B y  Srinivas  Rao, Contributing {grow} Columnist. The paradox of popularity is that it can create a paralysis that inhibits you from creating the work that made you popular in the first place! The fear of how people will respond to you can start to creep into your work until it becomes so watered down that you become part of the echo chamber. In some ways, isn’t it liberating to be an early stage blogger with few readers? For those of you trying to build an audience I know that might sound ridiculous. But you’re free to say anything. Are you addicted to the glow? What do YOU think? MORE >>

I'm a huge proponent of listening to what prospective B2B buyers and "companies" say and do online as an indication of how to create content that better engages them. But several things have drawn my attention lately that make me wonder about the veracity of people's behavior and their expressed sentiment. It occurs to me that in a variety of online social situations it's not really easy to distinguish someone being authentic from someone who's, well, not. Whether buyers or just people. And I think it goes to context. Are they really finding value? What do you think? MORE >>

Today’s post is by David M. Raab, Principal at Raab Associates Inc.  Tis the season for industry predictions. ve already fielded a couple of requests for my thoughts, which usually requires some. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]. B2B marketing B2B Marketing Online B2B Sales Lead analytics Lead Generation Lead Nurturing Lead Value Marketing Automation app markets b2b marketers campaign management content management CRM david m. raab lead acquisition marketing database raab associates inc MORE >>

Most corporate websites serve as platforms for brands to talk about themselves. Social Social Media? Amplification of what brands say about themselves and maybe what positive things others are saying about the brand. These are not conversations. They are content marketing echo chambers.  What is the content marketing echo chamber? Brand noise. By the brand, about the brand, for the brand, and constantly being reverberated across platforms. All echoed in the social sphere. The problem with this approach: you start to believe what you hear. The messages seem forced. Effective stories draw us in. MORE >>

There is a particularly funny scene in the Will Ferrell movie Elf when he passes a run-down looking coffee shop that has a sign saying “World’s Best Cup of Coffee.”  With exuberant joy, he bursts into the shop and yells “Congratulations!”. It’s a hilarious moment, but a common example of “social proof” that has been used in the advertising world for decades. When we don’t know the truth, we look for clues from our external environment (like a claim in a storefront window) to help us make decisions. In my book  Return On Influence , I point to a famous example of this, actor Robert Young. MORE >>