5 Tips for Using LinkedIn Contacts

LinkedIn is in the process of rolling out LinkedIn Contacts. In addition to several new features that are giving it a new look and feel – if offers enhanced functionality for better managing your relationships and social engagement. There is no question that all of the major social networks want you to use their service as your social […]

Read the full article

Social Marketing is Relationship Selling

Mainstream small business will more reliably get better results from social media if they view it more as selling than marketing. Why? Because effective relationship selling is personal, and now marketing is too. As social influences continue to profoundly affect business, just about every business activity is going to require relationship building skills. Traditional marketing or advertising was […]

Read the full article

If I Were Starting Social Media from Zero

A couple of months ago without notice, all of the social media sharing counters on my primary website had reverted to zero. Just like that, thousands of shares that had accumulated over a period of nearly seven years had vanished. Why is this significant? Social sharing is what is known as “social proof.”  It’s evidence […]

Read the full article

Social Media is Still Uncharted Waters

When you are embarking on a journey whose destination is uncertain, you have to get comfortable with uncertainty. When it comes to social media, uncertainty has been, and for the foreseeable future, will necessarily be part of its use in your marketing equation. These are uncharted waters. Everyone is still learning. So, small businesses simply […]

Read the full article

Why The Best Products are Souvenirs

Marketing expert Seth Godin has more than once noted that a book is souvenir – a vessel for ideas that allows them to be readily used and shared. I believe we can further expand on that idea. Have you ever considered that the products and services your small business creates are souvenirs too? What Exactly […]

Read the full article

Small Business Social Media Accountability

Recent tragic events here in the United States (and around the world) have heightened awareness of the global reach of media, especially social media, and the consequences for businesses using it. Small business advertising has historically been local, making it easy to craft messaging that is appropriate for the targeted audience. However, now any piece […]

Read the full article

Social Media for Small Business – It’s Still Early Days

The art of marketing has always been about making meaningful connections with ideal buyers. Modern marketing is a practice that is new to most small businesses. Prior to that small businesses made meaningful connections through selling, not marketing. One of the reasons for this is that most of the media available in recent decades, including magazines, […]

Read the full article

Why Writers Should Practice Meditation – And How to Get Started

Meditation is usually associated with relaxation and stress release, but those outcomes are more accurately by-products of the practice. The true purpose of meditation is to quiet the mind. When that happens, all kinds of personal benefits ensue, including improved health and resiliency, greater awareness, and the spiritual awakening that comes from tapping into one’s […]

Read the full article

Local Business Networks Intersect

Local businesses are their own location-specific network, and they tend to support each other and freely share without compromise. Now consider that there are countless local networks – and they all intersect. What is your business doing to tap into at least one of them? Local Businesses are More than Local When you buy local […]

Read the full article

Advertising That Enhances the Media Experience Works

Advertising (especially digital) has earned a reputation as something interruptive, and therefore, unwanted. Selling earned the same reputation back in the days of the stereotypical fast talking salesmen. In both circumstances, the problem was not with the medium for communicating the message – it was the message itself. While social media has in many ways […]

Read the full article