May 18, 2012
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Pinterest, don’t Sinterest!

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Pinterest is the biggest new social media phenomenon on the block. It’s a social photo sharing website which lets users share images on virtual pinboards. You can create boards for any theme that catches your fancy – a friend has been gathering images of posters of his favourite noir films and another has a board which is dedicated to great nature images.

But what about that ever-fraught topic when it comes to the digital space: copyright? First of all, Pinterest clearly states in its Terms Of Use that it is not responsible for the consequences you might face if Continue Reading →

May 15, 2012
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Branding first, promotions later: 10 reasons why

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Sometimes, new businesses are eager to jump into promotional mode, pushing sales by brute force to get a jump-start on growth. I think it makes sense to first get the branding aspect sorted out. You can increase turnover with tactical moves for a while – but without the strategic framework of a strong brand you’re not going to build momentum for the long haul. This is marketing 101, but let’s revisit the ten reasons why you need to go to market Continue Reading →

May 11, 2012
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10 great link building strategies you may not have heard of

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Great content, and a lot of link-backs – these are the pillars of having a site that fares well in the SEO stakes. This blog has featured strategies and tactics for gaining more links in the past. Let’s take a look at ten awesome Continue Reading →

May 8, 2012
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Let’s be honest

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What does it take to have a successful blog? How do you get a great following on a social network? How do you make a piece of content that goes viral?

A common answer is that you have to keep abreast of trends, you have to be edgy and cool to make it in the digital communication space Continue Reading →

May 4, 2012
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Customer service begins with corporate culture

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We’ve worked on corporate intranets and employee-facing communications, but the bulk of what we work on is targeted at our clients’ existing and potential customers. Effective online communication is a part of good customer service. It’s important to have useful information readily available as well as to keep communication channels open and visible.

Over time, we’ve noticed that good customer service isn’t just a function of how many touch points you make available to your customers or how many platforms you use to interact with them. Those are important gateways, but the real deal is how customers fare when they actually get in touch. Continue Reading →

May 1, 2012
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Look for friends, not links: the mantra of online networking

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How do you reach out to online influencers and get more incoming links and more reach through them?

Last April, this blog offered what was described as the new mantra of online networking: Look for friends, not links. It’s been a year, so it isn’t exactly new anymore, but I think it has stood the test of time. To quote from that post:

‘To understand this, you need to consider the nature of online influence. While large corporations and well-known experts can transfer their influence online, the new breed of online influencers Continue Reading →

April 27, 2012
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Back to basics: building a successful social media strategy

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Every once in a while it’s worth stepping back and re-connecting with first principles. We’ve been blogging about different social media tactics, but what about the strategic framework that contains them all?

To succeed, any individual social media campaign has to be part of a well thought out strategy that sets the pace for what you do, how you do it, when you do it and how you can ensure good results. Continue Reading →

April 24, 2012
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Networking with online influencers for added social media traction

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What if you threw a party and no one came?

That’s the nightmarish possibility looming over any marketer launching a new content-based campaign online. The best content won’t go far if you can’t get anyone to look at it. It helps if your brand already has a massive online following. But if it doesn’t, and even if it does, you can still earn added traction in social media by networking strategically with online influencers. These are people whose blogs, twitter feeds or videos are relevant to your keywords and have a massive online following.

A single retweet, share or +1 from a relevant online influencer can dramatically multiply your campaign’s visibility and reach. But influencers are aware of their power and their responsibility to use it responsibly and retain their reputation. Continue Reading →

April 20, 2012
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Content marketing and ROI: the hidden links

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This blog post is really about two things. First of all, I’d like to explode the notion that content marketing or brand storytelling  are just new, trendy buzzwords. In fact, it’s just a more systematic approach to something that’s been going on for a while. Any activity you’ve been doing to drive people to your web assets, and to get them to interact with you and eventually buy into your brand is a prototypical form of content marketing. Marketing professionals are great at – well, at marketing – so once we took this combination of activities and started streamlining it and giving it a direct tie-in to business goals, we also started giving it specific names.

That isn’t to say it’s just old wine in a new bottle. The digital landscape has changed immensely in the past decade. Social media is in the forefront, content is still king, but people expect Continue Reading →

April 17, 2012
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3 keys to becoming an authority

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A well-spoken lecturer on a podium in a nicely lit hall carries a lot more clout than a wild-eyed speaker holding forth atop a soapbox on a street corner. The articulate public speaker has a greater chance of being accepted as an authority by hiss audience than the roadside raver. How did he get there? What does it take to distinguish yourself as someone who has something really valuable to say on a given topic?

These are questions that are becoming increasingly important as businesses venture into the digital domain, seeking to join the online conversation. Continue Reading →