Customer Service

That’s Just, Like, Your Opinion, Man

March 11, 2011Content Management

You have written the perfect blog entry on a topic that seems harmless enough: “Five fitness tips for fighting flab.” You publish, and then you wait for the healthy dialogue to begin.

6 comments Read the full article →

Secrets to Building a Good Website

February 22, 2011Content Strategy

Eureka moments can happen anywhere. Mark Zuckerberg first tinkered with the code that would spark the social media revolution in his Harvard dorm room. Harry Potter came to J.K. Rowling in a dream. Howard Schultz envisioned a coffee empire while standing in line at a café in Milan. In the case of Schultz, the Brooklyn-bred […]

6 comments Read the full article →

Lessons In Social Capitalism

February 17, 2011Convergence

By now you may have heard about Kickstarter.com, the web site where entrepreneurs with compelling ideas but empty pockets can go to crowdsource the financing they need to make their crazy dreams a reality. The site calls itself “a new way to fund and follow creativity,” and it functions as a platform for “patrons,” or […]

6 comments Read the full article →

I Love You For You: Why Ignoring Technology is the Most Innovative Move You Can Make

January 24, 2011Innovation Plus Opinion

There’s a diner down the street that my girlfriend and I love to go to for breakfast on weekend mornings. It’s cozy, friendly, and it’s the perfect backdrop for conversation. It has built its business around serving regulars – like us – who count on it for a moment of serenity during typically hectic Washington […]

25 comments Read the full article →

Aimless Content

January 4, 2011Content Creation

We talk to ourselves a lot in marketing. We do this any time our content doesn’t have a direct target, or, when it’s aimless. And aimlessly addressed content, whether it’s an email, a billboard, a Tweet or a shout is the content that is most likely to be ignored and easiest to forget. When we […]

11 comments Read the full article →

Would You Trust This Brand?

December 14, 2010Measurement and Analysis

Building trust is hard enough to do in the real world (remember trying to convince your parents you were responsible enough to drive their car?), but building trust online is even more difficult. Fortunately, social media affords organizations the opportunity to build trust with consumers online, but only when done correctly.

4 comments Read the full article →

Are Customer Reviews Good For My Website?

December 6, 2010Content Management

Rolling the dice by letting your customers post reviews on your site is a gamble many brands are inclined to pass on. They figure the risk is not worth the potential reward. The juice is not worth the squeeze. “What if they say something bad?” “I don’t like the idea of losing control.” “I have […]

7 comments Read the full article →

What Making Sandwiches Taught Me About Marketing

December 3, 2010Innovation Plus Opinion

I’m about to break an unwritten rule of social media. I’m going to talk about what I had for lunch. But I’m not going to bore you with a Twitpic and a quip about the chili con carne I brought in Tupperware from last night’s dinner (though it was delicious). I’ll save that for a […]

12 comments Read the full article →

The Greatest Lead Generation Trick in the History of Humanity

May 24, 2010Content Strategy

It has nothing to do with conversion rates, A/B split testing, contact form optimization, or downloadable white papers. You won’t find the answer in cold-calling, renting lists, or collecting names in a fish bowl. Even the best webinar in the world is not the solution. The trick, in fact, isn’t even a trick at all.

4 comments Read the full article →

5 Ways Phone Calls Trump Email

May 11, 2010Innovation Plus Opinion

As much as I’ve always loved being a reporter, there’s something inherently nerve-wracking about picking up the phone to ask someone questions. But when I first started out in the 1990s, I had no choice. There was no email, at least not in most homes and offices. But, oh how the times have changed. A […]

4 comments Read the full article →