Andrew Hanelly

Why Machines Make Terrible Social Media Managers

Technology allows us to be more efficient and effective when it comes to managing our digital presence. It enables us to schedule social media updates throughout the day without having to drop everything every 15 or 20 minutes and fire off a witty remark or share a link. And technology affords us the opportunity to […]

The Death of the Social Media Guy

There was a time long ago when dinosaurs ruled the earth and organizations considered it acceptable to have one person who “got” social media on staff. This person would be on call to show people how use Twitter, set up a Facebook brand page, and ultimately, be responsible for single-handedly carrying out a “social media […]

How I Built a Digital Ghost Town

One of the most satisfying experiences is having a website take off in popularity. People are linking to you and sharing your stuff, responding to your emails, spending time and leaving comments, and in some cases opening their wallets. It’s a love train of feel-good moments, back-patting, fist bumps and fist pumps. I’ve been lucky […]

Why Gawker is Writing Better Headlines Than the Rest of the Web

press this button: why gawker writes the best headlines on the web

It’s almost impossible not to click on a link to a Gawker article. It doesn’t matter if you see one on Twitter, your RSS reader or scrawled in Sharpie on the interior of a bathroom stall, it’s a moth-to-fire, trancelike pull. You could say it’s because they have the best content on the web (but […]

6 Lessons from the Aspen Institute Dialogue on The Future of Content 2020

When Walter Isaacson, Marcus Brauchli or Ken Auletta speak, you listen. And when the three of them get together and talk about the future of content, you sit down and take notes. Which is exactly what I did the other day at the Aspen Institute Dialogue on The Future of Content 2020. Here are 6 […]

What Do We Want? Your Website to Load! When Do We Want it? Now!

If it took a website as long to load as it takes you to finish reading this sentence, you’d probably have abandoned it by now. And if you’re still here: congratulations, you’re in the patient minority. We all knew that page load speed was a huge factor on the web (See: humans and their lack […]

Content Dilution

A small diner in the northeast had a popular dish and an owner who could have easily been elected mayor if he wasn’t obsessed with making people smile with their mouths full. Over the years, he’d perfected his clam chowder recipe – focusing on finding the best ingredients and carefully preparing each bowl by hand […]

Why Content Eats Advertising’s Lunch

There’s a decades old saying in advertising that bears repeating: “People don’t read ads – they read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.” The man behind those words – Howard Gossage – was right. Sometimes it is an ad. Sometimes. Every other time, it’s content.

Think Like a Startup, Act Like a Blogger

The best startups focus unwaveringly around one thing: solving a real-world problem. The best bloggers focus intensely on another thing: participating and publishing in social media. Combine the two and your organization has a simple framework for success in the digital space.

So, You Want to be a Web Editor? Know These 11 Things

Running a digital presence isn’t for the faint of heart. But it seems like everyone and their brother’s brand is dipping their toes into the content hustling game. Competition for audience share is heating up in every niche and only the strong will survive. Before you throw your hat into the ring, here are 11 […]

The Rise Of The Profersonal In Social Media

In the past year, social media was the vehicle that drove several high-profile careers off a cliff. Pro athlete Larry Johnson tweeted a homophobic slur that resulted in a fan petition calling for his removal from the Kansas City Chiefs. He was later suspended. Gilbert Gottfried lost his gig as the voice of the Aflac […]

10 Better Ideas Than Looking at a Top 10 List For Advice

Top 10 lists are like new year’s resolutions. They seem great at first, but they quickly make you feel bored, hopeless, and like you’ve wasted your time. And that’s usually because they are filled with things you know you should do but can’t commit to doing. They’re too aspirational. Too shoot-for-the-moon-y. Which is why I’ve […]

How Betty Crocker is Baking Content Marketing Success

Betty Crocker found a great recipe for content marketing success. (I know, that pun was hard to swallow.) When food brand giant and cultural icon Betty Crocker, a brand owned by General Mills, wasn’t having success online they developed a digital video series centered around solving common problems for at-home chefs. Since launching in 2008, […]

5 Lessons From my Biggest Blog Fails of 2011

I failed a lot this year. My gut reaction was to quietly sweep my failures under the rug, whistle, and walk away. But instead, I figured I’d scrape the bottom of the barrel to see if there was any gold. Sue me. I’m an optimist. Instead of a collection of successful case studies, this post […]

A Farewell to Content Overload

When writing about simplicity, it’s almost impossible to not sound like a bumbling idiot. Therefore, I’ll get right to the point: Creating a simple interface for your content is the greatest thing you can do for your audience. Here are 5 reasons why:

Why the Fate of Your Website Will Be Decided in Less Time Than it Takes You to Read This Sentence

Speed kills on the web. The same people who a decade ago would wait patiently through the screeching greeting of a dial-up modem are now frustrated when the homepage of CNN doesn’t refresh as quickly as a wiper blade across a windshield. Consider the following:

5 Future-proof Ideas For Your Website

Predicting the future of the web is nearly impossible. Ever-changing technology provides fodder for our imagination to run wild. And it typically does. Imagination outpaces invention. And invention outpaces convention. Which is why we should focus less on technology, and more on human nature when we’re future-proofing our websites. If we bet on technology, we […]

4 Reasons Your Facebook Fan Stopped Liking You

“You like me, you really like me!” It’s hard not to get excited when someone likes our organizations page on Facebook, especially early on. It could be the beginning of a beautiful romance of brand and consumer. But then things go wrong. Brand statuses are ignored. Questions are left to wither alone in silence. The flame is […]

Why Distractions Mean Failure in Football and 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 […]

Just Another SEO Manifesto

If I had only one thing to say about search engine optimization, it’d be this: don’t chase the search engines, instead chase what the search engines are chasing. Search engines are in the business of getting people what they want. In an ideal world, people ask search engines an honest question and receive an honest […]

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