Saying “yes” to the  TV producer who wanted the CEO to anonymously work on the company’s front lines was a risky marketing move for Waste Management (WM).
Especially since reality TV is all about drama…and the company was given no control and no say in what would air. So you can be sure they’ll choose the [...]

Yesterday, we talked about Oprah’s newest line of O Bracelets, which has smart lessons for businesses of all sizes interested in cause marketing.
We also discussed the first savvy strategy–sticking with one charitable theme that’s important to your customers.
Instead of scattering her efforts like some well-meaning businesses do, all three beneficiaries of the O Bracelets [...]

Before the stores are flooded with products boasting pink ribbons in support of breast cancer research next month, let’s take a look at how you can put cause marketing to work for your business.
Cause marketing is basically a marketing partnership between a business and a non-profit for mutual benefit. Smart companies know that these types [...]

We’ve covered Wordpress founder Matt Mullenweg’s entertaining presentation on blogging and more, SEO for Wordpress, Getting Others to Create Blog Content for You, and Staying Out of Hot Water with the Law so far this week as part of our series on last weekend’s Wordcamp RDU.
Today, we’ll wrap up with some tips on turning your [...]

Today, some tips from another Wordcamp RDU presenter, Jason Keath.
Jason is Social Media Director of Heels.com and a social media consultant. He talked about ways to have others provide blog content for you. My five favorites of the suggestions he shared were to:

Build a circle of people who comment on each others’ blogs. An [...]

If you’re just finding your way around Twitter, or looking for helpful tips and strategies, TwitterHandbook is a great place to start. One invaluable tip I learned from it was how to change your Twitter name.
Here’s a helpful list of various Twitter apps to make your life easier.
And here are the Twitter apps I [...]

Remember when business was simpler and you only had one list to worry about?! (Or two, if you count contacts that aren’t on your ezine list.) But Web 2.0 has changed all that.
Because blogs, Facebook and Twitter are essentially creating other lists of contacts and prospects within your sphere of influence. But the quality of [...]

Think about a CD and DVD. Both are for storing files and blank ones look pretty much alike. But using a DVD to save a couple Word documents would be overkill, and using a CD to save any kind of video file wouldn’t get the job done.
So you need to use the one that best [...]

In case you missed them…here were this week’s marketing tips on Twitter:

Anytime you can be specific boosts credibility and makes your message more memorable. #CopyTip

You have less than 10 seconds to grab a web visitor’s attention. So write the headline & opening like your biz depended on it!

Forget offering 31 flavors–too many choices decreases response. [...]

And now, for this week’s copy tips:

A confused mind never buys. Clear, simple writing outsells clever and “sophisticated” any day. #CopyTip

Add meaningful captions to your pictures. Captions are the third most read item on a sales page. #CopyTip

Be careful to avoid words that make your product or service sound hard or time consuming. #CopyTip

Forget adjectives–focus [...]