Sure, I’m not stupid: Twitter is not the place where you will normally chat with your kids, partner, best friends or dog but, hey, there’s nothing wrong with being you, right? The social network that suits me best? It’s that time of the year. Some of us are taking a deserved break, others continue working because they have to or don’t celebrate Christmas and some do something else. m working on a few trainings for a company to get their employees involved in a social business program. Yes, that involves training as well. My rules, not everyone’s rules. Some examples? That’s a lot. MORE >>

That’s probably not the best thing to do in times of economic uncertainties. Yesterday, I had a long and interesting conversation with the president of STIMA , Belgium’s largest association of marketing professionals. He told me the main issue that surfaces in his daily contacts with marketers is ROMI (Return On Marketing Investment), a.k.a. Marketing ROI. The crisis is hitting hard, and accountability is priority number one today. The results of the annual marketing survey by Belgian The House of Marketing , in collaboration with STIMA, are a clear illustration of the need for ROMI. MORE >>

However, realize that your best and most influential customers might be not that connected at all. (Digital) influence is the capacity to affect others to take actions and/or change opinions or behavior. It can happen directly (persuasion) and indirectly. However, it is always characterized by the resulting actions and changes. Influence is used by people for many reasons: some ‘good’, some ‘bad’, some in between. Influence is powerful and marketers love it. In a world where traditional marketing has less impact, marketers want to involve the so-called influencers. Cialdini. Cialdini MORE >>

However, making your hands dirty, getting out there, asking advice and talking to people is – along with DOING something – still the best way to get it. Forget the “best Twitter tips”, “social media speak” and all these so-called ‘expert’ opinions that so often contradict each other, except if you can really distinguish what is relevant and what is not for you, your business and your customers. Recently, Belgium-based Leads United (part of Lewis PR), released the results of a social media marketing survey among communication and marketing “professionals&#. Certainly not! MORE >>

Customer-facing decisions are seldom taken by a team but often based on what we know as the HiPPO: the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion instead of those that know the customers best. Consumers are becoming channel-agnostic. They are effortlessly switching from one channel to the other. The road to purchase consists of a multitude of touchpoints across a maze of channels, media and relationships. People discuss their experiences as they get in touch with a business, product and service. These discussions have a huge impact on buying decisions. The shift is clear. Consistency does matter. MORE >>