Archive for May, 2017

How to Build a Blog That Generates Results

Tuesday, May 30th, 2017

So you’ve finally put in the effort to develop a respectable blog. You’re posting regularly and consistently, and you’re posting about topical material relevant to your target audience. But nobody’s reading it. A common challenge we see with businesses trying to beef up their online presence is that they haven’t done enough to drive traffic to their blog. Here are some basic tips to help boost your blog traffic. (more…)

2017 Graduates: Have You Perfected Your Elevator Pitch?

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017

It’s graduation time, and many are thinking about landing their first job. Even those entrenched in a career may be prompted by graduation season to think about their career paths and whether it’s time to consider a job switch.

We responded recently to a reporter’s query about creating “elevator pitches.” It’s an important concept for graduates, for those 30 years into their careers, and for any company or organization that has a key message to convey to a target audience. (more…)

Do You Know When—And Why—Your Customers Have Left You?

Thursday, May 18th, 2017

Every business will gain and lose customers over the course of the business’s lifetime. Of course the hope is that there will be more gains than losses; however, sometimes businesses find themselves in the opposite situation and struggle to understand why their customers are leaving. While creative companies could come up with a myriad of creative and complex metrics and measurement techniques to try to gain some insights, one of the best ways to determine why customers are lost is to ask them! (more…)

Best Practices for Social Media Marketing

Tuesday, May 16th, 2017

It’s hard to succeed at anything if you’re not focused. Whether you’re golfing, driving, taking an exam or giving a presentation, losing focus on your objective can be disastrous. The same is true of your social media activity. Granted social media marketing is a longer-term activity than golfing or giving a presentation, but the importance of focus is no less important. In particular, we’ve selected three key elements marketers should keep their focus on when engaging in social media. (more…)

Be Careful Out There! From Fake News to Fake Newsmakers—How to Best Protect Your Brand

Thursday, May 11th, 2017

content marketing, content management, newsjacking, social media, digital marketing, SEO, online marketingIn 2006, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat character burst onto the big screen and became a huge success in the United States. Borat – a scruffy, socially awkward “journalist,” ostensibly from the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan – took a cross-country trip through the United States, mostly in the South, and interacted with and interviewed numerous unwitting participants who became fodder for Baron Cohen’s movie.

While Borat had been a staple of Baron Cohen’s Da Ali G show for years, the 2006 film marked the first time many Americans had been exposed to the character. From college students and driving instructors to rodeos and local news stations, many Americans were fooled into believing they were being interviewed for a cultural program for consumption in Kazakhstan, something that would not be seen in the United States.

Hilarity, embarrassment and lawsuits followed. (more…)

Influencers: Organic or Paid? Making the Right Choice Matters

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017

Testimonials and endorsements have been a mainstay in marketing for many years. In the online environment, these concepts have been combined, embraced, and refined to drive a hot trend: influencer marketing. It works. If you think about your own purchase behaviors, you can probably trace many of those purchases—whether for some electronic device, a hairstyle, a meal, or a car—to a recommendation or referral that came from a friend or relative or that was prompted through some online endorsement from an individual you admire. How effective are these kind of endorsements? Both Nielsen and McKinsey have studied the issue.

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