Behavior

Amazon & original content

Amazon’s move to create original programming is an interesting one, and I believe it’s reflective of a bigger movement in brand publishing that’s just beginning to spread its wings. Prime subscribers are Amazon’s prime customers: they spend a great deal more per average than everyday customers.[read more]

social media superhero/shutterstock

There is an epidemic sweeping the social world. It is silent, unforgiving, and is responsible for many social media marketer’s downfall: fluff content. Fluff content is super conceptual information that is hard to actually put into action.[read more]

Socially Stephanie to the rescue!

This week, Socially Stephanie helps out a real estate agent in Atlanta whose real-life social shyness extends into the online world: "You'd think the social media revolution would have been the answer: fewer face-to-face meetings, just dash off an email and hit send! But it hasn't gotten easier."[read more]

B2B content how-to

If you’re a B2B media relations pro, there are six dreaded words you hear far too often: “We don’t have any case studies.” Since media are storytellers, they’re more likely to warm to your idea if you can help them tell a story using customer examples.[read more]

Managing a Facebook brand page takes time and effort. Just creating a page won’t help you reach your marketing goals. But it turns out, there are some super simple steps you can take to start gaining traction for your page. So simple, in fact, that many people miss them. Don’t let your page linger in obscurity. Take a few minutes each day over the next couple weeks to carry out these 16 easy steps.[read more]

So you’re cruising Pinterest and spot the dining room set of your dreams. But when you click through, you get a dead link, with no product info to be found. Is there anything more frustrating? Pinterest is rolling out changes that will address that pesky issue.[read more]

Corporate power and profits do not confer greater respect and deference from peers on social media. Not only is equal speaking time the law of the land but the unwritten etiquette of all social media interactions greatly rewards humility and listening to others, whether the others are VIPs or couch commentators. Behaving like just one of the gang helps reputation and builds goodwill, while bullying, arrogance and condescension are given a collective thumbs down.[read more]

Although Middle Eastern web users support the freedom to express opinions online, they also believe the Internet should be more tightly regulated. Respondents in countries that recently underwent revolution trust media less than those living in monarchies. Participants see an overall increase of quality in news reporting in the Arab world.[read more]

cicada/shutterstock

If one breaks down the purpose of varying social media platforms into its most basic forms and apply a bit of abstract thinking, there are five ways in which social media bridges the gap between humans and cicadas.[read more]

It's a marketing fiesta!

I was at a fantastic party recently, and being unable to switch off from work meant I found myself comparing it to marketing a business (sad, I know). Here are my observations on the similarities between throwing a party and promoting a business online.[read more]

Terrible sales pitch

Your sales pitch sucks. It does. Just the fact that you have a pitch sucks. Before you get all defensive, let me explain. In a typical sales process a sales rep finds a lead, they ask a few qualifying questions and they start the pitch. But the sales rep does not know what the prospect actually cares about yet.[read more]

Map the customer journey

There’s never been a better time for marketers for to see, understand and respond to the customer journey. Today’s “open social age” has created a “looking glass” for companies to understand the complex nature of their customers as millions of them are broadcasting their opinions on a real-time basis.[read more]

Sales pipeline

It’s common for leaders to measure their sales pipelines by the probability of the deal closing. And a common mistake. Probability of close is a subjective measurement that requires the sales rep to make a judgment about their chances of making a sale. It requires interpretation, bias and is ripe for abuse.[read more]

Marketing evolution / Tom Fishburne

Consumer trust is a critical factor in marketing. If an individual doesn’t believe your brand can deliver on its promises, or provide something better than its competition, they probably won’t ever make a purchase. Leverage the thoughts, words, and images of real human beings - with their permission, of course.[read more]

Subcultures are a big opportunity for Social Brands to generate value. During Digital Shoreditch 2013, we've discussed about how marketers need to re-think their targeting, understanding and consideration of consumers. Subcultures are a critical "life force" for brand equity as social networks rise through cultural mash-ups and phenomenons.[read more]

Socially Stephanie to the rescue!

In the inaugural post of our new social media advice column, social media pro Stephanie Frasco has some tips for Knackered Knitter in Nashville, who wants to know how to build up a social media presence for her knitting company...AND find time to actually knit.[read more]

As much as you need to actively listen, at the end of the day you’re still the expert. Don’t be afraid to own that role when you need to. What else do you think we can do to help foster productive relationships between communicators and cause-related groups?[read more]

Semantic search is changing everything. From the way traditional marketing is done to the way social media connections are now forged, the web is forcing us to create more transparent, honest connections than ever before.[read more]

The study made clear that the UK (32%) is most open to choose a smartphone over a wallet when going out if they could only bring one item. Canadians might be struggle the most in the old world: 75% of them don’t carry cash around.[read more]

A warning, from an ex-digital activist, that keeping a low profile, or no profile, is a tactical risk when it comes to reputation management in the 21st century.[read more]