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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 […]

Fighting Words: 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.

7 Things Good Marketers Have in Common

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 […]

How to Avoid Awkward Silence in Your Comment Section

avoiding awkward silence in your blog comment section

There are a lot of lurkers on the web. You know, those people who visit websites, consume content, and move along. We’ve all done it. (You’re probably doing it right now!)

Quit Daydreaming and Focus on Your Website

That one big idea—the one that will bring the masses to your website overnight and lead to more Twitter followers than Lady Gaga sees is not worth waiting for. I’m all for brainstorming and trying big new ideas, but if you really want to improve your pageviews and build community online you should place your […]

Free Your Content, and the Rest Will Follow

A social media presence is a good start, but a presence alone is a lot like having a storefront on a quiet street and waiting for people to come in your door. Sure, they may find out about you eventually – if you’ve invested in advertising, have great word of mouth, dominate search engine rankings, […]

7 Steps to Dealing with Information Overload

Be honest: How many tabs do you have open in your browser right now? And how many times will you stop to check your email, IMs or Twitter while reading this post? There are too many links to click, blogs to subscribe to, Tweets to Retweet, books to read, and oh yeah, work to do. So […]

What to Do with Twitter When You Aren’t on Twitter

Let’s face it: Twitter is a bit addicting. Even as a former Twitter-hater, I’ve gotten somewhat swept up in the RTs, the #FF and that special feeling of being listed. Every article you see has the “How to Act on Twitter” and “What You’re REALLY saying in 140 characters.” But the truth is this, my […]

Award to the Wise: Readers Are the Real Judge

At the custom publisher where I spend my waking hours, the halls are adorned with praise for well-written articles and smartly designed feature spreads—a triumphant redesign of a moribund business school magazine, a celebrity cover for a prominent medical title with a circulation that seemingly knows no way but up. The list goes on.

10 Things I Hate About You (As a Blogger)

You broke my heart. So you leave me no choice: I have to break up with you. Don’t get me wrong; it was fun while it lasted. You were always making me smile with your clever headlines and funny captions. And I’ll never forget all the times you thoughtfully gave me advice. I thought we were […]

SEO Killed the Analog Star

Someone spouted this thought in the billion-voice echo chamber that is Twitter the other day: “Too many people are writing content for Google and not their readers.” The dude nailed it. Of course, five minutes later he Tweeted: “5 affordable ways to see Paris like a local”…which, of course, is something that’s been covered more […]

How to Monitor Social Media Conversations

There’s a lot of social media static out there. And sifting through it is not an enviable task.

Conquer the Writing Process (Or Let it Conquer You)

The interesting part about writing is that much of the “writing” process involves staring at a blank document on the computer screen. I rock back in my chair, I play with my hair, I stretch out my back. But all the while, the ideas are churning in my head (and that’s not just what I […]

4 Things My Mom Taught Me About Social Media

Mothers are the conduit of all wisdom. They know how to mend a scraped knee, a broken heart, and a fractured ego. And of course – and you knew this was coming – they incidentally have taught us a lot about social media. In honor of Mother’s Day here are 4 things my mom taught […]

The Country That Tweets Together …

I watched the Twin Towers collapse on 9/11 my senior year in high school. However, I did so several hours after the event. I went through my first two periods of the day not knowing that the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor had occurred shortly after I got off the bus that […]

The Lifespan of Social Media Content (Or, the Fish, the Stream, and the Shore)

There are a lot of analogies being passed around when it comes to where to publish social media content: “Fish where the fish are.” (You should focus efforts predominately on Facebook and Twitter.) “Don’t get lost in the stream.” (You should build your own presence, so you avoid getting lost on Facebook and Twitter.) “Rent, […]

4 Tips to Develop Engaging Story Ideas

“That’s a story idea,” I would often think as a general assignment newspaper reporter and editor. So many of my friends’ and family’s stories about lively debates at their jobs, old friends they ran into or the TV shows they were obsessed with would often lead to an article idea relevant and interesting to our […]

Social Media Friends … with Benefits

Marketers are courting people on social media and the relationship has evolved past the early days when it was all about making friends. Much to the delight of CFOs everywhere, social media has entered the era of “friends with benefits.” Tangible ones, even. According to survey results released by Social Media Examiner, marketers have reported […]

Nudity, Pregnancy, and the Power of Magazines

In the celebrity world, there are three life events that absolutely warrant a magazine cover and spread: Babies (both pregnancy and newborn shots), coming out of the closet and losing a significant amount of weight. Though some digital devotees have dismissed the print medium in today’s laptop/mobile/iPad age, the truth is that this tradition still […]

Want Inspiration? Stop Reading Blogs

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you’re here, but you should strongly consider clicking that little red x in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Because if you truly want inspiration, you’ve come to the wrong place, sort of. Still here? Then I’ll explain:

3 Simple Social Media Lessons from the Bronx Zoo Cobra

There’s a reason the phrase “corporate stiff” exists. On our way to the social media party, we in the corporate world have to make pit stops at the legal department, the best practices office, HR, and get frisked by the brand police. After that, it’s no wonder we’re a little tense, a little stiff. And […]

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