Frontline Perspectives

The new rules of social media series.

While on vacation this past week, I had the chance to finish Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and more) that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business. As a long-time fan of Anne Handley of Marketing Profs, I was looking forward to hearing what she had to say about  maximizing your online presence. Read more »

You’ve probably seen them: futuristic-looking black-and-white boxes that look like the love child of a barcode and a postage stamp. They’re called QR (for Quick Response) codes and they’re popping up everywhere — like on the side of this bus — as the latest buzz-worthy tool to hit marketing.

Developed in Japan in the mid-90s, QR codes bridge the gap between the physical world and the digital one. Readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and the cameras on smartphones, the black-and-white boxes contain encoded information such as text, URLs and other data. Read more »

The Rolling Stones sang this well.  Life is full of unfulfilled dreams, wants and needs. And many of us get pretty darn crabby about it. For the sales and marketing teams:  “If we only had the resources to develop the website more, or the money to develop an SEM campaign, or hire five new sales people to develop the new verticals we’ve danced around.  And then there’s the video and green room that could take our video platform to a whole new planet.  We could be so much better, only if we hand X, Y, Z…” Read more »

This question generally strikes fear (or anguish) into most of the marketers I talk with…because they don’t know what the competition has been doing. They know who the competition is, and once a year they might look at the list to think about market share as they prepare for a management meeting.  But regularly assessing what the competition is doing isn’t on the marketing radar at all. Read more »

Over the past two years, I’ve had more and more marketing managers ask me about ways to improve communication with their employees. This focus on internal engagement tactics is an important marketing element in a down economy. (Keep valued employees focused and feeling valued at a time when uncertainty abounds.) But as the economy rebounds, these efforts will become even more important in employee retention, recruiting and training efforts. Read more »

We’re in the process of hiring right now, which means I’m spending a fair amount of time reviewing resumes. I’m continually amazed that the majority of people don’t include a cover letter with their resume. And those who do include one have serious grammar, spelling and clarity issues. What this means is that the majority (and I mean more than 75%) of these people have either made very little, or a terrible, first impression. And because of that, they’re not going to get to the interview stage. Read more »

I think every marketing person needs this written on a T-shirt to remind them what their customers are really thinking. Read more »

Most people know these terms as if they’ve existed for decades. But a review of the basics never hurts — whether you just need a refresher or are just getting started in social media. Read more »

A few days ago I posted our recipe for persuasion, along with an announcement about our HOLEY KNIT! knitting group’s upcoming bake sale to benefit Heifer International. Now I’m back to tell you that the sale was a HOLEY SUCCESS! We raised $300 in the first hour, thanks to our co-workers’ generosity! We were quite excited. The donation wouldn’t be enough to buy a $480 Knitter’s Gift Basket, but it would buy several shares of a basket, which is pretty darn good. Read more »

There’s an old saying that says you should never “assume” anything because it makes an “@$$ out of you and me.” While trite, this is particularly important for us marketing folks to remember. The best copy or the most powerful visuals won’t take the place of really understanding what your target market’s pain points are, and offering the solutions they need. And the best way to know this is to ask. Read more »