The other reason companies resist social media is that they can’t imagine how they’ll be able to come up with new content. That’s because they haven’t answered the bigger question: why? Why give yourself this new forum? What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to educate consumers? Do you want a sounding board…

Whenever companies resist the idea of starting a blog or participating in Facebook or Twitter, it’s often for one of two reasons. The first: they don’t want to open the door to negative comments from the outside. But if something about your business prompts a negative response, those comments are happening anyway. When you have…

One of the most effective marketing approaches — assuming that what you offer or the way you offer it is up to the task — is to make your brand aspirational. Make doing business with you, using your services or your products, something that people aspire to. “The Car That Car Lovers Love.” “For Serious…

If social media is an important component of your marketing effort, don’t just use it to pitch your business. Instead, ask yourself what you can give. What valuable information, insights or ideas can you pass along to your readers, connections, fans or followers? What would change if they saw your social media sites as places to…

You already know that LinkedIn allows you to recommend and endorse your connections for skills and expertise they possess. And of course, you’d like to be recommended as well, since those independent endorsements at least suggest credibility. Consider getting more mileage from them by taking them beyond LinkedIn. If someone’s written a recommendation for you…

Nearly every company is focused on driving traffic to its website. And that’s an important goal. But it brings to mind two even more important questions. First, is driving traffic to your website taking precedence over driving actual sales? Web traffic is great if it leads to new business; if it doesn’t, it missed the…

If you’re one of the more than 28 million people who have watched Westjet’s “Christmas Miracle” video, you know a couple of things. One is that it’s a textbook example of how to create content with maximum viral potential and boost your name recognition. The other is that caution doesn’t pay. Both the couple who…

Think of your best prospects. What’s the biggest thing on their minds? Not as it relates to what you do; what’s their number one concern in life right now? Last question: how can you use that one thing (remember — it’s foremost in their minds) to drive your marketing message?

Last week saw the passing of Peter O’Toole, the audacious British actor perhaps best known for playing another audacious Brit, T. E. Lawrence — better known as Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence led several hundred Bedouin tribesman to a victorious attack on the port town of Aqaba, where his small force killed or captured well over…

In the new social media landscape, where we’re asked to “like” one brand or another, the old-fashioned notion persists that there are some brands we simply love. Here’s why this matters to your company. A brand you like has some of your heart, but you can be wooed away fairly easily. A brand you love…