Archive for June, 2017

Social Media: Not Just For Sales; Another Area of Big Value

Thursday, June 29th, 2017

Social media is a powerful marketing tool for any business. Business and marketing professionals are particularly drawn to the extensive reach of social media and its potential for driving droves of new customers through their virtual doors. However—and this may surprise you—social media marketers shouldn’t be focused exclusively on bringing in new business.

A recent article on the American Marketing Association (AMA) website by Lawrence Crosby looked at the effectiveness of social media marketing on another important measure of marketing success— (more…)

Where Are You Along the Continuum of the “Five Levels of Social Media Engagement”?

Thursday, June 22nd, 2017

Just as not all restaurants, auto manufacturers or artists are created equal, not all social media marketing efforts are created equal. Some marketers feel like it’s enough to simply have a Facebook page that serves as a relatively static landing point for curious potential customers. Others spend a lot of time, effort and resources to research and develop sophisticated social media engagement strategies that incorporate multiple social channels—and lead to some quantifiable desired results.

Obviously, we strive to encourage everyone to move into the latter camp; however, we recognize this isn’t always feasible and know that there is a wide spectrum of quality and effectiveness. (more…)

The Softer Side of Brand Analysis

Friday, June 16th, 2017

We’ve written multiple posts on how to evaluate your brand, the fact that your brand is largely out of your control because it’s defined by your audience, and how to effectively manage your brand. Brands are subjective and live in the minds of your consumer, or business, audience. It can be tough to quantify the strength or weakness of a brand, which can be endlessly frustrating for numbers-driven marketers and business owners. (more…)

Your Website and Your Employer Brand

Tuesday, June 6th, 2017

Since the dawn of the Internet Age, businesses have been quick to see the benefit of a company website to attract customers; however, a company website, like any communication channel, should be thought of in the context of all of an organization’s stakeholders. This includes business partners and potential business partners, as well as employees and – the focus of this blog post – potential employees. (more…)

Competing with the Big Guys: Leveraging a Narrow Niche, the Personal Touch and Agility

Thursday, June 1st, 2017

Whether you’re a startup looking to break into an existing market, or an existing business looking to branch into a new product or service line, it can be intimidating to survey the competitive environment and find yourself potentially face-to-face with behemoth multinational corporations and Fortune 500 companies. While a mega-competitor could, theoretically, direct its massive resources into forcing out an upstart competitor, there are some ways to compete by exploiting the advantages small can have over large. (more…)