The Single Most Inexpensive Form of Marketing for Startups
Akamai Marketing
JUNE 3, 2015
This presentation will take you less than 5 minutes to get through, but will make you re-think your startup marketing efforts permanently.
Akamai Marketing
5 Often Untapped Strategies of Early Adopter Marketing
Akamai Marketing
MAY 19, 2015
Ah, the early adopter. Their the people who grab on to things first, they start trends and they are influencers in their respective communities. Whether you’re a startup, a movement or a personality, you need these early adopters. Marketing to early adopters can be slippery though, what they grab on to is almost entirely motivationally based. In other words, toss out your traditional “Three P’s” of marketing if you want to capture this crowd, you’re going to need to
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Creating A Movement That Matters
Akamai Marketing
MAY 7, 2015
Whether your a nonprofit with a cause or a startup with an idea, at some point, I’m sure you’ve wondered whether your passion would ever catch spark with others. Creating a movement that matters is more important today than ever before. It’s clear, what fuels movements is more art than science and not everyone has the advantage of chemically inspired insanity.
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100 5 Money Saving Marketing and Branding Tips for Startups
Akamai Marketing
MAY 5, 2015
OK. I’ll admit it. I watch Silicon Valley on HBO. I hate admitting it because of course, it’s both a characterization and just a little too close for comfort to the startup experience. Last night’s episode had me laughing AND crying. Let me set the scene: The founder and the coders are desperately trying to hire new developers in a competitive market, time is short and so is money.
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Case Study and Lessons Learned: Increasing Foot Traffic for Retail Using Social Media and Event Marketing
Akamai Marketing
JANUARY 1, 2015
'Case Study #4: Neighborhood Shopping Center. Background: . This client came to me with a desire to raise awareness of their shopping center and the variety of stores and shops within the shopping center. The shopping center itself is in a very urban area, but provides services and shopping to a family-oriented clientele. Listen: They had previously done an influencer campaign which produced a short burst, but didn’t create anything sustainable and they couldn’t figure out why.
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Case Study and Lessons Learned: App Product Launch and Awareness
Akamai Marketing
JANUARY 1, 2015
'Case Study #2: Community Driven Product Launch. Background: . TheBus in Honolulu is an award-winning bus system, recognized as one of the best in the country. At a City of Honolulu sponsored hackathon, a citizen developed a mobile app, DaBus, which adds functionality to the bus system with GPS tracking and to the minute updates on bus schedules and locations.
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Why Talking Like A Human Requires An Actor’s Mindset
Akamai Marketing
FEBRUARY 11, 2015
'As your fingers hit the keyboard to respond to that email – do you find yourself ever pausing? If you’re in marketing, communications or PR, I bet your answer is “Every.Single.Time.” Getting a message across is still an art form, as evidenced by the amazing amount of useless info and poorly written emails we all receive every single day.
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The Dave and Busters Tweet Lesson: Stand By Your Brand
Akamai Marketing
NOVEMBER 19, 2014
'Tweet This week, with the Dave and Busters “Juan” tweet yet another social media gaffe made it’s what into the collective conversation. It sparked furious cries of racism. It sparked snickers. It sparked the “holier than thou” media to earn mega points for traffic. Imagine for a moment, the alternative tweet: “I hate tacos” said no one ever.
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LinkedIn-You’re Doing It Wrong
Akamai Marketing
MARCH 17, 2014
'Tweet [Warning: This is a vent. A rant. I just HAVE to get it off my chest.]. Oh. LinkedIn. That treasure trove of business connections, potential sales and potential jobs. It’s almost just too awesome. Except its not. Because you’re ruining it. Stop randomly sending LinkedIn requests without context to everyone LinkedIn thinks you should meet.
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Why Social Media Inactives Have No Impact on Social Business Value
Akamai Marketing
DECEMBER 31, 2013
'Tweet It’s interesting to me that the last post of this year is a rant. But it is. There has been so much talk about how social networks have user abandoning accounts or creating multiple accounts and only using a few. The conversations have centered around three schools of thought: 1) investors are getting ripped off 2) social advertisers are getting ripped off 3) businesses using social media are getting ripped off.
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Your Social Media Marketing Plan – Is The Goal Trust or Action?
Akamai Marketing
OCTOBER 3, 2013
'Tweet Bet your starting to think about next year’s social media marketing plan. And as importantly, where will social media marketing fall into the mix? Will there be more? Less? The latest Advertising Trust report from Neilsen may offer some insights to help you in your planning process. One of the strongest reasons to increase your social media is the the number one source of consumer trust and action is “ Recommendations from people I know” Trust and action are often hand
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The Cost of a Tribe
Akamai Marketing
SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
'Tweet “Just Do A Social Media Advocacy Campaign” In social media and in other areas, we’ve been seeing a big surge in “advocacy” and “crowdsourcing.” It’s truly an outstanding and exciting result of the democracy of the internet. Today, your tribe, you’re most excited and passionate supporters can be inspired to do your marketing for you.
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The Viral Marketing Virus
Akamai Marketing
MARCH 14, 2013
'Tweet Listen up: Going viral is a benefit to creating great content, not the goal. But if you’re really committed to creating a viral video marketing campaign: Creating viral content is this easy. And this difficult. Here’s my fool-proof 3-step process. Create content that strikes an emotional cord (funny, sad, inspirational) and is distinctly unique and you’re one step closer to viral. .
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Moderating Comments and Managing Online Communities
Akamai Marketing
MARCH 19, 2013
'Tweet Much has been writing over the years about how to manage comments in a blog or online community. However, recently, I was asked my opinion, so I thought I’d share it here. Let’s be clear: there are ALL kinds of people on the interweb so its easy to create a moderation policy built for the lowest common denominator. And as someone who has a community, I can tell you from personal experience that its deeply troubling to stare down the lowest common denominator.
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130 Why Buying Twitter Followers Is Damaging To Your Brand
Akamai Marketing
MARCH 22, 2013
'Tweet “How can I get Twitter followers fast?” Doing it organically. It’s so… Boring. Hard. Time Consuming. I’ve heard all those reasons and more for why businesses and personal brands buy Twitter followers. Lately, in conversations about personal branding, this opportunity seems to be making a resurgence. Here’s the quick answer to question above: there’s no easy way.
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Moderating Comments and Managing Online Communities
Akamai Marketing
MARCH 19, 2013
We've Moved! Please Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us.
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Social Media Customer Service Case Study
Akamai Marketing
FEBRUARY 11, 2013
Stay Akamai: I have love/hate relationship with my hosting provider, GoDaddy. I have a host of issues with them, but one of the reasons I’ve stayed with them is 9/10 customer service.
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Why Facebook Is an Advertising Platform, Not A Social Network
Akamai Marketing
JANUARY 25, 2013
Stay Akamai: Dear Facebook: For a very long time I’ve had a love-hate relationship with you. These days, my status with you is “complicated.” That’s because I wear two hats, I’m both.
Measuring Social Media ROI
Akamai Marketing
JANUARY 15, 2013
Stay Akamai: Phew! Here we go another year. Another year of measuring social media ROI. I’ve kicked off a couple with some easy to use, downloadable templates for strategy and KPI. But I really should have done this post before those two. Because first, we should dispel some myths about measuring social media ROI. Sometimes the truth really is inconvenient.
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194 Stand Out in Social Media Marketing by Being Consistently Remarkable
Akamai Marketing
JANUARY 8, 2013
Stay Akamai: Stand Out in Social Media Marketing? 3 Steps To Take Today. Spend anytime on social media or marketing blogs and you’ll to see advice to make remarkable content. Yes. Be remarkable and you will stand out in your social media marketing. Ah. Yes. Remarkable. Let’s do that. Where did I put the recipe for “Remarkable”?
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198 Book Review: APE – Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch
Akamai Marketing
DECEMBER 28, 2012
Stay Akamai: It’s a natural step for bloggers to consider publishing; self publishing books is easier than ever before. And yet. That doesn’t mean the process is easy. If only.there were a single resource written by people who have been through the process. People who could provide you the details of how to self-publish. And that is why I jumped at the chance to get my hands on an early review copy of APE-Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch.
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121 KPI Dashboard for Social Media Metrics
Akamai Marketing
DECEMBER 21, 2012
Stay Akamai: Since our last blog post, you should have identified the goals and metrics on the Social Media Strategic Plan template. If you followed the process, it was probably very clarifying for you. I find that a lot of businesses and professionals don’t go through this exercise. Let’s review the 3 steps to social media strategy and measurement.
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How Social Media is Changing Customer Service
Akamai Marketing
NOVEMBER 26, 2012
Stay Akamai: Employee Policy and Social Media – A Change. Social media is changing employee policy and customer service and not just because there are now new platforms for customer service. One of the more disruptive effects of social media has been the head-on collision at intersections of business, consumers and employees. In today’s world, everyone is a publisher.
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Social Media Strategic Plan Template
Akamai Marketing
NOVEMBER 13, 2012
Now is the time of year where businesses all over the country are looking forward to the next year and setting goals. You’re social media program should be no different. If you’re like most businesses, you’ll be spending more time on social media next year, so its time to start developing strategy for your social media. Is it possible to really measure social media and determine ROI?
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203 Best WordPress Plugins for Business
Akamai Marketing
NOVEMBER 9, 2012
I’m breaking a rule, because I am a wild and crazy rebel. This month’s “Tool Tuesday” is going out on Friday. WHOOP. Do I know how to party or what? I just couldn’t help myself. Last night’s Blogging for Business Class at Pacific New Media was ridiculously awesome. Another action-packed evening with great questions!
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213 11 Tips Blogging Tips for Businesses-Authority Building
Akamai Marketing
NOVEMBER 6, 2012
Blogging Tips for Businesses: Build Authority. There are many reasons to blog. But today we’re going to focus on one objective: Become an expert in your field. You can build authority through blogging, these 11 blogging tips for business will get you started. Actually, we’ve given you more than 11 tips, but we like to under-promise and over-deliver.
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175 The Case for Active Users as Social Media Community Managers
Akamai Marketing
OCTOBER 30, 2012
The Case For Active Users as Social Media Community Managers. I’ve really been thinking about this lately. I’m an advisor at Pacific New Media for a social media certificate program they are launching. They’ve had social media classes for several semesters and I’ve taught several classes. I start every class asking people to tell me what social networks they currently use.
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138 Social Media During Emergencies
Akamai Marketing
OCTOBER 28, 2012
Some thoughts about social media during emergencies and disasters. I’ve come out of my stupor from last night’s evacuation from my home due to a tsunami alert in my backyard: the pacific ocean surrounding Hawaii. And now, my attention turns to the East Coast as Hurricane Sandy bears down and effects half the country. Today I’m enjoying what I’ve tagged as a “tsunami free Sunday” and I’ve had time to think about last night’s activities.
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264 Social Media 101 for Business
Akamai Marketing
SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
I only have one real rule in the classes I teach: No. Question. Is. Stupid. OK – there is another rule: we all have to learn something. Last night’s class taught me that the future of social media is looking good if future participants are any indication. There still exists a natural curiosity around social media. For those of us in social media, it sometimes seems as though everyone participates in social media.
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The REAL Lesson in the NRA Twitter Post
Akamai Marketing
JULY 23, 2012
The Real Social Media Lesson Behind the NRA Twitter Post After the Aurora Shooting. Last week’s shooting in Aurora left the nation in shock and renewed discussions about gun control. In the midst of this terrible tragedy, a poorly timed Tweet came from the NRA: “ Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans? ” The Tweet was quickly removed and the NRA issued a statement that a single person unaware of the news sent the Tweet.
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Social values – from the inside out
Akamai Marketing
JULY 10, 2012
Sometimes, I get a little crotchety on this blog and call businesses out for not completing the social cycle. Sometimes its because they haven’t implemented social values internally. Sometimes its a rookie mistake. Sometimes its just human error. But today, I’ve got a great example of implementing social values. And guess what? It doesn’t even come with an example from social media.
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Klout and Kred – Social Influence Comparison
Akamai Marketing
JULY 2, 2012
Social influence measurement has been a hot topic again recently. One of the most articulate discussions comes from Tom Webster (BrandSavant) where he articulates (as a previous professor of rhetoric) that what these influence algorithms measure is actual Ethos, the ability to sway an audience based on credibility, which is only one-third of the of what is needed to sway an audience (the other two being Logos and Pathos).
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177 Which comes first social media or social media culture?
Akamai Marketing
JUNE 26, 2012
For me, one of the more fascinating aspects of social media is the impact it has had on our culture. Depending on how you look at it, social media has either revolutionized communication, or made it easier to do what we did 100 years ago. What IS different is how social media has created a set of values we no longer seem willing to live without. Transparency.
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163 The Social Media Train – is it too late to catch it?
Akamai Marketing
MARCH 2, 2012
I’ve recently had some conversations with people who are feeling that because they didn’t get integrate social media right away, that they’ve already been left behind. Good news! This simply isn’t the case. . Studies show that even big businesses aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunities in social media – this gives the rest of the business community a real opportunity.
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What’s the ROI of Social Media Silence?
Akamai Marketing
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I am a big proponent of measuring social media. I’m bullish on measuring social media because I believe there are so many incredible ways to measure social media success that the larger challenge is narrowing down your goals.While I have a methodology that I use, there are literally thousands of tools to help you measure social media.
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171 Welcome to Hawaii PubCon Foodies
Akamai Marketing
FEBRUARY 3, 2012
A little departure from the usual today! I was recently interviewed for the upcoming PubCon conference in Honolulu mid-February ( see the session grid & register here ) and at which I am on a panel discussing Hawaii Social Media. Vanessa threw me what she thought was a soft-ball during the interview – “what places should people try when they are on Oahu?
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156 Why Transparency Matters
Akamai Marketing
JANUARY 24, 2012
We hear all this discussion about corporations being more “human” Social media users are urging companies of all sizes to create a relatable voice for themselves. But what happens when the relatable voice doesn’t match the company culture? The recent example of the McDonalds campaign gone bad is…well, its just “Ouch.” A hashtag (#McDStories) is highjacked and the result is a spiraling PR nightmare.
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178 3 new social media resolutions for 2012 and a couple from 2011 that still need attention.
Akamai Marketing
DECEMBER 29, 2011
This is the 2nd year that I’ve published my social media resolutions. Reading over last year’s resolutions I’m proud to say that I stay committed to each of them fairly well, though I some I outright failed at doing one of them. That said, I am glad I wrote my resolutions for 2011 as it gave me focus. Here’s my 2011 scorecard: ?
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186 9 social media trends to keep your eye on in 2012
Akamai Marketing
DECEMBER 22, 2011
2011 was a game changing year in social media. In some ways, social media is growing up, but in other ways we’re just getting started. But this is a dynamic field and we’re sure to see changes in 2012 too? What should businesses plan for in 2012 and what should they be looking for? I’m putting my Carnack hat on and writing down the trends I see in social media for 2012.
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217 What makes a social media expert any different from a unicorn?
Akamai Marketing
DECEMBER 20, 2011
Its amazing, there are literally thousands of self proclaimed experts, but actually finding one in the wild is about as exciting as spotting a unicorn. While unicorns are fairly easy to identify when you see one, this isn’t really the case with experts. In a world of so-called experts, how do you define an expert? How do you know if the person your thinking of working with is a hack or really able to be an expert for you?
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Why use social media for engaged customer service?
Akamai Marketing
NOVEMBER 25, 2011
What’s it all about? All this social media marketing? All this chatter about humanizing and engagement? Why bother using social media for customer service? I wanted to share an experience I had last week with you. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but as a premise for discussion: How would you feel about this company if you were me?
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156 Tool Tuesday: Sprout Social Update
Akamai Marketing
NOVEMBER 22, 2011
When I last wrote about Sprout Social in May 201 1, I’d been using it for a couple of months. And while I found a use for it, I only used it sporadically because it really wasn’t offering anything truly unique. But for $92/year it wasn’t breaking the bank either. There was a long list of “Meh.” Well, either my blog has some pull, or the survey they sent over the summer was put to good use because Sprout Social is growing up.
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