24Sep 2017 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways Public Speakers Should Use Social Media

Business, Marketing, Public Speaking, Social Media
If you're giving a presentation and your audience members are looking down at their electronic devices, not up at you, don't be annoyed, be pleased. As someone who speaks often at industry conferences and events, after all, I know that if those in my audience are looking down at their phones, tablets and laptops, they're probably not ignoring my presentation. They're likely sharing what they're hearing on social media, which is exactly what I want them to be doing on my behalf. I want them to be amplifying my message to their own networks, extending the reach of what I’m saying to a much larger number of people. That’s what I would call the "socialization" of my presentation. And that’s what I would think every public speaker today would want…
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12Sep 2017 by Bob Cargill

10 Boston Hotels Crushing It On Social Media

Boston, Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media
It may be all the rage, but for a variety of reasons, not every business is cut out for social media. Some will never understand it. Others think it’s a waste of time and money. And finally, there are those who just aren’t the right fit for it. But most marketers would agree that while social media is not for everyone, it is ideal for those who want to engage with their customers and prospects, especially in real time. If that’s where your audience is, time spent on these relatively new online communication channels is more than well worth it. Where else can you put the word out to your constituency without feeling like you’re invading their space? Where else can you capture the attention of such a qualified audience…
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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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15Jul 2017 by Bob Cargill
Five Ways to Crush It on Social Media

Five Ways to Crush It on Social Media

Marketing, Social Media
Despite everything you read and no matter what anyone else tells you, there’s really no secret to success for marketers on social media. Obviously, you can put the odds in your favor if you follow the industry’s best practices. But there are no shortcuts or tricks, no workarounds or hacks. Big advertising budget or not, if you’re not careful to adhere to some of the channels’ most fundamental principles, any wins you experience will be short-lived at best. Transparency counts for a lot on social media as do authenticity and immediacy. Emerging technologies and newfangled tactics play considerable roles as well. As if all that’s not enough, whether you’re talking about copy or design, still images or videos, memes or GIFs, you need to have an infinite supply of content…
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20Jun 2017 by Bob Cargill

10 Ways Major League Baseball Teams Win on Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
There may still be a little chill in the air in some parts of the country, but spring has arrived and so has one of the biggest rites of this time of the year, the beginning of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season. And while MLB may be showing its age a little as the oldest of the four professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, having been around since 1876 (the National League) and 1901 (the American League), respectively, it is still very popular. Tickets are sold by the millions. Broadcast rights are valued in the billions. And social media is helping the sport to offset the fact that younger people today are less inclined to follow it than the generations before them. Teams are using Twitter,…
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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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16May 2017 by Bob Cargill

Seven B2B Marketers Rocking It On Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
The difference between B2C social media marketers and those on the B2B side of the fence is like the difference between hard rock and classical music. You might think of the B2C peeps as the cool kids, loud and proud. Members of the B2B crowd wear suits and speak softly, often stiltedly. While the former wouldn’t hesitate to experiment with Facebook Live or Periscope, the latter may be reluctant to share even pre-recorded video, never mind a live stream. Yup. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that businesses that use social media to market to other businesses are usually quite buttoned up, restrained and cautious. Those businesses that are marketing to consumers on these very same channels, not so much. That doesn’t mean all B2B marketers are afraid to…
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30Apr 2017 by Bob Cargill

Five Ways President Trump Takes Advantage of Social Media

Branding, Marketing, Social Media
I didn’t vote for him last November. There was no way this registered Democrat from the blue state of Massachusetts would check that box. But I have to give him props for his tweets. How a 70-year-old-man who just so happens to be the President of the United States uses Twitter more effectively than many businesses, brands and marketing professionals, I’ll never understand. It’s true, though. Not that he isn’t sometimes impulsive and insulting on social media, but the President is using these channels – mainly Twitter, but also Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat – the way they’re supposed to be used. Yup. If nothing else, President Trump has got it all going on when it comes to social media. He’s conveying his honest feelings, like them or not, directly to…
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