I am starting a short series on cool communications tools. There are many options today when it comes to communications tools. Phone services, conferencing, online meetings - each having new and unique ways to connect. Today’s installment will cover some great tools for telephony.

My… Read full post »

This series on social media marketing is coming to a close. In the past few months, we have looked at social media marketing on a “micro” level. We started looking at where the dollars are being concentrated, in relation to where customers are spending their time. We explored… Read full post »

Many people seem to believe that there is no ROI with social media marketing. Even more find it very tough to measure results. The reality is that if you are not measuring your efforts or looking for a return, you are at minimum, going to have a hit or… Read full post »

  The first time I heard the term “net geners” was while reading a review of the book Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World by Don Tapscott. Both the term and the title of the book caught my attention.

I have been a speaker… Read full post »

The social media space is crowded these days. According to MSNBC, Facebook has over 500 million users today, and if it were a country would be the third-largest in the world. Twitter reports that it signed on over 100 million users in 2010. Those numbers make marketing online… Read full post »

Building a loyal fan base on social media sites is really about successfully connecting and adding value. If you are trying to build your base from scratch, then you will need to offer something consistently that your target audience values that they aren’t already getting elsewhere. If… Read full post »

There is a near infinite number of social media venues on which to market. Choosing wisely is an important part of a successful effort. There are the Big Three - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. But there are 100s if not 1000s more that may be appropriate for your… Read full post »

In previous posts, I have talked about building an online persona for your brand. Social media marketing is about having a conversation and, in effect, building a relationship with your customers. To do so effectively, the conversation has to be real, engaging and meaningful. So once you have… Read full post »

In the first two parts to this series, we discussed the importance of social media marketing in today’s world, the importance of getting to know your customer, and participating in meaningful conversations. We reviewed key metrics for measuring the success of customer conversations to g… Read full post »

Social Media is really about initiating and participating in a conversation. A conversation with the people with whom you most want to connect. Consumers can choose to ignore most advertising today. So the best way to communicate with them is to communicate directly with them. It is… Read full post »

This is the first in a multi-part series on social media marketing. The complexity of marketing today is increased because of the importance of social media, its rapid rise and acceptance by consumers. Advertising dollars are still concentrated where consumers are spending less and less time… Read full post »

Digital media is transforming the way consumers think, act and respond to communications. With online “experiences†like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, consumers are changing the way they meet, interact, socialize and decide to buy. Apps are becoming a way of life and moving soon into the/…

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Did you know that women account for 85% of consumer purchases in the developed world? Senior women age 50 and older control net worth of $19 trillion and own more than three quarters of the nation’s financial wealth (Mass Mutual Financial Group)? Over the next decade women will con… Read full post »

Earlier this year Bloomberg Business Week’s annual ranking for customer service named Apple 3rd in customer service behind LL Bean and USAA. Apple has built strong relationships with their customer base in part because of the service they provide. The Genius Bar, Apple Care, and roving… Read full post »

I have to admit to being a Google fan. Google has developed a set of tools for small and medium businesses that are cost effective and offer enterprise level functionality. I like the functionality of gmail. I am a fan of Google Docs as a sharing tool.… Read full post »

The market for media is changing.  After the worst recession in a generation, Zenithoptimedia predicts that global ad spend declined in 2009 by 10.2%. They reported that online advertising (the internet) would be the only medium to attract higher ad expenditure for the year.  However… Read full post »

So what is the iPad?

It is thin, has a great display, a multi-touch display like the iphone, uses the latest 1 GHz A4 chip, has an optional 16, 32, or 64 GB flash storage, always on WiFi using the latest technology, has the latest bluetooth technology, a compass, speaker, and… Read full post »

I heard a quote the other day, “you are what you publish.” It made me pause. The world as we know it is fully digital. There is no more transition occurring, although we are still in a transformative state. We are a fully immersed digital society.… Read full post »

I have doubts whether AOL can emerge again as the giant it once was, but I like a phrase that has been born from its strategy to remake the brand - “content to scale.”

The question is really how AOL will translate this into action. Is it a true… Read full post »

In the year 2000, AOL merged with Time Warner. CNN called this a stunning development since it was AOL that was announcing plans to acquire Time Warner. New media buys old media. It was a new age. The deal created a new company said to be worth… Read full post »

At E.Q.i, we focus on helping businesses work on the core fundamentals of their business to promote healthier online businesses. One of the key impressions we have garnered this year is that most of our clients have little understanding of the lifetime value of their customers (CLV). They spend… Read full post »

Hispanics are a critical target for US marketers in coming years.  They are growing in size, influence, buying power, and have a young audience that is just entering their high earning and spending years.  This target will have to be handled differently than a typical US target, as c… Read full post »

The psychology behind “free” and the penny gap is a very interesting concept in today’s new economy - an economy that arguably is driving abundant goods increasingly toward a free model on the web. This is a concept that Chris Anderson tackles in his new book Free: The Futu… Read full post »

It is sad that Edward M. Kennedy has passed.  The man lived an incredible life and was loved and respected by so many.  No one will argue that he had one of the most successful careers in politics, and was an incredibly effective lawmaker.  

 

What is perhaps another part… Read full post »

For more than ten years, I worked in the stock photo and film space - digital images - ok so when I started, they were analog. These are the perfect digital “products” but the business is going through some interesting transitions making it a challenge for some photograph… Read full post »