The Art Of Listening In Social Media (Jason Falls)While I'm on vacation, I've asked some very smart bloggers whom I am fortunate to consider my friends, to share some insights with you. Enjoy their brilliance because before you know it, you'll be stuck with me again! Next up, Jason Falls. I recently posed the question to a group of advertising professionals, “What do you think the first step to social media success is?” The answers I got were varied and some were close to being right but most of them made the common mistake of concentrating on the... The profit and loss (Anna Farmery)While I'm on vacation, I've asked some very smart bloggers whom I am fortunate to consider my friends, to share some insights with you. Enjoy their brilliance because before you know it, you'll be stuck with me again! Next up, Anna Farmery. Branding is so often seen as the external face of the company. Yet, in my opinion the brand is not what 'you say it is', it is what the 'consumers feel it is'.......and that feeling is created by the people within your organization. To engage consumers, you need... Five ways to gain notice without losing your shirt (Steve Woodruff)While I'm on vacation, I've asked some very smart bloggers whom I am fortunate to consider my friends, to share some insights with you. Enjoy their brilliance because before you know it, you'll be stuck with me again! Next up, Steve Woodruff. It's a major challenge for any small business to get noticed. How do you compete with the marketing budgets of larger, established players in your field? And how do you do it without breaking the bank, while still projecting a quality image? Happily, we live in a time... Once again...your brand is not your logoImage by Will Lion via Flickr I travel all over the country, speaking at conferences and conventions on marketing, branding and social media. One of my most popular and requested presentations for the past couple years is Your Brand Is Not Your Logo. And yet, I find so many people still mis-define branding. Your logo, tagline, color palette etc. are simply tools you use to connect people to your brand. So, I always enjoy conversations with other marketing pros who share my take on branding. I recently had the opportunity... Indulging in my own gratitude (2008)Happy Thanksgiving! Even if you're not in the states -- why not take a moment today and remember some of the blessings you have in your life? I try very hard to make every post in this blog about you. I want to infuse value, insights and fresh ideas in every post. So I hope you’ll forgive me this annual self-indulgent post. What I would love is to have you add to it with your own self-indulgent gratitude. That would make me feel better. (Does that make this post even... I love lists (Todd Andrlik)While I'm on vacation, I've asked some very smart bloggers whom I am fortunate to consider my friends, to share some insights with you. Enjoy their brilliance because before you know it, you'll be stuck with me again! First up, Todd And. A wise man on YouTube once said Americans love lists. According to that man… “A lot of people on the net are saying they’re sick of lists. They say lists are a cheap ‘link bait tactic.’ Oh you don’t like lists, huh? How about these lists: 1. The... Do you make time to refuel?Okay, I can see my co-workers, clients and the many people who receive e-mail from me at 2 am rolling their eyes as they read the headline. I'm sure someone is muttering something about a pot or a kettle. But ignore them and hear me out. I admit it...I work too much, too hard and burn the midnight oil too often. But come on now -- so do you. True? The truth of the matter is...we're all working too hard, too long and too much. Which means that it's even... Name a medium and I've got a learning tool for you!Sure, there's a 4-day weekend coming up. At least for us Americans. You bet -- lots of turkey and pumpkin pie. And football. Let's not forget football. Or, if you prefer -- shopping. But sooner or later, your brain is going to ask for of a jump start. And I've got just the thing for you...no matter how you like to learn. Special Report: Rain Today's Face to Face Networking Guide: A Primer for Relationship Building Rain Today is one of my favorite resources. Tons of good information, webinars, research... The best way to grow your businessSo you want more customers? Happier customers? Customers who rave about you to others? How about bigger sales per transaction? More repeat business? Fewer complaints? Less down time? The answer to all of those desires...happy employees. Workplace attitude, employee engagement, taking good care of your people, creating a positive and fun work atmosphere…call it what you want. But it’s not HR mumbo jumbo, it’s not new age hoopla and it’s not the employees angling for more perks. It’s smart business and any manager or business owner who doesn’t truly understand... 3 traits of a creative leaderI recently had to say goodbye to a very dear friend. Al owned an advertising agency in New Hampshire and we'd been a part of each other's unofficial advisory boards (I wrote about my posse awhile back) for almost 10 years. I loved him with all my heart and I'll miss his humor, straight talk and business smarts. But...over the years, I learned a great deal from him and I'd like to honor his memory by sharing some of that with you. Al was from the northeast and he always...
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