Best Practices

Food Marketing

Food advertising has to pull out all the stops to create a visceral message that gets a product across without very much reliance on the product itself. Let’s take a look at what marketers in other industries can extrapolate from these successes.[read more]

Media Relations

While it’s true traditional media can be an excellent tool for increasing awareness, my stance is it can also be a valuable, measurable way to increase leads and sales. Media relations can produce tangible results if strategic, targeted, and executed well.[read more]

Philanthropic Brand Building / shutterstock

Have you ever been trying to decide between two competing products and found yourself looking for a tie-breaker? At least for me, that tie-breaker has sometimes been a brand’s emphasis on corporate citizenship.[read more]

Web Presence / shutterstock

There’s only so much time in a day to get things done. You must pick your shots in order to increase your web presence. Here are five challenges that can take minimal time out of your day, but offer big returns.[read more]

Modcloth's social media strategy

Brands should delight. Really, that’s what it all comes down to, right? I experienced this “stand a little straighter and smile a little wider” feeling just the other day when I was, uh, shopping online (something I rarely do. PROMISE). Let me tell you about it.[read more]

Google+ vs. Pinterest

If you keep up with the trends in social media, it's no secret that visual content is all the rage these days -- so it's no wonder that social sites are adapting quickly. For now, your target audience may be on Pinterest, but that doesn't mean they won't be tied into G+ sooner than you or they think.[read more]

Twitter email search

Over the past decade, social media has become a popular way to connect and communicate with friends online. But privacy settings on the various networks can make it difficult to find your friends through a simple name search. Here are four of the best tools for reconnecting.[read more]

Branding: leave your mark the right way

Nowadays a brand’s reputation depends in a large part on the online activity and conversations around it. If customers react in a negative way to a certain service or marketing campaign on social media, the influence on the brand’s reputation can be enormous.[read more]

Mobile content apps for engagement

Content marketing is nothing new to brands, but in recent years, there have been a few companies who have taken content marketing to the next level through their digital efforts. Here are three advantages to creating custom mobile applications with your brand’s content.[read more]

Are you a good social listener?

Many people and companies come across as self-centered on social media and lack engagement and success because they don’t understand how it works. I’m sure there are some true social media narcissists out there, but most tweeps probably just need some education and to listen a little better![read more]

A great Facebook cover photo / shutterstock

Just in the past few months, Facebook rolled out some new updates that you may not know about, and you can use them to add more spice and some character to your business Facebook page. Here are a few of the common features that I like to take advantage of.[read more]

Comprehensive HootSuite Guide

HootSuite is a social media management platform and dashboard that can be used to manage multiple social media channels. It allows businesses and teams to collaboratively execute campaigns across social networks. Here's a complete guide to how it works.[read more]

Twitter analytics

It looks like everyone's getting into the analytics game. We have Facebook Insights, Pinterest analytics, and now, even Twitter analytics. This is great for a Social Media Marketer because one of the toughest parts of our job is showing the impact of our work through measurable actions.[read more]

Influence Marketing / shutterstock

We define Influence Marketing as the act of engaging with current and potential leaders in your industry in order to gain ranks as a leader yourself, to increase meaningful activity on social media platforms, and to build your digital community of brand advocates.[read more]

Troll control tips!

Solid 'House Rules' are the anchor of a troll-proof Community Management policy. This subject comes up when I counsel clients who face attacks that threaten online reputation. Those who run social accounts that draw unwanted visitors will find this especially useful.[read more]

But while we all marvel at the power of Obama’s online campaign, the truth is that most of the tools his campaign used are available to ordinary citizens and advocacy groups for less than $20 a month. The platform that provides these tools is NationBuilder. I sat down with NationBuilder’s Vice President of Organizing Michael Moschella to learn more about this great tool.[read more]

Are you considering creating an animated explainer video for your business? Do you need inspiration on what to choose for an animation style, music, or script? We have 7 awesome examples of animated explainer videos that actually convert. From driving additional sales to user sign-ups to engaging visitors, we show you what works and what doesn't work with animated explainer videos.[read more]

If you get stuck, whether in the process of storytelling or strategizing, think about what would never, ever happen next: it may well be just the thing that gets you out of your rut. Similarly, creative strategizing means that it can be valuable to think outside of the box by discounting the first idea that comes to mind in exchange for something a little more interesting.[read more]

As a nonprofit or association, you will need to fundraise and draw in support from as many as you can. Storytelling is a great way to do this. If you follow these tips you are bound to increase your success rate in gaining funds and garnering support for your cause.[read more]

Have you ever thought about how you can delight your audiences? When you are developing your marketing plans, editorial calendar, tweet content for the day or week are you thinking about the positive impacts it can have on the lives or businesses of the people reading them?[read more]