26Aug 2017 by Bob Cargill

10 Boston Restaurants Crushing it on Twitter

Boston, Branding, Business, Marketing, Restaurants, Social Media
It’s one thing to be able to serve great food. It’s quite another to be able to show off those dishes in words and pictures on Twitter so well that your followers like your tweets almost as much as your eats. That’s the irony of marketing a restaurant in this day and age. As if it’s not enough to be considered one of the best places to go for a bite to eat in town. Now they have to have the popularity on social media to prove it. Okay. Maybe that’s a stretch, but the importance of displaying their menus everywhere people are congregating online today cannot be underestimated. More and more potential customers are stalking their every move not just on the grapevine, but on a bevy of newfangled…
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18Aug 2017 by Bob Cargill

The Importance of Trust Among Colleagues

Business
I've read a lot of Patrick Lencioni's books on leadership and business management. They are all ridiculously awesome and incredibly insightful. "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" is one of his best books, if you ask me. One of the dysfunctions he writes about in this book is the absence of trust. Trust is essential to the success of a team. Without trust in the workplace, team members will be more than likely to work ineffectively. Trust needs to be earned, of course, but if the right people are on board, trust is a given. A presence of trust in the workplace (or among any group of people working together towards the same goal) helps ensure that every single individual contributor on the team is performing his or her duties…
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13Aug 2017 by Bob Cargill

The Quality of Empathy in a Leader

Business
Empathy. It's a quality possessed by many great leaders. It's a quality to admire. Those who are empathetic are able to understand others. Apparently Theo Epstein has a great deal of empathy. That's one thing I learned about him in the December 19, 2016 issue of Sports Illustrated. As a general manager, he's already won two World Series with the Boston Red Sox and one with the Chicago Cubs. He's a winner. He's a leader. And he's empathetic.
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04Jun 2017 by Bob Cargill

How to Use Instagram Stories for Brand Storytelling

Branding, Business, Instagram, Marketing, Social Media
Now that social media is such a mainstay in business, those of us in the advertising, marketing and PR industries are realizing just how much time and talent it takes to succeed on these digital communication channels. We’re seeing for ourselves that there are no shortcuts to success in this space, not to mention that even a massive budget won’t be able to offset the deficits of a product or service that’s not up to par. For strategists and practitioners, agencies and clients, it’s certainly not an easy pill to swallow. Social media has leveled the playing field on which companies and consumers engage, making it easier than ever for a brand’s weaknesses to be exposed. It might be an understatement to say that audiences can be fickle on Twitter,…
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10Apr 2017 by Bob Cargill

Five Great Storytellers on Social Media

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
What would we do without social media? Seriously, do you know how little trust consumers have these days in advertising, marketing and PR? Not to be the bearer of bad news, but people really don’t believe many of our taglines, headlines, subject lines and claims to this, that and the other thing anymore. Especially millennials. But they do believe what we say on social media. Well, not everything we say there. To be fair, the writing has been on the wall about traditional media for a long time now. As authors Rick Levine, Chris Locke, Doc Searls and David Weinberger said in their landmark book, The Cluetrain Manifesto, around the turn of this century... “Corporate firewalls have kept smart employees in and smart markets out. It’s going to cause real…
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19Mar 2017 by Bob Cargill

Don’t Think Twice About Doing Video on Social Media

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media, YouTube
Andy Warhol was right when he said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” On second thought, maybe he was putting it too mildly. The future has arrived, and thanks to social media everyone now has the opportunity to be famous for an indefinite period of time, not just 15 minutes. Look at Casie Neistat. Or King Bach. Then there’s Amber Mac. Kim Garst. And Jay Baer. I could go on and on. Funny. Serious. Amusing. Smart. The list of people who have become famous thanks to the emergence of social media is as long as it is varied. Each of these people has done what every corporate brand and business should be doing on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and the like. They’ve leveraged both written and visual…
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05Feb 2017 by Bob Cargill

Cats, Dogs, Brands and Social Media

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
It was absolutely hilarious, if you ask me. It was just a few weeks ago, on a Tuesday night (October 4). Two men vying for the second highest office in the land, Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, were debating each other before an audience of millions and frankly, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I was looking at a Facebook Live video being broadcast on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s Facebook page that was showing the television broadcast of the event. However, in front of the screen was a large pen full of cute, little kittens divided by two separate carpets, one red and the other blue, with a box of kitty litter in the middle labelled, “Undecided.” I was literally laughing out loud. If you’re looking…
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07Jan 2017 by Bob Cargill

Paying to Play on Social Media

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
Rumors to the contrary, it’ll cost you if you want to run a successful social media program. It’ll cost you both time and money, not to mention all the skills and experience you’ll need to help ensure a positive outcome. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no more gravy train when it comes to social media success. There is simply too much competition among businesses and brands for eyeballs and wallets for any of these channels to be able to afford to give you a free ride. Organic reach has declined precipitously. Algorithms rule. You’ve got to pay if you want to play – and win – on social media. Seriously, have you looked at the statistics lately? Unless you’re paying to promote them, you’re…
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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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