09Nov 2019 by Bob Cargill
Selfies on Social Media

Selfies on Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Selfies, Social Media
Selfies can be some of your most popular content on social media. People like to see pictures of other people, especially those with smiles on their faces. Do you remember that famous selfie that Ellen DeGeneres took at the Oscars in 2014 with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and a group of other celebrities? On Twitter, that selfie garnered over 3,000,000 retweets and more than 2,000,000 likes. Former Boston Red Sox slugger, David (“Big Papi”) Ortiz, took a great selfie of him and President Barack Obama on the team’s visit to the White House a few years ago. Kim Kardashian, of course, is famous for her selfies. I take a lot of selfies myself, many of them group selfies using my selfie stick at industry-related events like American Marketing Association, Boston's.…
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30Oct 2019 by Bob Cargill
What’s Your Mud?

What’s Your Mud?

Branding, Marketing
What's your mud? What's your secret sauce? What's the one thing you can offer to your audience members that they can't get anywhere else? I read an article in Sports Illustrated recently about this guy who provides Major League Baseball with the mud that's rubbed on baseballs before they're used in games. Apparently this mud makes it possible for a pitcher to get a dependable grip on the ball. This mud is unique. This mud is valuable. This mud, according to this article, has been the only mud used by MLB for decades. Every brand and business should have the equivalent of this mud as their own product or service. Something exclusive. Something rare. Something no one else can offer. After all, there is a lot of competition in the…
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05Oct 2019 by Bob Cargill

Advertising is Everywhere

Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media
Advertising, marketing, PR and social media …all this is changing at breakneck speed. What strategies and tactics worked for us a few years ago, or as recently as last year, could easily backfire on us today. We can’t afford to have whatever messages we’re sharing with our own respective audiences be anything but relevant, timely, engaging and even amusing. Never mind the glut of content people are trying to sort through and digest, many consumers, customers and clients won’t tolerate anything that even resembles a sales pitch anymore. Stop begging for business and start earning that business. Stop trying to fool those on the receiving end of your messages and start trying to help them. Stop hitting listeners, viewers and readers over the head time and again and start listening…
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09Jul 2019 by Bob Cargill

Personalities as Publishers

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
Thanks to social media, every brand and business today is a publisher. The people within those organizations are usually the ones who are responsible for those publishing efforts, though. They are the rock stars, the lead magnets, the only way – in many cases – their employers would have any worthwhile content to share with their constituents in the first place. I listened to a ridiculously awesome podcast recently, the Digiday Podcast hosted by Brian Morrissey, in which the host spoke to Barstool Sports’ CEO, Erika Nardini. You can listen to this episode here. Among other things, Nardini talked about the success of her company’s many podcasts, monetizing content and building a subscription business that isn’t necessarily dependent on advertising. “Personalities are the new publishers,” she said at one point…
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01May 2019 by Bob Cargill
Age Doesn’t Matter on Social Media

Age Doesn’t Matter on Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
Age doesn’t matter on social media. In a recent issue of AARP The Magazine, there’s a series of profiles on “older Americans” who are crushing it on social media. People like Lili Hayes, Scott Wadsworth, Herbie Russ, Irvin Randle, Judith Boyd, Angie Schmitt and others. These people are looked up to like rock stars and celebrities on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. They’re influencers and authorities, thought leaders and entertainers, gurus and trendsetters. And yes, they’re all over 50 – like me. Age doesn’t matter on social media. Age shouldn’t matter anywhere. Nobody should be looked at differently because they are older than you. No one should be judged, stereotyped, underestimated or treated unfairly because of their age, young or old. There are no boundaries to talent and ability. There…
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20Apr 2019 by Bob Cargill

Use Social Media Like John Legere

Branding, Social Media
He is outgoing and outspoken, transparent and transformative. He is not afraid to put himself out there and show he’s human just like us. He is a ridiculously awesome example of how senior-level business executives should use social media, if you ask me. He is John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile. Not only does he know how to call attention to himself and the company he presides over, he is also very thoughtful of others, altruistic and philanthropic. In fact, this super successful UMass Amherst grad recently raised $4.5 million for Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, thanks in large part to the large, loyal following he has on social media. John Legere knows what he’s doing, folks, in the C suite and on social media. Follow him and learn from the best.
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27Mar 2019 by Bob Cargill

Your Brand Is Not What You Say You Are

Branding, Marketing
If you think you define your own brand, think again. Your customers, clients and connections define your brand. They say what your brand is, not you. Do you practice what you preach? Do your actions match your words? Do you not just talk the talk, but walk the walk, too? The best brands among us live, breathe, work and play what they say they are day in and day out, time and time again. They don’t rest on their laurels. They don’t ever stop evolving. They listen to their audience’s feedback and don’t just meet but exceed their expectations. Whatever they have to offer – products, services, advice, support, you name it – is always more than appreciated by those on the receiving end.
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03Mar 2019 by Bob Cargill

Don’t Be a One-Trick Pony on Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
Don’t be a one-trick pony on social media. Unless it’s the only place your audience can be found, don’t spend an inordinate amount of time on just one channel at the expense of others. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.…you want to be working the crowd in a multitude of places. You want to be diversifying your efforts. Once you've tested and learned where you get the biggest bang for your buck, you want to focus there, of course. But you don’t want to overlook the importance of having a presence elsewhere at the same time. You never know where you’re going to get the most traction down the road. You may think you’re getting good results where you are now, but you have no idea how many opportunities you…
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17Feb 2019 by Bob Cargill
When Social Media Catches Fire

When Social Media Catches Fire

Branding, Fyre Festival, Marketing, Social Media
No other media comes close to social media’s potential to build buzz almost instantaneously and amplify content to the point where it goes viral. I recently watched the Netflix documentary, “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened,” and found it to be as exasperating as it was entertaining. So many people were hurt in so many ways, especially financially and emotionally. Not only did a group of popular celebrity influencers promote Fyre Festival on social media, but music fans who shelled out big bucks to attend this epic flop used social media, too, to get the word out about their miserable experience there. Yup, social media can giveth and social media can taketh away. For better or worse, social media can catch fire. Use it with care. Use it for…
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