Blogs

Business News Daily describes the measure of success for a brand’s social media and digital marketing efforts as the ability to use it “to grow a flourishing community of fans.” I couldn’t agree more, though I’d probably add that lasting success comes from the use of social media and digital marketing to both grow and…

(Update to original post from June 2013) Marketing 101 teaches us to define our ideal clients or customers (our “target audience”) and to gear our communications and marketing efforts toward that broad group. Not to the exclusion of others, of course, but the idea is that if we communicate what we need to the people…

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past month and need a reminder, Father’s Day is on Sunday. It’s time to break out the steaks and BBQ grills, fill coolers with ice and cold brews, and restock your Dad’s inventory of ties he shouldn’t wear but probably will. To all the Dads…

  You’ve labored long and hard to get your search marketing right where you want it: You employed Search Engine Marketing (SEM) techniques by paying for clicks through Google AdWords to get your website front and center in the search results, gaining traction for your new product. At the same time, you employed Search Engine…

A common misconception about effective search marketing is that you need to pack your content full of keywords so search bots will take notice. Sure, your content needs to contain keywords and phrases your target buyers will use to find you, but not to the point incoherence. What good will it do for a search…

After a year of planning, strategizing, beta testing, kick-starting, and staying up round the clock to bounce ideas around with your product development team and creative folks, you’ve finally got a shiny new product that’s ready for public consumption. From your perspective, it’s your best offering yet—the best snowboard, the best backpack for mobile entrepreneurs,…

A lot has been said, written, and posted about Web analytics in recent years. Every website owner seems to understand that he or she needs to have web analytics in place—it’s part of practically every web-related sales pitch or digital marketing plan going—but there’s a big difference between knowing you need something and knowing how…

If you’re lucky, website visitors will give you 10 to 15 seconds to capture their attention before they move on to a shinier, more engaging web experience. As the marketing/sales leader for your organization, you need to be asking, “What are we doing on our website to capture hearts and minds in those precious few…

When it comes to communications—ANY communications—whether it’s whispering sweet nothings to a potential love interest, or trying to engage potential customers to buy your product or service, if you don’t know WHO you’re talking to, how can you hope to make a successful connection? Far too often I see business development and marketing types launch…

It’s 2016. Do you have a website? According to a 2015 Inc. Online article, more than half of small businesses do not! I find that number astounding, even a little hard to believe. Of course, what they consider a “small business” is quite broad. For example, one of the small businesses Inc. cited is a…

Goals are important. They are what drive us and give direction to our lives. Goals help us lose weight, get fit, finish household chores, climb mountains, buy houses, ask that special someone out on a date, have kids, work harder so we can make more money to buy the things we want, etc. In business,…

Do you have more “room” in your life than you think? Often I’ll hear from a client or colleague that he or she is so busy running the business that there’s positively no time left in the schedule to engage in marketing, social media, and other business development activities—let alone have a life and enjoy…