Social Media Archives

7 Digital Advertising Trends You Need to Know Now!

Digital has taken the world by storm, upending the world of traditional advertising and requiring 21^st marketers to become savvy about a broad range of digital advertising options that can include anything from SEO, to social media, to mobile and more.

There’s much to understand, much to keep track of and much to stay on top of. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that digital advertising, unlike traditional advertising, is far more trackable, allowing marketers to determine what is working for them and driving the results they desire and what may not be as effective. Continue reading “7 Digital Advertising Trends You Need to Know Now!”

A Wealth of Social Media & Marketing Tips from Experts and Practitioners

Just returned from the 6th Annual Social Media & Marketing Conference sponsored by the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce and my head is spinning. It seems that no matter how much we may all think we know a lot about social media and/or marketing, there is always so much more to learn. I learned a lot today from both the presenters and other attendees. Continue reading “A Wealth of Social Media & Marketing Tips from Experts and Practitioners”

Contextualized Advertising: Just “Preaching to the Choir”?

The older I get, the more I recognize the inevitable cycles that occur all around me, from fashion trends to areas of marketing focus. It’s the yin and yang of life I suppose; we naturally shift back and forth between preferences for one thing or another. And, it is likely true that there is nothing really “new” under the sun, just recycled or updated twists on things that have gone before.

Except, perhaps, in the world of online marketing. One of the latest trends–contextualized advertising–offers marketers the ability to almost “get inside the heads” of potential consumers to deliver messages to them based not only on places they’ve visited online, but for things that might be geographically or contextually relevant to them.

For instance. You’re walking down the street on a hot summer day and you get a text message telling you about a great deal on ice cream at a shop that is now literally 10 steps away from you. Or, you’re driving to a vacation destination and a special deal on a hotel at the next exit pops up. That’s contextual advertising and it’s all the rage right now. Although, of course, nobody quite knows yet Continue reading “Contextualized Advertising: Just “Preaching to the Choir”?”

Engaging Your Audience Through Social Media

Social media is critical for most (but still not all) businesses these days. It is a key communication channel that allows businesses and individuals to connect with a wide audience very cost-effectively.

As a business owner I maintain both LinkedIn and Twitter accounts for myself and have used them to successfully connect with prospects, clients, the media and other audiences. I’ve gained more than one client simply through my LinkedIn profile.

As a marketing communication consultant I work with clients to develop and manage their online communications presence through content marketing and management. These activities generally involve a strategy around driving traffic from various social media activities (LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc.) to their web sites to generate some specific action, ultimately leading to a sale or new client interaction.

In my work I’ve found the keys to success to involve primarily two things: Continue reading “Engaging Your Audience Through Social Media”

No Social Media? No Way!

Financial institutions are on social media. Hospitals and healthcare systems are on social media. Even law enforcement agencies are becoming engaged. While some groups have, for very good reason, been slow to adopt social media as a means of communicating with various audiences, it’s fair to say that most organizations that have an audience of some sort have found social media to be a “must do” rather than a “we need to think about it.”

But not all. Continue reading “No Social Media? No Way!”

SEO: Optimizing for the “right” words and phrases–those that drive real results!

If you Google the term “strategic communications” my company — Strategic Communications — is likely to show up on the first page of the results you see. Great, right? Well, not necessarily. But, the fact that it does, and the results that I see, have provided me with some key insights into the types of words and phrases that I, and my clients, should be optimizing for. Continue reading “SEO: Optimizing for the “right” words and phrases–those that drive real results!”