Tag: Marketing
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Digital Media: Owned, Earned, Paid… Plus Shared, Free and Rented
The forms of digital media that organizations can leverage as part of their marketing and public relations efforts should include not just the traditional notions of owned, earned and paid, but also shared, free and rented. This article describes and provides examples of each type and offers some related thoughts.
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19 Ways to Create a Mobile Ready Website, eCommerce Business or Mobile App
Did you know that 78 percent of all websites are still not optimized for mobile? WebsiteToolTester.com recently created an infographic that provides an overview of the best options for creating mobile ready websites, eCommerce businesses and mobile apps. These options can work with a range of individual skill levels and organizational sizes and budgets. The…
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Understanding and Using # Tags (hashtags) and @ Tags (at tags)
Many (most?) people are confounded by the differences between # and @ tags; and as a result, they tend to use them interchangeably. Doing so, however, can undermine the goals one is trying to achieve by incorporating tags into their social media communications. This article clarifies the differences and offers guidance on how they work…
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Can We Measure Social Media Sophistication? If So, How?
Can we validly and reliably measure social media sophistication? In Part 2 of a two-part essay, I share my perspective on the challenges in trying to create a universal measure, and offer some thoughts on what a tool to measure social media sophistication might include. The thoughts and perspectives of others are welcome.
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Should We Try to Measure Social Media Sophistication?
Should there be a scientific measure of social media sophistication? In Part 1 of a two-part essay, I share my perspective on whether understanding social media sophistication is important and whether there’s value in trying to create a universal measure to assess it. The perspective of others is welcome.
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The Key to Digital Success? In a Word, Discipline.
Digital success does not come easy or cheap, and it requires a lot of time and effort. It demands commitment, focus, organization, rigor, persistence, resilience, ruthlessness, self control, efficiency… none of which is possible without both mental and emotional discipline. To achieve digital success, leaders and others must have the discipline to lay a strong…
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Five Key Digital Transformation Mistakes
Key digital transformation mistakes include not having an executive in charge,inadequate leadership buy-in and support,having decisions related to social and digital technologies made by people who lack sophistication, multiple fragmented, tactical approaches rather than a unified approach that is strategic and integrated, and executives who lack the proper perspective on revenues and expenses.
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Website Optimization: Testing Tools and Tips
Google’s recent algorithm change prioritizes “mobile-friendly” websites. This significant change has been dubbed #mobilegeddon, but it actually may create the incentive some organizations need to enhance their websites. A key part of any enhancement initiative should include website optimization testing, which primarily focuses on evaluating the speed with which specific pages load. This article provides…
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Blogging is so Misunderstood: 8 Things Everyone Should Know
Blogging has evolved into a critically important website feature that virtually every organization can benefit from; however, many people still harbor negative perceptions that prevent them from taking advantage of the benefits blogs can offer. This article is intended to update people’s perceptions by sharing eight key facts about blogs and blogging.
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Hiring Social Media and Digital Expertise: A Hierarchy
The approach to hiring social media and digital expertise used by most organizations is perfectly backwards. They usually start with part-time internal help that is either a junior staffer, an enthusiast with some knowledge, or both. A better approach is to start with a true expert who can help define a strategy, outsource engagement to…
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Technological Innovation and Strategy: Beyond Disruption
Rather than viewing the impact of technological innovation on established firms as either competence-destroying or competence-enhancing, business leaders should consider their competence-extending possibilities. This article explores the notion and provides examples of businesses that have successfully adapted their strategies to incorporate new social and digital technologies.
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Selecting Website Themes: A Guiding Framework
This guidance for evaluating website themes divides various factors into three categories: mandatory, important, and optional. Mandatory factors include things like responsive design and developer reputation. Important factors include browser compatibility and certain blog elements. Optional factors include page templates, demo data, and compatibility with common WordPress plugins like WooCommerce.
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8 (Cold, Hard) Truths about Social Media
Organizational leaders and other senior professionals need to be savvy enough to judge the true value of what they read and hear about social media’s promise, develop realistic expectations about both processes and outcomes, make smart decisions about where and how to engage, and create workable plans of actions for moving forward. Knowing these truths…
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5 Digital Engagement Questions Every Organization Should Address
To optimize their digital engagement, organizations should address five key questions focused on strategy, audience, value, feasibility, and when to exit.. These questions should certainly be tackled before establishing a presence and committing to engaging on any social or digital platform or channel, but they’re also useful in evaluating whether it’s worthwhile to continue in…
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LinkedIn Company Pages: A Worthwhile Investment?
LinkedIn Company Pages once held a lot of promise, but their value has becoming increasingly limited over time. Most organizations can now probably either live without them or restrict their usage to a simple organizational profile. This article assesses the past and current state of the feature and offers guidance on the most practical ways…
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Website Builder Platforms: Best Options for Small Businesses
The days of having to build a website “brick by brick” (i.e., code it line by line) are long behind us. For small businesses and “single shingle” professionals in particular, who don’t have in-house resources and can’t afford the time or money for complex development projects, there is a wide range of website builder and…
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Digital Property is Real Property: 5 Ways to Treat it That Way
Recognizing and respecting that digital property is in fact “real” property requires organizations to (1) make sure they own their own domain name(s) and lay claim to related social media properties, (2) require all official email be sent via domain-linked accounts, (3) take cybersecurity seriously, (4) maintain a presentable web presence, and (5) create policies…
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Optimizing Blog Posts: 11 Essential Considerations
Optimizing blog posts requires both art and science. This piece supplements the guidance offered in Blogging: A Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide, covering factors like developing post standards and creating templates, the importance of excerpts and featured images, SEO optimization, promoting reader friendliness and engagement, and more.
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A Comprehensive Beginner’s Blogging Guide
This beginner’s blogging guide is intended for people who want to incorporate blogs into their organization’s digital engagement efforts but aren’t sure where or how to begin. Individuals interested in blogging for personal and career management reasons may also find the guide useful. Its primary focus is on external blogs used for marketing, branding, and…
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Managing Comments Online: 10 Recommendations
If your organization is struggling with developing a best practices approach to managing comments online, these recommendations will help. They include debalkanizing approaches to engagement and moderation; creating simple yet comprehensive posting guidelines that are clearly visible and consistently enforced; letting the community help manage rule violations; and making sure staff are properly trained.