Be Yourself: This Time It’s Ok to be Human

Have you ever considered that social networks have both pluses and minuses? We are able to connect with folks we wouldn’t typically interact with. Yet, with those whom we are closest, we often resort to texting, calling, Facebooking, or tweeting, instead of face-to-face interaction. I know that I am guilty of this. The advantages of social media are that it …

Twitter: 6 Tips for an Effective Strategy

Have you just started out on twitter? Or have you been on twitter, but never really developed a strategy? Figuring out when, how, and what to tweet can be quite a daunting task… I know that it was for me. The thing is that everyone is different, and there is no overall “perfect” twitter posting strategy. What I can share …

The Marketing Persona: 4 Benefits of Using a Persona

I was thinking about how teams prepare to play each other during March Madness. All of them use scouting reports that outline the unique ways a team likes to play. The reports are fairly basic, but some details can stand out for a coach, such as information that a specific player only likes to go to his or her left. …

The Marketing Persona: Building Blocks

The ancient Native American saying “Do not judge a person until you’ve walked two moons in their shoes” captures the thinking behind the marketing persona. Crafting personas requires getting into the heads of our audiences. What keeps them up at night? How do they spend their free time? How do they like to be sold to? What’s their favorite channel …

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The Marketing Persona — A Deeper Look at Your Target Audience

Most of us in marketing communications use terms such as “target markets,” “stakeholders” or “members” to define our audiences. We think we know who they are, but how we connect with audiences has changed significantly in our mobile tech world and we may be struggling to reach them. One problem may be that we haven’t gone deep enough into figuring …

CONTENT MARKETING: STILL KING

Do you blog for your business? Are you on multiple social networks, curating content and engaging your customers? If so, you’re on the right track, according to the latest statistics. It can feel a bit lonely at times, but don’t give up. For those of you who haven’t jumped on board, there’s never been a better time! Content Marketing: What …

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SOCIAL MEDIA LESSONS LEARNED: PLANNING

Social Media Lessons Learned! Am I the only one, or did you feel like the last year just flew by?  It seemed like such a challenge most days just to ‘keep up.’  I kept thinking how nice it would be to have an hour to just sit and “think” about things.  I finally took some time between Christmas and New Year’s …

New Relationship Marketing: Interview With Mari Smith – Part 2

This is our second of two posts from our interview of Mari Smith about her latest book: The New Relationship Marketing. In Part II, we asked Mari these questions: Can you speak to us more about surrounding yourself with the right connections? What are some of the biggest mistakes businesses make today regards social technologies online and offline? Do you …

Social Media: Mentoring with Mari Smith

Have you ever had the opportunity to learn from a high level expert? I have been doing just that for the last 3 months. In May I began a 6 month mentoring program with Mari Smith.  In April of 2008, an article in Fast Company dubbed Mari, “the Pied-Piper of the online world.”  Mari is co-author of the book, Facebook …

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11 FACEBOOK MARKETING EXPERTS SHARE THEIR BEST TIPS

Still not sure about the value of Facebook for marketing? Wonder what all the fuss is about? The folks at Social Media Examiner recently asked top marketing book authors and Facebook brand managers to share some of their hot Facebook marketing tips. Here’s a recap of what they had to say…. 1. Give people a reason to “Like” you Richard …