They say no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. But social media gives us more of a view of what’s happening in our friends’ lives, and sadly, I’ve gotten good at reading the signs of unraveling relationships. Facebook gives users a wide range of relationship status choices, including “separated” and “divorced,” but I’ve never seen a friend be that…
When technology companies use their own products, it’s commonly called eating your own dog food. Why dog food? I don’t know. But pour me a big bowl of Gravy Train. A few days ago, I posted to my Newvine Growing Facebook page looking for people to help me beta test a new service: I am testing a new service offering…
Not long ago I had a hands-on social media training session with some of my favorite clients. We covered how to send an @reply and a direct message on Twitter, how to link to other businesses and people in a Facebook status update and how to use HootSuite and Facebook to schedule posts in advance. We even got them started…
Last week I wrote about some of my strategies for making the most of conferences. But once you’re done thinking big thoughts like “Which conferences are the best fit for me?” and “What message do I want to convey?” there’s practical matter of executing well. A few pointers I’ve picked up over the years: 1. Keep your business cards in…
I have a confession. In this marketing series, I write about integrated marketing and aligning all your marketing channels — your website, blog, social media, email newsletter and brochures, for example — to help tell your story. I believe in the importance of using all available methods to talk with your current and potential clients, and the data show consumers…
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…
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…
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.…
Lately I’ve heard several variations on this question: I know I should use Facebook to promote myself, but I’m a private person. Should I just skip Facebook completely if I don’t want to share my personal life? The good news is that you control how much you share on Facebook. If you don’t want to tell the world every time…
Last summer, I wrote a series of guest blog posts for Stirring Up Success, a B2B blog run by Dawn Foods, a manufacturer of bakery ingredients and products and distributor to the bakery industry. According to a case study by Crossroads, StirringUpSuccess.com has been featured in top industry trade publications as a unique and helpful tool for bakery owners. Here’s…
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…
A few weeks back, I wrote about how to blog if you don’t like to write — take photos on Instagram or chat on camera using YouTube, for example. That post prompted several people to ask variations on the question perhaps best posed by Michael: How do I blog without looking like a douche who is bragging? There’s an oft-used…
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…
When someone asks me how they get can more Twitter followers, it’s hard for me to give a straight answer. Not that I don’t know how to get more followers — there’s research showing, for example, that acting as a source of information instead of just talking about yourself will grow your audience. Hashtags help, as do including URLs and…
Last summer, I wrote a series of guest blog posts for Stirring Up Success, a B2B blog run by Dawn Foods, a manufacturer of bakery ingredients and products and distributor to the bakery industry. According to a case study by Crossroads, StirringUpSuccess.com has been featured in top industry trade publications as a unique and helpful tool for bakery owners. Here’s…
Maybe you haven’t used computers or the Internet much, but here we are in an era when email, websites and social media are essential tools of business. It can be overwhelming enough just to learn the peculiar language of Twitter or to find the right images to use on your blog — let alone figure out how to trouble shoot…
Social media gets a lot of buzz as the cool, exciting way to do marketing. I get it. I’m a social media nerd. Tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn give us a way to connect with others faster and more efficiently than ever, and they’re growing like crazy. Mashable reported that Twitter had 200 active users in December, double what…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. Today’s question comes from Lauren McCabe, mermaidchronicles.com, @mermaidtales on Twitter, originally posted on her blog under the headline In…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. Today’s question comes from your Blogversation hostess, Colleen: @cnewvine on Twitter. How do you prefer to communicate? Does it…
In my first attempt at video blogging, I tell a personal story to illustrate the soft side of social media’s benefits: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igqBkBClPYI] If you don’t have five minutes to spend — and I know, that’s long and I need to practice tightening up my story telling — here are the high points: I have a saved search in HootSuite for…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. I’m a journalist by training so I feel like I’m always gathering stories ideas, whether I want to or…
