Bob Cargill, Author at Bob Cargill

11Feb 2021 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Nobody Trusts Anybody Anymore

Nobody trusts anybody anymore. At least that's how it seems. I recently read a ridiculously awesome article on Heidi Cohen's blog about five marketing trends, one of which had to do with the erosion of public trust. Unfortunately, this lack of trust can have a negative impact on the success of your marketing and sales efforts. The less people trust, the less likely they are to support brands and businesses unless they're already loyal customers. That's where social media can help. Social media makes it possible for you to build mutually beneficial relationships with those on the receiving end of your messages. Social media gives you the opportunity to show that you have a personality, not just a pulse. The more people learn about you on social media, the more…

24Jan 2021 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Boston-Area Agencies on Twitter

Advertising, Boston, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media

Hey, Boston-area agencies involved in marketing, advertising, PR and social media. I see you. I see which ones of you are on Twitter and I’ve added you to my list there. I read the content you share there and take notice of how often you post. I like a lot of your tweets and even retweet some of them. I may not have found all of you on Twitter yet, but I’m constantly on the lookout. I invite you and anybody else who’s interested to take a look at this list I’ve put together of agencies in the Boston area. Use it to learn more about who you may want to partner with or hire. Use it to you learn more the industry in which you earn your livelihood. Use…

10Jan 2021 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Being Incessant on Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media

Incessant creating. Incessant sharing. Incessant listening. Being incessant in everything you do on social media is one of the keys to success there. In the documentary, “ZZ TOP: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas,” the band’s lead singer and guitarist, Billy Gibbons, talks about the “incessant touring” they did in the early stages of their career and how that helped them become so popular. The rest of their story, of course, is history, as they went on to become iconic, international superstars on the music scene. As it was for these ridiculously awesome rock musicians, it is for you, me and anyone else who wants to perform successfully on social media. We have to be incessant.

29Dec 2020 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Put on a Show

Branding, Business, Communications, Content, Marketing

Chris Brogan is on to something. In an article he recently published on LinkedIn here, he said he was going to be changing his title to “Showrunner” and that he would be helping companies turn their business into a show. Chris is perfectly suited to do just that for his clients. He's a master communicator, whether he's hosting his daily video show, The Backpack Show, keynoting a conference or writing a blog post. Imagine what he can do for your digital brand if he does just a little of what he does for himself and others already. I concur with Chris completely. With the emergence of social media years ago, we said that every brand was a publisher. I say that they’re now broadcasters, too. Whether we’re talking about independent…

23Dec 2020 by Bob Cargill

Use Social Media to Build Trust

Branding, Communications, Social Media

Trust is more valuable than ever today. The more trust people have in you, the more likely they’ll be to support you. But trust isn’t just handed to you, it’s earned. You can’t earn trust hiding behind a logo, a tagline or even a bevy of quality products and services. Not in 2020, you can’t. You’ve got to put yourself out there, front and center. Your audience needs to see you and hear from you. They want you to listen to them and respond to them. They want you to put a face on your brand, a face that can be counted on to be available and authentic. Use social media to show that face. Use social media to be human. Use social media to earn trust.

14Dec 2020 by Bob Cargill

Ephemeral Content on Social Media

Branding, Content, Marketing, Social Media

Ephemeral content. Now you see it, now you don’t. It’s around for only so long. It comes and it goes. Instagram Stories. LinkedIn Stories. Twitter Fleets. All examples of ephemeral content. All great ways to put yourself in front of your audience on social media. Ephemeral content is lightweight and informal, easy to both produce and consume. Ephemeral content appears at the top of your followers’ feeds, so the odds are that your audience will see it. And because they know it is going to be there for only so long, they feel a sense of urgency to check it out before it disappears. There are many reasons why ephemeral content is so popular right now on social media. There are many reasons why you should be incorporating it into…

06Dec 2020 by Bob Cargill

The Incredible Value of Twitter Lists

Social Media, Twitter

Wait! What? You’re on Twitter, but you haven’t created any Lists there yet? I was listening to a presentation by Neal Schaffer at Agorapulse’s Social Pulse Summit: Twitter Edition the other day. Generally, he was talking about the marketing power of Twitter, but specifically, what caught my attention was when he addressed the advantages of creating, using and following Twitter Lists. I have long been a fan of this feature on Twitter. I have created over 40 Lists there, from beer to baseball, museums to music, Boston-area restaurant to Boston-area hotels, agencies to associations and more. Twitter Lists make it possible for you to cut through the clutter on this channel, displaying a stream of Tweets only from those accounts that appear on a particular List. When you add an…

24Nov 2020 by Bob Cargill

Come Down from Your Ivory Towers

Business, Marketing, Social Media

Come down from your ivory towers. That was a big takeaway for me after reading the book, The Cluetrain Manifesto, back in the day. That point was made loud and clear to me. Business executives needed to stop distancing themselves from their constituents and instead start talking to them and even more importantly, listening to them on the internet. It’s been some 20 years since this book was published, but its main message holds true now more than ever. Thanks to social media, there is no excuse anymore not to be engaging with your customers, prospects, connections, followers, subscribers, fans and even critics. The savviest and smartest marketers and advertisers get it. They’re conspicuous in their presence online day in and day out. They’re joining the conversations on LinkedIn, Twitter,…

15Nov 2020 by Bob Cargill

Employee Advocacy on Social Media

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media

If I had employees, I would make sure they knew how to use social media. I would teach them how to use LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and the like on behalf of my business. I would encourage them to share content online that helped promote my brand. I would provide them with incentives and rewards for doing so. This would be a win-win situation. They would be learning new skills, expanding their own respective networks, keeping on top of industry news, positioning themselves as thought leaders and building better careers. My business would have a stronger workforce, one that would help me amplify the reach of my marketing communications and tee me up for greater success. What about you? Do you have employees? Are you training them to advocate on…