My wife and I read books to our daughters every night at bedtime. We alternate between 5-year-old Caitlin and soon-to-be 2-year-old Cassidy. We alternate because getting Caitlin to wind down takes about 15 minutes. For Cassidy, it could take an hour and include chasing her down the hall.
Read more...Should LinkedIn Allow Political Candidates to Use Its Publishing Platform?
Last Friday, I received my daily LinkedIn Pulse email. The “highlight of the day” was an article from Hillary Clinton, 2016 Presidential Candidate. Because I’m an admitted marketing/politics/news nerd – and a small business owner – I read the article. It was pretty much what I expected. Some general suggestions with no specifics, just like what you would hear during a campaign speech. What fascinated me were the comments. Many LinkedIn users called out LinkedIn for allowing its publishing platform to be used as a megaphone for a political candidate.
Read more...Why Consistently Inconsistent Marketing Is Risky Business
For most business owners, marketing is an “oh sh*t, we better do something” reaction to declining sales numbers. They wait until the work has all but dried up before they get serious about marketing. They market until they have as much work as they can handle (if the marketing is done well). Then they stop marketing. When that work is just about gone, they start marketing again. When marketing is done in spurts, the work comes in spurts. Both are consistently inconsistent. And both are risky and wasteful.
Read more...2 Ways to Instantly Make Your Website More Trustworthy and Credible
A lot of business owners like to add bells and whistles to their website whether they add value or not. They load up on social media feeds, videos, media coverage, testimonials and other content, thinking social proof and the use of modern technology will add to the company’s perceived credibility and trustworthiness. But the 2015 B2B Website Usability Survey from Huff Industrial Marketing, KoMarketing and BuyerZone, which was covered in a recent Content Marketing Institute article, revealed that website visitors look for something much different.
Read more...The One Problem Even the Best Marketing Strategy Can’t Overcome, Part 2
About six months ago, I discussed how McDonald’s was a prime example of a company that was expecting marketing to come in on a white horse and reverse eroding sales and public perception. I opined that the core problem was crappy burgers – a business problem, not a marketing problem. McDonald’s was doing nothing to fix it. Fast forward to today. Has anything changed?
Read more...“I Could Write My Own Content, But…” No, You Can’t. Here’s Why.
This is what I like to call an educational rant. Please share with anyone who thinks they can write their own content. My hope is that this post will help them see the folly of their thinking before it costs them too much money.
Read more...Google’s Mobilegeddon, Who Should Be Worried, and a Look at the Big Picture
As a general rule, I make it a point to not obsess over Google algorithm updates. I care a lot more about what my audience thinks of my website, blog and social pages than what a Googlebot thinks. But the implications of the changes that go into effect on April 21 will be felt by both mom-and-pop businesses and many of the world’s most well-known brands.
Read more...If It Looks Like Marketing and Sounds Like Marketing, It’s Probably Bad Marketing
In my previous life as a creative director in radio, one of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome with advertisers was their preconceived notion of what a radio commercial should sound like. Decades of listening to the radio conditioned many small business owners to believe all commercials should have big, booming announcer voices who shouted price points and advertising clichés. About 10 years ago, I wrote a script, emailed it to the advertiser for approval and received an odd response.
Read more...Are You Earning Loyalty or Bribing?
A new study from Capgemini Consulting shows that the vast majority of companies have a somewhat of a warped view of loyalty. In a nutshell, most loyalty programs come down to “you spend money, we give you a perk.” The research involved 160 companies in the retail, banking, consumer products, telecom, airlines, hotel and consumer electronics sectors. Here are some of the key findings:
Read more...How Long Your Marketing Content Should Be, and a Better Question to Ask
It’s a question I get all the time from clients and colleagues. Everybody is searching for the magic number that will bring the most traffic, the most comments, the most social shares, the highest search ranking and the most qualified leads.
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