Archive for the 'Blogging' Category

Being Nice

Published in Blogging, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing and Social Media. 0 Comments

“It’s nice to be important…but it’s more important to be nice.”

My dad said that often when I was growing up. I think about that idea a lot, especially as it relates to the business world. But it should not matter just in the business world. It should be applied to all aspects of our lives.

Smiling Tennis Balls

Just. Be. Nice.

Does your business have a people strategy?

It should.  And being nice needs to be at the core of that strategy.

Be Nice to Everyone

Be nice to your family. Be nice to your friends. Be nice to your co-workers. Be nice to your customers. Treat everyone you encounter with respect, even if they don’t deserve it. I know, I know, easier said than done. I agree, but try it anyway.

You Can’t Pick and Choose

However, I’m not in favor of  choosing when to be nice and who to be nice to. Being nice only when it is convenient or benefits you, tells me a lot about the kind of person you choose to be. It tells me that ultimately everything is about YOU.

In the end that kind of thinking does not pay off, in business or in life.

Be nice. It’s not that hard. And it’s so much better than…you know…NOT being nice.

Image by: SeanbJack via Creative Commons License

Off the Radar: Where I’ve Been

Published in Blogging, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Social Media and Web Analytics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Off the RadarThe Bad: It’s been a long time since I posted anything here. It’s really hard to gain any momentum and build a following if one does not, you know, publish anything. I plan on creating much more regular content here in 2012 and I’m having a few close friends help provide some accountability on that front.

The Good: I have not gone completely off the grid, however. I’ve been doing all sorts of digital marketing activities, including creating content for some Chicago based web design firms.  I did a number of posts in 2011 for the Mightybytes blog while working there part time.  I also contributed a guest post for the Orbit Media blog.

Below I’ve listed some of the highlights. Hopefully these hold you over for a bit until I follow through on my commitment to get new content up on this site.

Web Analytics

Measure What Matters: Defining Goals to Get More from Google Analytics

Measuring activity on your site means more than just counting the number of page views. By setting up goals early on, you can gain deep insights into how your customers or visitors interact with your site.

Measure What Matters: Using Funnel Paths in Google Analytics

By using Funnel Paths in Google Analytics, you can see exactly how your visitors enter and exit pages on your website. The conversion rates calculated for each stage of the funnel will show you exactly how well each page is performing and will make it easy for you to identify and make changes to pages that need improvement.

Measure What Matters: Using Goals and Funnels in Google Analytics to Optimize Website Performance

Use the combined power of Google Analytics’ goals and funnels data to remove a lot of the guesswork that may have been a part of your previous online marketing efforts.

Social Media

Building Brand Awareness with Social Media: A Chicago Case Study

You don’t always need PR campaigns to increase awareness of your brand. Discover how Jennifer Lucente, New Media Manager for the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF), used social media to promote the CAF’s “Around Chicago in 85 Tours” challenge. Her efforts resulted in record CAF attendance and revenue figures for the year.

Get the Led Out: Social Media Lessons from Led Zeppelin

One of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time was secretly doling out social media advice well before its time.

Content Strategy

Five Essential Actions for a Successful Online Content Marketing Strategy

Are you investing time and money in an online content marketing strategy? Focus on these five essential actions to get the most out of your efforts.

When Doing 140 Is Okay

Published in Blogging and Digital Marketing. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I often struggle to write because I believe I have to craft some exquisite masterpiece so loved by everyone that it spreads virally across the internet.

And what happens?  I end up never writing anything because my inner voice tells me my content will never be good enough. Stupid, I know, but those types of thoughts bounce around in my head.

Speed 140Therefore, in an effort to increase my output, I’m considering writing a regular Twitteresque “blog” using a 140 word limit instead of a 140 character limit.  The thought is the low limit will force me to succinctly express my ideas without overanalyzing the content. This in turn should help increase the frequency of my posts. This type of post would be especially good for interesting topics that don’t necessarily warrant a long blog post.

Love to hear your thoughts.