time,” a Facebook rep is quoted as saying. If you aren’t familiar with Timeline, it’s the revamped version of the Facebook Profile. It’s a way to show off who you are, what…

  • The Cost of Marketing on Facebook [Infographic]

    Pam Dyer
    3 Dec 2011 | 3:35 pm
    With close to one billion members, Facebook is a very attractive marketing platform. The Facebook Advertising team has done a great job of working with company engineers to build a self-service, easy-to-use product that makes Google AdWords look quaint by comparison. Advertisers can target users by age, location, or area of interest, enabling very focused marketing efforts. Flowtown created this infographic to show data the company collected about who is marketing on Facebook. An impressive 69% of the businesses they spoke with are using Facebook to reach out to current and prospective…

  • Social Media in the Workplace

    Pam Dyer
    18 Oct 2011 | 12:51 pm
    Does social media have a place at the office? Some organizations definitely don’t think so. A recent report from Clearswift, an IT security firm, found that 19% of companies are blocking employee access to social media sites at work, up 10% from last year. But wait… Is Cyberloafing’ Good for Productivity?  discusses web surfing at work and its effect on output. The conclusion? It “serves an important restorative function and can actually refresh workers and improve performance”. The article summarizes a recent study by Don. J.Q. Chen and Vivien K.G. Kim which found…
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    Diamond Website Conversion » Blog

  • Catering to the Differences Within Your Target Market

    Marty
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:47 am
    Scrutinize any group of people closely enough and you’ll be able to identify drastic differences in personalities and approaches to various activities. Your target market is no different. You may have done a stellar job identifying your target market, but can you say you really know them? Or do you just treat them all as “average” consumers? Let’s take a look at the four personality types, as described by Bryan Eisenberg in his book Always Be Testing,  that emerge from shopper behavior in order to understand your target market better. Spontaneous This person likes to buy quickly and…

  • The Conversionator V3 N4: Brand Management

    Donna Roberts
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:55 am
     Blog Traffic Tactics, and Brand Building for Beginners  This week’s edition includes a number of useful tips covering brand management and protection, website tune-ups, increasing blog traffic, brand building for those just getting started in social media, and optimizing your content to really speak to your audience: - If you’re looking for ways to keep your brand secure, Branding Personality’s 10 Cool Ways to Protect Your Brand Name Online shares 10 tips to help manage and protect your brand - When is the last time you took a good look at your own website? Seven Ways to Whip…

  • Procrastination: Conversion’s Kiss of Death

    Donnie Bryant
    23 Jan 2012 | 2:29 am
    There’s a psychologically-rooted reason the words “I’ll be back” from customers are the kiss of death for your website. It’s the reason that you have to sell prospects when they’re “hot;” Any delay can be costly. For reasons that will become clear in a moment, please check out this video: This is the trailer for the newly-released book You’re Not So Smart (which, for the record, I haven’t read yet). I don’t think this book is aiming at business education or conversion training, but I have to ask the question: What are the…

  • The Conversionator V3 N3: All Things Pinterest

    Donna Roberts
    18 Jan 2012 | 3:14 am
    If you haven’t heard about it yet, Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets people organize and share all the things they find on the web and it is growing fast: traffic is up 40 times in the last six months and it is now one of the Top 10 social networking and forum sites. There is a lot of Pinterest potential for brands and companies and this week’s edition is focused on helping you get started: - Pinterest etiquette clearly states that it’s not a platform for self-promotion so brands need to approach the site a little differently. Open Forum’s Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips…

  • Four Steps to Increasing PPC Conversions

    Marty
    16 Jan 2012 | 4:23 am
    You either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. They can boost your website conversions significantly or cost you a truckload of money with little to show for it. I’m talking about PPC ads, of course. The difference between success and failure in terms of conversion is an understanding of what it takes to create PPC ads that will ultimately motivate people to act. Let’s take a look at the four basic components of a conversion-boosting PPC campaign. A Well-Designed Ad Your title and copy must work together to differentiate your offer from every other PPC ad on the search results page. Before you…
 
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    The Effective Marketer

  • Proven Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic

    Daniel Kuperman
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Thanks to Christopher S. Penn and his newsletter I read this amazing post by SEOmoz on “21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic“. It not only validates some of my personal beliefs but also gave me additional tactics to apply to my own blog as well as companies I work with. The tactics discussed in the article are: Target Your Content to an Audience Likely to Share Participate in the Communities Where Your Audience Already Gathers Make Your Blog’s Content SEO-Friendly Use Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to Share Your Posts & Find New Connections Install Analytics and Pay…

  • Your Content Marketing Mandate: Just Do It!

    Daniel Kuperman
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:10 am
    I’ve heard a few times now from companies that want to get their content marketing engine cranking but haven’t put anything out there yet because of one of the following reasons: We don’t have a marketing person or department We don’t have enough time to create content Our website sucks, we want to fix it first We are still researching topics for our blog posts We don’t know where to start Any other typical reasons I missed? You have probably heard (or thought yourself) a few more, I bet. A Simple Content Marketing Strategy Yes, creating content is difficult.

  • Listening to Your Customers In the Digital Age

    Daniel Kuperman
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new” – Steve Jobs What do customers want? Let’s do a focus group and find out. This tried-and-true approach to innovation leading to brand extensions, new product categories, and new marketing approaches has and continues to be used as a cornerstone of market research efforts. In an interesting BusinessWeek article dating back to 2005, titled “Shoot the Focus Group”, the author states that although there are plenty of examples and…

  • The Blogger’s Guide to Online Marketing

    Daniel Kuperman
    17 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    Note: This is a guest post by Lior Levin. See Lior’s bio at the end. The Blogger’s Guide to Online Marketing is one of ProBlogger’s newest ebooks, written by the Web Marketing Ninja. ProbBlogger was started by Darren Rowse, who wrote the most popular of the ProBlogger products, 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. Written specifically for bloggers, this online marketing guide features yet another set of 31 steps intended to help bloggers start making money with their blogs. Many bloggers go years and years without seeing readership increase or any revenue at all. This practical guide is…

  • Demand Generation and Lead Management Explained

    Daniel Kuperman
    20 Dec 2011 | 11:00 am
    Last week Carlos Hidalgo, CEO of the Annuitas Group, shared on the Software Advice bloga nice video explaining two basic concepts that are often used interchangeably by vendors and even analysts in the Marketing Automation space but should in fact be treated as separate concepts: Demand Generation and Lead Management. Demand Generation vs. Lead Management According to Carlos, Demand Generation has two goals: Filling the funnel Engaging with prospect throughout the funnel And Lead management is the process used to ensure there is a link between marketing and sales to prevent leads leaking…
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    DR4WARD

  • @DR4WARD Curated Global tweets for 2012-1-27 Digital, Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media, Higher Ed

    Dr. William J. Ward aka DR4WARD
    28 Jan 2012 | 5:02 am
    @DR4WARD Curated Global tweets for 2012-1-27 Digital, Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media, Higher Ed Demographics & Psychographics don't cut it anymore. It's all about the #socialgraphics http://dld.bz/aJxJH Doug Craig with @DiscoveryComm to discuss digital & #socialTV at @NewhouseSU @SyracuseU Feb. 15 http://dld.bz/aJxPX #NewhouseGLDSM FDA issues first #socialmedia rules for drug companies - http://ow.ly/8Ir2V #HCSM Discovery's Doug Craig to discuss digital & #socialTV at @NewhouseSU Feb. 15 http://dld.bz/aJxPX #NewhouseGLDSM #NewhouseSM4…

  • What Should You Know About OpenCourseWare? #highered #infographic

    Brianne Boysen
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:11 am
    What Should You Know About OpenCourseWare? #highered #infographic By OnlineCollegeCourses.com I look 4Ward to your feedback. Keep Digging for Worms! Guest post by Brianne Boysen Author: Bill - Dr. William J. Ward, a.k.a DR4WARD is the Professor of Social Media at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He is ranked one of the "Top Marketing Professors on Twitter" in the world by Social Media Marketing Magazine for providing useful content and consistently engaging with followers and truly "getting it" when it comes to the best ways to use…

  • How Much Video Is Uploaded Per Second To YouTube? #video

    Brianne Boysen
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:05 am
    How Much Video Is Uploaded Per Second To YouTube? #video Check out OneHourPerSecond.com By 1hourpersecond I look 4Ward to your feedback. Keep Digging for Worms! Guest post by Brianne Boysen Author: Bill - Dr. William J. Ward, a.k.a DR4WARD is the Professor of Social Media at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He is ranked one of the "Top Marketing Professors on Twitter" in the world by Social Media Marketing Magazine for providing useful content and consistently engaging with followers and truly "getting it" when it comes to the best…

  • @DR4WARD Curated Global tweets for 2012-1-26 Digital, Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media, Higher Ed

    Dr. William J. Ward aka DR4WARD
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:31 am
    @DR4WARD Curated Global tweets for 2012-1-26 Digital, Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media, Higher Ed @MMPerez91 500+ weekly Twitter chats by Hashtag, Desc., Host/Moderator & date/time dld.bz/aJuQ5 #NewhouseSM4 cc: @6oz @CostYou @MMPerez91 How to Be a Twitter Chat Champion dld.bz/Ht9c #NewhouseSM4 cc: @6oz @CostYou @TimKillian: Good ? It depends. I have a FB personal profile & page (to test). Using social well going 4ward is best strategy. #NewhouseSM4 COM 600 - Social Media Theory & Practice #NewhouseSM6 Spring 2012 "To Do" List - Due Wed., Feb. 1…

  • What Are Some Facts About Apple's Cash? #infographic

    Brianne Boysen
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:51 pm
    What Are Some Facts About Apple's Cash? #infographic By MBAOnline.com I look 4Ward to your feedback. Keep Digging for Worms! Guest post by Brianne Boysen Author: Bill - Dr. William J. Ward, a.k.a DR4WARD is the Professor of Social Media at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He is ranked one of the "Top Marketing Professors on Twitter" in the world by Social Media Marketing Magazine for providing useful content and consistently engaging with followers and truly "getting it" when it comes to the best ways to use Twitter and other…
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    WordPress.com News

  • Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension

    Christopher Finke
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pm
    Want to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button…

  • Your Stats Have a New Home

    Andy Skelton
    26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 am
    Are you addicted to checking your site stats? You are not alone. The stats dashboard has always been one of the most popular admin screens. It’s gratifying to know that people are visiting your place online. With the WordPress.com front page evolving into a one-stop shop for posting, exploring, following and reading blogs, it seemed natural to put your blog stats there, too.  Stats are becoming more and more about interacting with your readers and other bloggers. You’ll still see your summary stats and chart on your main dashboard, and the full stats page in your dashboard will…

  • Reblogging is Back!

    Erica Johnson
    22 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pm
    As we mentioned last week, you can like and reblog posts directly from your reader, which displays a stream of all the updates published on all the blogs you follow from your WordPress.com account. We’ve also brought the reblog button back to the toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you’re logged into WordPress.com. Note that you’ll only see the like and reblog options while you’re looking at individual posts. For example, you’ll see this on the left side of your toolbar while viewing http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/read-blogs: And your…

  • New Theme: Newsy

    Philip Arthur Moore
    20 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pm
    It’s been an extra big week in the news ’round these parts, so much so that the launch announcement of our latest premium theme seems like an extra extra good way to headline our Friday. Newsy is a versatile business and news-friendly theme that offers up to ten different layouts, four footer columns, custom link and accent colors, and a custom site header. Brand and content-focused editorial teams will love publishing with this theme. Newsy: Home Page Designed by Themify, Newsy comes with an impressive set of Theme Options that afford you a great deal of flexibility with how you…

  • Read All Your Favorite Blogs in One Place

    Erica Johnson
    19 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pm
    If you feel like it’s a chore to keep up with all your favorite blogs, you can now read posts from all the blogs you follow (even the ones that aren’t on WordPress.com!) in one convenient place on the WordPress.com home page: Your reader displays all the posts across all the blogs you follow in the order they were published, with the most recent content appearing at the top. You’ll see an excerpt of the introduction to each post, the first image in the post, and thumbnails of any other images that the post contains. You can even like and reblog WordPress.com content directly…
 
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    Contractor Websites That Work

  • What Men’s Wearhouse & Jos. A Banks Can Teach You about Competition

    Darren
    25 Jan 2012 | 10:11 am
    I like a good suit even though I work mostly in what I wake up in…yeah it’s not pretty, but you are jealous. Now, un-burning that image from your mind, some may say I am a bit of a clothes horse, which is why I pay attention to the constant back and forth battle on TV between Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A Banks for the men’s wedding -funeral-interview dress up dollar. These two companies are what are left of the national men’s clothing vertical, and they are beating the snot out of each other by giving more away than a bridge and tunnel hooker. This is mutually assured…

  • What’s Your Font Type?

    Darren
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:45 pm
    What Type Are You? To some of you, this is going to be the most boring post you have ever read. To those of you who understand that incremental changes mean big results, this is going to be a pretty big deal. Your website typeface matters! I have been doing a lot of reviews lately, and I have come across some very beautiful sites that need little if any changes and I have come across sites that need a lot of love. But one of the problems I see across the board is the font type and size. Most readers today have some type of reading aid…glasses, contacts, whatever. Comes from years now of…

  • What Tampons Can Teach You About Marketing

    Darren
    18 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    I love the show Two Broke Girls…LOVE IT! It pushes the envelope in a way that no other network show does, just as network TV struggles to find its place on the dial. But you came here for tampons, or marketing…or both, so here goes! During a recent show, one of the two broke girls got pretty upset when she found out that the owner of the diner she worked in raised the price of a tampon from .25 to .75 in the vending machine in the ladies room. When she launched into her explanation as to why .75 was too much, she said something that struck a major chord with me. Don’t take…

  • What Disney Can Teach You About Bad Execution

    Darren
    17 Jan 2012 | 5:07 am
    So, this past weekend I went into a Disney store with my daughter. She had $20 from the tooth fairy who visited Grammy’s as well as her own house (I don’t know either) that was burning a hole in her pocket. As she perused the aisle of princess trinkets, I noticed a small, little end cap out-of-the-way towards the back of the store. Compared to the rest of the displays, this one was pretty run down. I couldn’t tell what was being sold on this display until I was about 5 feet away. Book Your Trip to Disney Here! That was the sign I saw in about 18 font, on the opposing side of…

  • What Coke Can Teach You About Marketing

    Darren
    16 Jan 2012 | 7:31 am
    Wanna be the top rated brand in the word? Spend north of $2.6 billion a year in advertising and be around for the last 100 years with some of the most innovative advertising ever. Don’t have that kind of coin? Specialize like Coke Coke has about 100 products in its stable; from water to tea to…soda. But the product that started it all…the grand-daddy, is Coke. And the Coke brand gets the lion’s share of the $2.6 billion Coke spends on advertising. How much does the Coke brand get? Well, Coke doesn’t break out ad spend by product line, but I bet it is north of 70%…
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    Webolutions

  • Denver Social Media for Business Group Talks Sharing Across Social Networks

    27 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Social Media Marketing for Business - Join the Conversation!, kicked off its 2012 calendar with a discussion among attending business owners and executives about successes and risks of sharing content ac

  • Top 12 Free Mobile Apps for Business

    24 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm
    I've been asked a few times recently what free mobile apps I find most useful for my business. Excluding the calendar, email, text, browser and camera, which have, I believe, become a minimum expectation for anyone carrying a smartphone, here are the tools I use and what I get out of them:

  • Top 12 Free Mobile Apps for Business

    24 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm
    I've been asked a few times recently what free mobile apps I find most useful for my business. Excluding the calendar, email, text, browser and camera, which have, I believe, become a minimum expectation for anyone carrying a smartphone, here are the tools I use and what I get out of them:

  • SOPA, PIPA and Your Website

    19 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    The Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives could change the way the Internet operates. The goal of the legislation is to protect media companies against th

  • Three Search Engine Marketing Resolutions For 2012

    9 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    While you may be thinking that your New Year’s resolution should be to start working out, spend more time with your family, or take up a new hobby, you shouldn’t forget about your Search Engine Marketing (SEM) when making resolutions. Even if you’ve had a great 20
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    Marketing and Social Media by

  • Understanding Brand Loyalty by Lisa Chapman

    Lisa Chapman
    18 Jan 2012 | 7:36 pm
    Guest Writer: Juliette Johnson So you’re thirsty and you’re looking for a drink. You head to thee canteen and are offered a choice between Coke, Pepsi or a generic brand cola. The generic brand cola is the cheapest on offer but which do you choose and why? You need a new TV do you buy a Sony or a Panasonic? These quick introductory questions sum up the importance of brand loyalty, and why we need to create it. What is Brand Loyalty? Brand loyalty is basically a scenario whereby a customer will always choose one brand over another – not because of price, not because of convenience but…

  • Google Plus Pages by Lisa Chapman

    Lisa Chapman
    10 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    Now Businesses Can Share with Circles, Too! Google Plus Pages, the online rival to Facebook, has created a guide that will walk you through how to set up your Business Page, get started, share, promote and measure Let’s take a quick look at what they say about the three functions that benefit your business: SHARE Google Plus Pages allows you to drill down deeper – because not all your customers or fans are interested in all the same things. Some want to know about your latest promotions, while others simply don’t want to be bothered, right? They may want the latest news, or…

  • Google + (or Google Plus) by Lisa Chapman

    Lisa Chapman
    3 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    What does Google + Do? Google already does more than most people realize, but never before have they attempted to go head-to-head with the social network Facebook, as cited by many highly credible sources such as The New York Times. As you likely know, it was launched last summer – June 28, 2011 as a ‘field test’, by invitation only. On September 20, it was available to anyone over 18 years of age, no invitation needed. Google + Features Early adopters have been mostly male (over 71%) with the dominant age bracket between the ages of 25-34 (35%). So, the features have been…

  • LinkedIn Company Pages by Lisa Chapman

    Lisa Chapman
    27 Dec 2011 | 12:20 pm
    Tips for Using Them in Your Business LinkedIn has become the premiere U.S. online business social network by keeping standards high. If you understand how to use LinkedIn to meet professionals, recruit employees, do research and promote your business, you can benefit greatly. I’m a big fan of LinkedIn. Here are a few more tips for effectively using LinkedIn Company Pages. Updates Now you can post updates to your Page to keep followers informed about things like employee hires, job openings, company news and announcements, and just about anything that’s worth telling. Not only…

  • Looking For the Latest Social Media Tips? by Lisa Chapman

    Lisa Chapman
    1 Dec 2011 | 3:40 pm
    Subscribe to Social Media Examiner Since social media changes at the speed of light, NO ONE can keep up with it. Not even the professionals, who spend every waking moment at their computer screen.  Social Media Examiner’s mission is to help you navigate the constantly changing social media jungle. That’s my insider secret. Every time Social Media Examiner lands in my inbox, I take away something valuable. Often several things. I really look forward to it, and I bet you will, too. Delivering Value to Small Business Owners Social Media Examiner is read by 450,000 people each month.
 
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    campusmediagroup.wordpress.com

  • A Textbook Revolution

    alliefjel
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pm
    Apple announced last week a major overhaul to its iBooks app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch they are calling iBooks2 which will allow textbooks to be sold and used on their devices. iBooks in the past sold novels and other leisure reading, but this is the first time the application will support academic textbooks. Not only will students be able to read the textbooks , there will also be many interactive features, such as videos, games and quizzes, that a traditional textbook could not support. Image by greenasian via Flickr Apple has said none of the textbooks will cost more than $15,…

  • Seton Hall bench player is their #1 cheerleader

    Jason Bakker
    10 Jan 2012 | 2:54 pm
    Seton Hall walk-on player Peter Dill goes crazy with his celebrations in the Pirates big win over UConn. SportsCenter anchors Kevin Negandhi and Linda Cohn both do a nice job covering it. I love a bench player with a good attitude. (via) Filed under: College News, Staff Musings, Video Pick of the Week

  • Sorority Sisters Arrested For Ganking a Nativity Scene

    Jason Bakker
    15 Dec 2011 | 12:20 pm
    Photo: The Smoking Gun   A quintet of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sisters came up with like, the best crime idea, like, EVER! Five female students at Monmouth College in Illinois were recently arrested after stealing statues of Mary, Joseph, the Baby Jesus and several stable animals from a nativity scene in their town’s square and dumping them on the lawn of their college’s president. It’s a Christmas miracle — that they didn’t get expelled. The quintet of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sisters allegedly stole statues of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and several stable animals during…

  • Blackboard Back-to-School Move-In Teams

    Tracey
    15 Dec 2011 | 11:22 am
    This fall, Campus Media Group coordinated Move-In Teams at 4 campuses for Blackboard during Back-to-School. As a company, Blackboard’s goal is to work with colleges and universities to engage students in exciting new ways, reaching them on their terms and devices — connecting more effectively, keeping students informed and involved. So it was only appropriate they hit the pavement and get in front of those students offering whatever assistance the students might need during the ever exciting and chaotic Move-In Day. The teams were on hand all day at every dorm with cool bottles of…

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s on graduation day

    Jason Bakker
    14 Dec 2011 | 8:13 am
    See if you can spot Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in this 1969 UCLA graduation photo. (via) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on graduation day. UCLA 1969. Source: Camille Reads Filed under: Staff Musings
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    The Scholes Marketing Blog

  • Email Marketing Campaign Lessons: Back to Basics

    Jillian Stira
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:51 am
    Email remains one of the best ways to promote your products and services and nurture your prospective customers. All too often I see customers creating emails—or I get them myself—with some basic mistakes that may lead to big performance issues.  Here are a handful of important things to keep your eye on when creating your next email campaign. (1) Create a Bulletproof Email Design When designing the layout of an email I think of two major things: keep the message simple and on target and regularly test your designs in different email clients. Just because your…

  • Make Your Twitter an SEO Machine

    Jillian Stira
    3 Nov 2011 | 7:41 am
    Social media for most companies is no longer an option, it’s a necessity. While Google has ended its Realtime Search deal with Twitter, search engines are still using social media sites for ranking purposes.  Twitter has pulled ahead of many other social media platforms, becoming a critical source for search engine optimization (SEO).  Using Twitter correctly can help boost search engine traffic to your website or blog. Here are 5 tips to help you make your Twitter an SEO machine. Choose Your Names Wisely On Twitter you have two different names; your real name and your user…

  • 4 Steps to Put You on the Path to Closed-Loop Marketing Bliss

    Jeff Scholes
    14 Jan 2010 | 7:00 am
     Here's an article I recently wrote as a guest post on the Hubspot Internet Marketing Blog.  Many businesses I come across truly intend to do the right thing as far as optimizing their websites for lead generation. However, even though they do their best to drive more traffic and execute Internet marketing campaigns that will capture and convert more leads, many of them end up in one of two buckets: Bucket 1: "We have no idea where to start given the crushing amount of available tools, opinions and advice." Bucket 2: "We have all the bells and whistles (we think, anyway) but we…

  • Blogging for your Business is easier than driving a car!

    Jeff Scholes
    14 Dec 2009 | 6:13 am
    When I speak with small business owners and marketers, one of the persistent obstacles to creating a blog presence often are expressed as two key points: 1)      We don't have time to write regularly. 2)      We don't have the ability to write regularly. That seems like a non-starter, right?  If you find this is your situation, please think again, as you are missing a key opportunity - since, as mentioned in an earlier business blogging article, YOU are the expert in your field.  Vehicles, Blog sites and Web sites Think about what…

  • Why does everyone want to be your SEO BFF?

    Jeff Scholes
    2 Dec 2009 | 8:50 am
    If you are like me, you are regularly receiving unsolicited email from various quarters, telling you about the latest and greatest SEO solutions on the planet. Just buy the book, or guide, or download the promotional whitepaper and this expert will offer you the latest "Secrets" to search engine success. Google it. At last count I saw millions of results! Well, it's not a very well-kept secret anyway. One reason for the mysterious "secret" is simple: Google and other search engines do not publish their algorithms, and they are known to change without notification. Another reason, of course,…
 
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    Smedio

  • 4 Tips Wall Street Should Learn from Social Media

    Albert Qian
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:53 pm
    At the end of the day it does not matter whether you are on main street or Wall Street or cruising down easy street, the fact of the matter is with these Occupy Wall Street protests is that there lies a problem – the problem of a burgeoning income gap between executives and employees, a corruption of banking and loans and a direction for the country that appears to be headed down some of the biggest protests since the summer of 1968, when America found itself mired in Vietnam and grief stricken from the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Turn on the news and this…

  • The 7 Don’ts of Mobile Marketing

    Douglas Idugboe
    23 Jan 2012 | 4:44 am
    The explosive growth of smartphones and tablets has changed the face of marketing for good. Though mobile marketing was considered as experimental few years back, it’s now the mainstream channel of marketing for businesses of all sizes from SMBs to large multinational enterprises. The benefits of mobile marketing are obvious – instantaneous reach, borderless communication and mass coverage. While there’s no doubt that mobile marketing is a powerful tool for marketers, I strongly believe that they need to avoid these 7 don’ts. Multiple Bulk SMS I have no qualms in accepting that…

  • How Apple’s iBook Author Tool Redefines the Future of Publishing

    Douglas Idugboe
    20 Jan 2012 | 5:13 am
    There are technology companies and then there’s Apple – a class apart and in a league of its own. Whether it’s transforming the future of smartphones with the iPhone or creating a new business segment for tablets with the iPad, Apple’s technology has been a game changer in several markets. And when Apple announced a special event to “reinvent the future of digital publishing”, I could sense what was coming. There was a tremendous sense of anticipation for Apple’s publishing event yesterday and based on whatever I’ve seen of iBooks 2 and the iBooks Author tool, I have to say…

  • Are We That Obsessed with Facebook? [Infographic]

    Douglas Idugboe
    19 Jan 2012 | 3:29 am
    In year 2011, Facebook further solidified its position as the world’s most widely used social network among users across the board. The question is, are we obsessed with Facebook? The infographic below helps us answer that intriguing question. Source: Online Schools

  • How Your Business Can Best Benefit from New Google Changes

    Douglas Idugboe
    18 Jan 2012 | 3:58 am
    It’s been an eventful start to the year 2012 for Google. The online search giant’s announcement to introduce tighter integration between its Google+ social network and its organic search results has attracted severe criticism from experts, users and other relevant voices of social media. On its part, Google says that the motivation of including Google+ in search was to “transform Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships.” So, essentially Google+ data as part your Google searches is Google Search Plus. The idea of Search Plus is…
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    TemboSocial

  • Hey! Engagement Matters.

    David Bator
    26 Jan 2012 | 7:56 am
    We all know that engagement matters. When individual employees are engaged in the workplace, everyone benefits. By encouraging feedback, collecting peer-generated success stories, sharing them across corporate and departmental boundaries, you cultivate your greatest competitive advantage – social capital – to earn discretionary effort, attract talent and win loyalty. Join us today for HR.com’s Virtual Conference on Rewards & Recognition where we’ll share 9 tactics for engaging your employees online this year.

  • What analytics should an enterprise use for a social intranet?

    David Bator
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:36 am
    It’s a question I hear asked a lot and one that has surfaced again in anticipation of our February 8 Real Engagement Event with Intranet guru Toby Ward. According to Toby’s study, The Social Intranet, while 61% of organizations have introduced at least one social tool on their intranet most executives are less than satisfied with their functionality. So what in your opinion are the key metrics to ensure that your tools are performing as they should? I encourage you to join our conversation on February 8 @ 2PM EST. Come prepared with your questions for Toby Ward on transforming…

  • The Year of the Employee

    David Bator
    24 Jan 2012 | 10:19 am
    The numbers are staggering: 60% of employees are actively looking for work and 55% of are not engaged. Their lack of engagement not only costs you money (35%-50% of payroll) but there’s also a 52% gap in operating incomes between companies with highly engaged employees and companies whose employees have low-engagement scores. If you haven’t already made 2012 the Year of The Employee, you better. On Thursday, January 26 TemboSocial president and founder Steven Green will outline strategies for engaging employees online in 2012 as part of HR.com’s virtual conference on Rewards…

  • The Little Things

    Steven Green
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:59 am
    While systems to capture documents and other resources that benefit the company have been in place for years, milestones, events and the people tied to them that make your company a great place for employees and customers have consistently been lost to the corporate knowledge base. Why not leverage the power of social software and turn recognition into a business asset? By aggregating recognition into a browseable and searchable space you transform recognition into a business resource for finding the people within the company who have the required peer-validated skills when they are needed…

  • More Than Recognition

    David Bator
    18 Jan 2012 | 9:59 am
    I’ve talked at some length about the importance of recognition, specifically non-monetary recognition, when it comes to engaging and motivating your workforce. I feel as if we’ve just started to scratch the surface when it comes to using praise and recognition in effective ways. A new book by Mark Royal and Tom Agnew has me thinking about the other side of the recognition story. The Enemy of Engagement: Put an End to Workplace Frustration – and Get the Most from Your Employees looks at the obstacles that organizations put between employees and successful outcomes, often unconsciously.
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    Promotional Products, Business Tips and Advertising Strategies

  • New Year Top-Selling Promotional Items—Market By Brand Insistence

    admin
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:08 am
    Promotional products that guarantee marketing success and help increase ROI are the ones that companies choose year after year for advertising campaigns. Why these products work each time is because they are effective as promotional tools. People recall the advertiser with them more than they do with other promotional products, and they retain these promotional giveaways. Promotional pens are top-selling promotional products that customers respond well to. Pens are high-utility business gifts. They are functional and offer an optimum print area for logos to be imprinted on. When you imprint…

  • They Got An Eye On You… Google Shows!

    admin
    13 Jan 2012 | 5:25 am
    If you are on the web, or even off it, everyone’s got their eye on you! But don’t take our word for it! Ask the experts…ask papa Google himself! Past year search trends on Google are out and what they show is that your brand is constantly being judged and evaluated, praised and criticized. The world is watching you 24/7 and everything you do contributes to your brand image and perception. Your product, your website, your marketing, your brand, your interactions with your customers, with your employees—it’s all being observed and the opinions and reviews are being passed on to peers…

  • The Real Magnitude Of Walmart

    admin
    19 Dec 2011 | 2:03 am
    How much do you know about Walmart? We certainly didn’t know enough…that is until now! Very few know what a leviathan this largest retailer in the world really is. Check out some of the stats that blow your mind away: If we were to mark Walmart’s revenue as national GDP, it would be the 25th largest economy in the world! If all of Walmart’s stores were to be lined up side by side, all of Manhattan’s 880 million square feet would be covered! Walmart commands the second largest active military in the world!…that is if all of its 2,100,000 people are commissioned in the army!

  • Google Needs To Clean Up Its Attic To Avoid Becoming Another Microsoft

    admin
    12 Dec 2011 | 9:24 am
    How is Google like Microsoft? Both have one core business that they took and built ‘the empire’ upon. With Google it’s Google Search and for Microsoft, Windows is what has dominated the market. Goes without saying that these core products are immensely profitable, create great cash flow and contribute to the larger part of the revenue of their parent companies. However, beyond these core businesses the two global leviathans have something else in common, and that is what the late Steve Jobs advised Larry Page about. Steve cautioned Larry, “Figure out what Google wants to be when it…

  • Yahoo! Going…Going…Gone?

    admin
    12 Dec 2011 | 9:00 am
    Yahoo’s struggles to keep its head above the water might soon be the last it can make. The huge web presence it once commanded with a global audience allowed it to build a relatively profitable and growing business, but it could not sustain the magnificence for long. Now for some time several big boys like Microsoft and Silver Lake Partners have been eyeing Yahoo! In February 2008, Microsoft attempted to buy the US web giant for $44.6 billion, but Yahoo! rejected the even higher offer price of $33 per share. Along, with Silver Lake Partners and Microsoft, the Canada Pension Plan Investment…
 
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    Great B2B Marketing

  • Patience and Persistence – A Powerful Combination in Marketing

    Christopher Ryan
    27 Jan 2012 | 2:08 am
    As has been stated in works ranging from the Bible to the Beatles, there is a time for every purpose. Sometimes the best course is to persist and push through the obstacle and sometimes the best course is to apply a little dose of patience.  Here are some examples of when to practice persistence.Be persistent in setting goals for your marketing programs.  Better yet, make them intentions. How many unique visitors will you have at your website?  How many inquires will you generate and how many of these will turn into legitimate sales opportunities?  How many opt-in inquiries will you add…

  • 10 Minutes to Better B2B Marketing

    Christopher Ryan
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:47 am
    I was attending a fitness class at my health club this past weekend and the instructor was talking about how full the club was in early January and how many of the people were “New Year’s resolution” exercisers who would probably be absent within a month.  He said that many people have noble intentions and set major goals, but they take an approach bound for failure, by overdoing it in the early stages – for example, exercising every day for an hour or running six miles. This is an unpleasant way to start on the path to fitness, and many drop out.In fact, most of us in this situation…

  • A Dozen B2B Marketing Mantras for 2012

    Christopher Ryan
    3 Jan 2012 | 2:59 am
    The Fusion Marketing Partners team got together last week to do our year end recap and strategize plans for 2012. The bottom line is that we had a good year.  As part of the discussion, we talked about some guiding principles (mantras) for how we will conduct business in 2012. Here is a sampling that might give you some ideas for improvement in the coming year.Focus on the three marketing measurements that probably matter most to your organization: boosting awareness, generating leads and driving revenue.Continually improve the results that you deliver.  Be better tomorrow, next month,…

  • Say What You Mean – Mean What You Say

    Christopher Ryan
    20 Dec 2011 | 11:10 am
    I just read an interesting article by Dan Pollatta in the Harvard Business Review, with the clever title I Don’t Understand What Anyone Is Saying Anymore.  The premise of the article is that business people speak with so much gobbledygook and industry jargon – it is hard to understand what they are talking about.The topic of communication is important to us at Fusion Marketing Partners because we have to either create compelling messages for our clients or coach them on how to do so.  And whether or not a message is “compelling” should always judged by how prospects receive it,…

  • 6 Tips to Prepare for B2B Marketing Victory in 2012

    Christopher Ryan
    8 Dec 2011 | 2:29 am
    With only about three weeks to go in 2011 I hope you are turning at least some of your thoughts to what you will do in the coming days to ensure that 2012 is your best year ever.  I know it is tough to close out the year strongly while simultaneously planning for the future, but it vitally important that you do so.Year-end planning reminds me of the cartoon where the guy is standing in waist deep water swatting at large alligators with a paddle.  The caption reads: “When you are up to your neck in alligators, it’s hard to remember the original objective was to drain the…
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    Thoughts on Social CRM, Big Data Analytics and E2.0

  • Why Big Data Analytics is The Next Big Opportunity for Outsourcing Companies

    Harish Kotadia, Ph.D.
    8 Jan 2012 | 10:18 pm
    Big Data Analytics is making big headlines these days. Just check out a few from recent past: Big Data — Big Money Says It Is A Paradigm Buster - Forbes.com For Start-Ups That Aim at Giants, Sorting the Data Cloud Is the Next Big Thing - The New York Times Accel Makes Big Commitment To Big Data With $100M Fund - The Wall Street Journal Five startup predictions for 2012 - c|net Big Data: Investments Flow into the Next Big Thing - a great post by Dick Weisinger So what is Big Data and why it is in the news so much these days? According to Philip Russom, Director of TDWI Research,…

  • 3 New Year’s Resolutions that should be on Every CEOs List for 2012

    Harish Kotadia, Ph.D.
    30 Dec 2011 | 10:06 pm
    “After Outcry, Verizon Abandons $2 Fee” screams a headline from today’s online edition of the New York Times. And the article makes it very clear that Social Media played no small role in telecom giant’s hasty retreat from levying a new $2 fee on bill payments. This story is a harbinger of things to come in 2012 and CEO and CMO of every large and medium sized company should pay attention to it. As I explained in my previous post titled 2012: Year of Empowered and Assertive Digital Customer, thanks to Mobile, Tablet computing and Social Networking revolutions, customers…

  • 2012: Year of Empowered and Assertive Digital Customer

    Harish Kotadia, Ph.D.
    28 Dec 2011 | 8:51 pm
    As 2011 comes to an end and as we look forward to celebrating New Year 2012, one thing that strikes most looking back is the massive increase in ownership and usage of Smartphones and Tablet computers. Just consider following headlines in the last few days: “On Christmas day alone, a total of 6.8 million iOS and Android devices got activated around the world, a 353% increase from Christmas 2010″ (for more, see this link) “Consumers have spent a record $35 billion online shopping this holiday season” (for more, see this link) “Apple’s iOS accounted for a…

  • FedEx learns Social CRM lesson, the hard way!

    Harish Kotadia, Ph.D.
    22 Dec 2011 | 1:06 am
    Here’s an excellent example of the importance of responding to a Social Media crisis before it is too late. On December 19th, 2011, a YouTube user (username “goobie55″) uploaded video of a FedEx delivery person throwing a video monitor into his/her yard. This YouTube video has created a Social Media storm of sorts and as I write this post, it has been viewed 3,576,412 times for this one YouTube post alone. I have seen it on my local TV news too here in Dallas, Texas. Well, before it was too late (remember United Breaks Guitars YouTube video), FedEx  posted its own response…

  • Why ‘Social’ will drive growth in 2012

    Harish Kotadia, Ph.D.
    21 Dec 2011 | 1:36 pm
    Time flies! Here we are just a few days before Christmas and looking back at 2011, I cannot help but wonder at the amazing speed with which the year flew by! 2011 will be remembered for the effective role Social Media played in activist movements across the globe. Looking at the future, one can see dark clouds on economic horizon given the debt and deficit crisis in Europe and North America. Consumer spending, which has driven economic growth for past several decades given easy availability of inexpensive credit, is drying up as consumers are reluctant to spend given the economic and…
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    Hinge Branding and Marketing Blog

  • The Digital Revolution In Professional Services Marketing

    sylvia@hingemarketing.com
    23 Jan 2012 | 7:53 am
    By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   Whether you are prepared for it or not, there is a wave of change ready to break. The world of professional services marketing is about to change in ways that many folks have not anticipated. There will be new winners and new losers. Some firms will rise to reshape the industry. And it is likely to happen very quickly. Some people believe that professional services are inherently local. You must be face to face to build trust and provide service — ergo professional services will always be local. As it turns out, there is another path to trust and that…

  • Three Questions for Marketing Plan Success

    sylvia@hingemarketing.com
    16 Jan 2012 | 6:21 am
    By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   If yours is like most professional services firms, this is the time of year when you are scrambling to finish up your marketing plan for the new year. I know, you had intended to have it wrapped up by the end of last year, but here you are. In the spirit of helping you make those last few decisions, I thought it might be helpful to pass along three questions that may give you a better perspective. At Hinge, we have been doing a boatload of marketing strategy reviews, and we have found that these questions help put things in perspective. If you answer them…

  • LinkedIn Strategy For Professional Services Executives: 3 The 10-Minute-a-Day Plan

    sylvia@hingemarketing.com
    9 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   If you are like most professional services executives you are strapped for time. And while the benefits of social media sound appealing, the process also sounds very time intensive (which it is). Does all of this activity justify the time devoted to it? The answer, in my experience, is to start small and determine if it is a good match for your disposition and target client group. Here’s a plan to make that happen. Step 1. Find your 10-minutes a day.Consider substituting this “online networking” for a piece of your traditional…

  • LinkedIn Strategy for Professional Services Executives 2: Top Tools To Use

    sylvia@hingemarketing.com
    2 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am
    By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   So you’re on LinkedIn but not really sure how you should be using it. Is it a good use of your time? What exactly should you be doing when you are there? In the first post in this series, we made the case that LinkedIn is both a widely used tool and is seen as effective by those that know and use it well. We also reviewed the most realistic goals for a LinkedIn strategy. In this post we’ll explore the top "tools" that LinkedIn provides with its free accounts. These tools will provide all the functionality that most professional services…

  • LinkedIn Strategy For Professional Services Executives: 1

    sylvia@hingemarketing.com
    28 Dec 2011 | 1:50 pm
    By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   If you are a professional services executive there's a good chance that you're already on LinkedIn. You may love it, hate it, or not even understand it, but you can’t ignore it. So what is the appropriate LinkedIn strategy for you and your professional services firm? Let’s start with the basics. What is LinkedIn? LinkedIn is the premier social media site for professionals. With its laser0like focus on the business side of life (as contrasted to the more personal focus of Facebook), it may be something of a misnomer to call it a social media…
 
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    Aaker on Brands

  • What Readers Should Know While Reading Jim Stengel’s “Grow”

    26 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    GROW: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s Greatest Companies by Jim Stengel, the former CMO of P&G who has made several notable contributions advancing the field of brand management, is an important brand book and a good read. Its central and provocative thesis is that growth brands tend to have a higher purpose, termed by Stengel as a “brand ideal.” A brand ideal has a shared goal of improving people’s lives and comes in five types. It elicits joy, enables connections, inspires exploration, evokes pride and/or impacts society.A brand ideal is often based on a brand’s…

  • Culture Matters: Lessons from the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley

    18 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    The Berkeley-Haas school has codified a well-defined culture into a set of core brand values: namely, “question the status quo (innovate and champion bold ideas),” “students always (never feel you have learned all you need),” “beyond yourself (consider larger interests than short-term profits, go beyond personal ambition), and “confidence without attitude (without arrogance employ analysis, trust and collaboration).” The values are oriented toward the reduction of overconfidence and self-focus, which are perceived to be excessively present among the business graduates and…

  • Great CEOs are Born, not Made

    12 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    Bob Lutz in his recent book Car Guys vs. Bean Counters makes the point that GM was doing fine until in the mid 1970s the MBA-trained finance guys took control of product development from the "car guys," who were engineers and designers. The result, he says, was inferior cars and a decline in the firm. He believes that CEOs and the top management should not be bean counters but rather should be a "product guys."The poster child for his view was Roger Smith who was an MBA-trained accounting and finance specialist. During his ten year tenure as GE's CEO during the 80s, Smith made breathtaking…

  • Why I Bought a No-Name Computer From a Components Firm

    5 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    I was told by the computer doctor that my wife's desktop computer had all but died at the hands of a virus and, in addition, it had been obsolete for years. A new replacement was needed. My mind immediately went to a two-brand consideration class — Dell (most of my computers had been Dell) and HP (I have HP printers and have always like the "HP Way"). But minutes later, I decided to buy an ASUS computer even though I had never heard of it. Why? Three factors were convincing.1. The recommendation. The computer doctor said that he had just bought and installed for another client an ASUS…

  • My Top 6 Aaker on Brands Blog Posts

    29 Dec 2011 | 2:00 am
    After some 14 months of blogging about branding, I have over 60 postings. Looking over that list, I picked out three that had the most impact in terms of interest, comments, and readership and three that described a topic that had a big influence on me.Impact on the audienceThe post “Secrets of Social Media Revealed 50 Years Ago,” also published in HBR, coincidentally got a lot of attention on Twitter. It describes Ernest Dichter’s classic study of WofM brand communication, which revealed four motivations to talk about brands and two motivations to listen - findings that are relevant to…
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    The Perfect Customer Experience

  • Top 20 Women Content Producers: Content Marketing Institute

    Dale Wolf
    8 Jan 2012 | 11:56 am
    Joe Chernov, VP of Content Marketing for Eloqua, a revenue performance management company, expresses his dismay with the ‘boy’s club’ culture of content marketing, namely, excluding women thought leaders and influencers, noting that it is detrimental to the content marketing industry. So Content Marketing Institute assembled their list of the top 20 women generating great content to show some might female writers. I might add that Joe  and CMI have done an excellent job at putting the spotlight on women leading the way as serious influencers and contributors to the…

  • Experience will be positive after you establish trust and credibility

    Dale Wolf
    1 Jan 2012 | 5:03 pm
    As marketing content developers we should keep in mind how our content impacts trust and credibility with prospects, clients, employees and suppliers. Words are important. Buyers are absorbing content from all sorts of places. They evaluate emotionally and rationally if our promises sound true or too good to be true. When we accomplish trust and credibility, our marketing content will drive business. TRUST means that your marketing content conveys that you will work to make the buyer successful. CREDIBILITY comes when your actions follow through with what you promised. Done well, this will…

  • If you are serious about content, check out CMI

    Dale Wolf
    29 Dec 2011 | 9:51 am
    Content marketing, according to Content Marketing Institute, is the practice of creating relevant and compelling content in a consistent fashion to a targeted buyer, focusing on all stages of the buying process, from brand awareness through to brand evangelism.   In 2007, Joe Pulizzi launched a content marketing service called Junta42. Recently this was renamed Content Marketing Institute. CMI runs Content World, a huge educational event with the next one occurring in Columbus, OH, on September 4-6, 2012. They also publish a magazine: Chief Content Officer. CMI’s philosophy is…

  • Content is today’s path to customer experience and marketing success.

    Dale Wolf
    29 Dec 2011 | 8:43 am
    Think like a Publisher Developing and implementing a marketing content strategy is today the single most critical task that B2B marketers must master. Content has always been “king of the hill”. The power of unique, quality content has been self-evident as a way of capturing audiences with continuity programming. One of the earliest examples of content marketing came in 1895 when John Deere published The Furrow magazine—a magazine still being published today. Procter & Gamble created its own radio soap opera production subsidiary in 1940, and produced the first network television…

  • Predicting 2012: The Year Quality of Customer Experience Becomes King

    Louis Columbus
    4 Dec 2011 | 8:00 pm
    The next twelve months will see a greater focus than ever before on the quality of customer experience permeating strategies, systems, applications and initiatives. An efficiency and transaction mindset is driving many industries including airlines into a churn-based business model that is tough to escape from. In 2012 many businesses will need to step up their efforts to make better use of internal systems that are not integrated to CRM, analytics and customer service systems so they can deliver higher quality customer experiences immediately.  Integrating these systems together and making…
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    Small Business Marketing Strategies & Profitable Advice for Top Entrepreneurs

  • Getting To Your 2012 Business Goals With Economy of Motion and Focused Attention

    Nathaneal
    10 Jan 2012 | 7:29 am
    Setting business goals is great.  In case you haven’t had the chance to watch this video on the three things you need to do before ever setting goals in business or in life.. check it out. They have a beneficial effect even if you do nothing more than set them and move on with your life. But in this article & small business training video I am going to show you how to address hard to reach goals that you want to highly increase the chances of getting to in the shortest period of time. Write a plan: Your plan doesn’t have to be perfect but you do have to have a plan to reach…

  • 3 Massively Important Tips Before Setting Your Business Goals for 2012

    Nathaneal
    26 Dec 2011 | 9:03 am
    Business Goal Setting for 2012 Hi my name is Nathaneal Mohr.  I am a business coach and before we get started into this video & and article that focuses on tips you need to consider before setting your business goals for 2012… I want to make sure you are taking advantage of all the resources here.  One of the free resources we get a lot of great feedback on is our webinar on developing a new marketing strategy that works in todays market. Are you about set your business goals for 2012 then its important to first take a step back and pull as much life experience out of 2011 as…

  • How to Increase Your Productivity at Work…

    Nathaneal
    21 Dec 2011 | 7:10 am
    increase productivty at work While You Take The Most Time Off This Holiday Season You Could Possibly Take Off Hi, is this the first time you have been here?  Feel free to take advantage of one of our most popular free trainings on how to increase sales and business profits. It doesn’t matter if you are a entrepreneur, small business owner, or executive…a lot of us want to take time off during the holidays.  But then at the same time, when we take time off we risk hurting our bottom line. In this business coaching article I am going to show you how to prioritize your activities…

  • Customer & Client Loyalty, Retention Through Satisfaction

    Nathaneal
    19 Dec 2011 | 5:11 am
    Mastering the Management of Buying from Your Company Hi,  If this is the First Time Here Take advantage of our Free Online Training that focuses on How to Increase Business Profits and Sales One of the things I like to use is a personal customer & client experience checklist. This checklist can be used by large or small businesses. It can be a reference point for a business owner, middle management or an employee to understand how well they are progressing in the areas of loyalty & retention through the satisfaction of their customer or client base. All you have to do is find…

  • Comfort Zone Video With Quotes Worth Sharing

    Nathaneal
    8 Dec 2011 | 5:24 am
    Comfort Zone Quotes Worth Sharing The Comfort Zone is a dangerous place and in this video I am going to cover many of the quotes that have influenced my life. The action that forces you to leave your comfort zone is when you have a goal of something you want to do, be or have that is a great advancement for you personally and/or professionally. We usually dream and fantasize on the video screen of our minds about what it would be like to do, be or have that advancement… whatever it might be. Then we go through the logical next step of making plans to achieve it. Trying to be one of the…
 
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    thebrainchildgroup.com

  • Social Media Strategy: Finding the Right Balance

    The Brainchild Group
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:08 am
    If you were sitting on a seesaw across from one of the world’s largest sumo wrestlers, the one thing you’d wish for is balance. Social media marketing requires the same mindset. It’s important for companies to solidify their social media strategy and determine the correct balance. In essence, what should be shared and how often? The goal [...] Related posts:Reactive Social Media Strategy (RSMS): What The Heck Is It? Social Media Monitoring Tools: My 3 Favorites Social Media Marketing: The Right Way & The Wrong Way

  • Scrum Master Certification Course in San Francisco, CA

    The Brainchild Group
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:33 pm
    Platinum Edge, Inc. will be conducting a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) course in San Francisco, CA from January 30, 2012 to January 31, 2012, which will be taught by industry-recognized expert Mark C. Layton. Related posts:Scrum Master Certification Course in Oklahoma City, OK Agile ScrumMaster Certification Course by Mark Layton of Platinum Edge Newport Beach Certified ScrumMaster Training Course

  • Had a Realization: Social Media Marketing is Like Fishing

    Aaron Schoenberger
    16 Jan 2012 | 3:50 pm
    After many years of working with social media including sleepless nights thinking about what it truly is, I recently had a realization that social media marketing is very similar to fishing. Sounds crazy, I know, but hear me out. Related posts:Social Media Provides Huge Marketing Opportunities for Dentists Bacon of the Month Club: Yes, It’s Real Social Media Marketing: Are You Setting Obtainable Goals?

  • Social Media Prices in 2012: Expect Increase, Broader Range

    Aaron Schoenberger
    1 Jan 2012 | 2:24 am
    This article by Aaron Schoenberger of The Brainchild Group touches on social media pricing in 2012, including hourly consulting rates and monthly social media retainers. Related posts:Social Media Marketing Budgets in 2012: Expect Big Increase SEO Prices: What Does Search Engine Optimization Cost? Interested In Late-Breaking Social Media Marketing News? Expect Us

  • Los Angeles Holiday DUI Arrests Up, Criminal Attorneys Busy

    Aaron Schoenberger
    26 Dec 2011 | 1:38 am
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Los Angeles, California (December 26, 2011) – The city of Los Angeles has experienced an increase in DUI arrests during the holiday season with a whopping 1,028 arrests in only 7 days, which shows that law enforcement is cracking down on individuals driving under the influence. The 1,028 arrests for Driving [...] Related posts:Top Criminal Defense Attorneys Launch San Fernando Website: 818Crime.com Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorneys VALERIO | WEINRIEB Open New Office Naderi & Weinrieb Defends Individuals Charged with Domestic Violence in Van Nuys, CA
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    Smart Simple Marketing - Practical Strategies for Creating a Highly Successful Service Business

  • Common Pitfalls That Are Killing Your Business (Despite Your Best Efforts)

    Sydni Craig-Hart
    27 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Love it or hate it, marketing is a necessary part of creating a successful business. If you happen to reside in the "hate it" camp, it could be because you feel like marketing means you have to be pushy, sales-y or fake. We've all had the experience of having someone try to "sell" us and it doesn't feel good. Fortunately, such tactics are not necessary to enjoy a profitable business. And that is certainly NOT the Smart Simple Marketing way. To me, marketing is simply a matter of sharing solutions with people who are already looking for them. You and I both face a number of problems each day,…

  • How To Become Your Own Boss: Free Online Workshop

    Sydni Craig-Hart
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    PRESS RELEASE In "6 Keys to Taking Charge of Your Business and Life in 2012," Sydni Craig-Hart and Jennifer Ford Berry are offering a free, one hour training program to learn how to transition from employee to business owner. Emeryville, CA (PRWEB) January 27, 2012 - Expert marketing coach and consultant, Sydni Craig-Hart, and master organizer and author, Jennifer Ford Berry, are teaming together to provide a simple step-by-step system for transitioning from being an employee to an empowered small business owner. In “6 Keys to Taking Charge of Your Business and Life in 2012,” attendees…

  • How to Stand Out From Your “Competitors” Online – SSM “Take 10″ Episode #3

    Sydni Craig-Hart
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:18 am
    Blogging about your business is an excellent way to drive traffic to your website and attract high-quality leads. You can get even more mileage out of your blog posts, and create massive online visibility for your work, by re-purposing your content into other formats. This strategy will have you showing up EVERYWHERE and standing heads taller than your "competitors" (I prefer to think of them as colleagues) when a prospect goes online looking for the solutions you have to offer. Click on the play button above to listen in as Denise Wakeman, Founder of The Blog Squad, explains how! Email this…

  • Tapping Into Your Marketing Power Zone for Better Results (SSMS Episode 80)

    Sydni Craig-Hart
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Do you feel overwhelmed by the multiple ways you can market your business? Or like you're shying away from some opportunities or methods that others seem to flock to? There's a simple solution to this problem. When you focus on your strengths, you'll find it easier than ever to draw clients to you like a magnet. In this week's episode I share exactly how you can stay in your power zone for more profitable marketing results! Email this to a friend? Share this on Facebook Tweet This! Share this on LinkedIn Subscribe to the comments for this post? Clip this to Evernote Stumble upon something…

  • Be More Successful in Your Business, Even If You Have A Short Attention Span

    Sydni Craig-Hart
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:23 am
    If you have ever said (or thought)  "I don't have time to market my business", this quick 4 minute audio will completely change your perspective and give you simple strategies you can implement TODAY! It's all about focus. Even if you have an attention span the size of flea (like I do!) you CAN focus, market effectively every day and increase your profits. Check it out: Here are the major take aways:      Email this to a friend? Share this on Facebook Tweet This! Share this on LinkedIn Subscribe to the comments for this post? Clip this to Evernote Stumble upon something good? Share it on…
 
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    reptilianwisdom.com

  • Offliners: The Power Of Referrals

    reptilianwisdom
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:42 pm
    Referral rewards are very powerful and their success has been proven time and again.If you aren’t leveraging the referrals for your offline customers, start now! I emphasize the importance of the word of mouth to my offline customers, and bring proven examples to the table. I show them how big corporations are leveraging this simple [...]

  • How To Make Money From Amazon Niche Sites

    reptilianwisdom
    2 Jun 2011 | 2:27 pm
    I created an experimental Amazon niche site a while ago, and pretty much forgot about it. After a few months, it climbed up on Google SERPS and started making money. The conversion rate is very low, due to the sloppy design and the site ranking #4.However it makes enough money to pay my cable bill. [...]

  • How To Leverage Free Tools For Autopilot Traffic

    reptilianwisdom
    7 Feb 2011 | 2:11 pm
    Ping.fm is a great tool for SEO and traffic, however I noticed most people don’t realize its full potential. One of its rather powerful feature is posting groups, which allows you to separate social media accounts as status updates, full blogging, micro blogging etc. I recommend creating several groups for just blogging and putting 2 [...]

  • Make Money Online Without Spending A Penny

    reptilianwisdom
    29 Jan 2011 | 12:00 am
    Finding different methods for landing offline/online clients is my favorite hobby and I am going to share one of them with you as a step by step plan. This one requires absolutely no money down and no tedious hard work. No web site, either. After implementing these steps, I signed up 2 offline clients and [...]

  • Offline Consulting, Fiverr and Amazon Niche Sites

    reptilianwisdom
    28 Jan 2011 | 3:14 pm
    If you are trying to pick up offline SEO clients, I am going to share a very cool technique that worked wonders for me. I do internet marketing as a hobby, and I ran into this interesting Amazon niche thread by a fellow Warrior Forum member. I got inspired by this thread and started creating [...]
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    No B.S. Automotive Marketing Blog

  • How Window Signage Increases Car Dealer and Car Care Center Sales

    admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    Window signage is a great way to increase customer traffic to your automotive industry business. A highly effective form of window signage is done using window painting. To help you discover more about the art of window painted signage, we sat down with window painting expert         Kim Fitzsimmons of AZ Window Painting. Kim is a veteran window painter in Phoenix, Arizona. She has been designing and painting business window advertisements for more than 25 years.  Read AfterMarketer Club’s In the Pits Interview with Kim below. AfterMarketer Club:How does window painting help automotive…

  • How Google is Adding Social Media to Customer Search Results

    admin
    25 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    Google is shaking up the way customers discover the automotive products and services that you sell. The popular search engine recently rolled out a featured called “Search, plus Your World.” The new search feature adds relevant photos, comments and news items posted on the Google+ social network along with the usual standard search engine results for particular search phrases. To help you understand, here’s an example.  A friend of yours on Google+ posts a picture of their 1967 Ford Mustang on their profile.  If you’re logged into Google and have a Google+ account, you may see your…

  • Constant Contact Names AfterMarketer Club President Email Marketing and Social Media Marketing Expert

    admin
    24 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    AfterMarketer Club President Brian Offenberger has earned two important distinctions from Constant Contact, one of the largest email marketing providers. The email marketing company has named Brian an Email Marketing Expert as well as a Social Media Marketing Expert. The high honors from Constant Contact will help AfterMarketer Club continue to provide the latest and greatest email marketing and social media services for their growing list of automotive industry clients. Brian’s honors from Constant Contact will also help him teach small business owners ins-and-outs of email and social…

  • The Purpose of a Website Home Page

    admin
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    A friend of mine in the real estate business was telling me recently about a valuable piece of land. He termed it “the most valuable real estate in Arizona.” Being a marketing guy of reasonable intelligence, I had to disagree. I think the most valuable piece of real estate in the world is a website home page. Why? Because your website home page is your face to the world in the internet era. So let’s cut through the clutter and get to the purposes of a website home page. What are visitors expecting to find when they visit the home page of your automotive industry website? Primarily,…

  • AfterMarketer Club President Awarded Certified Social Marketing Associate Certification from eMarketing Association

    admin
    20 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    We are happy to congratulate AfterMarketer Club President Brian Offenberger on earning the Certified Social Marketing Associate Certification from the eMarketing Association. This distinct honor shows AfterMarketer Club’s on-going commitment to providing automotive industry companies some of the best social media marketing expertise. By earning the Certified Social Marketing Associate Certification, Brian has joined an elite group of marketers worldwide that are committed to social media marketing excellence.  The eMarketing Association certification distinguishes Brian’s automotive…
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    "I" of the Consumer

  • The Need for Speed: Fios vs. Optimum

    Zach Heller
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:01 am
    A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how the first rule of marketing is keeping your promises. I was reminded of that post while watching TV last night and seeing a commercial for Optimum Online, which took a direct shot at Verizon Fios. For those of you who do not live in New York or the surrounding area, Verizon has been bullying its way into the cable market, advertising higher speeds and better performance than the alternative. The problem is, now their competitors have caught on. And they’re advertising the same thing right back. Both sides are saying their speeds are faster. Both…

  • Be Innovative: Subway Ad Review

    Zach Heller
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:33 am
    It’s important in whatever you do to always be thinking outside the box. In my younger days (about 1 year ago), I wrote a blog which I titled “Be Innovation”. It was about the need in the business world to be changing, to look for the next best thing, to create real value where there once was none. In that vein, I love the display ad I was delivered for Subway a week ago. Check it out below:   What do I love about it? First, the color really pops. But that’s not it. Next, the idea of making an offer on a display ad is different. This is not meant for branding,…

  • Last Chance: Email Marketing Class

    Zach Heller
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am
    Time is running out to register for the very first “Fundamentals of Email Marketing” class that I’m teaching in New York City this Wednesday, January 25th. If you’re in the area, and you’re interested in learning more about how to use email marketing as a regular part of your marketing strategy, I’d love to have you. In addition to a prepared presentation, there will be plenty of time to answers your questions and discuss the specific ideas or issues you’ve had as they relate to email marketing. It should be an information-packed 90 minutes. It all…

  • "I" of the Consumer Week in Review

    Zach Heller
    22 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    This has been one heck of a week. I saw a new stat that says that email is now the preferred way of getting communications from companies by more than 80% of consumers. That’s massive! And it fits perfectly with both the upcoming class I’m teaching this Wednesday on email marketing, and the announcement that my book on email marketing was just nominated for the 2012 Small Business Book Awards by SmallBizTrends. More power to us! If your week was busy, you may not have had time for these recent posts: The Ultimate Consulting Gig Email Marketing: Social Sharing The Mistake You…

  • Nominated! 2012 Small Business Book Awards

    Zach Heller
    21 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    "Fundamentals of Email Marketing" Nominated For 2012 Small Business Book Award Cleveland, OH, January 17, 2012 - "Fundamentals of Email Marketing" has been nominated for a 2012 Small Business Book Award in the category of Marketing. The Small Business Book Awards recognize business books that were published in 2011. Small business owners often seek advice and information through books. While there are many thousands of books published each year, it's those of interest to small businesses and entrepreneurs that the Small Business Book Awards seek to honor. "With so many books being…
 
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    Tiny Business, Mighty Profits

  • The Secret To Becoming Proficient At Absolutely Anything

    russ@russhenneberry.com (Russ Henneberry)
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:39 am
    TweetMy wife would look at me with pity in her eyes. Me, fumbling around with a socket wrench or (look out!) circular saw. Puzzled. Completely useless. Driving back and forth from my dad’s house with borrowed tools rattling around in my trunk and (if I was lucky) my dad sitting next to me in shotgun. Today, I am proud to say that I am one step above useless as a handy man.  Dare I say, approaching a passing grade as a honey-doer. My goal is to become proficient in this area. I’m not looking to become Bob Villa here.  I just need to be able to fix a leaky toilet. Here’s how…

  • How Anyone Can Become The Smartest Person In The Room

    russ@russhenneberry.com (Russ Henneberry)
    18 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am
    TweetThis is so easy, so powerful and so true. If you want to become the smartest person in the room. Be silent. Not catatonic silent.  Sit up, lean in to the conversation and maintain strong eye contact.  But say little. Call it “engaged silence.” There is power in this kind of silence. This is particularly effective if you… listen very carefully to what is being said.  Actively process the information in your mind. Then, respond thoughtfully and thoroughly. Apply this to your business and personal life.  In sales situations, arguments and debates.  You will be…

  • How To Leverage The Strength Of A Small Email Marketing List

    russ@russhenneberry.com (Russ Henneberry)
    11 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am
    TweetI’m sorry. It’s possible that the Internet marketers have led you astray. I’m one of them.  Guilty as charged. We talk about building huge email lists with automated “drip campaigns.”  We advise our clients to send bulk emails through email marketing software because it is “scalable.” But this isn’t always the best email marketing tactic. Here’s why… The Small List’s Strength Is The Big List’s Weakness There is no question that building an email list within an email software program is a smart move.  The email…

  • Does Your Marketing Pass The MasterCard Test?

    russ@russhenneberry.com (Russ Henneberry)
    4 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am
    TweetFor what seems like an eternity, MasterCard has been running the “Priceless” ad campaign. You know the ones I mean… A man has a terrible cold, runny nose, cough, the works. As he purchases things with his MasterCard, the narrator gives us the prices: Hot soup, $4.00 Cold Medicine, $11 Tissues, $1 Blanket, $24 Making it all better, priceless. The Punchline Says It All People don’t buy soup or cold medicine.  They don’t buy tissues or blankets. They buy outcomes. They buy the benefit.  They buy the solution to a problem. The benefit is priceless. Same goes…

  • 3 Ways To Overcome Skeptical Eyebrows When Selling A Service

    russ@russhenneberry.com (Russ Henneberry)
    18 Oct 2011 | 8:00 am
    TweetClick here to listen to this post A service is a promise. You can’t touch it.  Smell it.  Or try it on and see if it causes a blister when you walk around in it. It’s just words… “I will do XYZ for you.  I promise.” Your prospect is skeptical.  Will you do what you say you are going to do? Of course, to make things more difficult, you are a tiny business.  You don’t have a strong brand that reassures your prospect that you have been around a while and you are trustworthy. That’s what brands do.  They remind prospects that everything is…
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    Business Growth Development

  • Lessons From A Door To Door Salesman

    businessgrowthconsultant
    12 Jan 2012 | 2:41 am
    We don’t see many door to door salespeople these days.  Once upon a time though they were a significant force in the sale of consumer products.The other day I stumbled across a couple of videos which gave me a real slap in the face.Make of these videos what you will.  For me, this is a great lesson in attitude, personality and the power of the story in sales.Here is a series of recordings of this salesman, Kenny Brookes, in action.  Watch and learn.Incoming search terms:face to face sales statistics 2011 ukWhat are non-face to face selling?

  • Copycat Marketing Folly

    businessgrowthconsultant
    10 Jan 2012 | 3:18 am
    One of the toughest challenges within marketing is dealing with others perception.Considering you can study for a PhD in marketing, there are millions of books, webinars, websites, courses, associations and suppliers its unsurprisingly a very broad, complex and often misunderstood world that blends together art and science.For the outsider, which in most cases is the start-up or established company looking to grow with little to no marketing experience or education, it’s even more misunderstood, as the way that most end up judging marketing will either be based on their own experiences,…

  • How Geological Business Development Could Save Your Company

    businessgrowthconsultant
    28 Nov 2011 | 2:30 am
    If you’re business model is designed to compete in an overcrowded industry or sector, where “innovations” are mostly line extensions to existing products or service, then you’re probably going to hit a plateau or even run out of steam in the not to distant future, if you haven’t already.  Unless of course you can easily stand out from the crowd.In more and more industries, supply is actually overtaking demand causing the inevitable commoditising of products and services and the eventual profit erosion and even downfall of businesses who rely predominantly on “direct…

  • WANTED: Guest Blogger On Business

    businessgrowthconsultant
    7 Nov 2011 | 2:50 pm
    The nicwindley.co.uk site continues to expand its readership despite the encroachment on my time that work and other ventures are having. Whilst I have a lot more to share I’m acutely aware that the business arena is vast and constantly evolving so I’m opening up the floor to other guest bloggers and community writers that can share relevant business, sales and marketing ideas with readers of this site.My own personal background has been a journey which started as an engineer and had me move into sales, marketing and business.Tell Your Story As A Guest BloggerI’ve seen highs…

  • How To Get Marketing To Do The Business Development Grunt Work For You

    businessgrowthconsultant
    18 Oct 2011 | 9:39 am
    Business is full of laborious tasks and selling and marketing can be one of the most mind numbing experiences of your life, due to the excessive repetition involved which at times can make you feel like you’re doing unintelligent work, which you got all dressed up for in your dare devil costume, only to find yourself going nowhere fast.It’s grunt work that just doesn’t justify your time and effort given the results because your way smarter and more effective than that and there are much better ways to achieve the same outcome.Selling is a cycle of ascension that guides a buyer from…
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    TrinityP3

  • Value based agency remuneration considerations for direct response and retail advertisers

    Darren Woolley
    26 Jan 2012 | 4:42 pm
    I had an interesting conversation with a client in early December last year as they had contacted me to discuss their media and creative requirements to meet their business growth objectives in the coming year. What made it interesting was the fact that the client thought of themselves as retailers as they were the customer facing division of a truly vertically integrated business that started with the manufacturer and ended with the customer purchase and installation. But in fact within minutes of meeting with them it was clear they were actually quite a significant direct response business.

  • Ten tips for managing advertising production costs more effectively

    Darren Woolley
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:41 pm
    It is interesting that 12 years ago when I started TrinityP3 (Simply P3 then) that the majority of our work was in Production Benchmarking and Management. In fact some of our earliest clients still think of us as production consultants. Today, production makes up less than 15% of our business regionally, but in the past 6 months we have had an increased number of major advertisers come and enquire about production cost assessments, especially television and digital production. For regional and global advertisers there are a number of opportunities to uncouple or unbundle production to one of…

  • 12 trends in strategic marketing management for 2012

    Darren Woolley
    22 Jan 2012 | 5:42 pm
    This first appeared as a guest blog in BizCommunity in South Africa and can be seen in full here. 2012 will be a year of solving the conundrums of marketing complexity. The world sitting in a now familiar state of uncertainty, with debt crisis, stagnant established markets and emerging growth markets, and continued pressure to deliver increasing returns. In the face of this uncertainty and continuing increase in fragmentation and complexity, marketers will need to develop more flexible responses to deal with a range of conundrums. 1. Chasing growth and maintaining share Global marketers are…

  • What is the industry benchmark cost of producing a television advertisement?

    Darren Woolley
    19 Jan 2012 | 5:59 pm
    The perennial $64,000 question. Or in many cases a damned sight more. The fact of the matter is that it usually costs whatever the budget is that has been assigned by you – the client. In many instances, it costs more. How often do you brief your agency to provide a TV concept within a given budget, only to have the estimates on the approved concept come in at 5%, 10% or even 50% higher? Or, how often do the estimates come in within a few thousand dollars of each other and within the budget? Does this really equate to the actual cost of the TV production? The cost of the television…

  • Better agency pitch practices for better client / agency relationships

    Darren Woolley
    17 Jan 2012 | 6:38 pm
    I feel like I am constantly seeing reports and articles about the flaws of the advertising agency pitching process.  A common theme of these articles is the fact clients often select agencies based on their creative potential but usually fire them for relationship and service related issues. So how can you ensure your pitch process builds the foundations for a solid long-term relationship? TrinityP3′s top 5 tips on pitching for the long term 1. Have a clear understanding of what you want What may seem the most obvious is often the most overlooked in the rush to get the pitch…
 
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    B2B market research agency

  • Measuring the service experience

    David Willan
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:07 am
    Does your business have a service element?  Do you measure customer perceptions of the experience?  If so, you might want to take a quick look under the bonnet. Let me share a story.  It sounds far-fetched, but is true. Recently I took a holiday.  Not one to ever fully turn off though, I needed my smartphone.  Sadly, it too had decided to take a vacation.  No calls.  No emails.  “No problem” I thought.  I’ll just call the operator’s help desk and get back online.  Inevitably it wasn’t that simple although soon I was back in action.  A good resolution, but the operator’s…

  • The seven R’s of thought leadership

    Andrew Dalglish
    13 Jan 2012 | 12:21 pm
    Thought leadership.  Everyone’s claiming it but, by very definition, only a handful ever delivers.  So how do you ensure that your content marketing strategy positions you as one of the few?  Follow the seven R’s – Resonant, Rare, Road Mapped, Robust, Rounded, Rooted and Re-used. Five reasons to develop a thought leadership strategy B2B marketing has always been better suited to engagement over broadcast.  Personal relationships and being part of the buyer’s eco-system are usually critical.  As part of this there’s an expectation that you’ll have something useful to say;…

  • The Times They Are a-Changin’

    Andrew Dalglish
    3 Nov 2011 | 4:20 pm
    Our friends at Marketing Options International (MOI) have just launched the Mind Share Café.  No, not a diversification into tea and cakes, but a virtual hub where they’ve collected together the thoughts of leading B2B technology marketers.  Marketers from players like Dell, Microsoft and Cisco. Have a look – the Mind Share Café.  You won’t find any pontificating.  No self-serving agendas.  Just technology marketeers in similar circumstances being open about the challenges they face and how they’re approaching them.  As the Mind Share Café’s research partner, Circle…

  • Not how you fly, but how you serve

    Andy Booth
    27 Oct 2011 | 12:02 pm
    Many years ago now, whilst I was working at, newly privatised, British Airways, our research team was challenged to understand what it meant to be “branded British”.  What does the power of national identification bring to the airline in each market it serves, and how could that knowledge be leveraged to help position the airline and its service to best effect? It was a great project and I’ve written about it elsewhere (read the original conference paper here:  branding and national stereotypes).  The gist is that we were able to identify the best of British in a service context and…

  • Financial benchmarks for B2B marketing agencies

    Andrew Dalglish
    24 Oct 2011 | 10:36 am
    Are you normal?  As a business I mean.  If you’re running a B2B marketing agency do you really know how your firm performs relative to competitors? It’s tough to answer this question with confidence.  After all, your competitors only share the legal minimum of information about performance.  Information which is also usually opaque and outdated. Despair not though.  The 2011 B2B Marketing Agency League Table, compiled by B2B Marketing Magazine and Circle Research, fills in the gaps. The UK’s top ten B2B marketing agencies by turnover in 2011: IAS B2B (£12.6m) MRM London…
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    Get Me In Google's Internet Marketing Blog

  • Creating The Best Blog Titles

    Jason Rudland
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:30 am
    Creating the best blog titles for a given post is as much a science as it is an art.  While having a flair for turning a phrase is indeed a great way to attract attention to almost any written works, there are a few specific tips and tricks to bear in mind as you optimise your blog titles in order to appeal to search engines as much as your human readership.   Firstly, make sure that you decide on not only the best and most frequently searched keywords, but also keywords with a low competition.  From there, make sure that you use these keywords as frequently as you…

  • 2 Must Have Inbound Marketing Tools

    Jason Rudland
    20 Jan 2012 | 1:15 am
    One of the key concepts of Inbound marketing is to join "the" conversation. That is, the conversation happening right now about you, your products or services, your brand or your industry. It is a sure-fire way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads. But how can you be everywhere at once? How can you filter out the noise of the Internet? It can feel like you are whispering in a nightclub, so here are two must have tools that will help you engage with the social media-sphere. Google Reader It took me a while to warm up to Google Reader, but now I would not be without it. Google…

  • Social Media is Rubbish for Business

    Jason Rudland
    19 Jan 2012 | 1:15 am
    As an Internet marketer I get a good feel for what does, and what does not resonate with business people on the Internet. Nothing, it seems, can excite people more than social media. When I say 'excite' they can be either for or against it; but whichever view they have, they are passionate about it. I thought it was high time I wrote a blog post about what I thought about social media. All things considered I think social media is rubbish for business. Now, let me explain what I mean. Scourge of Gurus I often scour the web for new ideas; either to learn from others, or to inspire my own…

  • 5 Ways You Can Make Your Tweets Go Viral Because Discombobulation Hurts (Please ReTweet)

    Jason Rudland
    18 Jan 2012 | 1:15 am
    Twitter is a great place to connect with new people for your business. There is an art to getting your Tweets ReTweeted, which, if you can master it, will spread the word about your business, products or brand far and wide. Here are 5 tactics you can use to turn your tweets viral. 1. Use the magic words With Twitter, as with all effective Internet marketing, people consume information that is relevant to them. They need to know the "What's in it for me" factor. So use "You" or "Your" in your tweets. Tell people this is about them. The other magic word is "Because." This lets people know why…

  • SOPA Law Endangers Your UK Business Too

    Jason Rudland
    17 Jan 2012 | 2:35 am
    Before the Internet was the mandatory business tool it is today, there was little impact on small business when another country changed its laws. If you were in the import/export business or a global player, then sure, there may have been some taxes or additional hoops to jump through, but you knew what you were getting into. Today, where the Internet has made traditional borders woefully outdated, law changes in other countries can make a real impact on your small business. You may have heard about SOPA - the Stop Online Piracy Act. Its an attempt to crack down on people stealing copyrighted…
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    Brandscaping

  • Prospecting Tips for Freelancers

    Brandscaping
    17 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    Being a freelancer means you’ve always got to have an eye out for new business opportunities.  How do you do it? I’m quite lucky to be in the writing business, as it’s one of those places where there will always be someone in need of compelling content. As long as there are products to sell there will be work for copywriters, but just because there is a need doesn’t mean the clients are beating a path to my door. To ensure I can enjoy my fuzzy bunny slippers for another day, I make sure to invest time daily to prospect for new clients, and here are a few tips…

  • Movember – Not Just Lip Service

    Brandscaping
    21 Nov 2011 | 8:05 pm
    The 'stache is back! To start, I need to apologize to my wife.  Despite having a moustache when we first met (me, not her) she still managed to get past the revulsion of my hairy appendage and eventually (in a moment of weakness) agreed to marry me.  That being said, let’s just say November is not her favourite month thanks to Movember. Movember, the international month of the moustache (of if you prefer, mustache), was created in Australia (but an “Australian moustache” is a different hairy beast…) to create awareness and raise funds in support prostate health.  MoBros and…

  • Fun Friday – 5 Fantastic inFographics

    Brandscaping
    4 Nov 2011 | 10:23 am
    Ok – maybe I failed my class on alliteration, but it might have been due to excessive time spent on the internet looking at brilliant infographics.  They’re a great way to convey a message in a fun way that is easily shareable. Warning – you might accidently learn something from one (or more) – you’ve been warned! J   www.FlowingData.com www.lokeshdhakar.com Not sure of the difference between a latte and a cappuccino?  The next iteration needs a shot in the dark (shot of espresso in a cup of drip coffee) and a cafe affogato (espresso with ice cream) (read his informative…

  • Local Freelance Talent for Local Businesses

    Brandscaping
    2 Nov 2011 | 12:57 pm
    Freelancers for Hire in #YYJ and #YVR Yesterday we did a post outlining why a freelancer is a good option for local businesses, especially if you’re just getting started.  Today we’re sharing the names and contact info of some of the local talent, to help your business do more while spending less.  Please give them a call for your next project: (please contact me if you’re a freelancer near Victoria or Vancouver and you’d like to be added) In no particular order Copywriters/Communications/Writers Nic Springer – BitPiston Lisa Weeks – Minding Your Own Business Lillian Sue –…

  • 5 Types of Freelancers for Small Businesses

    Brandscaping
    1 Nov 2011 | 1:44 pm
    If you’re running a small business in Victoria and don’t have a list of local freelancers at your disposal, you’re either paying too much or not getting the quality you need – or even worse – it might be both. Most small businesses understand the need to advertise, especially for those just starting up, hoping to create an awareness around their brand.  The challenge is, money is tight.  If you think an ad agency is the only option, you might be surprised to learn how much you can do yourself.  While an ad agency is great for creating a comprehensive campaign, it can be a huge…
 
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    Shopper 360

  • The Week in Shopper360 Tweets

    admin
    21 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    New Blog: The Week in Shopper360 Tweets: New Blog: The Week in Shopper360 Tweets: New Blog: The Week in Shopper3... http://t.co/s0YIEWnZ # New Blog: Join us for a “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear” Webinar: This webinar will examine the o... http://t.co/ZjoR0L34 # RT @fei_innovation: Pinterest: A Dream-catcher for Creatives & CEOs http://t.co/nMugbT9I #innovate #insights #bizdev #data #brands #social # Follow-up to @pinterest post: Here's a curated list of Pinners worth following http://t.co/dHdYZ0nW #fashion #design #media #retailers # RT @atrellix: Visa Talks With…

  • Join us for a “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear” Webinar

    admin
    16 Jan 2012 | 2:38 am
    This webinar will examine the opportunities presented by New MR (e.g. social media listening, mobile, text analytics, MROCs, Crowdsourcing, Neuromarketing, etc.) and offer recommendations/best practices on how to bring them into your research arsenal. Over the next ten years, the MR industry will see its relationship with consumers evolve from respondents to participants. And we will best achieve this new collaborative relationship by weaving our research tools with the interactions provided us via social networking. Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear Wednesday, January 25, 2011,…

  • The Week in Shopper360 Tweets

    admin
    14 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    New Blog: The Week in Shopper360 Tweets: New Blog: The Week in Shopper360 Tweets: New Blog: The Week in Shopper3... http://t.co/SoOJCkbv # Oh oh: Shopping centre tracking system condemned by civil rights campaigners http://t.co/VaZ2tVyt # Expect to see rising food prices, more male shoppers and less sugar at the grocery store in 2012. http://t.co/pI37uOE4 # The new types of shoppers from this past holiday season http://t.co/8VQrmT0o # Have you tried @pinterest yet? Are you using it to connect with consumers? http://t.co/f9mnaib0 # New Blog: Nielsen on The State of the African-American…

  • Nielsen on The State of the African-American Consumer

    admin
    11 Jan 2012 | 2:04 am
    "The State of the African-American Consumer" is the first of three new annual reports attempting to provide a fairly complete picture of the African-American consumer released by Nielsen. Key findings in the report include: Consumer African-Americans may spend less on each shopping trip, but they make the most trips – 167 – annually of any other group. African-Americans in higher income brackets, spend 300% more in higher-end retail grocers, more than any other high income household. African-Americans over-index on purchases of health and beauty products, household cleaning items,…

  • The Week in Shopper360 Tweets

    admin
    7 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    New Blog: The Week in Shopper360 Tweets: New Blog: The Week in Shopper360 Tweets: New Blog: The Week in Shopper3... http://t.co/0WZBgONI # The 10 Most Influential Retailers According to @Klout http://t.co/iPZhigku # RT @contisgroupltd: Consumer spending is expected to be low in 2012 many retailers will turn to collaboration/innovation to drive sales. # New Blog: Free Live Webinar: Womenomics Meets Design: A Female Innovation Strategy: Fact: Women buy (products ma... http://t.co/IyNwpQ1V # @NPR Talks To @Goyafoods on its 75th anniversary http://t.co/AL7L26eg #marketing #insights #latism…
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    Internetmoguls

  • The Role of Mobile Web Page in Digital Marketing

    Internet Moguls
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:20 am
    The mobile phone business has strongly developed in leaps and bounds, more than ever in the last few years. This has been mostly due to the unstoppable mobile campaigns that are endlessly towering every day with new devices. Nowadays, it is possible to do just about anything on your mobile phone that was only possible on your television, radio set, navigator, and personal computer just a couple of years ago.Considering this powerful opportunity, it is appropriate to state that millions are being made not only by mobile phone companies but also by intelligent organizations who are working very…

  • Choose Pay-Per-Click Ad Campaigns for Cost-effective Online Marketing

    Internet Moguls
    18 Jan 2012 | 2:56 am
    Choose Pay-Per-Click Ad Campaigns for Cost-effective Online MarketingThere are countless ways to promote your business online; some methods are gratis and some call for financial investment. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ad campaigns is the best approach for organizations to make their tight marketing budgets cost-effective. The best advantage of PPC is being able to publicize virtually instantly. But it is not as easy as it sounds, monitoring PPC campaign is not easy and to find the right platform to display your advertisements is also very difficult. The best option to implement a successful online…

  • Use Search Engine Optimization to Maximize Your Online Potential

    Internet Moguls
    28 Dec 2011 | 7:49 am
    Latest technology, early adaptation, and globalization have amplified the demand of internet among the masses. During last few years internet has become mature and along with it the globe has become a very small place to live in. Digital marketing has helped small organizations to compete with the multi-millionaire mammoths and big corporate houses. Since last decade, New Delhi has been outperforming in SEO services. The strong competition as well as expert intelligence of business in this stream is proving to be helpful for organizations looking for digital marketing.There is no use of an…

  • 19 Dec 2011 | 12:59 am

    Internet Moguls
    19 Dec 2011 | 12:59 am
    Your brand is at a very vulnerable state if you are not utilizing the power of social media marketing and if you lack the understanding of how fit this in your budget. Your competitors are already there, using the omnipresent social media to get the big bite out of the whole market share. Your employees are also there trying to figure out where exactly in this world they are standing. In fact, 2012 is the year organizations will shift from social networking to social media marketing.Organizations will shift from “What is social media?” to “Guide us on how to successfully use these new…

  • What is social media marketing and how can it serve your organization’s objective?

    Internet Moguls
    18 Dec 2011 | 11:57 pm
    Your brand is at a very vulnerable state if you are not utilizing the power of social media marketing and if you lack the understanding of how fit this in your budget. Your competitors are already there, using the omnipresent social media to get the big bite out of the whole market share. Your employees are also there trying to figure out where exactly in this world they are standing. In fact, 2012 is the year organizations will shift from social networking to social media marketing.Organizations will shift from “What is social media?” to “Guide us on how to successfully use these new…
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    Marc Binkley Marketing

  • Does Traditional Media Still Matter?

    marcbinkley
    6 Jan 2012 | 4:24 pm
    TweetI was browsing in one of my LinkedIn Groups and stumbled across this great question. Seeing as I’m in radio sales, I’ve got pretty strong opinions about this topic. Below is my response. Hey Steven, what an amazing “fully loaded” question! Here is my short answer – [...]

  • Does Social Media Matter for Your Business?

    marcbinkley
    4 Jan 2012 | 11:23 pm
    The other night, I had a great discussion with a friend about whether or not social media matters for his business. Here are four reasons why I think social media does matter for any business

  • The Zero Moment of Truth

    marcbinkley
    29 Dec 2011 | 1:11 pm
    Winning ZMOT all comes down to one thing - Alignment. That likely means changing your marketing budget so that you can afford to put someone in place who can find your zero moments.

  • How do you Build a Brand in One Day?

    marcbinkley
    22 Dec 2011 | 9:49 pm
    Consumers buy because of emotion and every company can have an emotional brand. Developing it, doesn't take as long as you might think. This is where Distility's One day, One brand program comes into play.

  • What is Your Why?

    marcbinkley
    12 Dec 2011 | 10:55 am
    Every business needs a why. Call it your unique selling proposition, your differentiation or your manifesto or your mission. Your why is not about the product you sell or how much you sell them for. Your why is about what your company believes in and stands for.
 
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    Multichannel Magic

  • How to WOW! Customers the Adidas Way

    Debra Ellis
    17 Jan 2012 | 1:51 pm
    Wowing customers isn’t as hard as one might think. It doesn’t require over the top service or free everything. It is as simple as managing expectations and delivering on the promises made.Adidas does that well. When my son needed new basketball shoes, he searched his favorite brands for the perfect shoe. His first request was a custom designed pair but his feet grow faster than a Georgia Pine. Replacing custom shoes every quarter offends my sense of value. He had to “settle” for an off the rack pair of performance sneakers.He chose the adizero d rose 2. After listening to his sales…

  • Answer These Five Questions before Launching a Marketing Campaign

    Debra Ellis
    10 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    How much money was wasted last year on marketing campaigns that didn’t deliver tangible results? If the truth were told, it was probably the most wasteful year in marketing history. New channels created a competitive frenzy of one-upmanship to see who could deliver the most viral content with little regard to bottom line management. Proven strategies were left behind in the search for the most fans, followers, and views. In theory the increased exposure would deliver more results at less cost, but it didn’t work for most companies because their marketing team forgot the fundamentals.The…

  • How to Find the Marketing Rules that Work for Your Business

    Debra Ellis
    21 Dec 2011 | 9:02 am
    There is a certain safety in following the rules. When a marketing path has been tested, there are few surprises or unexpected challenges. Mediocre entrepreneurs can create successful companies by following the steps of the innovators who have gone ahead. Odds are that the copycat businesses won’t last more than a few decades without a significant management change, but they will provide income for the founders until the industry declines or something new comes along.When I joined the direct marketing industry ages ago, there were a couple of dozen catalogs that were so similar it was…

  • Is Foodzie the next Netflix?

    Debra Ellis
    16 Dec 2011 | 10:18 am
    Foodzie, the Artisan food company has a story. Actually, it has lots of stories. The food, the vendors, the founders, and the business model all have a story (or ten) to tell. There are so many stories to be told, the company launched a search for a head storyteller to share all of the tales with the world. Somehow, in the process of captivating “our customers with colorful insights and anecdotes about the producers and food,” a key component of engaging people was missed. Someone forgot to listen to customers and bring the service.When service is missing, customers become storytellers.

  • Mission Possible: Letting Go of the “If Onlys”

    Debra Ellis
    15 Dec 2011 | 9:01 am
    If only our marketing would go viral…If only we hired the brilliant analyst that went to our competitor…If only the other department team members would work with us…If only we had a larger budget…If only __________________…“If only” are very dangerous words when they are put together. They are a combination of blame and regret that do nothing to move you or your business forward. When allowed in the boardroom, they undermine the future and excuse poor performance. Statements like, “Our sales would have been better if only the economy hadn’t tanked” are usually followed…
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    Digital Marketing Ramblings

  • Google+ Gives Page Owners More Website Badge Options

    Craig Smith
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pm
    Google just announced that they have created a few variations of the Google+ page badge. If you are new to the Google+ lingo, badges are a widget-like box that are placed on non-Google+ sites and enable visitors to add the company to their circles without leaving the page. Google+ pages are relatively new and marketers are looking for any way possible to get more followers. Badges are a fairly simple way to advertise your page to a captive audience and pick up a few new followers. Related posts: Google Begins Rewarding News Readers with Badges Want a Successful Facebook Page or App? Advertise…

  • How To: Unlock the foursquare Kicks Badge

    Craig Smith
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:33 pm
    foursquare just launched another badge. This time, they are giving you extra credit for shoe shopping. Related posts: How To: Unlock the foursquare Mall Rat Badge How To: Unlock the foursquare Toys R Us Badge How To: Unlock the new foursquare Radio Shack Badge

  • How to Follow Tonight’s State of the Union on Social Media

    Craig Smith
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:16 pm
    President Barack Obama is giving his State of the Union speech tonight (9pm ET) and there is no shortage of ways to follow it on social media. Here are a few good ones... Related posts: Social Media Goes to the Oscars Where to Follow Today’s Election News/Results on Social Media and Mobile How Social Media is Being Integrated Into the Grammys

  • YouTube and NBC Team up for Super Bowl Ad Voting

    Craig Smith
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:06 am
    YouTube announced on their blog last night that they were teaming up with NBC to give Super Bowl viewers an easy way to vote for their favorite TV ads. Their collaboration, YouTube Ad Blitz, is a dedicated online video channel that will house each of the Super Bowl ads once they have aired. Viewers can watch and vote for their favorite ad. Related posts: Watch/Vote For Your Favorite Super Bowl Ads On Facebook Rate the Super Bowl Ads from Your Phone Chevy Uses Mobile for a Bunch of Super Bowl Giveaways [VIDEO]

  • Help My Agency Win a Little Hardware!

    Craig Smith
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:02 am
    Ok, so here is my first shameless plug of 2012... Every year, the local New Hampshire Business Review gives out their 'best of' awards and wedu (my company) does pretty well in the online voting. This year, I'd like to go for the sweep, but need your quick help. Please take a quick minute and vote for wedu in the following categories: 2) Advertising Agency 68) Public Relations Agency (you need to write us in) 85) Website Developer and while you are there, please vote for our print division, Printers Square in these categories: 64) Printing/Copying – Copy Center (Local) 66) Printing/Copying…
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    Digital Marketing Inner Circle

  • Chinese Migroblog Infographic

    19 Jan 2012 | 11:27 pm
    Social media has become an effective medium for influencing our ideas and views andhas drastically changed the rules of an effective Brand Marketing campaign. Due to the growing importance of e-commerce and online activities, reaching customers through digital means has become an essential part of marketing plans globally.    In times when social media influence is flourishing, new technologies and ideas can be embraced and adopted with astonishing speed, instigating significant and often unpredictable consequences.  Recent evidence of this is the unexpectant rise of…

  • Digital Jungle gets Festive (and a little crazy)

    17 Dec 2011 | 8:52 pm
    Around this time of year, many lucky or depending on how you look at it, unlucky people are attending their awkward, alcohol-fueled office holiday parties.   For this year, Digital Jungle went with a 'talent show' theme. Where the various groups got the opportunity to show us their 'talent' ! Within the various 'acts' there were some party games played- mostly because is it fun to watch your colleagues do crazy things in the name of Christmas but the Digital Jungle crew got out in full force and showed  the world that we have many more talents beyond 'social media' 'search…

  • 5 Best Practices for an Effective Weibo Presence

    9 Dec 2011 | 8:21 pm
    With many Western Brands wanting to create a voice in the Chinese social media world it is not surprising that most turn to Weibo. With over 200+ million users on Sina Weibo alone (not including the Tencent Weibo users), this rapidly growing microblogging social networking platform offers an easy way for businesses to stay in front of and stay engaged with customers on a daily basis.   Unfortunately, many businesses struggle with optimizing this opportunity, not fully understanding the full potential of the tool. Here I have put some simple practices that should help your business…

  • How to traverse Chinese Social Media jungle

    7 Dec 2011 | 8:17 am
    Expert Interview with Dr. Mathew McDougall, CEO & Founder of Digital Jungle Social Media is widely known to be an effective medium for influencing our ideas and views which makes it an obvious channel for tourism and destinations marketers to use in promoting their hotels, airlines, and countries tourist destinations.     Social Media serves as an effective marketing tool. The idea is not new, but it has reached new horizons in China. China is growing its Internet users. Everybody wants to get on this train of promising perspectives, especially global brands and celebrities…

  • Sina Weibo... Super Hot for Marketers

    9 Nov 2011 | 7:21 pm
    When I explain to people about the rapidly changing social media landscape in China I simply bring this point to a sharp point by conveying the Sina Weibo story. Twitter clone come China Internet Superstar. From microblog to Entertainment and eCommerce hub.   These are all part of the remarkable journey that this platform has taken over these past few years. Today, my praise of this platform has be amplified by the Sina corporate news that advertising revenue hit $101 million in the latest quarter thanks to a 200 million and growing user base on Weibo. Wow!  
 
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    Mikayla's Way

  • How to Enhance Your Blog Comment Strategy for Maximum Results

    Mikayla
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm
    The best thing about blogs is the sense of community and conversation they create. Blog comments are a huge part of that because it’s the comments that allow you to engage with the blogger and rest of the blog readers. But blog commenting has become more than just a way to engage and connect, it’s also a solid strategy to build traffic and backlinks. Yesterday I shared my Comment Luv Premium review and explained why I think it’s such a fantastic WordPress plugin. It enhances your blog comments in a variety of ways, including enticing readers to comment and rewarding them for…

  • Link Roundup #4

    Mikayla
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    Today’s “Link Roundup” was inspired by the first free blogging lesson from Michelle Shaeffer’s “Launch Your Blog” training.  Even though my blog is already established, I’m really enjoying her free course! If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can get 30 free blogging lessons here. During her first lesson, she talks about how to create content and highlights some great resources for blog post/article templates. I really enjoyed these and found them very useful, so I thought I’d share. Enjoy! Blog Templates You Can Use Today Five Possible…

  • Comment Luv Premium Review

    Mikayla
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    The Comment Luv WordPress plugin has been around for awhile, but they recently launched a Premium version of that plugin that I’ve fallen in love with. The Premium version has a bunch of new features and since I’ve been using it for about 2 months now, I wanted to do a review so that you can decide if this plugin is one that you might want to add your blog.  CommentLuv Premium is actually like consolidating several plugins into one really powerful one. Allow me to explain… The CommentLuv Feature This is the core part of the Comment Luv plugin. It automatically adds a link…

  • Blackout Tomorrow in Protest of SOPA & PIPA

    Mikayla
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:47 pm
    Many websites are going dark tomorrow between 8am-8pm EST in protest of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). While not all of the websites are going totally dark, many have pledged their support for the protest movement. Participating websites include Google, WordPress, Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, and many others. You can find a complete list of participating websites here. Both of these bills are designed to stop piracy and protect copyrights, however the issue is that they’re severely flawed in the way they’re written. In a nutshell, they have the potential…

  • Your Thoughts Create Your Reality. What Are You Creating?

    Mikayla
    16 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    One of my favorite topics aside from marketing and home business is personal development. Ever since I clawed my way out of the most extreme darkness I’ve ever found myself in about 8 years ago, I vowed to find another way to live. A life free of depression and pain.  Personal development became my new obsession and personal & spiritual growth became my lifelong commitment. Over the years, I’ve been working through several different areas in my life. One of the areas that has been directly tied to my business is transitioning to a millionaire mindset. I discovered that…
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    The WOMMA Word

  • Member Benefit: Merlot Monday Networking

    Pat McCarthy
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:42 pm
    On Monday, WOMMA will host a Merlot Monday at Ogilvy PR Worldwide in Chicago. Our new Chairman of the Board and Hershey’s Director of Global Marketing, David Witt, will be on hand. In addition, Tom O’Brian of NM Incite will speak about the latest WOMM trends for 2012. There’s still room and it’s free. RSVP Here. Details Mon. Jan. 30 5:30 - 7:30 pm Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide 350 W. Mart Center Drive 11th Floor Chicago, IL 60654 Be Like Ogilvy - Host a WOMMA Networking Event We hold wine networking events across the country at member offices. If you’d like to get your local…

  • Case Study: BMW Draws a Crowd

    Pat McCarthy
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:40 pm
    Auto marketing so often relies on slick ads with empty, slightly wetted roads being cut through with a spotless ride. While visually stimulating, there is often a deficit between seeing and doing. Auto manufacturers need to get people in their showrooms and behind their wheels. That’s why this campaign stood out. BMW launched the 1 series in South Africa. To do so, they set up a huge 100 square meter screen that projected a racing game. Passersby could log into the game with their iPad, which then became their steering wheel. Watch the video and let us know what you think. Our reference,…

  • Case Study: 41,000 Fans for $1,100

    Pat McCarthy
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:37 pm
    Facebook campaigns rely on many things. The community manager has to be responsive. The message of the brand needs to be inherent. And the incentive absolutely has to be great. Likeable Media recently ran a campaign to promote AcneFree’s new Therapeutic Sulfur Mask. The goal was to raise brand awareness and garner 30,000 Likes from Nov. 15 to March ’12. In 15 days, the goal was met. How it was done Fan-gating – some like it, some hate it. But in this case it worked. The fan-gate didn’t simply allow access. When someone Liked the page, they got a free sample of the product. By having a…

  • Future Tech: Radio-Frequency Identification is Gonna be Cool

    Pat McCarthy
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:34 pm
    Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) allows two devices to share data at a close range. Also referred to as Near Field Communication (NFC), the tool has the potential to change the customer experience from point-of-sale to loyalty programs. Adam Kossoff of Affinitive wrote a nice post outlining how a few different companies have already used this technology. One was Vail Resort’s Epic Mix, a 2011 Gold WOMMY Winner. Their ski passes have a small sensor that helps snow bums track their runs and upload that information to their social media. At each ski lift, a sensor can tell who is riding.

  • Email Activists or Facebook Fans?

    admin
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:11 pm
    By Todd Schorle, Director of  Marketing, WOMMA It appears that most corporate brands have jumped off the ledge into Facebook marketing.  Look at how many adsnow drive potential customers to a Facebook page rather than to a company’s website. Is this really where brands should be focusing their energy - and does a Facebook fan translate into a useful group of advocates?  It makes sense to push your product or brand on Facebook with more than 600 million active users and the amount of time we spend on the site Maybe brands could learn a few things from non-profits.  Let’s compare the…
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    New Media and Marketing

  • Only 1.3% of consumers engaged with brands on Facebook

    Richard
    27 Jan 2012 | 11:34 am
    Researchers looked at People Talking About This, a Facebook metric, for the top 200 brands on Facebook over a six-week period back in October and they found the percentage of “People Talking About This”  to be 1.3%.  Surprised ? Don’t be. Too many marketers are using Facebook as a broadcast channel and they haven’t yet learned that great content is what drive engagement not bulletins. However what really is bad is this research as it shows that research agencies are just as clueless as some marketers. According to the study if you subtract new likes, which only…

  • 10 Rules of social media

    Richard
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm
    Marketers struggling with their social media strategy may be having trouble because they haven’t yet grasped how to move from being a faceless corporation to a “friend.” Unlike the approaches of the past, these new “rules of engagement” for social media mean marketers need to adjust the way they approach consumers. Because they have not fully explored how to go about changing their approach, some companies are paralyzed between doing nothing at all and doing only the bare minimum and thinking they’re done.  Here are the 10 rules of social media courtesy…

  • LA Fitness learns the power of social media

    Richard
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:07 pm
    Don’t people think anymore ?  When a pregnant woman in the U.K. tried to get out of her contract with her local LA Fitness gym, the company told her that even though her husband had lost his job, it would not be letting her out of her contract. Even though a newspaper got involved that was not goo enough for a lot of people who took to Twitter to vent their outrage. According to Gordon MacMillan, who writes about the ordeal at the Wall Blog, “The gym has done untold damage to its reputation in social media as Twitter users calling for people to cancel their membership in protest.”…

  • A step by step guide to developing a great branded website

    Richard
    26 Jan 2012 | 1:50 am
    By far the biggest complaint that I hear from agencies and eMarketing people is that they often don’t have the time or resources to “do it right” when it comes to developing a great online brand experience.   Creating a great user experience is not just someone doing some coding it is based on a strategic assessment of where you are and where you want to go based on both your marketing objectives an consumer needs. Here are the steps to creating a great online brand experience: 1. Discovery – Where are we, where are our competitors ?  What assets do we have and need…

  • Why social media benchmarking doesn’t work

    Richard
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:04 pm
    Social media benchmarking is not always a good idea.  The problem lies with the way that benchmarking is usually practiced: it  is far too “casual.” The logic behind what works at top performers, why  it works, and what will work elsewhere is barely unraveled, resulting in  mindless imitation. In benchmarking social media strategies of other companies a pair of fundamental problems render this casual benchmarking as ineffective. (1) The first is that people copy the most visible, obvious, and frequently least important practices.  What they find is that they have been…
 
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    Charles Neville

  • Genius juxtaposition or just dumb luck?

    Charles
    19 Jan 2012 | 4:15 am
    In a commercial break on a Czech Music TV channel I saw these two ads (KFC ad is the original Czech one, Centrum ad is a similar US version). Did the cholesterol pills ad buyer just get lucky? Does the ad controller at the station have a sense of humour? I guess we’ll never know. The takeaway (no pun intended) here is that our ads and messaging don’t exist in a vacuum. It can complement, riff off of, parody or rub up against any other messaging. Bear that in mind when you’re placing ads.

  • Keeping abreast of comments on your Facebook Page

    Charles
    2 Dec 2011 | 4:10 am
    Ever since Facebook opened up every Facebook Page to comments (and not just from people who like the page) keeping tabs on your Page’s comments can be a tricky thing to do. There are how-to guides online that suggest you can get alerts directly from Facebook when someone posts on your Page. The interface to do that seems to have been dropped in one of Facebook’s many re-imaginings of how we should be able to administer our pages. Why would you want to? Customers now expect companies to treat Facebook (and Twitter) like the telephone. It rings, you answer, simple right? Except…

  • Interesting times for QR codes?

    Charles
    23 Oct 2011 | 12:44 pm
    QR codes (2D barcodes) have been front of mind for me recently, partly for the wrong reasons: Malicious QR Codes, QR Codes that might unleash some malware on your phone, parroted by many outlets, including this piece by TechCrunch while EConsultancy wonders whether the link with malware could damage perceptions of QR Codes amongst consumers, pointing out that two thirds of consumers don’t know what they are anyway. For balance here’s QR code booster Eismann O’Reilly’s reality check on the panic. Then there was this opinion piece from Sean X Cummings, with more in the…

  • Beware False Link Flattery

    Charles
    19 Oct 2011 | 10:18 am
    If you run a blog, you may have noticed a rash of ‘trackbacks’ or ‘pingbacks’ recently. These are articles on other blogs or websites that link to your posts. When you follow the link to the site linking to you, you may find that your link doesn’t appear within the body of the article at all. In fact you can’t even find it on the page. If you look closely, you may find a ‘Mouse here for Related Links’, as pictured. Your link is hidden under there. A process, likely automated, has found your post, amongst several others, and is linking to it, in…

  • Are price comparison sites still relevant?

    Charles
    26 Sep 2011 | 11:36 am
    Whilst researching the relative costs and market share of UK price comparison websites for a client I used Google Trends for Websites (log in to your Google account to get actual numbers on the Y axis) to compare some of the big players. The graph below tells a sorry tale. Even before March’s first Panda update, squarely aimed at aggregators, scrapers and middlemen, Google clearly had the long knives out for price comparison sites, demoting them in the search results, ousting them in place of their own Google Products/Shopping results. If these numbers are to be believed, then the…
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    Internet Marketing Tips And Ideas

  • Maximizing Your Social Media Exposure

    Tom
    25 Jan 2012 | 3:53 pm
    How to maximize your social media exposure.This article shares 3 really helpful and simple tips for maximizing your visibility on social media sites quickly and efficiently.

  • Marketing Matters

    Tom
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:31 am
    Marketing matters a lot and businesses must get the word out about their products and services.This article explains why content marketing is so important.

  • How To Make A Successful Blog – 5 Simple Steps

    Tom
    19 Jan 2012 | 7:07 am
    How to make a successful blog.This article shares 5 really important things you need to understand and do before you can create a successful blog.

  • Major Twitter Mistakes

    Tom
    18 Jan 2012 | 12:39 pm
    This article shares major Twitter mistakes you must avoid, even though the Twitter universe is full of egomaniacs, narcissists, and straight-up sociopaths who probably don't deserve the attention...

  • Pay Per Click Search Marketing – Advantages And Disadvantages

    Tom
    17 Jan 2012 | 5:31 am
    Pay per click search marketing can be a great way of getting lots of traffic to your website.This article shares some important advantages and disadvantages when it comes to pay per click search...
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    Cultivating Your Customers

  • Why can’t I just hire an analyst for my customer analytics?

    Mark Price
    23 Jan 2012 | 2:47 pm
    Can’t I just use the consulting money to hire an analyst to do my customer analytics? When marketers face the investment in consulting to help with database marketing, a frequent question is, “why must we spending all that money on a one-time analysis from people who are not even in our industry?  Why not just hire an analyst instead?” The decision whether or not to hire a consulting firm or a permanent analyst is a significant one; the answer can have dramatic impact on the timeliness and ROI of your analytic effort. Let’s assume that your objectives are to find…

  • Can’t the IT department do my customer analysis?

    Mark Price
    15 Nov 2011 | 9:25 pm
    Why spend money on a consulting firm when IT can do the customer analysis for you? Our clients often must justify the necessity of  investment in an outside firm to do their customer analysis.  One of the most common alternatives suggested is to let the internal IT department do the work instead.  It sounds cheap, easy and fast — “why not let the internal guys get it done rather than spend all that money outside?” But the truth is that letting the IT department work on your customer analysis is not cheap, easy nor fast — and the better your IT department is, the…

  • Getting started with customer intelligence

    Mark Price
    14 Nov 2011 | 8:23 pm
    A recent article by Joe Cordo in E-commerce News identifies the increasing need for customer insight. With customer data increasing by almost 1000 percent, marketers now have the chance to understand and improve revenue driven from marketing campaigns, which is critical to marketing accountability. While Joe recommends analyzing customer dashboards to gain this marketing insight, many of our clients don’t have any dashboards to drill down on. How do you start understanding customer behavior then? Our experience has been that driving insight from the most basic, product-level trends is…

  • Engagement beats “Likes” in Facebook revenue impact

    Mark Price
    10 Nov 2011 | 11:35 am
    How do you value Facebook? Today, in Fast Company, Andrew Robertson wrote about the value of Facebook to brands, in terms of real financial benefit. As he researched it, companies are valuing Facebook friends at anywhere from $3 per friend to more than $130. Clearly there is a wide difference in the approach that these firms are using. If you are not trying to measure the value of your Facebook audience, however, you had better be doing so. The pile of money invested in social media over the last couple years will inevitably dry up for those who try to bucket their budgets as…

  • Tie customer experience to the bottom line, or perish

    Mark Price
    7 Nov 2011 | 3:49 pm
    Recently, several of my clients have gone to their senior management with goals of creating a customer-centric retail environment. The benefits, they say, will include increased retention and profitability, and reduced marketing costs. In addition, the customer-centric positioning will be challenging for competition to match, given their focus on solely bottom-line results. What did they discover? Their management is also unwilling to risk bottom line results for a “culture” HR-like project. Just like the companies in this article, they ran afoul of the CFO, who wanted clear…
 
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    Kherize5 Blog

  • Honda Targets Life Stages With New Leap List Campaign

    Suzanne Vara
    27 Jan 2012 | 4:02 pm
    A new year, new budgets, new campaigns, and the kick off to what promises to be the best of the best in advertising for the Super Bowl. It is such an exciting time for advertising as we wait with anticipation for the spots during the game (unless you peek and watch the ones that were released early). Who ever would have thought that the 1st weekend in February would place advertising and advertisements in the spotlight? Thereafter, we we start seeing ads catered towards holidays, seasonal ads with spring around the corner and summer knocking as well with ads that try and tie their brand into…

  • Choosing Your Audience Without Apologies

    Suzanne Vara
    19 Jan 2012 | 12:05 pm
    Choosing your audience without apologies is traditional advertising of tv, radio and print as these spots tend to reach the watchers of a certain show, magazine/newspaper or station and not necessarily those that would ever purchase. This holds true on the web as well with sites that have ads that reach the target market and then some who are viewers of the site but do not fit the exact target of the ad. Sure, we look at the numbers provided by the media outlets and strategically place ads based upon the demographics provided by them and see where our target is there and bam, we place and…

  • Advertising Isn’t Dead – The Creative Process Is

    Suzanne Vara
    25 Dec 2011 | 2:27 am
    Every single year we hear advertising as a whole or the various mediums (ie radio, print, outdoor, etc) are dead. And, every year we see new advances in technology and advertising thrive. There are new mediums emerging and we are expanding advertising so, to say that advertising is dead is ridiculous. Advertising is more alive now than it ever has been. I admit, I am a bit old school when it comes to advertising and, like many, think radio, tv, print, outdoor. But, there is a whole other medium that we tend to not necessarily consider advertising: the social platforms; which are very much…

  • Fear or Trust

    Jon Gordon
    13 Dec 2011 | 9:00 am
    Many years ago, as a young 26 year old entrepreneur in Atlanta, I was invited to speak at an event where President Clinton was also speaking. As people mingled backstage I’ll never forget watching him as he put his hand on the shoulder of the Governor and said, “It’s all about psychology. You need to understand the psychology of the voters. It’s all about psychology.” Not surprisingly, Clinton and his team came up with the famous phrase, “It’s the Economy Stupid.” They understood that psychology drives elections and the economy. Fast forward to today, it’s no wonder the…

  • How To Add Facebook Subscribe Button To Your Website

    Suzanne Vara
    9 Dec 2011 | 9:48 am
    In less than 24 hours after the big announcement of the Facebook Subscribe button for websites, the feature is now live and appearing on some of the biggest news sites like MSNBC, Huffington Post, Forbes and Washington Post, to name a few. The Subscribe button has the same functionality as it does on Facebook pages which eliminates the need for users to have to read an article and then have to go over to Facebook to Subscribe. You may recall that back in September the Subscribe button was launched eliminating the need for users to have to be friends to see updates, well on the ones that are…
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    RELATIVITY

  • Avoid the mess: Navigating sticky situations in your business

    bakercreative
    12 Jan 2012 | 3:18 pm
    Difficult situations arise when running your own business.  Disagreements among staff members, complicated client relationships, financial situations, and many other sticky moments have a tendency to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Social media 2012 trend report

    bakercreative
    3 Jan 2012 | 2:49 pm
    The new year has arrived and many media outlets have reported top social media trends to pay attention to in 2012.  Here is a recap of some of our favorites: What is clearly important? Beverly Macy... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • New years resolutions are promises of your future waiting to happen

    bakercreative
    30 Dec 2011 | 5:11 pm
    [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Growing up: Tips to help your business thrive

    bakercreative
    22 Dec 2011 | 3:19 pm
    As 2011 comes to a close, many small businesses are looking at trends and planning for the year ahead. Some fortunate companies will have to deal with growing pains. Business boomed last year and now... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Business Etiquette Basic: Phone Call Karma

    bakercreative
    13 Dec 2011 | 2:17 pm
    How many times have you seen this scenario? A. You are working on a project that’s getting dangerously close to deadline.  Only one of the messages you left requesting quotes with five potential... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    Everyday Influence

  • New Perspectives and Research on The Social Mind

    Don Bulmer
    15 Jan 2012 | 1:26 pm
    Numerous research studies have shown that people don’t want to be marketed to in social media. However, in business, many brands seek to build robust fan bases in both large and specialized on-line communities to support marketing, sales, advocacy and...

  • Theory of Relate(ivity) - Part One

    Don Bulmer
    6 Nov 2011 | 3:04 pm
    At the end of the day, it’s relationships that matter most. Right? Be it in business, in one’s personal life, politics, or otherwise - the best relationships (when managed well) keep you grounded and honest. They offer learning experiences. They...

  • A Social Movement for Seven Billion People

    Don Bulmer
    26 Jun 2011 | 12:56 pm
    In February of this year I was invited to participate in a workshop at Columbia University School of Journalism in support of the the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UNFPA is an international development agency that promotes the right...

  • Influencers to Brand Advocates

    Don Bulmer
    17 Mar 2011 | 9:21 pm
    I had the great opportunity to participate in a panel discussion this morning, hosted by BrightTALK in coordination with Think Influence. BrightTALK is a San Francisco-based company that specializes in providing online events for professionals and their communities. Think Influence...

  • Research Findings Highlight the Evolution of Social Business

    Don Bulmer
    16 Mar 2011 | 6:30 am
    I am proud to release the results of the 2nd annual New Symbiosis of Professional Networks research study by The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR); a benchmark on the impact of social media on enterprise decision-making. The study is...
 
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    Small Business Online Marketing at Kutenda

  • 6 scientifically proven ways to get up to 500% more engagement from your Facebook fans

    Jeb
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:55 pm
    Last September, Facebook debuted the ‘Subscribe‘ feature as a way for journalists to allow people to subscribe to their public updates on Facebook. Yesterday Facebook released some data to show how well the new program is working for writers and other media figures. What’s that’s got to do with you? A lot actually. The takeaways from the study apply to ALL marketers and brands on Facebook, even ones not using the Subscribe feature. Here’s what boosts engagement, according to Facebook’s own data: Ask questions. In an earlier study, Facebook found that…

  • What we’re reading…

    Jeb
    24 Jan 2012 | 1:30 am
    Here are the latest articles we’ve saved to our Instapaper account: How to Become an Effective CEO: Chief Emotions Officer | FourHourWorkweek.com In Tech, Starting Up by Failing | NYTimes.com Successful Sales Management: Trust Me, I’m a Salesman | Steve Reeves Why Brands Like Puma and GE Are Flocking to Instagram | AdAge.com How to Write a Thank-You Note That Matters | Inc.com A Word to the Resourceful | PaulGraham.com 97 Ideas for Building a Valuable Platform | ChrisBrogan.com Open Rate Madnezz | BenSettle.com Progress Killer #3: Don’t Try to Go it Alone | Copyblogger.com A…

  • The most underrated talent in business is…

    Jeb
    23 Jan 2012 | 3:07 pm
    According to Copyblogger, it’s good manners. Look at the people whose businesses do well over the long run, and you’ll find people who are good at getting along with other people. They might be opinionated, brash, or outspoken. (They might also be quiet, reserved, and introverted.) But they know how to make connections, and they know how to take care of their friends. So true. Paul Graham made a similar point last week. See also: How to Write a Thank-You Note That Matters | Inc.com

  • Simple text formatting tips that will make you MUCH more persuasive

    Jeb
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:59 am
    A couple of weeks ago, we blogged about how to create killer landing pages that convert visitors into new customers. We listed some tried-and-true elements that seasoned copywriters have used for decades (in sales letters and then later in landing pages) to drive engagement and boost sales. One of them was to use “liberal amounts of text formatting, esp. bold, italics and ALL CAPS.” We’ll say it again: use liberal amounts of text formatting, esp. bold, italics and ALL CAPS. Maybe you’re skeptical that something as simple as text formatting can make you more…

  • The gray morning did Internet Explorer 6 no longer load The Google…

    Jeb
    20 Jan 2012 | 1:10 pm
    Mike Lacher recounts an epic tale ‘in which I fix my girlfriend’s grandparents’ wifi and am hailed as a conquering hero.’ Lo, in the twilight days of the second year of the second decade of the third millennium did a great darkness descend over the wireless internet connectivity of the people of 276 Ferndale Street in the North-Central lands of Iowa. For many years, the gentlefolk of these lands basked in a wireless network overflowing with speed and ample internet, flowing like a river into their Compaq Presario. Many happy days did the people spend checking Hotmail and…
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    Upheavals: Mark Di Somma's blog

  • For your information: why so many brands are not listened to

    markdisomma
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:57 pm
    The insurance company wrote to me again. That can only mean it’s a bill or a change in policy. Either way it’s more expensive – literally, because I’m paying more, or metaphorically because I’m getting less for the money I do pay. I’ve lost count of the number of meetings I’ve been to where marketing managers in the financial sector and in utilities have told me that they are keen to build closer relationships with their customers. They want more loyalty, they want customers to engage with them. Everyone nods. But then their customer service teams keep sending out the same bills…

  • Likeable brands: Debating the true value of Likes.

    markdisomma
    22 Jan 2012 | 3:35 pm
    Image via Wikipedia If brand owners are buying Likes on Facebook, what are they actually worth?, asks Alexis Dormandy in this recent article in The Telegraph. “Can we really value a ‘Like’ or a ‘Follow’ when so many of them are bought rather than earned?” Dormandy’s question goes to the heart of the marketing community’s ongoing fixation with volume and to the business world’s fascination with social metrics. With marketing managers under huge pressure to build and participate in scaled brand communities, perhaps it’s inevitable that fast-track approaches to ramp up fan…

  • The future of brands: 7 takes from Jim Stengel

    markdisomma
    15 Jan 2012 | 7:55 pm
    Recently, Jim Stengel, the former global marketing officer at P&G, opened up on his blog on what he perceives as the future of marketing. I very much liked what he had to say. My takes and comments. 1. Brands are becoming more important not just as identifiers in crowded markets but also as valuation mechanisms. As Stengel points out, 30 years ago, “almost none of the market capitalization of the S&P 500 could be attributed to brand equity; today it is above 30%.” Stengel sees that as a sign that marketing has become more important. I agree – certainly in the sense that brand…

  • Human marketing

    markdisomma
    12 Jan 2012 | 10:30 pm
    This highly informative post from James D. Roumeliotis on Customer Devotion introduces to me the expression “human marketing” which I am much taken with. Not only does it speak to the necessity for everyone within the organisation to think and act like a marketer, it’s also a reminder that, ultimately, people deliver some of our most powerful and memorable consumer experiences – and insights. People have an instinct for people that simply cannot be duplicated any other way. In the rush to mechanise and socialise, it’s easy to overlook the need for brands to continue to humanise…

  • Gazing into the tea leaves

    markdisomma
    1 Jan 2012 | 9:44 pm
    Image via Wikipedia Happy New Year to you all. Over at Corporate Eye, Susan Gunelius references two JWT Intelligence reports just out that are predicting these five key trends for 2012. Here’s how I see what JWT are seeing. 1. Price Opportunities: Brands will introduce low-cost entry-point products into markets for price-sensitive consumers with “stripped down offerings” and smaller sizes. My view: Agree. The combination of depressed consumer spending and the rise of house brands will see brands looking to diversify their price points. In many sectors, I think this will be accompanied…
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    The Star Group Blog

  • QR Codes Aren’t Sweet Without Strategy

    Jessica Doban
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    QR codes represent a unique mix of technology and advertising that is steadily improving with evolving new forms and functions. But their functional improvement is meaningless if the platform is not applied with the right strategy and tactics in the real world in order to connect with consumers.   read more

  • Recovering Economy Drives Nonprofits To Reclaim Their Brands

    Dawn Mills
    23 Jan 2012 | 1:11 pm
    Nonprofits that have survived through the rough economy may be facing an uphill branding battle even while people begin returning to their former levels of charitable giving. The right messaging and marketing strategies could make all the difference in how smoothly the crest of that hill is reached.   read more

  • Can A Parking Authority Blog Drive Home The Right Message?

    Jennifer Bilotta
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am
    One of the golden rules of social media marketing is adapting to the tone and conversation style of your intended audience. It's important to promote a two-way conversation rather than a one-way message delivery system, interacting with the intended community. But should this apply to official city government entities as well? read more

  • The Struggle To Engage Across Multiple Channels Rages On

    steveo
    11 Jan 2012 | 10:35 am
    Call in multi-channel marketing. Call it an integrated marketing strategy. Whatever name you apply to it, brands and companies are still struggling to give consumers what they want... a consistent and seamless message across all marketing channels. read more

  • Santorum’s Google Bomb – A Lesson In Digital Crisis 101

    Adam Leiter
    10 Jan 2012 | 1:23 pm
    What do businesses and brands have to learn from the Santorum/Savage “Google Problem”? Unwanted search results will always be alive online, and it takes an active approach to keep them managed as much as possible. With the right tactics, it’s possible to minimize reputational threats, but simply complaining about them will not find a resolution. read more
 
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    Evidence Based Marketing Blog

  • An Illustrated Guide to Optimal SEO Process [INFOGRAPHIC]

    William Tyree
    24 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am
    Several weeks ago, we guest blogged on ProBlogger about SEO Automation, discussing redundant optimization tasks that were probably best left to tools, with the goal of getting more time to focus on actual strategy and execution. We also published an SEO automation infographic that was created by our SEO for Salesforce product team, which appears below. Fortunately, the infographic was widely syndicated across many sites including MarketingTechBlog.com, which, if you haven’t seen it, is a really great resource for marketing technologists. In his summary, blog founder Douglas Karr noted…

  • The Social Business: From Data to Insight to Action

    Jesse Davis
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Even though large streams of data are available to brands through social media, that information is worthless unless a business is agile enough to respond to leverage real-time social media dynamics. In order to become a social business, an organization needs to be able to convert social data into actionable insights through new analytics and customer relationship management (CRM) tools. But to turn insight into action, a brand’s employees should use social media to align itself internally in order to be best prepared to engage with customers externally. The most successful social…

  • 5 Promising Cloud Marketing Solutions

    Jesse Davis
    17 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am
    In their song “Cut Your Hair”, the rock band Pavement acerbically mused on the ceaseless stream of bands starting up in their music scene. “I saw another one, just the other day … a special new band,” they sang. Nearly two decades later, Pavement could easily rewrite those lyrics to lampoon the tech scene, since it seems like every day Techcrunch discusses “a special new” brand or solution. It can be difficult to navigate the ever-changing landscape of new businesses and solutions. Companies are bought-up, brand names change and old companies…

  • Google’s “not provided” Keyword Impact Exceeds 18% Across Tech Sites, 13% In Healthcare

    William Tyree
    16 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    Like all marketing consultancy firms, we’ve been struggling with how to address Google’s decision to limit keyword referral data for users signed in to Google services with our clients. There’s a great SEO success metrics article on the SEO for Salesforce blog arguing that while there is still more than enough organic keyword data to assist with content marketing and site optimization strategies, reporting on the number of unique organic keywords driving traffic is now less useful as a viable success metric. Google's Matt Cutts claimed that the impact of the keyword referral policy…

  • David Barad on the Future of Facebook Marketing [Interview]

    Jesse Davis
    10 Jan 2012 | 12:57 pm
    Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Santa Monica, CA., Fan Appz helps businesses, celebrities, musicians, athletes, public figures and brand owners grow, engage and monetize their social network fan base through an integrated suite of applications and features. As Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Fan Appz, David Barad keeps his clients happy while bringing new clients into the Fan Appz ecosystem. Evidence-Based Marketing: In order to stimulate social shopping, how important is it for brands to reach out to key influencers? David Barad: If you are focusing on…
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    Strategic Visual Communications

  • The Rise Of Online Video And How It Affects Your Business!

    svcadmin
    12 Jan 2012 | 7:11 pm
    The online video arena is growing and it’s only going to get larger. Online video is a way for people to be informed, stay informed, learn, and is a form of entertainment. According to ComScore’s October 2011 Video Metrix, which looks at online video viewing trends, showed that Americans watched a total of 42.6 billion videos (a new record!), up almost 3 million since September. According to a press release on PRNewsWire, internet users in Australia watched a total of 961 million online videos, with Google Sites ranking as the top video property with 503 million videos viewed,…

  • How To Have Maximum Influence On LinkedIn

    svcadmin
    5 Dec 2011 | 11:54 pm
    With a user base of over 100 million people, LinkedIn is now the world’s largest online professional networking site.  Years ago, LinkedIn was thought to be just an online resume site but today LinkedIn is a valuable resources and opportunity to market yourself, your business, products and services. Also with the social nature of LinkedIn you can network, connect with, and befriend other individuals who may help lead you to new customers and clients. LinkedIn is one of the best online communities and social media platforms for networking, in fact for business; we believe it may even…

  • Who Wins: SEO vs PPC For Local Adelaide Businesses?

    svcadmin
    14 Jun 2011 | 10:17 pm
    Here’s a question we are often asked: “Which is better: optimising my website for “free” organic search engine rankings or paying for clicks on Google AdWords (PPC)?” Our answer is always the same – “It depends”, however, if you are able to generate a return on your investment by doing both, then do both. Your marketing should always come back to “what is my ROI?”, if I invest $10 into marketing, then I should get $12, $15, $25, more back. As long as it generates a positive ROI, keep doing it. Here’s something to keep in mind: Showing up in the organic…

  • “The 7 Keys To Creating Successful Ads That Work Every Time…With Any Business.”

    svcadmin
    31 May 2011 | 8:12 pm
    Some Advertisers regard Marketing as an Art, some as a Science.  Advertising genius Bill Bernbach, once said “that advertising is a science.” Claude Hopkins’ wrote a book called “Scientific Advertising”. So what is this thing called Advertising and how can any business owner implement its scientific principles and do it successfully? Advertising is something almost every business owner has tried or done, and more often than not, has done it unsuccessfully. At SVC, we have seen plenty of clients insisting that they have a “great” Ad or campaign for their…

  • I’m an Adelaide Business Owner, why should I care about the World Wide Web?

    svcadmin
    11 May 2011 | 7:09 am
    Let’s be honest, local business owners never have enough time. You are constantly busy, running your business, managing employees, servicing customers, handling finances and dealing with everything else that happens day to day. So why should you care about what is happening online, when your “bread and butter” comes from local Adelaide clients who buy your products and services from your shop front? It’s true that the majority of consumer spending is done offline in the local Adelaide community, however, 80% of people use the Internet as an information source before shopping locally…
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    gdi make money

  • 2011 Kia optima sx(T-GDI) turbo

    Admin
    28 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am
    2011 Kia optima turbo… Just a short video a look around of the car.. Just got it about 2 weeks ago

  • Best way to earn money online

    Admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    www.mymission.ws In this video I’ll explain how you can set up a great business from home and earn lots of money with Global Domains International (GDI), My system holds guaranteed success! Get free information and marketing tools!

  • Unemployed? Want another job ? Try GDI – Global Domains International, This WORKS !

    Admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am
    mymoney101.ws Add me on Facebook www.facebook.com This video explains in good detail that GDI is REAL and pays you based on your efforts. Please do not join, if you’re not to sure about it. Be ABSOLUTELY SURE before joining, this is a big step that you’re taking in…

  • Napoleon GDI-30N Gas Fireplace Insert

    Admin
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm
    choosefireplacesandstoves.com offers a great retrofit solution in the Napoleon GDI-30N basic fireplace. This direct vent insert creates over 24500 BTUs from clean burning natural gas, or can be converted to propane with the optional conversion kit. This gas fireplace can be customized with a variety finishes including louvers, insets, and surround kits. This fireplace features Napoleons…

  • GDI Italia Guadagnare Online : Lavoro Part Time Online Da Casa #2

    Admin
    26 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am
    Gdi Italia gdi-italia.forumfree.it è il team italiano ufficiale dell’azienda Global Domains International. Se siete interessati a guadagnare online da casa seriamente oa raccimolare un secondo stipendio attraverso un lavoro part time siete sulla giusta strada! Il team Gdi Italia inoltre,nel momento dell’iscrizione,vi offrirà una guida,chiamata “Guida Dell’Affiliato”,che spiega passo per passo come iniziare a guadagnare + la creazione del vostro website.ws + il servizio di auto-affiliazione (basta l’iscrizione…
 
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    The Instar Group

  • 5 Brands Renamed As To Tell You Everything

    admin
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:15 pm
    We recently read and enjoyed, “5 Movies Whose Titles Tell You Everything” by movie critic Christy Lemire. With it being an amusing read, we thought we would use the article as inspiration and spin the concept as a companion piece to go along with our Branding 101 series. If the premise of the article is to highlight a movie’s “brand name” that lays all its cards on the table and leaves little mystery as to what the movie is about, then we thought we would spin the concept into the business world and choose five corporate brand names whose identities do not tell…

  • Branding 101 – What is a Brand?

    admin
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:48 am
    Here at The InStar Group, we’ve spent a lot of time writing articles covering the wider spectrum of the Marketing world. Of all the topics, the one piece that we seem to discuss and undertake the most with our clients, is a company’s brand. So, we thought we’d take a step back and undertake a mutli-part series covering the elements that comprise a brand. Part 1 – What is a Brand? A brand, branding, or brand identity can be traced back to the Old Norse word “brandr”, which means “to burn”. While watermarks were used several hundreds of years ago,…

  • Advertising We Love – Staples and the Many Daves

    admin
    16 Jan 2012 | 6:01 am
    In what will be an ongoing series, we at The InStar Group thought it might be a good idea to draw attention to some of the current advertising that we feel deserves a little more credit than others. For this series, when a worthy candidate emerges, we will aim to do a brief call out to the advertising and explain to you why we feel it is better than others at the given time. Our candidates can be from any form of media, such as television, print, radio, internet, print, social, outdoor etc. We will only limit it to those executions we believe to be national and not local, as to not keep some…

  • Liz Claiborne Changes Name

    admin
    4 Jan 2012 | 11:03 am
    Liz Claiborne has been going through some aggressive changes lately, and today, as part of their ongoing “make over”, they have officially announced their new name: Fifth & Pacific Cos. While we won’t go into the history and recent issues with the Liz Claiborne brand, we do have some thoughts on the brand name. Our first reaction is that we really like it. When you look at the fashion brands peppered throughout your local mall, whether they be stand alone stores or labels hanging on the countless racks at the department stores, there’s one over arching theme that…

  • When Hollywood Influences Madison Avenue

    admin
    12 Dec 2011 | 9:28 am
    We all know that Hollywood movies influence pop culture. From the way we speak to the way we dress, the hobbies we pick up and even the people we fall in love with. But what about when Hollywood influences Madison Avenue? It’s been happening since the first time commercials started to air. While the list would be too long and too cumbersome to detail, two recent commercials are clearly taken from iconic movies. The first commercial is from the new HTC Rezound, featuring Beats Audio. As the young man walks through city streets, the pieces around him begin to explode to the beat of the…
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    The Marketing Post

  • A surfeit of Launches in 2012

    4 Jan 2012 | 6:59 am
    The Indian Auto Expo has Tata JLR ditching Detroit to jump into its Asia home with the Ssangyong  M&M combination readying the Korando launch in the country and the GM reintroducing the Sail as a Chevy brand and the Wuling Vans from its Asia portfolio     The Wuling vans from Chevy, will be competing with the old Omni and O2 from Maruti Suzuki and also the Force ABS model launched tomorrow   Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • Ford rolls out Asia plans from India

    4 Jan 2012 | 6:51 am
    Ford has scored a great win with its hybrid Compact SUV in its home markets as the Ford Escape in October and November ( head over to advantages.us to check out today's Auto sales announcements in the US ) Its market share in December, likely to cross 15% with more than 171,000 in sales. It has planned to expand Indian capacity with a similar compact SUV here titled the Ford EcoSport ( WSJ India )    Ford has planned a second factory in Sanand in Gujarat ( next to the Nano plant) for a cost of $660 mln ( INR 40 bln) and is upgrading its Diesel Engines capacity in…

  • The Indian Auto Expo

    4 Jan 2012 | 6:47 am
    Worldwide Auto sales are expected to go to 77.7 mln units in 2012 with US a just under 20% market share and China a over 20% share of the market. Indian business would be up to a little below 4% of the global market according to our conservative estimates . news of Indian auto industyr global market share rising to no.3 is still starting to do the rounds as sar sales recover from a bad low in Mid 2011.  Daimler is introducing a new series of 17 launches from August-September 2012 to late 2013 with its first Indian built truck going on display tomorrow Permalink | Leave a…

  • Want to miss out on your ATM Branding?

    28 Dec 2011 | 11:58 pm
    State Bank of India has nearly 22,000 ATMs and another 5,000 from its associates, ICICI Bank has 7000 ATMs of its own. Foreign banks are in fact recognised in many parts of the country by their ATM locations, as the logo and slogan heavy ATM kiosk, though treated by a utility as many creates and builds the bank brand and shows it for reach than the bank. However, as ATM operations can be more easily run by a third party with the omnipresent Brink's Aryas money truck delivering cash to each machine, bankers have been rooting for a white label ATM operation like the Tower companies in Telecom,…

  • Bollywood, India too expensive to make money from dreams?

    28 Dec 2011 | 11:35 pm
    Indian Media and Entertainment posted a string of positives though listed bullionaires like Eros and PVR continued to struggle to prove their worth on a perceived high cost base, being measured against some unreasonable expectations. While Ra.One was a blockbuster but fell on being second to Sallu's antics, The Don 2 and Mission Impossible concurrent successes of this month are being compared on equally tenuous marks despite $3 mln of daily business as Indian enterepreneurs in their bid to fund the global majors have set a high watermark for profiting from the success of this entertainment.
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    Sales Prospecting Perspectives

  • Value. Deliver It And They Will Buy!

    Paul Alves
    25 Jan 2012 | 5:20 pm
    Did you see Apple's earnings release today?  Just read an article in Fast Company which highlights some of Apple's accomplishments. 13 Billion in profits with increased revenues of 73%, 37 million iPhones sold, 97 Billion in cash on hand. Wow, mind boggling! As I sit at my desk with my iPhone to my right, streaming Pandora radio on my iPad to my left. I understand why. Quite simply, they consistently exceed their customers expectations, from the purchase experience, to the overall quality, to the user experience. That's just it, you don’t buy and use Apple products, you experience…

  • Attention Inside Sales Reps: Stop Settling for Average Performance

    Laney Pilpel
    23 Jan 2012 | 4:05 pm
    I wouldn’t call myself a huge football fan, but I do catch games here and there, especially during this time of year comes and we get closer to the Super Bowl. Living just outside of Boston and working down the street from Patriots Place, clearly I tend to favor the New England Patriots. This morning, while catching up on some articles about yesterday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, I read an interesting quote that Tom Brady made about his performance yesterday. He said, “You want to hit the open guys. You want to capitalize when you have open receivers. I wish I had…

  • Inside Sales Reps: Pick Up The Phone!

    Matt Fitts
    20 Jan 2012 | 3:26 pm
    I have recently started to leverage Twitter as an outlet to stay current and explore various authors/sources of business best practices and business topics.  Believe me, I know I am late to the party – but if you know me well, you know this is a huge step. When I was in school at San Francisco State I had a management teacher that would have us read material from the Harvard Business Review.  So when I logged into Twitter a few weeks ago I began “following” HBR.  I must say I have enjoyed all of the content that I have read to date and have gained some good…

  • Inside Sales Reps: Find Your Mojo!

    Jill Ryan
    19 Jan 2012 | 5:14 pm
    As part of my role as Manager of Client Operations at AG, I shadow Inside Sales Rep calls and offer constructive feedback on how they can better their process.  Part of what I measure is what the inside rep may be doing that is getting in the way of their success.  More often then not, I can credit that to phone presence. What do I mean by phone presence? Pizzazz! Have you ever heard the expression “they can hear a smile over the phone”? Well…it’s true.  Something I was trained to do as an inside sales rep was to always leave a voicemail as if it was my…

  • Inside Sales Reps: How Is Your Relationship With Your Sales Team?

    Richard April
    18 Jan 2012 | 4:40 pm
    Sales Prospecting Perspectives in pleased to bring you another guest post from one of our newer BDRs, Kim Staib. Our Corporate Development and Sales team do a fantastic job of finding and signing new clients for AG.  As part of that process, a potential client (or even an existing one) will occasionally ask to have a conversation with a Business Development Rep (aka AG’s Inside Sales Reps) to get a “lay of the land,” so to speak.  I was recently asked to speak with a potential client regarding what we do and how we do it at AG Salesworks.  …
 
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    "I" of the Consumer

  • The Need for Speed: Fios vs. Optimum

    Zach Heller
    26 Jan 2012 | 11:01 am
    A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how the first rule of marketing is keeping your promises. I was reminded of that post while watching TV last night and seeing a commercial for Optimum Online, which took a direct shot at Verizon Fios. For those of you who do not live in New York or the surrounding area, Verizon has been bullying its way into the cable market, advertising higher speeds and better performance than the alternative. The problem is, now their competitors have caught on. And they’re advertising the same thing right back. Both sides are saying their speeds are faster. Both…

  • Be Innovative: Subway Ad Review

    Zach Heller
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:33 am
    It’s important in whatever you do to always be thinking outside the box. In my younger days (about 1 year ago), I wrote a blog which I titled “Be Innovation”. It was about the need in the business world to be changing, to look for the next best thing, to create real value where there once was none. In that vein, I love the display ad I was delivered for Subway a week ago. Check it out below:   What do I love about it? First, the color really pops. But that’s not it. Next, the idea of making an offer on a display ad is different. This is not meant for branding,…

  • Last Chance: Email Marketing Class

    Zach Heller
    23 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am
    Time is running out to register for the very first “Fundamentals of Email Marketing” class that I’m teaching in New York City this Wednesday, January 25th. If you’re in the area, and you’re interested in learning more about how to use email marketing as a regular part of your marketing strategy, I’d love to have you. In addition to a prepared presentation, there will be plenty of time to answers your questions and discuss the specific ideas or issues you’ve had as they relate to email marketing. It should be an information-packed 90 minutes. It all…

  • "I" of the Consumer Week in Review

    Zach Heller
    22 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am
    This has been one heck of a week. I saw a new stat that says that email is now the preferred way of getting communications from companies by more than 80% of consumers. That’s massive! And it fits perfectly with both the upcoming class I’m teaching this Wednesday on email marketing, and the announcement that my book on email marketing was just nominated for the 2012 Small Business Book Awards by SmallBizTrends. More power to us! If your week was busy, you may not have had time for these recent posts: The Ultimate Consulting Gig Email Marketing: Social Sharing The Mistake You…

  • Nominated! 2012 Small Business Book Awards

    Zach Heller
    21 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    "Fundamentals of Email Marketing" Nominated For 2012 Small Business Book Award Cleveland, OH, January 17, 2012 - "Fundamentals of Email Marketing" has been nominated for a 2012 Small Business Book Award in the category of Marketing. The Small Business Book Awards recognize business books that were published in 2011. Small business owners often seek advice and information through books. While there are many thousands of books published each year, it's those of interest to small businesses and entrepreneurs that the Small Business Book Awards seek to honor. "With so many books being…
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    5 Minutes a Day

  • How To Earn Income Without Working For It

    23 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    If you are looking to earn money but are limited on time then you need to learn the basics of passive income.  Passive income is income that you don’t have to continually work at to earn.  There may be some maintenance but basically you do the job once and then collect income well into the future. Books, CDs and applications are great examples of passive income.  You write the book and then collect royalties on it forever.  Record a CD and collect royalties on it forever.  Develop an exciting game or business application and collect royalties on it forever.   Just like your blog or…

  • Offer the Solution

    16 Jan 2012 | 9:08 am
    A few posts back I suggested that people buy solutions not features.  They have seen all the fancy options that you offer at a dozen other places.  It is all information overload.  In the end, what your potential customer needs is the answer to ‘Why’ they should choose you. It is easy to get stuck in a rut when you are looking at all the pieces that you have to offer.  Think of a car.  As an automobile manufacturer you could look all day at every individual piece and share with everyone how wonderfully strong or lasting that particular piece is.  But, it is just one piece.  Without…

  • Make This Year Great by Doing These 3 Things

    2 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am
    Update your website A fresh new look may be all you need to be inspired again.  Commit to posting at least one blog post per month At least once a month.  Once a week is better.  Three times a week is best.  Help someone in need You don’t have to go far to find someone in need.  You may find by helping someone else that you benefit most.

  • How To Get Out Of Debt

    30 Dec 2011 | 7:52 am
    Over the last several years many things have had an impact on my life.  Four things that I have been blessed with are my kids.  They bring me a great deal of joy and I love them dearly.  They give me 4 reasons every day to work hard and give 100% in all that I do.   Part of my duties as a parent is to pass on any lessons I’ve learned along the way to them.  If you are like me, you have struggled financially in your life.  There have been ups and downs.  Because of this and since money is such an integral part of life I set out on a mission to develop a system that not only I could…

  • Sell the Solution Not the Features

    28 Dec 2011 | 1:30 am
    It is easy to get caught up listing everything your company or website has to offer.  We all try to “out-feature” the next guy.  My background is in web hosting and we are the best in the world at comparison charts with hosting features.  Geeks with lists to the nth detail. So, why aren’t people buying? Truth be told is, especially in the web hosting world, that most companies are so similar that you can change a logo and you would never tell the difference.  Everyone has the features.  Unless you have a niche (which I hope you aim to have), you are just another convenience store…
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    » Branding Blog

  • Wishing You A Cool Dragon Year Ahead.

    Peter Gan
    18 Jan 2012 | 10:13 am
    Dear Readers, First off, we would like to wish everybody a very Happy Chinese New Year. Being the Dragon Year and all, we should be probably looking forward to an eventful one! We wish everybody a safe journey back home and may the spirit of the Dragon Year spread to all friends and family! While in the realm of the Dragon, and in the spirit of giving, we here at Ganforhire are giving away our very own Dragon Tail Fans this New Year. From us to you. This is to fan the flames of fortune and prosperity, to help you breeze through the coming year without any difficulty, and to also keep you cool…

  • Can Your Brand Survive a Quality Crisis?

    Peter Gan
    11 Jan 2012 | 10:02 am
    It’s safe to say that most brands (including yours, perhaps) are going digital. Which doesn’t come as a surprise really, as the web is a platform where brands are no longer confined by space, and have the opportunity to create and own a personalised ecosystem that allows for interaction between brand and consumers from pretty much anytime, anywhere. But like all good things – going digital comes with a price. You run the risk of having the namesake of your brand being made a bigger public spectacle – especially in matters of quality. They bloody amplify. If your product’s good…

  • A Maze Worth Getting Lost In?

    Peter Gan
    4 Jan 2012 | 10:01 am
      In Greek mythology, Theseus entered the labyrinth of the Minotaur with a ball of string, which he used to find his way out after defeating the bull-headed behemoth. Fortunately (or unfortunately, if you know how the tale pans out) for him that maze wasn’t built by the experts at IKEA, or he would STILL be there. Everyone who’s been into an IKEA store will know what I’m talking about. While far from the gloomy, haunted labyrinth of yore, the purpose of the maze-like, IKEA layout is the same; in the words of Alan Penn, the director of the Virtual Reality Centre for the Built…

  • Staying Resolute

    Peter Gan
    28 Dec 2011 | 10:04 am
    One of the cardinal rules of branding, in our books, at least, is to never make a promise you don’t intend to keep. Or, in the case of the waning days of the year that is about to pass, don’t make resolutions you’re not ready to pour your heart and soul into. So you could say it’s a bit of risk putting what we want to do for the coming year out in the open like this, to you, faithful reader and all those like-minded individuals who have been receiving the Bullet these past few months. But it’s one we’re willing to take because these are things we feel passionately about and will,…

  • Merry Christmas and A Transformative New Year!!

    Peter Gan
    22 Dec 2011 | 6:32 am
    Have an enchanting Christmas and a transformative New Year!
 
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    create + design + market

  • What Small Businesses Can Learn From Century Old Companies

    sherry
    24 Jan 2012 | 9:37 pm
    In our modern times of “dot coms” and companies that come and go, it's often easy to overlook businesses who have a long track record and have yet to go belly up in the uncertain economy. While a lot goes into the success of a company, let alone one that's been around for over a hundred years, there are some specific examples we, as small business owners, can learn from each one of them. No related posts.

  • Edison vs Tesla: You Can’t Argue With Results

    jeffrey
    13 Jan 2012 | 3:59 pm
    On my morning rounds I noticed this item, at The Atlantic, called Tesla's Letterhead Is So Much Better Than Edison's and I can't help but ask just what "better" means?   No related posts.

  • Vintage Cameras

    sherry
    11 Jan 2012 | 7:15 pm
    Ever since I got a hold of my mom's Brownie camera when I was about 5 I've been fascinated with old cameras. When I was a teenager I used to scour the thrift stores in search interesting looking old pieces. I didn't care if they worked or not (although I did come across a few working cameras which I made pretty good use of when I went off to art school), it was more just the design of the things. No related posts.

  • Graphic Design From Ages Past

    sherry
    8 Jan 2012 | 9:06 pm
    Depending on how one defines it, some would consider the cave paintings in Lascaux, France or the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt could be considered graphic design. That poses a bit of a conundrum when it comes to exploring the, "history of graphic design" though! There is also a lot of cross over between design and art, even today. Related posts: Top 10 Skills of a Graphic Designer How To Work With Your Design Team Common Design Requests

  • Ergonomic Mouse

    sherry
    28 Dec 2011 | 6:45 am
    Putting in as much time on computers as most of us do it really makes a difference when you're not in pain. People may think that computer work is "easy" or doesn't take a toll on the body, but it most certainly does. Sitting for long periods, computer eye fatigue, and of course the dreaded carpal tunnel syndrome are all things a designer (or anyone who works at the computer long hours) can fall victim to. No related posts.
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    The Ad Contrarian

  • Ungratefulness Runs Deep

    26 Jan 2012 | 10:10 am
    Dear General Motors, I hope you are happy with the 50 billion dollars that I and my friends gave you a few years ago. Are you enjoying it? Do you have nice offices? Have you been out to a few yummy dinners recently? Are your kids nicely dressed? That's great. I'd hate to see you unhappy or uncomfortable. Just one thing. I noticed in the newspaper the other day that you had a 3 billion dollar

  • Humiliation Builds Character

    25 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    Several years ago, in my creative director days, I was shooting a TV campaign in Los Angeles. I was staying at a suitably  swanky Hollywood hotel. The hotel had an equally swanky restaurant. The maitre d' was a grimly efficient woman who presided over her dining room very much like a third grade teacher governing her classroom -- with acute attention and an equal amount of thinly disguised

  • I'm Not A Whore. I'm A Pimp.

    24 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    It has occurred to me that I have not pimped my book recently on this blog. The reason it occurred to me is that I just checked the sales numbers and they're dropping like Tim Tebow at a revival meeting. So, since there are thousands of you (okay, dozens) who read this thing every day and haven't yet shelled out the meager pennies, I thought I would torment you with quotes from the Amazon

  • The Human Factor

    23 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    If I told you that a tortoise had a body temperature of 83 degrees, could you tell me if that animal is healthy or sick? Unless you had some idea of what normal was -- what it's temperature should be -- there's no way to know what the number means. We have a great deal of data and a great many metrics about online advertising. Other than direct marketing, however, we have little to no idea what

  • Davey and Me

    19 Jan 2012 | 2:01 am
    A few months ago, the advertising industry celebrated the 100th birthday of David Ogilvy. I was lucky enough to know David (or as I called him, Davey) intimately. I used to think of him as a younger brother. I thought I'd share my experiences with him. With you. I mean, the experiences were with him but I'd share them with you. You know what I mean. Most people think of David as an elegant man
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    ScentTrail Marketing

  • Video Marketing Secrets With David Rose At #ABTmeetup

    Marty
    24 Jan 2012 | 8:15 pm
    Video Marketing Best Practices At Raleigh Internet Marketing Meetup Our monthly Internet Marketing Relativity group is growing. About 20 people stopped by Atlantic BT in Raleigh tonight to learn video marketing best practices from David Rose of MagneTVideo.com. Rick, Anthony, Patrick and everyone at Bella Mia Coal Fired Pizza in Cary made sure we ate great food as David shared these online video marketing secrets: Video SEO Transcripts are key to video SEO Use closed caption transcriptions to feed search engine spiders YouTube helps achieve great SEO placement but hard to convert from YouTube…

  • Content Curation Magic And Contest

    Marty
    10 Dec 2011 | 12:20 pm
    Not sure where I was  when the realization hit me like a ton of bricks. We couldn't create all the content we needed. My team thought someone just shot my dog. "There is no way the four of us can keep up," I stated. Met by curious glances I continued, "the demand for great content is moving faster and faster well beyond our ability to keep up." I was having this conversation on gut instincts since it was well before I did research on Amazon's content dominance (almost a billion pages in Google). I didn't yet know how completely platforms beat web sites. I challenged my team to help get…

  • Internet Marketing Interns At Atlantic Business Technology in Raleigh

    Marty
    29 Nov 2011 | 10:40 pm
    How, we were wondering, could we give back? How can someone learn how to become an Internet Marketer? Internet Marketing moves so fast it can't be taught in a college classroom, dorm rooms maybe :). Atlantic Business Technologies in Raleigh located in the Atlantic BT Center, 4509 Creedmoor, wants to help students or people who want to transition into Internet Marketing learn by doing. 2 (unpaid) Internet Marketing Internships to be filled immediately: Social Media Marketing Intern The Atlantic BT Social Media Marketing Intern is about understanding the rapidly evolving world of social media…

  • Video Tsunami - Video Is Awesome

    Marty
    27 Nov 2011 | 4:31 pm
    Video Internet marketing tsunami is coming (may already be here): Thanks to my Scoop.it friend Shelly Kramer (@ShellyKramer) for sharing this awesome video about video marketing :). Be sure to check out Curation Revolution and Startup Heroes on Scoop.it. .

  • Video Infographic Example

    Marty
    25 Nov 2011 | 8:03 pm
    Infographics can't get hotter and rightfully so, they are cool and it is easier to understand massive amounts of data. Today I saw an example of a "video infographic" that took the idea to its next logical extension. I saw this example working on my Curation Revolution Scoop.it feed. Here it is the video infographic: Glencore from Patrick Clair on Vimeo.
 
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    CIK Marketing

  • Social Media is Heating Up the CKFD

    Chantielle
    27 Jan 2012 | 10:23 am
    The Chatham-Kent Fire Department is tapping into new communication tools thanks to a little help from CIK Marketing. Over the past two months, CKFD and CIK have been working together to create a social media management system that would help improve online communications. The Chatham-Kent Fire Department will be leveraging various social media accounts and their official website to release department information, share fire safety messaging and alert the media to information regarding fire scenes. The public can follow the Chatham-Kent Fire Department on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ckfiredept…

  • Today is Moving Day!

    Chantielle
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:16 am
    This is just a reminder that CIK Marketing will be moving today. Our new location will be at 67 King Street West – we’ll see you there on Monday! Many thanks to everyone who helped make our time at DeKoKo’s a great succes – onwards and upwards to new adventures!

  • The Day the Web Went Black

    Chantielle
    18 Jan 2012 | 7:40 am
    The web will look a little darker today as some of the world’s largest tech companies take a stand against SOPA. Last night at midnight, Wikipedia shut down its English-language sites in order to protest plans to police the internet and combat piracy in the U.S., and they aren’t the only ones. Google has joined the protest ‘blacking out’ its logo on its U.S. home page and providing a link to a landing page explaining the proposed law. BoingBoing, Reddit, WordPress and Firefox are also fully or partially blacking out there sites and service to show solidarity. The…

  • CIK Is Moving!

    Chantielle
    13 Jan 2012 | 1:20 pm
    Big things are happening at CIK Marketing this year… starting with a move! For the past 8 months, CIK Marketing has been operating out of DeKoKo’s Espresso & Espresso Cafe at 44 Fourth Street in Chatham. Since opening our office in the space our business has grown substantially (as have our caffeine addictions)! DeKoKo’s reputation has also grown considerably, attracting tons of customers. Turns out, we’re both getting too big to co-habitat in our cozy quarters. So, on January 30th, CIK Marketing will be moving our office to 67 King Street, where we will share…

  • Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

    Chantielle
    23 Dec 2011 | 7:17 am
    It sure has been a crazy year at CIK Marketing! From the launch of the Shop Local CK program to our experiment with The Perch Workspace, 2011 certainly was a year of discovery and growth within our company. And we can only expect more as we round the bend into 2012! From expanded office space to an overhauled business model, we’ve got lots lined up already. Which is why we’re taking a much needed vacation! The CIK Marketing offices will be closed from Friday December 23 until Tuesday December 27 for the Christmas holiday. The office will be available via phone and email on…
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    The Lord of the Leads

  • 5 reasons Good beats Perfect (almost) every time

    tomscearce
    14 Jan 2012 | 6:10 pm
    The perfect is the enemy of the good. This wonderfully compact nugget of wisdom – commonly attributed to Voltaire, the French Enlightenment figure – is a fixture in the vernacular of modern business. My undergraduate French degree doesn’t qualify me to challenge Voltaire’s intellect. But hey, Voltaire hasn’t done a lick of work in over [Read more...]

  • Soon taking wing…

    tomscearce
    5 Jan 2012 | 4:19 pm

  • Something I wrote over on Google+

    tomscearce
    18 Oct 2011 | 6:39 pm
    Like Robert Scoble — and several other people I follow – I feel the gravitational pull of G+ as a publishing and engagement platform. I spent some time today writing a commentary on a NY Times Deal Book story from yesterday on Groupon. What I wrote would be called a blog post, if I had published [Read more...]

  • Why Leads Matter – Part 2 of 3

    tomscearce
    17 Aug 2011 | 8:29 pm
    Part one of this series described the importance of minimizing friction and maximizing trust as you attract and manage leads. Part two describes how these low-friction, high-trust* leads help you feed your beast. * These adjectives are TLOTL equivalents of free-range, grass-fed, gluten-free, and no high fructose corn syrup. Why Leads Matter, Reason #2: Leads [Read more...]

  • Why Leads Matter – Part 1 of 3

    tomscearce
    10 Aug 2011 | 2:16 am
    I think leads are important. [I know. Shocking.] In fact I think the topic of leads is important enough to warrant at least 10-15 uninterrupted minutes of a CEO’s time each week. As the owner of two small businesses, I know that’s expensive time. Leads are worth it. In each of my next three posts, [Read more...]
 
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    SpeakProfit : Internet Marketing Tips and Strategies

  • Are These 8 Copy Mistakes Ruining Your Website?

    Donnie Bryant
    27 Jan 2012 | 1:20 pm
    1. Hype. I strongly advise online businesses to make the strongest claims about their products and services that they can honestly deliver. But remember, big claims demand big proof. The excessive use of exclamation points, generic adjectives (e.g. “awesome” or “epic”) and hard-to-believe promises (like anything in the “get rich quick” category) tend to scare [...]

  • The customer “snooze button”

    phillomboy
    19 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm
    I don’t know about you, but I most certainly am not a morning person. Even in my hardcore running days when I consistently woke up at 7am, so that I could enjoy the crisp morning air in my lungs, it was a struggle. And let me not forget my job in college as a fitness [...]

  • The Strongest Incentive

    Donnie Bryant
    12 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am
    Curiosity is one of the strongest of all human incentives. Once it’s been aroused, we can hardly sleep until we satisfy that curiosity. How can you add curiosity to your business, product, or service? To your marketing message? Have you ever heard of the Zeigarnik effect? It’s another psychological  phenomenon that can boost your persuasiveness. [...]

  • Is Social Media the Answer for Your Business?

    phillomboy
    5 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm
    If you’re like most people, you’ve put terms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in the “things for kids and passing time” category.  If so, you’re missing the boat – a very large boat – for your business.  Whether you’re a corner barbershop or international manufacturing company, in order to grow (let alone maintain) your business, [...]

  • Is Social Media the Answer for Your Business?

    phillomboy
    5 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm
    If you’re like most people, you’ve put terms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in the “things for kids and passing time” category.  If so, you’re missing the boat – a very large boat – for your business.  Whether you’re a corner barbershop or international manufacturing company, in order to grow (let alone maintain) your business, [...]
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    brandignity.com

  • 6 Ways to Build Your Google+ Page Engagement

    Brandignity
    27 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am
    Google+ is all the rage right now but will it last long term? That is a damn good question that nobody can really answer but from what we have seen up until this point is that I think Google finally figured it out. Google+ has been building in numbers in a very great way during a relatively short period of time and if there was ever another entity on this planet that “could” give Facebook a run for their money it was Google. Google+ is now another important area to have some sort of brand coverage almost on a daily basis. Will your page build as much steam as your Facebook page?

  • Too Many Ads on Your Website Page? Google Might Penalize You Now

    Brandignity
    26 Jan 2012 | 6:58 am
    Recently Google has released a very important new algorithm update that might or might not affect you in a negative fashion.  As we all know Google is all about user experience and being a relevant tool for the community.  Once that user experience starts to slip they could lose market share and that is something that Google will not allow.  Recently they have had complaints (they always have complaints) about search results displaying sites that are simply irrelevant and ad heavy. Directly from Google “In our ongoing effort to help you find more high-quality websites in search…

  • Mark Zuckerberg Throws Down Some Graffiti

    Brandignity
    25 Jan 2012 | 6:54 am
    Mark Zuckerberg throws down some graffiti lines with David Choe.  From time to time we like to write about fun useless information that won’t help your career in any way.  This is one of those pieces.  Well I can’t say that completely, this is a good example of viral marketing. For those of you who do not know who David Choe is, he is an artist, a damn good artist.  He and the Zuck recently got a chance to throw some graffiti up on a wall together (controlled environment not a subway car).

  • 1 Single Tweet Built A List by 1,000 in 48 Hours

    Brandignity
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:30 am
    Not that long ago we had a project that we were working on with a local clothing business we are part of named Boston Knucklehead Clothing.  The task at hand was all about building the email newsletter list up a bit.  The project was simple; we put out a free sticker pack and in return you were on the company’s list for all future communication efforts.  What happened next nobody could have predicted in their wildest marketing dreams.  It was like an email marketer’s dream come true. It started with Twitter Our first location to start the message occurred on Twitter.  This…

  • Google Real-Time Insight Finder Marketing Tool [video]

    Brandignity
    23 Jan 2012 | 9:23 am
    Google recently rolled out a new marketing tool designed to give businesses a bit more insight to what people are looking for.  The new Google Real-Time Insight Finder can help identify windows of opportunity for businesses looking to launch a new product or expand on an existing one.
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    Build That List

  • How to locate a Replica Designer Handbag on the cheap

    Robert
    28 Jan 2012 | 12:41 am
    Lv handbags are probably the international brands of designer handbags originally stated in France since 1854. Lv initiated a policy of manufacturing these designer handbags in other areas around the globe for example USA, Italy, Spain and Germany. Lv, usually the one of the very trusted brands by millions louis vuitton bags features a detailed specification [...]

  • Getting More Facebook Followers The Easy FunWay

    Robert
    27 Jan 2012 | 12:11 am
    Facebook has become the most wanted social network today, especially for marketers. The following three methods of attracting more fans to your fan page can help you cash in on the Facebook craze. The first thing you should do is to include your link to your fan page in your email signature. A good thing [...]

  • Gas Furnace Prices You may Anticipate

    Robert
    25 Jan 2012 | 11:56 pm
    Any home-owner serious about replacing an previous furnace, or purchasing a brand new one particular need to be well prepared to invest a very good amount of cash if he or she wishes to have an item reliable that will be expense and electrical power productive, and even supply the home with the form of [...]

  • Creating Accomplishment By Way Of Telemarketing Services

    Robert
    24 Jan 2012 | 11:28 pm
    Telemarketing services is usually a beneficial approach to reach the ideal target span of a business. Their agents are the ones in charge in the result of the conversation. They’re usually supplied the job to influence a client almost about item endorsements along with other comparable activities. They’re also offered the task to set up [...]

  • The Combination of Functionality and Success- 2200 Series by High Point Office Furniture

    Robert
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:47 pm
    Are you longing for furniture pieces that can make your office glow with elegance and style? A workplace that inspires you to work everyday because of its combined beauty and comfort in every furniture piece? May it be a home or business office setting, the 2200 Series by High Point Office Furniture offers an entire [...]
 
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    Your Logo Here

  • Football Promotional Items for Super Bowl 2012

    Lauren Kamath
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:02 pm
    Are you looking for a creative way to add some spark to your marketing or recruitment campaign? Super Bowl-themed promotional gifts are timely and bound to generate lively conversation among football fans. Our football promotional items are perfect if...(read more)

  • Show Your Clients Some Love With Wholesale Heart Shaped Products

    Lauren Kamath
    20 Jan 2012 | 2:12 pm
    With February around the corner, love is in the air. Next month brings two important opportunities for you to show customers how much you care: Valentine's Day and American Heart Month. Celebrated February 14, Valentine's Day was established by Pope Gelasius...(read more)

  • Make Customers Smile With Promotional Goofy Guy Gifts

    Lauren Kamath
    10 Jan 2012 | 3:05 pm
    What's the best way to make a lasting impression on your customers? Make them laugh, of course! Our Goofy Guy products are among our best sellers because they're a huge hit with end users. Check out our memorable promotional Goofy Guy gifts. Stress Reliever...(read more)

  • Fight Flu With Wholesale Hand Sanitizer Bottles

    Lauren Kamath
    6 Jan 2012 | 10:45 am
    Proper hand washing is the key to preventing a week of misery from suffering the flu or a cold. But when soap and water are not available for hand washing, alcohol-based hand sanitizers make a good substitute. Show your customers you care about their...(read more)

  • Promotional Products: What Customers Really Want

    Lauren Kamath
    30 Dec 2011 | 10:31 am
    Whether you're giving your best friend a birthday gift or passing out freebies at a trade show, gift givers almost always are left with a void: Does the recipient like the gift? Will it sit in the closet unused - or worse, will recipients simply throw...(read more)
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    jeffmills.com

  • Free Gift from Jeff Mills (Gotta be quick tho!)

    Jeff Mills
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:15 am
    I am back from my Vacation, but only home for 1 day, as tomorrow I am off to Germany to speak at the International Pet Expo (Yes... a Pet Expo... teaching internet marketing!) It's a great opportunity to keynote there infront of all the world's great pet food companies, manufacturers and retailers as they tend to keep marketing pretty traditional. It's time they learn how to REALLY blow it up with some ninja tactics! I'll be in Berlin Thurs-Sunday & if you are out that way, look me up! So, while I was on my family cruise/marketer's cruise trip, I connected with amazing people. Many of them…

  • Free Gift from Jeff Mills (Gotta be quick tho!)

    Jeff Mills
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:15 am
    I am back from my Vacation, but only home for 1 day, as tomorrow I am off to Germany to speak at the International Pet Expo (Yes... a Pet Expo... teaching internet marketing!) It's a great opportunity to keynote there infront of all the world's great pet food companies, manufacturers and retailers as they tend to keep marketing pretty traditional. It's time they learn how to REALLY blow it up with some ninja tactics! I'll be in Berlin Thurs-Sunday & if you are out that way, look me up! So, while I was on my family cruise/marketer's cruise trip, I connected with amazing people. Many of them…

  • Replay webinar with Alex… we got a clean recording to view now

    Jeff Mills
    14 Jan 2012 | 8:45 am
    I got pounded Thursday as there seemed to be a tech glitch in the webinar system and we got FLOODED with emails from folks who could not get access to the webinar with Alex and I. I am not sure what happened but I suspect it was some Tom Foolery from Gotowebinar not sending reminders for some reason. So I did not record the webinar, luckily someone else did and we got it up on a site where you can view this sucker. And view it you should... quickly... so many people were blown away calling me with questions. We really FAILED to disappoint! Yesterday's LIVE "one time" Webinar was absolutely…

  • hurry, webinar with Alex starts soon… sign on (2 pm EST)

    Jeff Mills
    12 Jan 2012 | 1:44 pm
    Hi everyone, this is really exciting. Today is the day of the special webinar with Alex in just a little while, but I have to tell you... I am getting pounded with emails... "Can you record it?" "Will it be recorded? "I cannot make it, please record it" Actually we got 57 emails like this (please dont send anymore) Alex requested I DO NOT record it, so I must honor that. This will be a strict special one time event Today,Thursday 12th Jan at 2pm EDT (check the clock) If you haven't signed up already, be quick: http://www.OneTimeOnlyEvent.com/jeff This content has NEVER been shared or taught…

  • Tomorrow – LIVE "one off" Webinar with Alex and I (video inside)

    Jeff Mills
    11 Jan 2012 | 5:02 pm
    I forget a couple things yesterday in my invitation about Alex's webinar... sorry about that! In my haste to pack for my 2 week vacation, I got sidetracked. Remember how I told you he found the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg? Well, he found TONS of Eggs too... Here's a CRAZY fact about his methods... He doesn't even pay for a domain name or hosting account and still manages to bank $40k in under 30 days.. EVERY MONTH, with PASSIVE CASH. Enough to make all those struggling wishing for this to raise their fists and scream! How come he has it so good? Now it's your chance to have it so good.
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    Only Dead Fish

  • Media = Maths + Magic

    neilperkin
    25 Jan 2012 | 12:56 pm
    Before Christmas, in an exceptionally insightful post on Ad Age, Adam Cahill suggested that it was time to change the orientation of media agencies and departments to be more reflective of what people do and toward what he called the math and the magic (hence the borrowed title to this post) of media. The maths bit of this referred to the kind of automated trading platforms and exchanges (like DSPs) that are becoming increasingly prevalent in traded digital media, and the magic referred to an approach driven by creativity that seeks to bring people in to fun/interesting/entertaining…

  • Reinventing Libraries

    neilperkin
    23 Jan 2012 | 2:59 pm
    According to the 2010/11 Taking Part survey published by the Dept of Culture, Media & Sport the proportion of adults in the UK who visited a public library in the past year fell from 48.2% in 2005/6 to just 39.4% in 2009/10. At that rate of decline in less than two decades nobody will be visiting libaries. This upsets me. I remember weekly childhood visits to my local library, gathering up another small pile of books to take home. Those visits were full of anticipation. I can remember the almost overwhelming sense of wonder when I first walked into the Library at the sheer number and…

  • Shut Down Or Restart?

    neilperkin
    22 Jan 2012 | 3:55 am
    Regular readers will know my views about the need to completely reinvent the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) curriculum in schools. Having written a few pieces on the subject I was invited along last week to an interesting meeting of representatives from industry and education (including Google, Microsoft, Rewired State, Nesta, BETT, the IPA and UKIE) who have come together to structure a response to the government-sponsored Next Gen report which called for a radical revamp of the tech curriculum. The good news is that there seems to be real consensus about the need for…

  • What Is Competitive Advantage?

    neilperkin
    19 Jan 2012 | 3:47 pm
    Terminology like competitive advantage, differentiation and value creation tend to get overused in businesses. This HBR piece on the work of Michael Porter from Joan Margretta who worked with him for almost 20 years succinctly captures how often such terms are misappropriated ("Competitive advantage, for example, is often used to mean 'anything we think we're good at'. Any plan or program is called a strategy. Managers confuse differentiation with being different…most companies think they have a strategy when they don't"). It pulls together a list of Porter insights that are so pithy I'm…

  • Stop SOPA And PIPA

    neilperkin
    18 Jan 2012 | 3:09 am
    It's a day of many voices of protest across the web (even on the Google homepage), but I didn't want to post about anything else today. I don't believe that censoring the web is the right thing to do and I don't believe SOPA and PIPA are the right way to end piracy. So for what it's worth I'm adding my voice to the many calls to vote no. If you are one of my US based readers, please consider signing the online petition.
 
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    Marketing That's Measurable Blog | Johnson Direct

  • Spit Out Old Tennis Balls

    Rob Trecek
    24 Jan 2012 | 1:24 pm
    During the holidays I actually had the time to read a fascinating book. It was a motivational way to start the New Year. Kody Bateman’s powerful book, Promptings: Your Inner Guide to Making a Difference, takes the reader on a heartfelt journey action-packed with stories that teach you important life lessons. Here is an example: Kody has a black lab named Gus. As with most labs, Gus likes to play fetch. Kody loves to walk in the back yard after work bouncing a tennis ball. As soon as Gus notices the ball he goes crazy. Gus looks at Kody with his happy eyes, furiously wags his tail and…

  • Controversial Childhood Obesity Campaign Spurs Heated Debate

    Katie Flehmer
    12 Jan 2012 | 10:05 am
    A recent segment on National Public Radio caught my attention, enough so that I went online to learn more about the issue. The topic was a current advertising campaign targeting childhood obesity in Georgia. Through billboards and television ads, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s “Strong4Life” campaign is intended to shock the general public into understanding the gravity of Atlanta’s childhood obesity problems. Linda Matzigkeit, vice president of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, says nearly one million children in Georgia are overweight or obese. She went on to say…

  • Grant Johnson’s 2012 Marketing Predictions

    JD Johnson
    3 Jan 2012 | 10:50 am
    Once again, Grant Johnson, founder and CEO of Johnson Direct, makes his forecasts for the trends and strategies that will play a larger role in marketing for the coming year. Read more… Curious about Grant’s predictions for years’ past? 2011: 7 Marketing Predictions for 2011 (Plus One for Good Measure) 2010: 10 Marketing Predictions for 2010 Happy New Year from your friends at Johnson Direct!

  • JOHNSON DIRECT EXPANDS INTERACTIVE TEAM

    JD Johnson
    28 Dec 2011 | 2:41 pm
    American designer Charles Eames said, “Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular goal.” We couldn’t agree more, and our newest addition, Michael Schwobe, has shown that through smart digital design, great and measureable results are realized. Johnson Direct is pleased to welcome Michael as its newest addition to our dynamic and growing interactive marketing communications team. As Senior Front End Developer and Interactive Designer, Mike is responsible for taking web and interactive concepts from static demonstrations to living code using…

  • Real Talk

    Mara.Frier
    2 Dec 2011 | 11:00 am
    Have you ever wondered whether your co-workers are from another planet? Or ask yourself how they were raised or brought up? Ever wonder why they don’t always seem to get it…meaning why they don’t see things the way you see them? What about those co-workers from Generation X? Ever wonder EXACTLY which planet they are from? Ever get to work and wonder why the aliens are so dang chipper in the morning? Or why they don’t have alien school for learning how to wash their own dishes? Ever find yourself listening to them talk and all you can hear is blah, blah, blah? Ever wonder how they…
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    Internet Marketing Articles

  • Google Launches Page Layout Algorithm Changes

    Jose
    20 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pm
    Today Google launched an “algorithm improvement” that looks at the layout as well as the amount of content “above the fold” of a page. For those unfamiliar with the term, “above the fold” refers to the content visible to the user from the moment they enter the page without having to scroll. This change aims to target and punish pages filled with ads and useless information upon first entrance and it will only affect 1% of search results. However, this is just a reiteration of what Matt Cutts posted on Google’s Webmasters blog.

  • How Can You Make Money with Drop Shipping in 2012?

    Duran
    19 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pm
    There's no question that everyone wants to make money online, but only a select few have the skills, ambition and the know-how to do it. Obviously, most people who want to achieve this goal want to go about it by not taking too much risk, including making big investments stocking products to support an ecommerce site. That's why "Drop Shipping" is a valuable option. However, please bear in mind that for every drop shipping ecommerce business out there that makes money, there are 9 that do not.

  • How Will SOPA Affect your Internet Marketing and SEO?

    Duran
    18 Jan 2012 | 1:56 pm
    Wikipedia, Google, Reddit and many other sites are on blackout today on a mission to protest the SOPA (Stop Online Privacy Act). While many business owners and technology analysts cannot forecast the exact repercussions of such a bill, there is great concern and consternation.

  • SEO Business Partnership Guide

    Ana Maria
    17 Jan 2012 | 11:11 am
    Many people might criticize the idea of an internet marketing company developing an outbound sales team. They might discredit the SEO Company’s capability to generate enough business for itself through its website; a capability innate to the services it offers. Some people might ask themselves, “How can I trust a company to increase sales through my website, when they can’t even do it for themselves?” Well, SEO and internet marketing companies are no different from any other business that applies various marketing strategies and employs various resources to grow its business. A savvy…

  • SEO for Small Businesses

    Arthur
    13 Jan 2012 | 3:49 pm
    Small businesses seeking to generate online business success face many significant issues that need to be thoroughly understood to achieve their goals. One thing for certain … you will need to have a well-designed, engaging website and that website needs to be found by those who are looking for you online through search engines, the social media, et al. Being found is no easy task as anyone who has tried it will tell you. It requires SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and mastering it to be successful.
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    SEO Blog - Quantum SEO Labs

  • Can You Make Money Selling PLR Products?

    EricHammer
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:06 pm
    Can You Make Money Selling PLR Products?Post from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services Can You Make Money Selling PLR Products?Post from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services You know the old saying where a good salesman can sell snow to an Eskimo? Well, even though PLR products are ubiquitous, it is indeed possible to make money selling them as well. Don’t believe me? Read on and find out [...]

  • Should You Rent/Sell Your E-mail List?

    EricHammer
    24 Jan 2012 | 5:05 pm
    Should You Rent/Sell Your E-mail List?Post from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services Should You Rent/Sell Your E-mail List?Post from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services If you’ve been following my advice on these pages, then you probably have been busy working to build yourself an e-mail list. If you haven’t done so, please do consider building one as soon as possible since this is likely to be [...]

  • Will Google Ever Be Able to Eliminate Spam?

    EricHammer
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:25 pm
    Will Google Ever Be Able to Eliminate Spam?Post from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services Will Google Ever Be Able to Eliminate Spam?Post from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services The short answer to the above question is no, Google will never be able to eliminate spam. Plain and simple. No matter how good Google’s algorithms become, without human intervention to check and approve every single web page they index [...]

  • Can You Really Outrank the Top 3 For The Term “Credit Cards”?

    EricHammer
    17 Jan 2012 | 7:52 pm
    Can You Really Outrank the Top 3 For The Term “Credit Cards”?Post from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services Can You Really Outrank the Top 3 For The Term “Credit Cards”?Post from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services I’m going to be a bit unfair in answering the question, can you outrank the top 3 for “credit cards” (or any other popular keyword for that matter). I’m going to be a bit unfair by [...]

  • 10 Reasons Why Lists Are So Popular for Blogs

    EricHammer
    16 Jan 2012 | 3:46 pm
    10 Reasons Why Lists Are So Popular for BlogsPost from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services 10 Reasons Why Lists Are So Popular for BlogsPost from: Quality SEO Services & Link Building Services One of the most popular kinds of posts for blog owners is to write lists of various things. Ever wonder why that is? The reason is really quite simple – people like lists and blog owners like making them. [...]
 
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    Mass Transmit » Blog

  • Mobile, Tablet or Desktop? Consider your audience device when creating content.

    Mark Lewis
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    Imagine eating a prime rib dinner while driving your car. Imagine eating just an apple while seated at Peter Luger Steak House. Imagine eating soup from a plate. In these scenarios, the fare is not appropriately served for the situation. Traditionally, when constructing an online presence, content is written and organized for a target audience. With the rise of mobile devices and tablets, the online presence must take into account how the content is being accessed by the end user. Would your content typically be browsed leisurely on the couch? Are you supplying information for people who…

  • 4 Ways To Plan For The Future Of Marketing Communications

    Adam Q. Holden-Bache
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    The way businesses communicate with their contacts is changing rapidly. Until recently, businesses have been able to create one message and distribute it to a large group of recipients. But that strategy seldom nets positive results any more, as recipients have become accustomed to a more personalized approach and expect marketing messages that meet their expectations. Businesses must deliver the right message at the right time in the right channel.   Highly individualized, two way conversations in multiple channels are becoming the norm. Businesses need to adapt to this approach and prepare…

  • 10 Advantages of an Email Preference Center

    Marla Chupack
    10 Jan 2012 | 9:13 am
    An Email Preference Center (EPC) is a personalized email management center for email subscribers. It gives your users the ability to opt-in, unsubscribe and modify preferences for the emails you send them. An EPC is especially useful for marketers that have several email lists. HP Email Preference Center Marketers like segmenting databases and hate losing subscribers, while customers like to have control of their inbox. So the email preference center is often a good idea for increasing customer satisfaction, improving CPM and maximizing engagement and ROI. Here are the benefits for marketers:…

  • The Social Brand, Circa 2012

    Anthony Schneider
    4 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    It’s 2012, and social media is old hat. Most adult Americans with Internet access use Facebook, and a whole lot of us use Twitter and other social media. According to a Mashable study, 58% of us have liked a brand on Facebook, while 39% of us have tweeted about a brand.  See the cool Mashable “Branding in the Social Media Age” infographic. We research online, gather and express opinions using social media, receive product information, coupons and special offers via emails, listen and speak across multiple channels, and make a great many purchases online. According to an IBM…

  • MetLife Holiday Email and Snowball Game

    Adam Q. Holden-Bache
    3 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    One of the ways MetLife celebrates the holidays is by entertaining their B2B contacts with a personal email and web-based holiday game. In 2009, Mass Transmit produced the MetLife Holiday Sled Racing Game, in 2010 we developed the MetLife Holiday Matching Game and this year we created a MetLife Snowball Game. The game was introduced to MetLife brokers via a personalized email. Brokers linked from the email, played the game and at the end, sent an email to their rep letting them know they played. That email from the broker to the rep included a personal comment and a holiday greeting. The goal…
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    Mass Transmit » Broadcast Blog

  • Mobile, Tablet or Desktop? Consider your audience device when creating content.

    Mark Lewis
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    Imagine eating a prime rib dinner while driving your car. Imagine eating just an apple while seated at Peter Luger Steak House. Imagine eating soup from a plate. In these scenarios, the fare is not appropriately served for the situation. Traditionally, when constructing an online presence, content is written and organized for a target audience. With the rise of mobile devices and tablets, the online presence must take into account how the content is being accessed by the end user. Would your content typically be browsed leisurely on the couch? Are you supplying information for people who…

  • 4 Ways To Plan For The Future Of Marketing Communications

    Adam Q. Holden-Bache
    17 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    The way businesses communicate with their contacts is changing rapidly. Until recently, businesses have been able to create one message and distribute it to a large group of recipients. But that strategy seldom nets positive results any more, as recipients have become accustomed to a more personalized approach and expect marketing messages that meet their expectations. Businesses must deliver the right message at the right time in the right channel.   Highly individualized, two way conversations in multiple channels are becoming the norm. Businesses need to adapt to this approach and prepare…

  • 10 Advantages of an Email Preference Center

    Marla Chupack
    10 Jan 2012 | 9:13 am
    An Email Preference Center (EPC) is a personalized email management center for email subscribers. It gives your users the ability to opt-in, unsubscribe and modify preferences for the emails you send them. An EPC is especially useful for marketers that have several email lists. HP Email Preference Center Marketers like segmenting databases and hate losing subscribers, while customers like to have control of their inbox. So the email preference center is often a good idea for increasing customer satisfaction, improving CPM and maximizing engagement and ROI. Here are the benefits for marketers:…

  • The Social Brand, Circa 2012

    Anthony Schneider
    4 Jan 2012 | 9:00 am
    It’s 2012, and social media is old hat. Most adult Americans with Internet access use Facebook, and a whole lot of us use Twitter and other social media. According to a Mashable study, 58% of us have liked a brand on Facebook, while 39% of us have tweeted about a brand.  See the cool Mashable “Branding in the Social Media Age” infographic. We research online, gather and express opinions using social media, receive product information, coupons and special offers via emails, listen and speak across multiple channels, and make a great many purchases online. According to an IBM…

  • What is Responsive Web Design?

    Rich Barrett
    20 Dec 2011 | 8:00 am
    You might have heard the phrase “Responsive Web Design” thrown out in discussions about mobile-friendly websites recently. If you haven’t then you probably will in the coming year. The concept and the name itself has only been around for a short time dating back to this A List Apart article written by Ethan Marcotte and there’s a limited number of examples out there in the wild to study. But that’s changing rapidly. Previously, the trend for mobile web design was to create separate mobile-friendly versions of your website for each of the most popular screen…
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    The Email Marketing Chronicles

  • Email Welcome Messages – Findings, Samples, and Surprising Results

    Scott Hardigree | Indiemark
    24 Jan 2012 | 12:40 pm
    In this free whitepaper, the good folks at Inbox Group explain why welcome emails play a huge role in email marketing, offer tips on the content and timing and structure of welcome, and showcase winning welcome email messages to inspire your own. Why invest in welcome emails? They provide foundation of success email and marketing success Drive immediate response It works FAR BETTER than you might think How do welcome emails perform? Four times the open rate Five times the click rate Eight times the revenue What you’ll learn in this whitepaper: How to use welcome email to drive action…

  • 5 Huge Email Marketing Mistakes You Can Fix Now

    Scott Hardigree | Indiemark
    13 Dec 2011 | 8:51 pm
    #1) Making an Unprofitable First Impression First contact is typically the best opportunity to move the sale/relationship forward and a common email marketing mistake. Here’s the fix… Create a Welcome Email that Means Business – A well-crafted, automated ‘welcome email’ will set the proper pace and garner a very nice ROI if the marketer doesn’t beat around the bush or blow smoke. This is the time to drive action and set mutual expectations. Create an Onboarding Series that Tells the Tale – If the offer can support a series of emails, start now. Besides…

  • The Real Life Social Network

    Scott Hardigree | Indiemark
    1 Dec 2011 | 1:03 pm

  • A Look at Email Marketing’s Future, as seen by an Email Agency

    Scott Hardigree | Indiemark
    18 Nov 2011 | 3:00 am
    One of the perks of living and breathing a niche business, like an email agency, is that it affords one the opportunity to ponder what the future may hold. The following is a future-vision of what email marketing will look like in year 2017 for practitioners, marketers and consumers alike. The Name of the Game Has Changed Fast forward six years and the term “email marketing” has disappeared from our vernacular entirely. Although lower than 2011, email marketing still produces a considerable ROI; however it is but one digital marketing vehicle. In this future, the integration between…

  • Indiemark Joins Inbox Group

    Scott Hardigree | Indiemark
    31 Oct 2011 | 11:11 am
    Inbox Group, a Dallas-based email marketing services firm, today announced their acquisition of Indiemark, a creative email marketing agency. Founded by email marketing veteran Scott Hardigree, Indiemark has been providing stellar email strategy, creative, integration and deliverability services to small business and Fortune 500 companies alike. This acquisition reflects Inbox Group’s belief in the incredible growth opportunity in the full-service email marketing marketplace. With Indiemark in the fold, Inbox Group now has the staff, processes and infrastructure in place to accommodate the…
 
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    Email Critic | Rants and Raves of an Email Marketing Agency

  • How to run a successful email campaign when the end is near

    Scott Hardigree
    26 Jan 2012 | 3:20 pm
    Mark my words. We have crossed the threshold – there are just about 11 months left until it all goes up in smoke. The Mayan Calendar predicts the end of days arriving promptly in December 2012. This is quite a big deal to many people, for obvious reasons, and will affect your decisions on choices such as whether to pay off your debts, buy a sports car, quit your job to spend your final months on a beach, etc. So amid all the end cometh prophecies, thought I’d share some ideas on how to run a successful email campaign even if it all does go up in smithereens.  Here are 5 emailing tips…

  • Who Else Wants This Nifty Email Marketing Calendar?

    Scott Hardigree
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:28 pm
    For all those who have yet to plan their email marketing promotions, or those who are short a few ideas; here’s an inspirational email marketing calendar from our friends at GetResponse. (Click the inforgraphic to enlarge.)

  • How to Build an Email List: Ask an Email Marketing Superhero

    Scott Hardigree
    17 Jan 2012 | 3:05 pm
    Growing an email list can be a slow and painful process. So what tactics can marketers use to build an email list, without all the headaches? That’s the very question I put 17 email marketing superheros and fellow “influencers”. They kindly responded with high-level advice, real-world online and offline tactics, as well as a few thought-provoking strategies.   How to Build an Email List: Online   There are no shortcuts to building a large qualitative list of subscribers, so I would recommend these businesses to focus on converting as many web visitors to…

  • No holds barred Email Marketing Tips from 22 Email Experts

    Scott Hardigree
    6 Dec 2011 | 8:42 am
    Over the next several weeks, we’ll weigh in on some infrequently asked, but unfortunately overlooked, questions about email marketing. This week, 22 notable email experts and practitioners answer: “What is the one thing you wish someone had told you about email marketing that you had to learn the hard way?” I hope you agree that their candid email marketing tips are a breath of fresh air. Oh, be sure to comment and share your hindsight email marketing wisdom too.   That we’re not curing cancer or saving babies.  It may sound funny, but I think in the race that…

  • Cyber Monday: An Email Opportunity, Not an Invasion

    Scott Hardigree
    8 Nov 2011 | 12:16 pm
    When I first heard the term “Cyber Monday”, I thought perhaps the Cybermen from Doctor Who were attacking; alas, it has nothing to do with space-age, robotic tin dudes and everything to do with holiday email marketing. You don’t have to be a retailer to get excited over Cyber Monday. In fact, you may get even more excited if you’re not in retail. Why, you ask? Because you might stand out from the herd of colorful, Santa-filled, reindeer-clad emails fighting for top slot in the inbox. How big is Cyber Monday, you wonder? Well, Google it and see…over 30,900 results! And…
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    Fred Moore or Less

  • How the Little Vineyard Vines’ Brand Took Down Mighty Brooks Brothers

    Fred Moore
    24 Jan 2012 | 6:04 am
    Want to see the power of smart, strategic branding?  Just take a good look at a little company started by two brothers in Connecticut. Vineyard Vines. In my opinion, anyone who aspires to build a strong, authentic brand that’s relevant in today’s challenging business environment should certainly take the time to study the Vineyard Vines brand. I have been fascinated by this company that makes upscale clothing from their very beginning.  As I analyzed Vineyard Vines, I have developed this strange personal connection to their brand.   I watched in their infancy as they, in my…

  • I’m a Believer

    Fred Moore
    17 Jan 2012 | 11:14 am
    Fred at his computer using boxes as he awaits delivery of his desk in the early days. Well, it’s been one year. A full 365 days since I wrote my first “Fred Moore or Less” blog. And, based on the happenings of these last twelve months, I am here to report that there is definitely some real power to this social media thing. Now blogging did not come easy for me.  Actually, I was shoved off into this blog-writing canyon by the determined urgings (maybe demands?) of Big Riverers Jan Crable and Jeff Johnson, along with our terrific business partner, Lonny Strum. Get the…

  • A Toast to 2011

    Fred Moore
    9 Jan 2012 | 11:28 am
    OK.  I’ve finally shaken off the cobwebs from the end-of-year holiday season.  It always takes me a while. Before we kick off Fred Moore or Less in 2012, I thought we’d take a quick look back at some of the most popular FMOL blog post as decided by you, my readers. Based on readership, there was a clear champion in 2011. “A Major Teaching Moment for Any Organization: the U.Va. Lacrosse Team” — More than 10,000 people viewed this post.  It was picked up in the New York Times on-line edition as well as several leadership publications. Most impressively, it made…

  • The Right Way to Do Cause Marketing

    Fred Moore
    13 Dec 2011 | 11:07 am
    Hats off to Dick’s Sporting Goods. Last Saturday, I (and many others) participated in a terrific charitable event at the Richmond Dick’s Sporting Goods store. Lots of talk these days about devising programs that result in “win-win” situations.  Well, this was a successful “win-win-win-win-win-win” event. The 40 or so high school students who put this event on and went out and impressively raised a bunch of  corporate money to make this event happen were big winners. The worthy and disadvantaged kids who each got a $100 shopping spree at Dick’s were…

  • Listening to Business Dreams of 90% Authenticity

    Fred Moore
    6 Dec 2011 | 8:34 am
      I sometimes find myself in the strange role of being a “business therapist”. Every week, I am listening to really smart business leaders who feel that their organization or product could be something truly fantastic if only people understood more clearly what they are all about.  They are looking to us at Big River to provide that ‘magic bullet’ to help people see who they really are. Over the last several weeks, I have gotten jazzed up listening to business leaders describe their passion and dreams for their businesses. Real organizations solving real customer…
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    B2B Ideas@Work Blog | MLT Creative | B2B Idea Launch Pad

  • Foot in The Door: Getting B2B Prospects to Make a Big Leap By Starting Small

    Vann Morris
    25 Jan 2012 | 2:27 pm
    Behavioral research has found that “foot-in-the-door” techniques can prove effective when attempting to motivate your target audience to make a large behavioral change. For example, if... MLT Creative B2B Ideas @ Work Blog. Our ideas, musings, thoughts, reviews on b2b marketing topics.

  • Do QR codes have a role in B2B marketing?

    Glenn Taylor
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:43 am
    I keep seeing QR codes popping up all over in the B2C community – on transit station posters, fast food tray liners, contests and billboards. They seem to be the latest thing in print media and... MLT Creative B2B Ideas @ Work Blog. Our ideas, musings, thoughts, reviews on b2b marketing topics.

  • B2B Aware: This Week in B2B Marketing-Leadership, Mastership & Relationships

    martine hunter
    20 Jan 2012 | 11:46 am
    WEEK OF JANUARY 16-20, 2011 This week in B2B marketing the B2B blogosphere is buzzing about mirroring leadership, mastering new innovation, and building relationships via new means. Stay aware. We... MLT Creative B2B Ideas @ Work Blog. Our ideas, musings, thoughts, reviews on b2b marketing topics.

  • Scientific Research & B2B: Include Details In Your Messaging

    Vann Morris
    19 Jan 2012 | 11:12 am
    Behavioral research has found that persuading someone to act may be more effective when using detailed recommendations versus general recommendations. Though this may seem obvious, I often encounter... MLT Creative B2B Ideas @ Work Blog. Our ideas, musings, thoughts, reviews on b2b marketing topics.

  • Before Deep Diving Into B2B Social Media Marketing...

    Billy Mitchell
    18 Jan 2012 | 10:31 am
    As a B2B marketing agency, we encourage our clients to work on their website content before diving in too aggressively in social media. In most cases it makes sense for our clients to be blogging,... MLT Creative B2B Ideas @ Work Blog. Our ideas, musings, thoughts, reviews on b2b marketing topics.
 
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    SMS Marketing Blog

  • Clingo Text-to-Win Contest Winners Announced

    Derek Johnson
    27 Jan 2012 | 6:32 pm
    Last week we held a text-to-win contest to win one of ten Clingo Universal Car Phone Mounts. To enter, all you had to do was text TATANGO to 68398 on your mobile phone. Congratulations to the people below that won. Matt Drengler Darryl Lee Ashley Smith Brett Weiss Melanie Balducci Adam Feber Daryn Picklesimer Barb Haley Peter Nathan Cesar Villa Want to create your own text-to-win campaign? Try Tatango free for 7-days.

  • 5 Must Haves for Advertising Your SMS Campaign

    Derek Johnson
    27 Jan 2012 | 7:46 am
    When advertising an SMS campaign, there are a few specifics that must be included within the advertisement. Both the mobile phone carriers and the Mobile Marketing Association’s U.S. Consumer Best Practices mandate these requirements. a) Description of the program. It’s required that you state specifically what the subscriber is subscribing to. (i.e. To receive weekly discounts and special) b) “Msg&Data rates may apply”. This exact phrase is required below the call to action within the advertisement. c) Provide a resource for help. A resource such as a website or phone number…

  • Tatango First to Offer Unlimited SMS Keywords

    Derek Johnson
    25 Jan 2012 | 9:10 pm
    For years now, SMS marketing providers have charged fees for additional keywords. Don’t know what an SMS marketing keywords is, watch this video. Yesterday I had a customer call and me ask why we charged these additional fees. To be completely honest, I didn’t have a good answer… everyone else is doing it? That answer didn’t sit very well with me, so from now on, Tatango is giving our customers unlimited SMS keywords at no additional cost. If you’re an existing Tatango customer that has additional keywords, no need to do anything, we will remove the additional…

  • Mobile Coupon Usage Continues to Grow

    Derek Johnson
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:45 am
    Recently our good friends at Microsoft Tag released an infographic highlighting the continued growth in mobile coupon usage. I’ve embedded the infographic below, but one of the statistics that caught my eye as it pertains to SMS coupons, I wanted to point out. When it comes to preferred methods of receiving mobile coupons according to U.S. mobile phone owners, text messaging captures over 50% of the market share. This outweighs email, apps, qr codes and even location based check-ins. This is definitely great news for SMS coupons and even better news for businesses that are currently…

  • Jamie’s National Cell Phone Database

    Derek Johnson
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am
    Last month we exposed a man trying to sell 80+ million mobile phone numbers for $10K. Since then, we’ve been getting emails left and right about others doing the same thing. Out of all the emails we’ve received, Jamie’s National Cell Phone Database Website takes the cake for the most ridiculous. You can watch the videos below to see why… While these types of shady characters would be nearly impossible to catch or prosecute, there is a simple answer to stopping this madness. Instead of trying to cut off the source of the mobile phone numbers, we as an industry can stop…
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    Big Brand System

  • Stop Begging and Start Giving: Why Perks Work to Build Your Email List

    Pamela Wilson
    25 Jan 2012 | 7:35 am
    Years ago, sitting on the cashier’s counter of any local business, you’d find a clipboard with “Join Our Mailing List” scrawled across the top.You filled in your name, mailing address and phone number in exchange for finding out about their special customer-only sales, or priority notification when high-demand merchandise arrived.Those days are gone. Now, everyone wants to build an email list, not a snail mail one.It makes sense: email is more cost effective, faster and easier to create than printed postcard or letters. But what kind of business should have an email list?Why Collect…

  • 18 Warning Signs You’ve Ignored Your Brand Long Enough

    Pamela Wilson
    19 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    Do you have that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach?That suspicion that your brand isn’t measuring up, but you’re not sure why, or what to do about it?The first step to all significant change is identifying the problem. Use the list below as a guide, and have hope: there’s help here at the Big Brand System, and more help coming in the near future.Read through this list. When you get that sinking feeling, make a note.Don’t ignore the message! It’s an area that needs attention, and if you make it a priority this year, you’ll see results — and get rid of that…

  • The Marketing Starting Block: How to Step Off Right and Win the Race

    Pamela Wilson
    11 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    “There’s so much to do. Where do I start?”Whether you’re running a race, or marketing your business, the first step is always daunting. You look ahead and see nothing but the work that needs to be done, and the progress you’ll have to make. You can’t see the finish line at all. You might not even see the starting block.This post is about the starting block exclusively. Because if you get your marketing off to the right start, the whole race will be easier, and you’ll increase your chances of winning it.Adjust Your AimThe marketing starting block is all about pushing off into…

  • The Valuable Brand Asset You Can Develop This Year

    Pamela Wilson
    4 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am
    A big part of what I share here at the Big Brand System is to help people to learn to see things they’re not accustomed to noticing.Unless you were born with vision problems, you don’t need to learn to register images. You opened your eyes a few moments after you were born and started taking in the world around you.But designers — and people who want to learn to apply design principles to their marketing materials — need to go beyond just registering images. We need to interpret them.It takes practice, but if you know what you’re looking for, you’ll start seeing the concepts…

  • Self Reliance and the Art of Marketing Independence

    Pamela Wilson
    28 Dec 2011 | 5:10 am
    I’m breaking all the rules here, but I feel like I owe it to you.You see, all the marketing rules say I should cultivate an air of mystery about my upcoming projects, and drum up excitement to a fever pitch just before I release something.And I’ll do those things, I promise. But in the meantime, I want to let you know what’s coming in 2012 from the Big Brand System.Because I know you’re in “planning mode” this week. This break between one year and the next is a natural time to think about how you’re going to manage the tasks ahead of you.Chances are, you’re flying solo,…
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    Small Business & Video Marketing

  • “Traveling a Rocky Road with Love, Faith and Guts” by Sylvia Ramsey

    Julie Weishaar
    26 Jan 2012 | 9:35 pm
    The “Job” of  a Lifetime! It isn’t often in life that we are presented with an opportunity to do something and not only get paid for it, but also be able to get incredible satisfaction and more fulfillment than we ever thought possible. I was fortunate enough to have been given this opportunity just recently. A few days ago I received an invitation to connect with a woman named Sylvia Ramsey on Linkedin who indicated that we worked together at The American Bladder Cancer Society. Now, I know that my memory is not as good as it used to be but I knew I would remember if I had…

  • Video SEO: Who’s Watching Your Video?

    Julie Weishaar
    19 Jan 2012 | 10:45 am
    Do You Have a Video Marketing Strategy Without the proper planning, You might just find yourself fighting an uphill battle! So here are some tips for you. Start with defining your goal What do you want to accomplish? What are your goals for your video? To entertain? To demonstrate something? To inform? To motivate & inspire? To persuade? To increase conversions? Do you know who your audience is? What kind of video will you use? Talking head? Interview? Discussion? What is your call to action? Get more visitors to your website? Have them make a purchase? Do you have a Youtube Channel? If…

  • Calling All Bloggers! Mavis Nong is Having a Contest

    Julie Weishaar
    16 Jan 2012 | 12:42 pm
    Mavis Nong is Having a Blog Engage Membership Contest Are you a blogger? Have you heard of Mavis Nong? I am sure you have unless you are living in a cave Well folks, Mavis is running a contest on her blog! You can find all the details you need on her blog, AND, guess where else? In the video below. Enjoy!

  • Check Out Facebook Check-In

    Julie Weishaar
    11 Jan 2012 | 11:30 am
    Linking the Online World with the Offline World Just think about it. You are in an industry comprised of many different professionals. Take the Real Estate Industry as an example. Home Improvement Contractors, Property Managers, Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Lenders, Appraisers, Painters, Electricians, 203K Consultants, Plumbers, and even more are all in the same industry. Now think about this. A Real Estate Agent shares the location of an open house… The Social Networking Domino Effect of Facebook Check-in There is another side to all this transparency on the social web and that is one…

  • Starting Out The New Year With More Fun Freebies

    Julie Weishaar
    5 Jan 2012 | 11:43 am
    Happy New Year! I searched through Youtube to find just the “right” video to share with my family, friends, and followers but couldn’t find something that hit the “spot”. Then I came up with the brilliant LOL idea of creating my own. DUH – I do love to “say it with video” Happy New Year 2012 As you know, I love that four letter word “F-R-E-E” and like to share the wealth. So without further ado, here are some of the valuable FREE tools I have recently found. Text And Image HTML Link Generator This is probably very elementary for…
 
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    Better at Marketing

  • Learning To Tell Your Story With Justin Lukasavige

    Garrett Moon
    25 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Justing Lukasavige is a storywriter. He helps individuals and businesses tell better stories that attract customers and change the world. We like that about him, and asked him to share with us how he does it – and why it matters. How does a business tell a story? Why does a business need story? In the show, Justin shares his secrets for success. Justin is no stranger to stories. He graduated from college with a degree in aviation and immediately became a commercial pilot. Knowing it wasn’t the story he wanted to live, he began coaching people to get out of debt. He grew his business so…

  • Managing Your Workflow Without Getting Overwhelmed

    Julie
    23 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Workflow and time management are either mastered, or they master us. Most of us have experienced the explosive collection of projects and things that seem to appear overnight, at times finding ourselves overwhelmed at the backlog and not even sure where to begin or how to keep it from happening in the first place. Four simple concepts can help you on the front lines as projects roll in, giving you the tools you need to handle your workflow in the middle of the battle.   Tame those to-do lists. What’s Your Time Footprint? We each know our work habits, and how long it takes us to get…

  • Put SEO To Bed – Social Media Is The New Standard For Search

    Garrett Moon
    20 Jan 2012 | 11:12 am
    Just 10 days ago, Google announced a major new initiative to incorporate social media into our search results. The combination of social media and search has a sticky past – and from the looks of it, it’s only getting more gooey. In a search for Todaymade, 4 out of the top 5 results are now socially driven! From Google: “Search is still limited to a universe of webpages created publicly, mostly by people you’ve never met. Today, we’re changing that by bringing your world, rich with people and information, into search. We’re transforming Google into a search engine that…

  • 4 Steps To Getting Yourself Organized In The New Year

    Julie
    18 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am
    Getting organized is a goal we periodically revisit in life. It seems that achieving organization is something that slips from our grasp if we don’t stay on top of things. Professional organizers and magazines dedicated to personal organization seem to be all the rage now. Organization products — shelving units, containers, planners, filing systems — fill the shelves of stores. All of the push to organize sometimes leaves us feeling overwhelmed, and asking the key question: where do I even start? Before leaping into a system of organization and investing time and money, we…

  • Working At Todaymade

    Garrett Moon
    13 Jan 2012 | 12:43 pm
    Employment Opportunities At Todaymade Todaymade is always looking for talented folks in the areas of Social Media, Copywriting, Marketing, Web Design, Web Development (PHP,MySQL), and Mobile Development for full-time, part-time, or even freelance roles. If you’re in Bismarck, that’s cool – but not required. We work hard, fast, and with a level of excellence that our competitors only dream of. If your the type that loves to do what you do so much that you would do it for free, then you would probably fit in well around here. And, don’t worry, we will pay you. Imagine…
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    Straight North Internet Marketing Blog

  • How Often Should You Review Your Internet Marketing Strategy

    Brad Shorr
    24 Jan 2012 | 7:43 am
    Internet Marketing Strategy Requires Ongoing Attention A Strategic Look at Marketing in 2012 Back in December I wrote a post suggesting that companies change gears too often on their marketing. The flip side of this problem, of course, is not changing gears often enough. How do you know when it’s time, as an old manager of mine used to say, to stop beating a dead horse? SEO and Social Media Certain aspects of Internet marketing need to be reviewed on a monthly basis, regardless of your results. In particular, I’m thinking about social media and SEO. Changes in these areas are…

  • Font Selection for Web Designers

    Shanna Mallon
    17 Jan 2012 | 6:17 am
    Let's Take The Confusion Out Of Font Selection If 95% of web design is written language, then, as a web designer, it only makes sense to do all you can to make that written language effective. It’s no secret that quality design is about much more than looking pretty–it’s about giving users a sense of your brand; communicating information quickly and clearly; and providing a place to offer a clear call to some desired action, be it subscribing, becoming a member or making a purchase–and written language is key to achieving those goals. That’s why font is such a key part…

  • Is LinkedIn Still a Valuable Marketing Tool?

    Shanna Mallon
    10 Jan 2012 | 7:02 am
    What's Your Take on LinkedIn? With profiles for over 135 million users and seven million companies, LinkedIn is a rapidly growing social network—adding as many as one new member every second, according to reports from Mashable, and considered the most important network by 60 percent of those tested in a recent social media study. Yet despite this continued growth, to a lot of businesses, the true value of LinkedIn as a corporate-focused social network seems unclear. Amongst popular networking tools like Facebook and Twitter, how does LinkedIn compare? Is it still worthwhile to invest…

  • How to Maintain a Community of Relevant Twitter Follows

    Brad Shorr
    4 Jan 2012 | 6:51 am
    If you look at my Twitter profile, you’ll see that I’m following about a quarter of the number of people who are following me: When you see this, you might think, gee, what a snob — but that’s really not the case at all, at least I hope not. What happened is, a while back I made up my mind to get rid of the spammers and other non-relevant follows, so I could actually start paying attention to people who have mutual interests. Here’s how I nurture a relevant group of follows. 1. Clean Out Spammers with TwitCleaner TwitCleaner is a phenomenal Twitter utility that…

  • The Boring Website Checklist

    Brad Shorr
    20 Dec 2011 | 6:45 am
    Does your business website produce sales or snores? Review the factors that determine whether your site gets A’s or Zzzzzz’s. Content Boring: Lots of industry jargon only you can understand. Rip-roaring: Plain English. Boring: Corporate speak; words or phrases like “synergy” and “deep dive”. Rip-roaring: Plain English. Boring: Long sentences that vaguely convey several inconsequential ideas. Rip-roaring: Short sentences that sharply convey one important idea. Boring: Product- and company-focused content. Rip-roaring: Customer-focused content. Boring:…
 
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    The Direct Marketing Voice

  • Technology Stimulating the Evolution of Small Businesses

    Cynthia Fedor
    26 Jan 2012 | 2:07 pm
    Today I came across an informative yet short and sweet article titled, “How Running a Small Business Has Changed,” on AMEX’s Open Forum site. It featured an interview with Jay Goltz, a 33-year veteran small-business owner and New York Times columnist. When asked, “Why is small business different now than ever before?” he answered, referencing today’s challenging economic climate: “The interesting part about this one is you’ve got a recession and at the very same time you’ve got technological advancements that have changed the business environment. It used to be if the…

  • 3 Ways to Use Direct Mail Postcards for Building Leads

    Cynthia Fedor
    10 Jan 2012 | 2:32 pm
    Direct mail isn’t what it used to be—boring and impersonal. Thanks to digital printing capabilities, new marketing technologies like QR codes, and an integrated multi-channel approach, direct mail today can be interactive and meaningful. As a result, marketers are recognizing this medium as a critical part of lead-generation campaigns. Here are three ways savvy marketers are using direct mail to build, qualify and nurture leads while saving time and money. Spreading the Word Offline to Get People Online Businesses are quickly starting to realize that social media marketing is not a…

  • Dissection of an Email Done Wrong

    Michele Shubert
    15 Dec 2011 | 10:40 am
    The world of email marketing is one of constant change. As spammers find ways to circumvent spam filters, the filters become smarter and more sophisticated. And email marketers who want their messages to make it to recipients’ inboxes have to stay up-to-date and make constant adjustments to their email marketing program. There’s an email in my inbox from a company name I recognize. It’s from a large company, a national brand, one I have not given permission to email me. Studying marketing messages we receive from other companies and analyzing our personal reactions to them can…

  • Best Practices for Effective Email Design

    Cynthia Fedor
    9 Dec 2011 | 10:31 am
    Any communication from a business, including emails, is an extension of brand. The tone set by email design represents part of the brand’s story. It conveys a great deal about an email’s sender and the email’s purpose before any content is read by the recipient. Additionally, design affects how email platforms filter, categorize and display messages. Therefore, understanding design in these terms will help marketers improve deliverability and ROI. Here are some best practices to follow for effective email design. Understanding the objective of an email Understanding the main purpose and…

  • How to Stay Productive and in Front of Your Local Market During the Holidays

    Cynthia Fedor
    9 Dec 2011 | 10:00 am
    During the holiday season, as many turn their focus toward spending time with family and friends, a lot of professionals tend to check out and let their marketing efforts wane. Sure, everybody deserves a much needed break from all the hard work they’ve been doing throughout the year; but successful marketers know that this is the perfect opportunity to get a jump start on business for 2012. They take advantage of the fact that many choose to hibernate rather than stay visible and available in the month of December. Here are some ideas that can help you maintain productivity and stay visible…
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    Lucid Confusions

  • I’m lovin the new rule: No more than 200 SMS

    ashish
    15 Jan 2012 | 11:43 am
    One of the things I am glad I am not carrying in from 2011, this year, are the barrage of text messages on my cellphone. Back in 2009, I wrote about mobile SMS spam. Back then, I used to accumulate 51 short messages in 3 days. Early in 2011, I was accumulating 51 messages in [...]

  • How Ford India spoilt my day and made it at the same time

    ashish
    14 Sep 2011 | 12:17 pm
    I got a car. My first car. And it was quite an experience getting it. As the days went by, the experience turned sour around every turn. I was tempted to blog about it but I had vowed to myself that I would not write anything in public till I get the car. Like any [...]

  • Management lesson at the barber’s

    ashish
    21 Aug 2011 | 12:31 pm
    I am not a big fan of visiting the barber. So the fact that there is a barber shop right next to my house helps. Anyways, it was not my regular barber at the shop this time. It was a young boy – maybe 16, 17 years old. There were no other customers when I [...]

  • You suck at PowerPoint

    ashish
    3 Aug 2011 | 2:01 pm
    Presentations have been a very dear subject to me. More than the actual deck, the whole art of capturing your audience’s attention is what makes the presentation come alive. Unfortunately, I have found no easy way/cheat/hack to get that technique. Some people seem to be naturally good at it while others struggle to make connection [...]

  • Tradeshows 101: Starting out on the tradeshow circuit

    ashish
    23 Jul 2011 | 1:50 pm
    I did a simple Google search on managing tradeshows and I noticed a lot of stuff on tradeshow management was written by booth suppliers or vendors and there were none really written by company personnel (like me) sharing their experiences on and off the show floor. So here’s my series on tradeshows/event management. I will [...]
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    WELD

  • 2011 In Moving Pictures: A Look Back At Adventure And Wild Places

    Reid Williams
    23 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am
    The WELD video department recently completed a new reel based on our 2011 video productions. Take a look. Props to WELDer Logan Bockrath, who put this edit together, not to mention the rest of the photographers who took part in several dozen productions in 2011. Shoots this past year took WELD crews to the Oregon coast, the Grand Canyon, the summit of Grand Teton in Wyoming, and more, in addition to our back yard in the New River Gorge of West Virginia. Where did you get outside to in 2011? Who’d you take with you? Got video or pictures to get more people inspired by it? Let us know in…

  • Changes In Facebook Insights: Just 3 Metrics You Need To Watch

    Reid Williams
    17 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am
    Facebook has recently done a major overhaul of the “Insights” they provide for pages — the analytics that tell you what all your fans are doing, where they’re coming from, and how well you’re using social media to propel brand growth. Very soon, the “old” Insights will no longer be available. (You have exported all your data for historic comparisons and analysis, right?) Just as the changes they make to the front end of Facebook send users into a frenzy of figuring out where all their favorite features went, these back-end changes might have you…

  • WELD Sighting: Park City TV Studio Photos

    Claire Wiley
    9 Jan 2012 | 9:54 am
    Park City Television’s Mountain Morning Show welcomed our very own fearless leaders, Brandon Holmes and George Rogers, into its studios Friday. Fueled by a hearty carafe of coffee, and feeling refreshed from yesterday’s turns at Snowbird, our boys gave a great interview, we are proud to say. They spoke intently about social media, video production, content creation and their favorite water creatures. (Yep, that’s right.) In case you missed the show — it airs live 7-9 a.m. Monday through Friday, with rebroadcasts later in the day — we’ll be posting the interview here on the…

  • New Work: How Grand Canyon Memories Transform

    Reid Williams
    28 Dec 2011 | 1:34 pm
    Part of our approach to content marketing — this WELDology thing we keep talking about — hinges on the belief that it’s no longer enough to push the product. Today’s consumer is, as the kids say, over it. You won’t get very far talking about your brand or your product. You’ve got about 10 seconds to make a connection with someone in today’s attention-deficit communications economy. You better strike a personal chord in that audience, and fast. Hat’s off to WELDers George Rogers, Michael Crenshaw and Logan Bockrath, who produced this piece for OARS. I…

  • WELDlife: Walking The Talk On Two Wheels To Work

    Ari Wile
    19 Dec 2011 | 2:35 pm
    (Editor’s Note: After the women of the WELDeast office logged over 300 miles bike commuting this year — in not-so-bike-friendly southern West Virginia — we had to get Ari to share a little of her WELDlife inspiration. Here’s what she penned.) WELDer Ari Wile picked up a bike habit in the Bay Area, and now spreads the good word via example in WV. When I moved to San Francisco — the sixth most bike-friendly city in the U.S. — the quickest, most efficient way for me to get from my Alamo Square apartment to my Financial District office was via bicycle. After four months of…
 
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    The Blog of Matthew Loop | Chiropractic Internet Marketing

  • Chiropractic Marketing System: 6 Month DOUBLE Your Money Back Guarantee

    Matthew Loop
    26 Jan 2012 | 5:54 pm
    To help make 2012 the best year of your practice life, we here at DCincome have decided to offer a new 6 month DOUBLE your money-back guarantee on our famous Social Media Elite practice growth system! Scroll to the bottom of this page at the link below to see the details: http://dcincome.com/go/ After working with thousands of doctors and professionals, seeing success story after success story with this social media blueprint, it was time to up the ante. The knowledge I possess and pass along in Social Media Elite has been proven to transform chiropractic practices and change lives……

  • An iPhone App for Your Practice or the Masses? Which is Better?

    Matthew Loop
    23 Jan 2012 | 11:09 am
    One of the most common questions I’m asked by fellow chiropractors and business owners is “Should I build an iPhone app for my practice or should I just build one that can be marketed globally?” This is a good question I wanted to address on this blog. The answer is both. It’s best to have one for your local business and then to have one that can reach infinitely more smart-phone users. In terms of which type of mobile app is better, that depends on your goals and what you’re looking to accomplish. Benefits of Local Practice iPhone Apps Shows your local community…

  • List Building for Chiropractors

    Matthew Loop
    21 Jan 2012 | 3:51 pm
    This is the MOST underutilized marketing strategy by chiropractors, yet it’s been proven to be the most powerful time after time. I’m referring to having an effective lead-capture system on your chiropractic website and building an email list of prospective new patients. What most doctors do not understand is that when a potential patient hits their site, 97% of the time they’re not motivated enough to make an appointment. So, inevitably the visitor bounces off NEVER to return again. I don’t care if you think you have the coolest site on the planet, the hard statistics…

  • 8 Foolish Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

    Matthew Loop
    19 Jan 2012 | 8:08 am
    Here are eight common social media and internet marketing mistakes you need to avoid if you ever want to DRAMATICALLY increase your new patients / clients each month from the web. 1. Thinking the amount of Facebook page “fans” you have is proportional to the amount of new clients you’ll get from social media. The truth is, it’s not. Stop falling for this “guru” marketing trick. 2. Looking for that cure-all “quick fix” strategy that will get you all the patients / customers you need. There are dozens of strategies to combine when using web…

  • Google’s MOST Radical Transformation Ever!

    Matthew Loop
    10 Jan 2012 | 10:36 pm
    If you’re a consistent reader of this blog and have followed me for awhile, you know I’ve been emphasizing the importance of social media optimization (SMO), especially this last 12 months. It was obvious before (and today officially declared) that social sharing impacts search results. The truth is, the web has changed radically in recent times. The internet IS social media and social media IS the internet. When someone says “social media doesn’t work,” they’re basically saying the internet doesn’t work. Social media is now a term that describes the…
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    Carls Tips and Tutorials

  • Quickest Way to Get Indexed In Google

    Carl
    14 Jan 2012 | 9:48 pm
    One of my favorite things to do is create blogs and websites. I like to see how quickly I can make them a success. Of course when doing that I leave sites like this one idle for a long period of time. A New Site – Every Page indexed in Google within a few hours  [...]

  • My Favorite Motivational Books – Add Yours in The Comments

    Carl
    11 May 2011 | 7:50 pm
    I have been reading and listening to motivational books, tapes and CD’s for over 20 years now. —-If you are going to be successful, you should read a business/motivational book for at least an hour a day. (I learned that from the year I spent in Amway in the 90′s) I would like to share [...]

  • Concentrate Better With White Noise, Pink Noise or Brown

    Carl
    15 Aug 2010 | 2:00 am
    The perfect solution for blocking out distracting sounds Children playing Dogs barking Televisions and radios blaring Do any of these noises keep you from getting your work done? If you have concentration problems like I do, the sounds of crunching carrots or slurping soup render your brain completely useless. Even music is too much for [...]

  • Get free public domain photos for your Blogs from Flickr

    Carl
    10 Aug 2010 | 6:13 pm
    For those of us that don’t want to shell out the $1 or so to use stock photography on our blogs, Flickr has a great solution. Flickr Advanced Search There is a VERY hidden section to Flickr called “Flickr Advanced Search“. I would not have known about it if I hadn’t accidentally found about it [...]

  • 5 Must-Have Firefox Extensions

    Carl
    2 Aug 2010 | 9:55 am
    These Firefox Plugins will make doing business online much easier Don’t underestimate the power of a great plug-in If you’re as serious about marketing on-line as I am, then you know that every second counts. Too much time is wasted going from page to page checking stats, updating posts, backlinking, finding good keywords, checking swipe [...]
 
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    Stephen Denny

  • Marketing Prof’s U: A Q&A with Denise Lee Yohn on Retail’s Balance of Power & the Role of Technology vs. Humanity

    Stephen Denny
    9 Jan 2012 | 6:04 am
    (This is the second in a two-part blog-exchange on brand decision-making I’m doing with Denise Lee Yohn.  I kicked things off last week with a post called Killing Retail Giants and today Denise answers the questions I posed to her about retail small businesses.  We’re both teaching sessions in the Marketing Profs University course, Marketing Your Small Business .Denise’s webinar, Why Small Businesses Need Brands and How to Build Them, airs next week.  Register now and use coupon code DENNYVIP to receive $200 off!) SD:  Technology – from QR codes to crowd sourcing/sharing/tapping…

  • How to Strategically Retreat: Patagonia and “Don’t Buy This Jacket”

    Stephen Denny
    14 Dec 2011 | 7:22 am
    Don’t Buy This Jacket. Outdoor athletes – the real high achievers, in particular – understand Patagonia’s tagline. And Patagonia’s tagline clearly shows that they understand their core market to a remarkable degree.  That’s nice, for a change. Outdoor enthusiasts do things that the rest of us don’t. They spend time on mountains. In winter. On purpose. They run in lousy weather and do it for longer distances than the rest of us would under any condition. They train for events with names like “The Canadian Death Race” that make everyday triathlon competitions look pale.

  • When Giants Miss the Structural Shifts: Sony – A Cautionary Tale

    Stephen Denny
    12 Dec 2011 | 7:34 am
    Quick: close your eyes and describe to me what a cordless toothbrush would be like if it was designed by Apple. What color would it be? What would the finish look like? What materials, what tactile feedback would it give? What would it feel like on your teeth? What would it sound like? We used to do this with Sony back in the day. In the 1990’s, when I was there, Sony was the most powerful brand on earth. You could imagine any product and describe in detail the mat black finish, the beveled edges, where the Sony logo would be, what the buttons would feel like and everything else. Apple is…

  • The Secret Power of Poets: Where Liberal Arts Majors Win

    Stephen Denny
    9 Dec 2011 | 7:16 am
    Yes, that's me in 1981 at Rikkyo University, Tokyo. We’ve read that the majority of liberal arts degree majors coming out of college will be well suited for the burgeoning barista segment of the service industry in the coming years. We’ve read that trade schools are far better uses of your educational dollars than a liberal arts BA from a 4 year school. And we’ve been bombarded with exhortations that only science and math (I’m sure engineering fits in there somewhere) are the only worthy academic pursuits. Hell, even accounting has been somehow given a bad name. I have a different…

  • Your Opinion is Dangerous.

    Stephen Denny
    7 Dec 2011 | 1:12 pm
    “In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.” I’ve noticed something over the years, both as a corporate executive and as a consultant: if you’re the guy in the room with a point of view – someone who has a vision of where the ship needs to go and how it ought to get there – you’re probably alone. It’s a rare gift. It’s also a dangerous one. Tamsin Smith, the former president of Product (RED), gave me a wonderful interview setting up a chapter in Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath In Your Industry. In it, she explained the power of (RED)’s point of…
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    JupiterJasper

  • The work it takes to make something simple

    Bronwyn Durand
    13 Jan 2012 | 8:50 am
    (Cartoons below) Your business life can tick along making a certain kind of sense. You put in the hours, you fiddle with all the knobs to keep the business going. Then suddenly a series of seemingly unrelated mini events collide to make you change your mind. (Possibly the number of mini events is related to how long it takes you to realise you need to do something to change NOW. Hey, that has a ‘recession’ ring to it. Who knew?) Most recently, I’ve decided to change JupiterJasper’s direction. Not the original purpose -that is still quite clear. But the way the purpose…

  • It happens to everyone.

    Bronwyn Durand
    9 Dec 2011 | 5:45 am
    I get emotionally involved with Client’s business. There. I said it. I can’t help it. I get excited about their business as if it were mine, and I do everything I can to make sure what I contribute is the best it can possibly be. That means that I often do far more than I am paid for, and often means that what I have done isn’t noticed. But I know. I can see where it matters, and I do it for the result rather than the recognition. I guess that is the difference between doing a job and doing something passionately. I take a lot of pride in what I do. Which is why it makes…

  • What is a big idea anyway? 10 examples to inspire.

    Bronwyn Durand
    8 Nov 2011 | 10:11 am
    Somewhere along the line you’ve probably encountered someone that told you that you need a big idea or to think bigger about your marketing and your business. What is remarkable is how much marketing there is out there that doesn’t really say much of anything, let alone convey a big idea. And by marketing, I don’t just mean advertising, I mean anything a business does to convey what it is about and stands for – even the invoice. And copying your competitor’s big idea doesn’t count. A big idea is the bridge that makes an emotional connection between what…

  • Marketing lesson: follow the plan

    Bronwyn Durand
    8 Sep 2011 | 6:29 am
    The 6th of our blog competition guest posts – Samantha Jones of the HomeTruths shows that success is at the end of completing the plan. The original guidelines for entry are here, read all the featured entries, you could also read about how we chose the winner, or what we learned from running the blogging competition. Cheating at bootcamp? Not me! I recently attended a month-long fitness ‘boot camp’; you know the kind of thing: lots of exercise, clean eating plan and a very scary instructor (thanks Jo!) to keep you on your plan. Halfway through the month, I had a social occasion…

  • Retail sales staff stalking

    Bronwyn Durand
    8 Sep 2011 | 6:19 am
    I’ve realised that I’ve become a retail sales staff stalker. I’m obsessed with how much better the experience of shopping in a retail store can be. From a professional point of view as a marketer – there is the obvious benefit of happier customers buying more, and in an effort to build a sustainable business, surely happier trained staff and slicker processes should all make for stronger businesses. The natural sales woman I was suddenly aware of my retail sales staff stalking when I realised that the only reason I was still browsing in Accessories Staines, was because…
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    Touch Point City

  • A Content Marketing Haiku

    Vince Giorgi
    22 Jan 2012 | 4:09 pm
    Promotion blizzard?  People like gentle snowfall.       Engagement bubble.   ___ What say you, marketers? If you were to boil down “Why content marketing?” or “What is content marketing?” to the spare 5-7-5 syllable format of haiku, what would it be? Comments in the form of haiku welcome. And thanks to my friend @bondatomic for [...]

  • I Survived a Content Marketing Desert (and lived to blog about it)

    Vince Giorgi
    9 Jan 2012 | 9:58 am
    Look around your business. Better yet, conduct an audit: Where in your sales, marketing or service continuum do customers or potential customers get stranded in a content desert? What do I mean by a “content desert”?  Think about the process of providing relevant, useful or entertaining content as cultivating an “engagement oasis” for the audiences you wish to attract [...]

  • 7 Steps to Smarter Collateral in 2012

    Vince Giorgi
    21 Dec 2011 | 10:05 am
    Why in the name of Ebenezer Scrooge do technology marketers rate collateral as their top content-marketing priority for 2012? If you haven’t read Part 1 of this two-part post, please give it a quick read now. You’ll discover that surprising finding from a recent survey by IDG, the technology media and research company. You’ll also find [...]

  • Tech Marketers’ Surprising Content Priority for 2012

    Vince Giorgi
    21 Dec 2011 | 10:04 am
    Don’t you love this time of year? No, I’m not talking about the holidays — although those are nice, too. I’m referring to the blizzard of marketing research that gets published in the last few months each year. Those studies that tell us where marketers’ brains and budgets are trending in the year to come. The survey [...]

  • 5 Content Strategy Remedies When You Suffer from “Persona Proliferation”

    Vince Giorgi
    13 Dec 2011 | 7:40 pm
    The question was asked in a LinkedIn group recently. Specifically, in the B2B Lead Generation & Content Marketing group: How does one approach content strategy when your business caters to so many personas and verticals? It would seem hard to manage content creation and distribution in this situation. Good question. One many marketers — especially marketers in larger, [...]
 
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    Make Money Online With The Kidblogger

  • Make Money Online Taking Paid Surveys

    Andre Conferido
    22 Jan 2012 | 10:39 pm
    Taking paid surveys is one of the simplest ways to make money online. If you are interested on this income-generating method, all you need to do first is signup on online survey sites. Joining these survey panels is not at all difficult. Most good online survey sites are paid, but there are still some that are free. Now, if, for instance, a certain panel requires you to pay cash before signing up, there are things that you can do to test the legitimacy of the site. You can either read reviews or check out forums about this particular site. The idea of making money online taking paid surveys…

  • Download This Free Keyword That Will Help You Make Money Online

    Carl
    2 Jan 2012 | 8:56 pm
    This post is brought to you by eformulaprofits.com and gives you insight on eFormula and Keyword Blaze. It seems like there are dozens if not 100′s of keyword tools available nowadays. Remember the days when all that you had was overture’s keyword tool? Man those were the good old days. You could literally do some really quick keyword research put up a site and basically start making money. Well unfortunately those days are far and gone. Nowadays keyword research is even more important because competition is stiff and if you target the wrong keywords you can end up wasting a lot…

  • Can You Make Money On YouTube?

    Andre Conferido
    4 Dec 2011 | 11:19 pm
    YouTube is more than just an avenue you can use to post amusing or educational videos and share it to other people from different parts of the globe. It is one of the most popular websites today, attracting millions of viewers on a daily basis. The popularity of the website has made it a good ground for people to earn money. Now we will take a look at the different ways that you can use in order to make money on YouTube. Top 5 Ways To Make Money On YouTube There are several ways that you can use in order to earn money from YouTube. Here are the top 5: 1. Youtube Partner Program The most…

  • How To Get 10,000+ Likes On Your Business’ Facebook Fan Page

    robertc
    1 Dec 2011 | 10:08 am
    This article is guest posted by Robert Cipriano. Have you ever wondered why most businesses have their own Facebook fan page? Why they’re trying to get more likes as many as they could? It’s easy as 1-2-3. Facebook has been the largest network of people today. Almost everyone has his or her own Facebook account regardless of age. This only means that their customers are most probably on the said Social Networking Site. That’s enough reason for them to desire the most likes on their fan page. But the question is how can it happen? In this article, we will discuss strategies by which you…

  • How To Make Money On Fiverr

    Andre Conferido
    25 Nov 2011 | 5:33 am
    “I will turn you into a the Simpsons inspired cartoon for $5″ “I will record a radio-class professional voice over for you for $5″ “I will make a video of my hands saying any message for $5″ In their website, they ask the question: ”What are you willing to do for $5?” With this tagline, Fiverr seeks to not only help those who want to make some extra cash online, but also change the world of Internet-based freelance jobs. What Is Fiverr? Fiverr is an innovative freelance and networking website that allows you to buy or sell all kinds of stuff…
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    Increasing Leverage

  • Creating Web Applications with Ruby on Rails

    Zachary Smith
    5 Jan 2012 | 3:39 pm
    Learn to create applications that utilize, sort, merge, and organize multiple data with dynamic applications with Ruby on Rails (RoR).

  • Web Design versus Web Development

    Zachary Smith
    16 Dec 2011 | 4:18 pm
    What is the difference between web design and web application development? Because there is a lot of overlap, particularly on the front end of websites, I'll cover platforms, programming languages, how WordPress fits in, and my personal preferences and recommendations on what to use where.

  • Why You Should Use WordPress for Your Business Website

    Zachary Smith
    12 Dec 2011 | 3:15 pm
    Businesses use WordPress because it is simply the most powerful, economical, accessible, and risk free website software available. But proper theme, framework, and customization decisions are critical to a great implementation.

  • How to Build the Right Mobile Website for Your Business

    Zachary Smith
    6 Jul 2011 | 8:00 am
    Tweet Mobile devices present a unique opportunity for small and medium sized business owners.  Smart phones in particular have small screens with only 2.5-4.5 inches of diagonal space to display websites.  And while this limited space mobile real estate seems like a serious limitation, smart phone queries are more narrow and specific in scope than [...]

  • The Small Business Backup Guide-Never Lose your Website Data

    Zachary Smith
    27 May 2011 | 7:07 am
    Tweet Has your WordPress site ever crashed or given you a white screen of death?  It doesn’t matter how good your content, marketing, or products and services if your website crashes.  I recently responded to a Tweet requesting help for a brok