This week I was very lucky to interview Ian Cleary, an expert in social media tools. Ian runs the very popular Razor Social website, which provides independent reviews and advice on social media tools. During our discussion Ian shared his insights into the tools market and his top tips for evaluating and selecting social media tools.
When I first signed up for Myspace, I was reluctant. I wasn’t sure how I felt about social media, but after a bit of peer pressure, I signed up. After only a few minutes, I knew this was going to be my newest obsession. More than a decade later, I realize there are things about Myspace that were really innovative.
The new development in the world of smartphone applications is something called “contextual apps.” Contextual apps are mobile apps that can figure out where we are or what we are looking at and then present us with all kinds of information about that spot.
Recently I have been using my Google Glasses for everything from traveling with Glass to keeping updated on the top news stories through my Glassware and without a doubt I am finding them invaluable. As with all new tech, there’s a lot of speculation about what Google Glass will and will not do.
LinkedIn is an important social network for professionals, business owners and job seekers alike. It can help introduce us to new people, reconnect us with ones we may have lost touch with and bring new business opportunities (clients) our way. These six areas are the basics for getting your profile in shape.
Let me introduce myself. I’m, um, I’m, uh … Hmm. I had this a minute ago. But suddenly I’m a different person. I’m wearing a different hat. I have different strengths and skills. It’s like I switched gears. The chains fall into a different combination of sprockets and I’m cruising along with an entirely different personality.
Many marketing analysts, writers and thought leaders have chimed in on what they believe the content marketing maturity model should look like. The Altimeter Group, Forrester, TopRank and likely others have weighed in. What do they all have in common so far? They simply don’t go far enough.
Chances are you know what your website’s rate is, but many site owners just don’t know how important this number really is. So what is a bounce rate anyway and why should you be watching it? Your bounce rate is the number of visitors who land on one of your web pages and then immediately click back or leave in some way.
The traditional model of PR relied on media such as radio, television and newspapers to spread the word and talk to potential customers. However, with 67% of the typical B2B buyer’s journey now done digitally, the need for quality integrated PR is greater than ever.
Technology is becoming smarter. We want machines to be far superior than humans and serve us with minimal manual effort. Intelligence amplification or augmented intelligence (AI) is making this possible. Bay Area-based notetaking and archiving startup Evernote is building intelligent solutions to help their customers with a team devoted entirely to AI.
Allen Iverson had a heck of an NBA career, but what he’ll probably be remembered for most didn’t take place on the court. Every sports fan has seen the highlights of the infamous post-game press conference in which Iverson ranted about the meaninglessness of practice. Which begs the question: How important is practice to your sales strategy?
In the digital age of content marketing, a marketer’s greatest weapon is blog posting. Coming up with a constant stream of quality content can be a daunting task for even the most skilled marketer. Therefore, it is highly important to fine-tune your strategy at every step of the blog content creation process.
There are considerable growing pains that marketers are experiencing as they try to meet an increased demand for content marketing. Here's an infographic from Wpromote discussing some of the bottlenecks content marketers are facing and offers some possible solutions and tips in the quest for more great content.
I was surprised and intrigued by my social media foray into turkey bacon -- the rich consumer insights, virtues sung, even all the unfettered social indignation toward turkey bacon. All of which offer marketing innovation potential based on the sizzling bacon crackle. Who will have the last gobble among the competitors?
As a small business owner I'm grateful for those occasions when I experience poor customer service. Unfortunately, they happen way too often. But I'm grateful for those occasions nonetheless because, when I'm on the receiving end of poor service, it serves as a strong reminder of why each and every customer needs to receive first class care!
Make no mistake: If you just start posting company Facebook updates without any kind of formal planning, your content marketing efforts are unlikely to bear any fruit. Better to take the time to fully prepare yourself and your team, following the steps below.
Have we become too reliant upon Facebook? It is a valid question to ask, but is it too late to consider it? Not for Facebook. Creating a culture of reliance upon their gratis offerings, Facebook has long been the “enabler”. People build, attract and grow communities within the Facebook network, all the while each new user, group, interaction helps in the data mining and focus of the Facebook marketing machine.
We recently had a client ask us to do something unethical. He’s a great client and we’ve worked together for years. He had no idea what he was asking was wrong…because he’s seen his peers do it in other circumstances. When I put my foot down, he was embarrassed and, though he teased me about our strict ethics a bit, he was appreciative of our telling him no and explaining why.
Everyone on this site loves to have good long talks about what you can do to make your social media account more successful, and that’s great. But it also makes you a target. Hackers love stealing popular social media accounts as unpopular ones are no good to them, read on and I’ll help you keep that popular social media account under your control!
"Dear Socially Stephanie: I suck at graphic design. I've just never been a very visual person. Do I have to use images in my social media presence? Or could I get away with a text-based presence?" The short answer is no - but there's no need to panic, because there are plenty of great tools out there for the graphically challenged.
Gaining Twitter followers is no easy task. Well, for some anyways. There are many articles on the subject of gaining Twitter followers, but in this article I've boiled down the 3 best tools and services to jumpstart your Twitter marketing efforts and gain a following fast.
There is a shift occurring in the way that business is being conducted. The traditional forms of marketing and sales are slowly being phased out for an increasingly social and interactive approach. New business models have formed from this rapidly evolving sales environment and it is important for businesses to stay on top of this alternative paradigm.
Follower count is often considered one of the vainest of vanity metrics. I can relate. I've had my fair share of ego tied to that golden number on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn---pointing out my follower growth to a friend one day and archiving emails just as fast as I could when growth doesn't come.
Content marketing is its own kind of beast. Dependent on strong creative writing abilities and a fine knack for business; it is a profession that is fast-paced and in huge demand throughout the globe. Every business depends on content marketers to establish strong marketing campaigns, provide creative insight and help shape a company’s public perception.
How long has it been since you were excited about watching commercials during a television broadcast? With the exception of the Super Bowl, probably never. Internet TV executives recognize the annoyance that commercials cause, and are banking on a personalized content experience becoming common the near future.
