If businesses talk at all about content (and they seldom do), they’re thinking of their websites.  But if clients and consumers are looking for content, why restrict yourself to your website?  Content just means practical information or entertainment, and there are dozens of ways to offer it.  Think seminars, workshops, e-mail, blogs, special events, video…

The baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) currently control the lion’s share of the nation’s wealth.  And over half of them text.  Are those unrelated facts?  They don’t have to be.  If you’re targeting boomers, why not find ways to engage them with their mobile devices?  Bank ads could include a code that you…

The odds of a child dying from H1N1 flu are exponentially higher than dying from the vaccine.  Yet thousands of parents refuse to let children be vaccinated.  Texting while driving causes more accidents than driving drunk.  But people who would never drink and drive continue to text behind the wheel.  Heart disease kills more people…

Businesses are eyeing social media like Facebook as a new way to connect with consumers – and why not?  Over 80% of moms use Facebook, which makes it the ideal medium, right?  Maybe not.  The problem is that moms use social media to connect with friends and family, while marketers are mostly using it to…

Recent research shows that seniors (age 62 and up) who are online have higher intent to buy, have twice the income of their offline counterparts, as well as twice the likelihood of a college education, a job and a spouse.  If the target audience for your website includes seniors, make sure it shows.  Use a…

Most businesses hope to lure prospects from a competitor.  In fact, it’s one of only two ways you can grow (the other is to get more business from the customers you have now).  But ask yourself this: what would make you switch?  What would it take to get you to change banks, doctors, cleaners, printers…

Many years ago, advertising legend David Ogilvy wrote, “If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, and the language in which they think.”  While researchers have confirmed the wisdom of this strategy over and over again,…

Many media representatives selling ad space or air time offer to have their people produce your ad or your spot at no charge.  This sounds like a great deal – but dig a little deeper.  It means that your message is being created by someone who knows neither your business nor your brand – someone…

If you use e-mail to market to your customers and prospects (if you don’t, you’re already years behind), consider your goal before you compose your message.  If your goal is to get customers to shop during a sale, why not put the date of the sale and the discount code in your subject line?  Many…

A recent study shows that, when it comes to online ads, creativity is often ignored.  So much time is devoted to accurate targeting that little attention is paid to whether the ad will actually get anyone’s attention.  The research suggests keeping brand identity at the forefront and not hiding the core message a few seconds…