Click here if you cannot see this video interview with Eric Ries of The Lean Start-up. had the pleasure of catching up with Eric Ries , author of The Lean Start-Up after he was just coming down from an amazing day of success at SXSW 2102. You get to hear about this first in this video interview! first heard about Eric Ries when he was interviewed by Mitch Joel on his excellent Six Pixels podcast. I immediately became a fan of Eric and his concrete ideas about business start-up strategy. He is also a well-known  blogger  within the technology entrepreneur community. MORE >>

Jay Baer of Convince and Convert did a webinar with Argyle Social recently. Five important tips came out of that event that I want to share. And mark your calendars to meet me at the BMA-NJ Social Media Symposium on April 10th, where I will deliver the keynote presentation. Your goal should not be to be good at social media. It should be to be good at BUSINESS using social media. Don’t do social for the sake of social. Focus on business goals and use social to drive them forward. Before jumping on a platform, first ask yourself “Why are people here?” Planning is the key. MORE >>

One of the places you will see the biggest impact from stepping up to a marketing automation approach is putting together a thoughtful and buyer-centric email lead nurturing program. This is not about sending emails every few days leading to frustrated buyers, potentially negative brand impact, and disappointing open/click performance. That is doing lead nurturing wrong. To do lead nurturing correctly and to guide you as you implement lead nurturing emails keep the following three things front and center: 1. It’s not about you. How can you solve a problem you don’t understand? MORE >>

Image via Wikipedia. The best thing about social media marketing is that you don’t have to be the most popular, have the most followers, or be the most sophisticated, you just have to do a better job than all your direct competitors. You don’t have to be the fastest, the biggest, or the strongest in order to win at social media, you just have to be faster than Mark.  Who is Mark?  Well, I am sure you’ve all heard the joke about outrunning a bear… Steve and Mark are camping when a bear suddenly comes out and growls.  Steve starts putting on his tennis shoes. Well, no. MORE >>

Marketers are being held increasingly accountable for delivering positive, measurable results that align with their businesses’ goals and objectives. Of course, in order to do this these same marketers must simultaneously learn to adapt in a social media ecosystem that is in perpetual evolution.  Budgets are tighter, goals are higher and the lingering economic uncertainty creates tension that can interfere with strategic planning and results. Unfortunately, many corporate executives are still in denial over the profusion of branding opportunities that these social media activities foster. MORE >>