09Dec 2016 by Bob Cargill

Six Reasons Why Direct Marketers Should be Swooning Over Social Media

Direct Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
I’m not going to lie. I get it. I really do get it. As someone who earned a livelihood for many years writing copy almost exclusively for direct mail and email, I totally understand why some dyed-in-the-wool direct marketers are still on the fence about using social media. Tweeting, blogging and sharing selfies on Instagram just doesn’t have the same appeal to them as launching one of their own targeted, timely campaigns with a strong offer geared toward a qualified audience to which quantifiable metrics can be applied. They’re concerned about ROI and reputation. They’re afraid of the risk. I understand. I feel their pain. After all, I had the same questions and doubts myself when I began blogging in 2004. I wondered how social media was going to blend…
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11Nov 2016 by Bob Cargill

3 Reasons Why Snapchat is Such a Big Social Media Hit

Branding, Marketing, Snapchat, Social Media
Don’t look now, but the last bastion of social media for millennials, generation Z and anyone else in their teens or early twenties has pretty much reached the tipping point. Yup, Snapchat is about to go mainstream. Founded four years ago by three Stanford University students, this mobile photo and video messaging app earned a rather edgy, even controversial, reputation along the way to mass acceptance, but those days are gone. Snapchat has grown up. You heard me. Once associated almost exclusively with teenagers and risky behavior in front of the camera, Snapchat is now being used by businesses and brands as a cool, contemporary way to call attention to their existence in an increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace. The numbers alone are staggering. Over 150 million people use Snapchat…
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09Oct 2016 by Bob Cargill

3 Things Marketers Can Learn from Lokai on Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
If you think social media is a big deal now, you’ve seen nothing yet. Social media is poised to take over the world, or at least it’s heading in that direction. By 2018, projections are that some 2.44 billion people will be using social media in one way, shape or form. That’ll be about one third of the world’s population. Yes, indeed, whether you’re talking about Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram, social media user sizes are huge. You? Not so much. You’re just one lone brand, personal or professional, in a vast sea of accounts, each and every one of which is trying desperately to stand out among a cacophony of content. With the half-life of a tweet less than a half hour and complex, ever-changing algorithms on most…
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12Sep 2016 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways to Beef Up Your Social Media Program

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
Where’s the beef on social media? In 1984, an 81-year-old woman by the name of Clara Peller starred in an incredibly popular advertising campaign for Wendy’s, in which she demanded to know “Where’s the beef?” at a make-believe fast-food restaurant. The question went viral, becoming a commonly used catchphrase whenever anyone was looking for more of pretty much anything. Well, the same question Clara Peller had about hamburgers back in the day is the question I have now for brands, businesses, marketers, anyone and everyone who uses social media for professional reasons. Where’s the beef? Not to be a curmudgeon, but I have to say that far too many of you are mailing it in when it comes to publishing and sharing content on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social…
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14Aug 2016 by Bob Cargill

Three Key Ingredients to Success on Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
To say that businesses and brands have come a long way in their usage of social media would be an understatement. After all, not only have more of them than not established a presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the like, many of them are finally looking at social media as a valuable, respected communications stream as opposed to a necessary evil. Gone are the days when so many marketers were debating the pros and cons of investing even a small portion of their time and budgets in social media. Almost everyone agrees now that we’re talking about a permanent, revolutionary sea change in how consumers interact with companies, not merely a passing fad. That’s the good news. Unfortunately, despite how much progress we’ve made when it comes to social…
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04Jul 2016 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways Brands Can Use Facebook Live

Branding, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media
It was only a matter of time. On the heels of Periscope’s wildly successful run as pretty much the only game in town over the course of the last year or so, Facebook has finally released its own live streaming app, Facebook Live. While Twitter’s Periscope basked in the glory of having grown to over 10 million users after only four months in business, Facebook Live promises to be even more popular. Never mind the fact that Live works almost the same as Periscope – seamlessly, easily, instantaneously – its potential user base and audience of over 1.5 billion casts more than a large shadow over any predecessors and competitors in the live streaming app space. How do you use Facebook Live? It’s simple. Just go to Facebook on your…
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04Jun 2016 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways a Personal Brand on Social Media Helps the Corporate Brand Behind It

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
No one can say that there aren’t many benefits of having a strong personal brand on social media. After all, your LinkedIn profile is where practically everyone goes to check you out if they’re considering doing business with you in any way, shape or form. If you have a few presentations uploaded to SlideShare, a few dozen posts published on a blog and a few hundred followers on Twitter, even better. Using social media to showcase your background, skills, talent and expertise is a no-brainer. But the benefits of personal branding on social media aren’t limited to the owner of that brand only. Everyone around those who are prevalent and popular online, the “corporate all-stars” of the business world, as Edelman’s Steve Rubel so astutely labelled them in 2009, enjoys…
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29Apr 2016 by Bob Cargill

The Importance of Being Yourself on Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
Back in the day, when I was a member of Toastmasters, a public speaking and leadership organization, I was fortunate enough to be asked to be president of a local club. I was honored, of course, but I had no idea what the role entailed. Besides being briefed on the many responsibilities that came along with being the head honcho, I needed some advice, some good, old-fashioned words of wisdom. Just be yourself, I was told. There is no need to overthink it. That’s what I learned at that time about being a leader and speaking in public. And that’s what I’ve learned ever since then about communicating on social media. Don’t put on an act. Just keep it real. After all, the path to success, or at least a…
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25Mar 2016 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways Brands are Using Social Media for Good

Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Marketing, Nonprofits, Social Media
Asking questions. Running contests. Sharing pictures. Promoting products and services. There are many ways for brands to attract attention on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the like. Included among this list of ways to get people to sit up and take notice on social media is to show the softer side of your brand and declare your support of a worthy charitable organization. After all, almost everyone on these channels is trying to sell something, whether it’s a product, service or simply themselves. Almost everyone is like the carnival barker cajoling the passersby to step right up and come inside the tent. But a small percentage of them are associating their brands with a noble cause, giving those in the audience a reason to feel good about making the decision to…
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