I was on Facebook the other day and between the large 3x2 photos of friends, status updates from people I can’t remember how I know, and the checked in notifications at Starbucks, I ran across a quote from an article that touches on an important topic of our times. Continue reading
I was reading an article in the Small Business section of Fox News online entitled, “It’s Your Reputation, So Handle With Care.” I have to admit, the name drew me to this article. Mary Rosenbaum, a master certified personal branding strategist and career coach (when did they invent that title?), talks about not getting too caught up in all the hype about social media and forgetting what really can drive your business and increase sales: your reputation and your brand. Continue reading
We all know the phrase, “communication is key.” In our field some communicate best through art, some copy, but everyone uses speech. This video immediately caught our attention and now its your turn! We invite you to watch the first three minutes and become inspired.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html
Sunday afternoon was fun. My wife and I went to the Sidewalk Film Festival, a first for us. One film, a documentary called “Ready, Set, Bag”, attempted to answer the impossible: Paper or plastic? So, they covered the national bag boy competition…seriously, they did. While funny and interesting, it did not succeed in answering the paper or plastic question.
This brings to mind a question we are often asked: Paper or Digital proposals, what’s best?
Continue reading
You finally bit the bullet and started a Twitter feed, Facebook page, or blog for your business. You’ve developed a great inbound marketing strategy, and devised some clever tactics to formulate relationships with the marketplace. And after months of attention and care, you’re bursting at the seams with friends, followers, and commenters. Lead generation is purring like a cat in a massage chair, and your position as a personable, sharp expert is solidifying. Continue reading
“Not everyone knows this about me, but I lost the girl of my dreams to a guy with a mullet and a trust fund.”
I’ll leave you to wonder whether that’s actually true. For all we know, he might have gotten a haircut. Or a job. Provided that “he” actually exists, of course. Since I wrote it, I’m the only one who knows the truth. You might want to read more, but whether you’d actually pay to find out is another matter. Continue reading
The financial services industry is scrambling to comply with regulatory changes that will require consumers to give their consent before their bank or credit union can offer overdraft protection (and the pesky overdraft fees that come with it) on their accounts. We have many financial services clients, so for us the stress is tangible. Making sense of new regulations is hard enough. But compound this with the fact that this new rule will put a huge dent in their non-interest revenue stream… in the middle of a recession… and suddenly compliance is more than just a chore. For some businesses, this is a real threat because their revenue stream is at risk.
But, as the boss likes to say, “In threats we often find the greatest opportunities.” Continue reading
Social media is significant. And as huge as it is today, it’s still growing. Facebook has over 400 million users, with 50% of active users logging into the site each day — that’s 200 million daily users and growing. Twitter has 15 million active users, while LinkedIn has 50 million members worldwide. Blogging is just as big. Forget the fact that 34.7 million people will be blogging by 2012. By then, 145 million people will be reading blogs at least once a month. If big numbers are the future, then the future has already arrived. Continue reading
In short, I don’t want more followers just to get “more followers.” I want a genuine relationship where my followers find value in what I tweet. Yes, this flies in the face of stereotypes of social media users as attention-seeking and narcissistic! Continue reading
While preparing for a social media presentation, I realized that defining social media is important. Even highly sophisticated people still get that perplexed look when I tell them I help my clients build social media strategy and with implementation where appropriate. Usually the response is something along the lines of “oh, you mean Facebook and Twitter.” Continue reading