Building Community

Why Distractions Mean Failure in Football and Marketing

distractions and content marketing

Once, after a loss, former Tennessee Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher made this statement to the media about his team’s effort: “I think you have to be able to deal with distractions, put them in perspective and move on. Distractions are the primary reason for losing football games. ” He didn’t chalk up the loss to [...]

Give Me One Reason to Share It and I’ll Spread Your Post Around

reasons to share content

There are a lot of blips on our daily radars. We check our Twitter stream. We drop in on Google+. We comb through our RSS feeds. And for the most part, we ignore most of the content we see. Why? Because we’ve read it before. Because it sounds too familiar. Because it’s obvious. Because it’s [...]

4 Tips for Developing a Blog Comment Policy

soap in mouth

If you’ve spent much in social media, you’ve probably been warned not to “feed the trolls.” Trolls, as Wikipedia will tell you, are defined as “someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into [...]

Is Your Content Worth Stealing?

is your content worth stealing, picture of a burglar alarm

I hope you steal this blog post. There won’t be an alarm that goes off. The Feds won’t come to get you, and no one will probably ever know that you did. It’s not a trick, it’s not a trap, and it’s not a lure. I actually want you to. Because that means I’ve done [...]

4 Ways to Get More Mileage Out of Old Content

nickelodeon old content all that, picture of a girl getting slimed

I’m a ’90s baby. I grew up during, at least what I believe to be, the peak of Nickelodeon’s programming. These classic Nick shows represented an iconic part of tv’s pop culture and had everything from talking babies (Rugrats), a dog and cat conjoined (Catdog), action shows (Legends of the Hidden Temple) and pretty much [...]

5 Marketing Cliches You Shouldn’t Roll Your Eyes At (Much)

marketing cliches worth repeating

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times, but that doesn’t always mean the marketing mud you throw against the wall is sticking. The only thing we’re bombarded with more than advertising in our media saturated world is the clichés that guide the teams that create them. And both, for better or [...]

Goodbye, Voice of God (in Journalism)

voice of god is dead in journalism, picture of speakers

For political junkies, there was no more bizarre and fascinating news night than the 2000 election returns. Among the embarrassing moments that night—and there were quite a few—was when anchorman Dan Rather announced that Al Gore had won Florida, and then proclaimed, “If [CBS News] says someone carried a state, you can take that to [...]

The Anatomy of a Web Redesign Failure

web redesign failure, image of a construction site

All of the best practice documents in the world can’t prepare you for a thud that was supposed to be a splash when your big website redesign hits the market. Or should we say, misses the market. Designing a website is a difficult endeavor. Sure, everybody and their 11-year-old-nephew seems to be capable of launching their own [...]

You’re a Human, Act Like It. Unless You’re OK with Being a Digital Marketing Failure

human digital marketing superior to robot digital marketing

Audiences are made of people, they aren’t made of logos. And when building an audience, you must connect with other people as a person, not as a logo. There are very few that can succeed while ignoring this basic mantra. According to the law of averages, you are not one of them.

6 Steps to Realistic Social Media Implementation

realistic social media implementation, lego image

There’s often a gap between the idea of social media (what can happen in your head) and the practice of social media (what happens in real life). Maybe your “social media engagement strategy” seemed more solid in the PowerPoint presentation. The “monitoring station” seemed to work better during discussion meetings. And the enthusiasm has vanished [...]

5 Things a Troll Taught Me About Content Marketing

trolls and content marketing

When I wrote my first blog post, I was proud and excited. I posted it and anxiously awaited the comments that might follow. (What would the Internet have to say?) Then, I got a notification for that long awaited response from a thoughtful reader. It was not quite what I had anticipated. Instead of oohs [...]

5 Reasons the Intern Shouldn’t Run Your Social Media Campaign

carrying the load alone as a social media intern

Your intern has more Twitter followers than you do. That is great. But what happens when she gets offered that gig with the agency across town? Will your corporate blog survive? How about that snarky Twitter account or well-maintained Facebook page? Though much of management is wearing the “social media strategy” hat in the board [...]

What Has Your Blog Done For Me Lately?

what has your blog done for me lately, picture of a hand brushing people off

You probably fell in love with a blog once. You subscribed to the RSS feed, liked it on Facebook, and followed it on Twitter so you never missed an update or witty remark from your editorial superhero. Maybe you met through a friend or maybe you stumbled upon it (literally or figuratively). Regardless, you fell [...]

Fighting Words: Marketing Lessons From the UFC

marketing lessons from the ufc

Your organization can learn a lot from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Yes, I’m serious. No, I don’t mean you can learn flying knees or triangle chokes, although those might come in handy when meetings get heated.

Why It’s OK For You to Hate This Blog Post

velvet rope showcasing theme of exclusivity

We spend a lot of time wooing people to like us. “Follow us on Twitter!” “Like us on Facebook!” “Get our email updates!” “Share us with your friends!” “Please hang out with us Friday night!” (OK, so that’s from my personal life, but you get the drift.) And it makes sense that we do, kind [...]

Likely Story: 5 Benefits of Being Well-Liked on Social Media

symbol for like

So, what’s like, the benefit of being well-liked? Aside from the slight ego boost and customary high-fives doled out at organizations with true fans (as opposed to happenstance customers) there are tangible benefits to having social media friends. It’s a common refrain in the social media echo chamber: how many people “like” you doesn’t really [...]

The Boy Scout Handbook of Social Media

boy scout social media

The lessons the Boy Scouts taught me about being a good citizen are the same lessons that can be directly applied to your organization’s social media strategy.

That Website Ain’t Gonna Visit Itself

no visitors beyond this point

If you build it, they will, well, probably go somewhere else. Your target audience probably doesn’t share the same level of enthusiasm that you have toward your new website/redesign/mobile app/digital venture. More than likely, they won’t even notice.  They’ll go about visiting their normal destinations online; checking Facebook, maybe Twitter, and dipping into their pool of [...]

What the Presidents of the USA Would Have Blogged About on the 4th of July

presidents content marketing

Declaring independence (and keeping it) is a difficult endeavor. It takes wisdom, fearlessness, consistency, persistence, and dedication. In a much humbler realm – content marketing – the same virtues apply to success. In honor of the 4th of July, here are what some of the commanders in chief have said about content marketing. Sort of.

Are You a Real Expert or Do You Just Play One on the Internet?

Are You a Real Expert? Or Do You Just Play One on the Internet?

There’s a lot of advice being given out these days. People are publishing pointers, tips, and suggestions on every topic under the sun. But how valid are the viewpoints expressed therein? Is the everyman author as credible as we seem to be giving him credit for? Data suggests that what our “friends” are saying online [...]

7 Things Good Marketers Have in Common

image of success

It takes more than a snarky attitude and knowledge of hashtags to be successful in social media. Being likable, retweetable, and ultimately generating leads and developing new partnerships is more art than it is science. But which personality traits separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to social media marketers? The same traits [...]

Is That Your Blog Talking to Itself in the Corner?

dunce in the corner

We talk to ourselves a lot in the world of content marketing. It’s pretty awkward. We do this any time our content doesn’t have a direct target – when it’s aimless. And aimless content, whether it’s an email, a billboard, a Tweet or a shout is the content that most likely to be ignored and [...]

5 Reasons You Won’t Read This Blog Post

why you won't read this blog post

Whether I’m writing for print, online, or in cuneiform, my job as a content producer is to serve you, the reader. You are investing precious time with me, and I better not disappoint you. There are, after all, at least a few other sources you could visit instead. So why do I ignore this?

3 Steps to Delivering Customer Service Happiness

honest construction sign

I recently purchased some sandals from Zappos that didn’t work out. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but they needed to go back. I hate returns, particularly when it comes to an online purchase. “I have to print a label?” “Go to the UPS store?” “Carve out time for this when the whole point of ordering online [...]

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