Is your social strategy working?

Is your social strategy working?

Making social media work well is like walking on ice.  The social platforms are forever changing their algorithms. Gone are the days where 15% of your page followers on Facebook saw your posts.  Today almost zero see them, unless they actively visit your page – unless...
What’s your influence strategy?

What’s your influence strategy?

Your reputation depends on what other people say and write about you.  If you have a good reputation, it means you’re doing something right.  But what happens if your reputation is good, but is almost a trade secret? Lots of people do a great job for their customers,...
Leverage your blog posts

Leverage your blog posts

If you write regularly for your blog, you’ll be generating a wealth of information around your area of expertise.  If you’re running a business and understand the power of marketing you probably also create social media posts, newsletters, and, possibly, YouTube...
Reasons not to be an author

Reasons not to be an author

If you run a business, train people, are a consultant or a speaker, having a book with your name on the cover as author sets you apart from your competitors.  It positions you as an authority and extends your reach dramatically. I was taught that there were two types...
What’s your hook?

What’s your hook?

When you land on someone’s website what are you looking for? Is it an impressive blue-sky statement? Is it ‘Welcome to our website’? Is it a series of slides with pictures? Is it a technical description? Is it any sentence starting with ‘We …’? Is it something that...
That’s entertainment!

That’s entertainment!

Do you think that business presentations should be entertaining? Or do you prefer to sit through a boring presentation? Nobody wants to be bored and it benefits both sides if the presentation is entertaining, the presenter gets better responses and the audience...
Unconscious incompetence

Unconscious incompetence

The subject of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ has come up in several conversations lately.  In conversations with people who have transitioned from corporate employee to business owner and people who are in a new role in a business and don’t have experience...
In print!

In print!

When you have a marketing budget the issue of PR is often something you start thinking about.  Dreams of making the headlines in the national dailies drift through your mind – in a positive way, of course.  The national dailies are hard to crack – unless you are...
I don’t know what’s working

I don’t know what’s working

John Wanamaker, a 19th century retailer is accredited with the quote: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Many businesses say similar things about their marketing – along the lines of ‘I know some of my...
When is news not news?

When is news not news?

Strictly speaking a business newsletter doesn’t fall into the category of ‘news’.  Most business newsletters are more promotion than news.  The nearest they get to news is the launch of a new product or service. Information about what’s going on in your company really...