Social Media Content Marketing

https://www.instagram.com/tao_of_frank/ Recently, I looked into Instagram as a potential venue for marketing and advertising opportunities. (Did he really just say "recently"? Into a decade old network with 1 Billion users ?!) It hasn't been a priority in business-to-business (B2B). I decided to go all in and submerse myself in this "tao" of Instagram. And what I discovered was nothing short of enlightenment. *Cue wind chimes, tribal drums, and sound baths* Admittedly, I wasn't an O.G. of the IG. When I joined a few years ago, I used it as it was intended:  a visual diary, posting photos of my travels, my day, my dinner, my dog, my dog's dinner. It became apparent quickly that observations of everyday life are rarely engaging. No amazing vistas, no celebrity encounters, no street magic, and with no appetite for Tide pods or spoonfuls of cinnamon. But that's OK. At the very least it was consoling to my friends and family and casual acquaint

A screenwriter's take on how to write your book.

Avoid these questions on your online job app that are too personal and risky or risk losing the best candidates out there to another company. I'm finicky, I'll admit it. My coffee has to have just the precise creamer to sweetener ratio or I won't drink it. My content has to have an engaging title and photo, or I won't post it. And if I came upon one of these three requests on a job application, I would jump ship faster than Amazon could say "hasta la vista, baby" to Long Island City - regardless of how much of a great fit I thought it may have been. And so do your top candidates. Before I go any further, I'll state that I do understand why these requests are made. Some are corporate policy, some for legal reasons, but mostly these requests are made to aid the HR department in placing qualified candidates at this or another position. So I'm not balking at companies that make these requests, but simply at the timing of when they do so. Now ther

or "Confessions of a Closet Optimist." Yep, I manifested a real donut. And not one of those generic grocery store brands or vending machine ones that crumble once you crack open the cellophane. No, I manifested a fresh, warm, glazed yeasty delicious ring of dough. More about the pastry from thin air in a moment, but first: manifesting business results . A dear friend called a while back and asked if I could help her with her digital marketing. So thrilled with the results, she wanted to return the favor. She told me all about the manifesting. " The Law of Attraction," "The Secret," and the like all have manifestation at their core. In short, the practice of how one could "wish" things true. Her discourse on Manifesting 101 immediately followed including a lesson on how to manifest anything or - anyone - I wanted. "What do you want to manifest?," she asked. "I have what I need," I said, "though I&#

Shy, skinny, and so nervous around my crushes I'd break out in hives: high school was not a favorite time in my life. I had my group of close friends, but didn't socialize much, spending my nights and most weekends writing. So I had pause when I had the opportunity to attend my high school reunion this month. Would I be recognized, remembered or worse revert back to that shy (albeit no longer skinny) kid? To my surprise, the evening turned out to be one of the most enjoyable in my life to date. How was it possible four unremarkable years could leave such a lasting positive impression? And then it hit me...I had rebranded myself. Much of how I look and act has changed since then - though the writing still accounts for much if not more of my time. I was essentially the same person - just enhanced. But what I've come to realized was that I wasn't enhanced. Shyness was replaced by genuine humility; nervousness by confidence, and that all translated into perceived enha

Your boss may manage like the Queen or King. But you don't have to overthrow the crown to fix it. Trying to do your job but get blocked by the owner who hired you to do so? Working at a large/public corporation or at an individually-owned operation often present distinct disadvantages. Red tape and pigeon-holed responsibilities are the banes of the larger companies. While smaller, one-person owned companies - while offering a fast track to promotion and increased responsibilities - may involve you working under a business dictatorship. Recently, a friend and I were having lunch to catch up. Like me, she began her career with Fortune 100 companies, then got wooed away by a small company a few years ago whose founder/owner was impressed by her big-name experience. She's done some job hopping to move up the corporate ladder since then. Three months ago, she was excited about the prospects of making strides. Today, she put in her notice. She just couldn't figure out

  You pick up the outfit you're planning to wear from the dry cleaners. You cancel weekend plans so you can instead study up on your prospective employer, its website, and its competitive landscape. You rehearse winning answers and examples pertaining to your experience. You take the day off from work for the interview because, well, you're a shoe-in. But instead, it's more of a shoo-out , and you find yourself back on the elevator down to the visitors parking garage in minutes. Disappointing, frustrating, demoralizing. Unfortunately, it happens more often than you may think. Or it will if you go on enough job interviews. What just happened? You barely had a chance to speak. Was it what you wore? Your tattoo ? Your personality? Was it ... you ? The answer is...all of the above. And then some. Until that dystopian day when robots replace us all like in The Matrix, you will often get or lose that job based upon factors other than what's on your resume. It ma

For some home-based, the business of energy healing can be both spiritually and monetarily rewarding. Chalk it up to an increasingly digital - yet disconnected - world, but we increasingly find ourselves disillusioned with all things traditional – be it in our business or personal life.   No longer reserved for the New Agers and the Glitterati, the search for “something greater” and “more rewarding” for the here-and-now has gone mainstream. No greater momentum than in the healthcare community where acupuncture, for example, is now covered under your policy. The definitions of health and healing continue to morph as the focus moves from the body and the mind, to the spirit and the soul. Energy healing, in particular, is gaining in both interest and credibility as proof from the growing number of books, seminars, and cottage industries promising and sometimes delivering on incredible claims. Yet different approaches to energy healing are appearing like shooting stars wit

As a business writer, journalist, graphic designer, and digital marketer, I'm often courted by clients looking to get the "most bang for the buck" as the saying goes. Consequently, during the Dot Com days of the late 1990s and early 2000s, I was often hired by startups wanting to become the next Yahoo!  I performed work for five startups in five years. The first four went belly up so quickly the ink on the business cards were barely dry. Looking back on those days now, I've tried to isolate if there was something they had in common to help new clients to possibly sidestep the same mistakes and thrive. In fact, management at the first four did have one thing in common: the quest for perfection. The perfect person, the perfect mate, the perfect home, the perfect job - none of it exists. So why would you strive to create the perfect company? I remember founders agonizing over logo fonts, the order of items on the nav bar, or comma placement in the mission statemen

When you're paid to communicate, keeping silent can be difficult - but sometimes it's the best decision. Did you read what happened in the news today ? Actually, it doesn't really matter what day you're reading this because this has been a year of one outrageous news story after another. And I'm sure you've got something to say about it. In fact, I'd bet it's a viewpoint that they're not covering on your favorite news station. Or it's a comment so insightful, that it needs to be said to set the world straight. Don't say it. Facebook seems to the choice to voice unwanted opinions and pontificating. So much so, that I think they need to rework the logo to include a soap box and mic. Instant freedom of speech. So if you want to debate the guy in your 10th grade social studies class about the political climate, by all means enjoy. I shall choose to mute you both until you post photos of your dog or a yummy dessert I may want to try. B

Segmenting your digital marketing department into buckets? Careful... As reliance upon digital marketing continues to grow, some corporate budgets have completely displaced (rather than supplemented) traditional marketing. The new normal sees companies with separate departments for email, SEO, PPC, display, social media, content creation, branding, and so on. However left unattended, this can create a marketing army of islands. The classic "left hand not knowing what the right is doing" - just with many more hands. I'm not against the trend of marketing function specialization, in fact the larger the organization, the more sense it makes in my eyes. The danger for companies is the often complete lack of communication - or better - coordination of efforts of these departments. And that seems exactly what's happening. So many companies I meet with have hyper-segmented to the point that campaigns across channels look like they've been designed by differen

Otto the Texas Dog seen rescuing his kibble after Hurricane Harvey.  No shame here. If you've lived in South Florida for any given time, you've endured flooded streets, downed palms, broken roof tiles, and power outages for hours. But this week was gravely different. For many, Hurricanes Irma and Harvey lived up to their devastating hype. Towns were decimated and lives tragically lost. And now, oppressive Florida heat continue to claim victims . Facebook provides a helpful "mark yourself safe" feature for those in affected disaster areas to let loved ones know they're OK with just one click. But what about  businesses? Many of the South Florida and Houston-area companies who endured the recent hurricanes and came out virtually unscathed, have been oddly silent. And not because they're without power. Many corporations are trained to highlight only positive news, and bury the negative in fear of losing business. Human life is irreplaceable; so no compa

Let's all give Senator Ted Cruz a collective "thank you" for what happened on his Twitter account today . Reportedly, someone was signed into the senator’s official Twitter account and clicked the heart symbol below an adult video creating a "@tedcruz liked this." It was taken down less than an hour later. “It was a staffing issue and it was inadvertent,” the senator said. “It was a mistake.” But Cruz's mistake hopefully got your attention and perhaps may just save your company from experiencing a similar public relations nightmare. Apparently, multiple staff members have access to the account and post on his behalf. Redundancy is not a bad thing when it comes to social media access. But who has access and where they access from is . And that lesson is an invaluable one. When you're in technology marketing, you tend to be on the forefront of new media. Being an early adopter goes with the territory, and social media was no diffe

It's not always easy to trust someone; trust, like respect, is often earned. In business that trust often comes with great responsibility and at a price. When you assign a task to a subordinate, you expect it to get done. If it doesn't, there will likely be consequences. But what about when it's a co-worker or your superior? Be honest: are you just as confident it will get done? Some companies like to tout their benefits package as reason to join them, but its often the intangibles that attract the best people. A healthy working environment, one that fosters communication, encourages input from all employees, is much more inviting than discount park tickets and casual Fridays. I've found that the best companies tend to trust their employees. Not blindly of course, but give them the benefit of the doubt that they can and will do their job to the best of their abilities. I'm not talking about those first jobs you had as a teenager busing tables, stoc