MONKEYZ BLOG

Sometimes you need to celebrate, just for the sake of celebrating . . . even when things are looking down. Take this Independence Day, for example. Is everything perfect in America? Well, between the economy, deficit reduction battles, high gas prices, out-of-control wildfires, flooding, wars overseas, terror threats on the home front, and the sad…

Success used to hinge on your ability to demonstrate value to your prospects and customers. You had a product or service to deliver, a sales message, you advertised in local or regional media, and voila—if people liked what they saw or read, or heard positive things from a friend or family member, you had customers.…

There’s an old saying in Public Relations: “There’s no such thing as bad PR.” Now, I’m partial to positive attention, myself, but I have to admit if it wasn’t for negative PR, some folks would get no attention at all (especially celebrities). At the very least, it seems to keep them in the spotlight and…

When it comes to search engine relevance and social media success online, content remains king. While the future of search results is ever-changing (check out this fascinating discussion of Facebook, Google, and the nature of relationship driven vs. numbers-driven SEO with two top tech entrepreneurs), one thing remains clear—to get noticed online, you need to…

Job Oportunity—Safe to say that 54,000 new private sector jobs a month isn’t likely to create a sense of economic euphoria anytime soon, but it’s sure better than negative job growth. As our economy sluggishly signals an overall upswing, the hemorrhaging seems to be over for the most part: companies are growing revenues and there…

Many professional service firms package their services by aiming them at specific audiences or industries. These firms boast capabilities their customers or prospective customers lack, and the extra sets of hands necessary to deliver. Their calls-to-action are direct, tangible, something members of their respective target audiences can wrap their minds around: “We’ll build you a…

Ask a business consultant about finding the right balance between time for new business development and getting client work done, and you’ll likely get an earful on time management and setting priorities. Those skills are certainly important, and many of us could use some brushing up from time to time, but chances are if you…

Facebook gets the second most online traffic every day, just behind Google. Not too far behind them are other social media giants such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and scores more tailoring to specific audiences and niches. If that doesn’t get your juices going—if it doesn’t get you thinking your company/brand better jump on the social media…

We all know the famous refrain from the movie, Field of Dreams—“If you build it, they will come.” What worked for Kevin Costner’s character, though, won’t necessarily work for your social media goals. Establishing a presence on your favorite social networking site, such as Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter, doesn’t guarantee anyone will come calling,…

I moved a few weeks back. I’m still in California, but it’s a new town and new digs. I felt disoriented at first, like a fish out of water (or is that ‘monkey out of the jungle?’), even though I had email, social media, IM, and texting to keep me in touch with friends and…

Between you and me, referrals are the lifeblood of my business, the jungle juice. Without referrals, this King Monkey would seldom jump for joy. I suspect referrals are critical for your business too, especially if you work in the professional services space. Now, I wouldn’t be a good marketing guy if I told you referrals…

So right around the time last week’s post on “Cloud Computing” was hitting cyberspace, Sony’s PlayStation Network went down, followed closely by Amazon’s web services arm. (The latter two occurrences, totally unrelated to the former . . . really, I promise!) Now, Sony and Amazon are two giants of the cloud computing space. As of…

If I read the tea leaves correctly (or is that banana fronds?), that big old desktop computer or high-powered laptop in your home or office—the one that’s packed with expensive software, hardware, and gigabytes of storage space—will soon be outmoded, as will all those storage CDs, DVDs, and productivity software suites that are stacked on…

So you just pitched a project to a prospective client. You know you are one of several possibilities this client is looking at for their new campaign. You feel good about your proposal, especially your ability to meet the client’s goals and the metrics you’ve recommended to measure success. What’s got you most worried, though,…

What a last week I’ve had, perhaps best summed up with one word (no not that one). The word I am thinking about is “hectic!” From personal commitments to professional pursuits to the unexpected passing of a dear friend (plus preparing to move residences), I felt like the Universe was trying to tell me something.…

So you’re sitting at home or in the office minding your own business, catching up on the latest blog post from yours truly, eyes riveted to your computer monitor, when your inbox chime sounds. You’ve got email, so you check it out. There, buried among a friend’s latest Facebook post, a meeting confirmation, and about…