24Jan 2014 by Bob Cargill

I’m Running the 2014 Boston Marathon for Christopher’s Haven

Boston, Boston Marathon, Fundraising
For me, the day started out like any other Patriots’ Day on which I’ve run the Boston Marathon, but it ended not with the anticipated feelings of joy and accomplishment. Instead, I went to sleep that night restless, worried and overwhelmed by a sense of sadness and shock over the two devastating bombs that had exploded near the finish line on Boylston Street. That’s how a blog post of mine began on April 21 of last year, just six days after the 2013 Boston Marathon, an otherwise glorious event that was tragically marred by two destructive explosions along Boylston Street. I wanted to put down in words while it was still fresh in my mind everything I felt about my experience that day. The disappointment I felt in having my…
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22Jan 2014 by Bob Cargill

Using Signage to Drive Social Media Traffic

Advertising, Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
In this day and age, most businesses and brands realize the importance of having a presence on social media. However, far too many still don’t know how to attract an audience to these channels. They either mistakenly subscribe to the notion that if they build it, they will come, or they simply have no idea how to drive such traffic. The good news is there are countless ways to generate more likes, followers, fans and friends. You can cross-promote your Twitter account on Facebook and vice versa. You can put your social media credentials on your customers’ receipts. You can promote your social channels on your own website, on your business cards, in your email signature, in a company newsletter and even in paid advertising campaigns. But perhaps the easiest…
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17Jan 2014 by Bob Cargill

How I Use Twitter to Keep Up with the Weather

Social Media, Twitter
Over the years, I’ve created nearly 20 lists on Twitter, each of which you can see – and subscribe to – on my Twitter account here. I’ve put together a list of marketing, advertising and PR agencies, a list of nonprofit organizations and a list of those who have attended the Sudbury Social Tweetup, a monthly networking event in Sudbury (MA) that I co-host with FeedBlitz's Phil Hollows. The biggest list I’ve created consists of 563 (and counting) media people, companies, outlets and organizations in and around Boston. And the smallest one is comprised of more than 20 Boston-area meteorologists, a list I turn to quite frequently to keep up with the latest weather forecasts, especially lately, given the fact that we’re in the throes of yet another cold, snowy…
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22Dec 2013 by Bob Cargill

Instagram’s New Feature, Instagram Direct

Marketing, Social Media
Introducing Instagram Direct from Instagram on Vimeo. If you use Instagram to establish meaningful connections with your customers, prospects, fans and followers, your job just got a little easier. Instagram, the popular visual communications network that was founded in 2010, introduced Instagram Direct last Thursday, making it possible for users to send photos and videos directly to up to 15 of their followers. How cool is this new feature? Cool enough for none other than Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian to have used it already to promote the Kardashian Kollection, their line of fashion, jewelry and more. For reposting one of their promotional messages with the hashtag, #KKDIRECT, 15 of their followers were awarded an exclusive, “behind the scenes” pic from the 2014 Kardashian Kollection campaign shoot. While it’s too…
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07Dec 2013 by Bob Cargill

How I Was Surprised and Delighted by Pretzel Crisps on Twitter

Advertising, Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media, Sudbury
Anyone in marketing knows what it means to surprise and delight your customers and prospects. It means to reach out to members of your target audience in an unexpected manner, providing them with a positive brand experience out of the blue that leaves them with a favorable impression of your products and services. It’s a proven, age-old strategy that every brand and business should leverage once in a while, one that I was on the receiving end of recently, compliments of Pretzel Crisps. That's right, several weeks ago – November 11, to be exact – I received an unsolicited tweet from Pretzel Crisps complimenting me on my Twitter bio and offering to send me a free gift pack. I didn’t know what I had done to deserve such a treat,…
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23Nov 2013 by Bob Cargill

An Outdoor Ad That Stopped Me in My Tracks

Advertising, Branding, Marketing
My friends and followers know how much I like to share pictures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, many of which I take during the course of my long runs. These pictures are taken almost everywhere I go, from the trails of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury, one of my favorite places to run, to the streets of Boston, where I log plenty of miles after work during the week. Honestly, if I had my druthers where to run and shoot pictures, it would have to be a toss-up. I like the variety of my routes. I see as much color and scenery while running in the city as I do in the country. One of the pictures I took in the city recently was of this wicked…
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08Nov 2013 by Bob Cargill

Do You Thank Your Customers Enough?

Branding, Business, Marketing, Public Relations
As a longtime Boston Red Sox fan, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the 2013 Major League Baseball season. After all, my beloved Red Sox not only became the 11th team in history to go from worst to first in the division the very next season, they won their eighth World Series title, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in a riveting, unforgettable six-game duel for the ages. Not to mention the fact that I was there to see the historic series-clinching game in person with my brother, Tom, at Fenway Park last Wednesday night. Talk about unforgettable memories. But as closely as I was paying attention to the Fall Classic this year, there was something else that stood out to me while I was glued to the TV…
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25Oct 2013 by Bob Cargill

The Red Sox Rock (Not Just on the Field, But on Twitter, Too)

Boston, Boston Red Sox, Branding, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter
To say I’ve been a big Boston Red Sox fan for a long time would be an understatement. Yup, I’m old enough to remember The Impossible Dream season of 1967, when the Sox went to the World Series for the first time since 1946. In those days, I looked up to players like Carl “Yaz” Yastrzemski, Jim Lonborg and Rico Petrocelli. Those guys were revered baseball idols and real-life heroes to a small Little League ballplayer like me with a young, impressionable mind. Over the years, I’ve stuck with this team through thick and thin, cheering them on year after year, rooting for Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Dwight Evans, Mo Vaughn, Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and a whole cast of larger than life superstars to go…
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13Oct 2013 by Bob Cargill

How to Use TweetDeck to Schedule Tweets and Monitor What’s Important to You

Business, Marketing, New England Direct Marketing Association, Social Media, Twitter
I was happy and honored to speak recently at the New England Direct Marketing Association’s Marketing Technology Summit. Moderating a discussion on the “Tools and Technologies for Social Media Success,” I was fortunate to have Jamie Pappas, Director of Brand Communications and Social Media at Akamai Technologies, and Eric Andersen, Senior I/T Architect at IBM Interactive, alongside me. My topic was how to use TweetDeck to schedule tweets as well as to monitor lists, hashtags and individual accounts. I’ve been using TweetDeck for a long time to keep up with the activities of others on Twitter and maintain my own steady presence on the channel. It’s a tool I rely on day in and day out to communicate with my followers and listen carefully to those whose tweets I just can’t miss. One tactic…
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