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The world of digital marketing has changed a lot over the last 20 years, and it looks like it is going to keep on changing. It seems like there is always some new piece of technology to try out or forum to explore. So with all this "new," how are you supposed to stay ahead of the marketing curve? What can you do to make sure you stay competitive? Well, we have little advice on that front...more
In the Wild West (or at least how it's portrayed in the movies) the "good guys" wore white cowboy hats and the "bad guys" wore black cowboys hats. But "white hats" and "black hats" aren't just for the Wild West anymore, now they show up in the technology sphere. Recently, the term "black hat" has been used to describe computer hackers, virus creators, and others who perform unethical actions with computers. Some of these unethical actions can include aggressive SEO tactics, like:more
I remember the day I found out... I was hunched over my typewriter drinking an Ethiopean blend in my favorite ripped flannel, non-prescription, wide-framed glasses askew on my face. My favorite Queen vinal was playing in the background making perfect time with the tapping of my fingers on keys. I began mouthing the lyrics to "Don't Stop Me Now," I was in my element. That is....until my father walked in. "Seriously??" he laughed. "You freakin' hipster Millenials! Get a job and get out of my basement!" I took the news hard...I could handle the hipster part (chicks dig the scrawny, sensative poet type), but a Millennial..? Me? I knew I would have to confront the fact eventually...I mean I was born in the 90's so I guess I always knew...I just never thought I would have to face the truth so soon. I. Am. A Millennial.more
If you read our previous post "Who Has Time for Social Media Marketing", you should have some working knowledge of social media marketing and the benefits it provides. But even with the use of social media forums such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, you may be looking to add a little flavor to your brand. Here are three methods sure to help you show your brand’s true personality.more
We've all seen them -- the infamous "Self Promoters." These are people and companies who use social media as a platform to pound their own chest, and talk about how great they are. In fact, you may be one of them! (Don't worry -- we're not here to judge, we're here to help!). It's very tempting to use such an open platform to try to get your own message across to as many people as possible. We get it.more
If you read my post, Who has time for Social Media Marketing, you know that a social media style guide is crucial for business success today. It’s the rule book for how social media managers will create messaging on social. It’s similar to a writing style guide or content style guide, and will cut the time you spend debating what to post in half!more
We often have the opportunity to work with many different agencies throughout our client partnerships. Sometimes we will do design work while another agency builds the site. Sometimes we build something that was designed by another agency. Those type of situations work very well because the functional behavior of the end product doesn’t depend upon the design work. In fact, in these situations, each agency can challenge the other to ultimately produce a better result.more
On Monday, Pete wrote a post all about Millennials and their misconstrued reputation. As a Millennial, it really got me thinking about one of the claims against Millennials that Pete disagreed with: Millennials are lazy. As much as I’m flattered Pete had our backs, I do think there’s some truth behind this statement, especially when it comes to the way Millennials buy.more
Let’s face it-who has time for social media? Well, let me rephrase that…we all seem to have hours on end for our own personal social media, but who has time for social media marketing?more
My last post was a bit different than the majority of the content we share on the MINDSCAPE blog as it related more to personal positioning than it did to marketing. The interesting thing about personal positioning is how closely it’s actually related to your marketing and the positioning of your company and the products and services you offer. This post will showcase the similarities, as well as the pitfalls to avoid with your marketing.more
This post was orginally published on August 22, 2013, but is still relevant. Enjoy! Average is a word used to describe mathematical statistics or to show a comparative value to others. The words common, typical or ordinary could be used to replace the word average.more
Hopefully you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve accepted the fact that blogging is critical to your digital strategy, and most importantly, to attracting strangers to your website. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably noticed how difficult it is to determine which blog posts will be a “hit” and which posts will attract little to no attention. There have been many times where I’ve excitedly published a blog post and sat by my computer anxiously awaiting the views to start rolling in, and I’ve heard nothing but crickets. This can be very frustrating considering how much energy and excitement I invested into the post, and yet it just didn’t seem to be enough. If you’ve found yourself in a similar position, I’d like to encourage you to take a deep breath and not take it personally. It’s important to remember the main strategic initiative of your blogging efforts is to position yourself, and your organization, as a thought leader to the personas you serve so they begin to view your website as a valuable resource they can turn to in times of need. Keeping this in mind, there are a few things you can do to help position your blog posts so they are more likely to gain the level of exposure you’d like them to.more
Writing a piece of inbound content can be a lot like planning for a trip. I know, this sounds kind of out there but let me explain. I would be willing to bet that when you are packing for a trip you make a list of items to pack and things that need to be done before you take off on your adventure.more
