2009 has been a long year but as I reflect back on my many conversations, I've created a top 5 list of items to avoid in 2010: 1. Not having a defined social media strategy You would be surprised by the number of companies that say “yeah, social media is important but it’s not important to us at the moment”. In 2010 you will not have a choice but to make social media part of your overall marketing strategy. If you’re company is just breaking ground in this area, at the very least make a commitment to listen to what people are saying about you. Most likely, you are being mentioned. MORE >>

It's the day for New Year's Resolutions yet again. We're all making our lists of ways to be better people, do better things, spread joy to more of those around us.    What a worthy cause! So why wait til New Year's? We can make those same resolutions every day of our lives.    Every morning we can wake up, resolve to help out a fellow employee whose been having a rough time lately, smile at a gloomy stranger on the street or do that special something for a loved one whose been so good to us.  Small acts can make a huge difference. MORE >>

Lead nurturing, inbound pull, social networks, blogs and other eMarketing activities are all fueled by content. Lots of it. That puts a lot of pressure on limited marketing resources to churn out not only volume, but quality content that delivers a consistent storyline to a variety of target markets and customers. So what's a B2B marketer to do? Embrace the Rule of 5. The rule of 5 is that each and every content development undertaking should produce content assets that can be used at least 5 different ways. Let's say that you plan to create a white paper. MORE >>

Four years ago this month, I left the agency side to move in-house. During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to work with different types of agencies, do an agency search and consider the value of working with a PR freelancer. If you decide to bring in outside PR help, here are five points to consider: Administration. The general rule of thumb is that 10% of any retainer goes toward administration. On this point, I do favor opting for a PR freelancer over an agency, especially if you have a smaller budget. More Arms and Legs. This will vary on your budget and PR objectives. Conclusions. MORE >>

At a recent ANA conference I was interviewing Brian Wallace VP of Digital Marketing and Media for RIM when I heard him say “2 years from now- if I still have a Director of Social Media – I should be fired!&# and after thinking about that I can’t help but agree with him. The theory here is as CMO’s appoint a head of social media in their organizations, it fosters silo-like behavior and departmentalizes social which by definition runs counter to the behavior within the organization you are trying to instill! Said differently how do we make social part of the very DNA of the firm? Digg this! MORE >>