Category: career


Marketing Monday: Don't forget about LinkedIn

Marketing Monday: Don't forget about LinkedIn

When you hear about social media marketing, maybe you translate that as Facebook and Twitter. In some circles, it’s all about video, so you might think of YouTube, Vine or Vimeo. Or maybe you’re wondering how your business could use Pinterest, Quora or Reddit better. But many of us joined LinkedIn long before we’d even heard of Facebook. It’s 10…

Marketing Monday: Social media is about being social

Marketing Monday: Social media is about being social

This year at SXSW Interactive, I heard a speaker say something that made me want to leap up, throw my hands in the air and yell, “Amen!” He suggested that many new technologies, whether that’s smartphones, social media or the Internet itself, have been around long enough that we should no longer be infatuated with their gee-whiz factor and instead…

Marketing Monday: It's important to know what you're not

Marketing Monday: It's important to know what you're not

I’ve worked with three different clients in the last week where at some point we talked about who they are — and who they are not. While we worked on social media planning, one set of clients were very direct in saying they don’t think their target customer is using Vine and they don’t think Pinterest makes sense for them.…

Marketing Monday: Does your marketing plan work with your sales process?

Marketing Monday: Does your marketing plan work with your sales process?

Marketing means many things to many people, but the traditional definition generally includes what products you’re selling at what price, in what place and with what promotions. Depending on your business, you might translate that to anything from what your slogan and logo are to what kinds of brochure or website you use to communicate with customers and prospects. However…

Marketing Monday: 5 tips for better out-of-office messages

Marketing Monday: 5 tips for better out-of-office messages

With Memorial Day coming up, the summer vacation season is approaching. Why WHY do you bother with an autoresponder email that says something like, “I will be away April 12-19.” ? OK. That’s good to know. But what do I do now? Especially if I have an issue that can’t wait? Here are my thoughts on a good out-of-office message…

Marketing Monday: When should your business express an opinion?

Marketing Monday: When should your business express an opinion?

I held off on Marketing Monday last week — it just didn’t feel right to talk about increasing your business when we were still learning the extent of injuries in Boston. Deciding if, or how, your business should respond to current events can be tricky business. Maybe it seems straight forward to post an expression of grief about the Boston…

Marketing Monday: Getting started using Facebook for marketing

Marketing Monday: Getting started using Facebook for marketing

By this point, Facebook has become so culturally ubiquitous that probably even the remaining holdouts who don’t have an account have at least seen it and are aware of the concept of the interconnected social network. But even those who are active personally might not know how to use Facebook for marketing. Sadly, it’s getting harder, as Facebook’s algorithm for…

SXSW, part II: Serendipity's role in success and how to cultivate it

SXSW, part II: Serendipity's role in success and how to cultivate it

Earlier this week I blogged about one theme I heard in digital marketing conversations at South by Southwest Interactive — authenticity — but the panel that really rocked me was about serendipity: Serendipity is a fuzzy concept that has a powerful effect on our lives. More than blind luck, it’s the product of lots of passion, insight, or proximity. As…

Marketing Monday: Be authentic, which doesn't mean phony authentic or with disregard for details

Marketing Monday: Be authentic, which doesn't mean phony authentic or with disregard for details

I recently returned from South by Southwest Interactive, a massive technology conference that takes over seemingly every square inch of Austin with growing numbers each year. While the marketing spending seems more pervasive — both Oreos and Game of Thrones sponsored pedicabs, as one small example — there’s still plenty of good content, ranging from 3D printing to the relationship…