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Innovation in Marketing March 24 #DigiBlogChat

March 20, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Innovation in Marketing

#DigiBlogChat March 24 Topic: Innovation in Marketing | Image: Roberto Lee Cortes from Pixabay

On Tuesday, March 24th, we’ll be talking about Innovation in Marketing with John Lewis on Bluesky at 12:00 Noon Pacific Time. John Lewis is an Applied physicist, focussed on innovation. He is also the Founder of @NeatStrategy.com.

Join us on BlueSky each Tuesday from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter.  If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

NOTE THE TIME: 7pm UK, 8pm W Europe, 3pm ET, Noon PDT! Note: Most in North America changed their clocks March 8. For those in Europe , will be 1 HOUR EARLIER for the next WEEK.

John Lewis: Innovation in any field — including marketing — is essentially a response to changing circumstances. Those changes might be cultural, economic, demographic, regulatory, technological, or something else entirely.

With that in mind, here are the questions:

Q1. What’s the most innovative marketing you’ve seen lately?
Q2. What kinds of change most drive marketing innovation — technology, culture, economics, or something else?
Q3. How has a marketing innovation ever changed your behaviour as a consumer?
Q4. How do you balance being first with a marketing innovation against doing it well?
Q5. Which pre-digital marketing innovation do you think is undervalued today — and what circumstances drove it?

More questions:

Q6. What’s the most overhyped marketing innovation of recent years — and why did it fail to deliver?
Q7. When is something truly innovative versus just a response to a new channel or platform?
Q8. As AI becomes more prevalent, what’s the irreplaceable human contribution to marketing?
Q9. When should brands lead cultural change and when should they follow it?
Q10. What changes in circumstances do you think will drive the biggest marketing innovations in the next five years?
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Marketing for Small Business March 11 #DigiBlogChat

March 6, 2025 By Leave a Comment
Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

March 11 Today’s #DigiBlogChat topic: Marketing for Small Business

Let’s talk about Marketing for Small Business on our next #DigiBlogChat of 2025 on BlueSky! The topic and questions were planned by @maricarjagger.bsky.social. We’ve chatted about marketing for all kinds of businesses before, but things are always changing. We all get stuck with marketing of one type or another, don’t we? Sometimes we have to sell an idea or discuss what’s on our resume, with many small businesses needing to sell their wares every day. Are there ways to make marketing any easier?

Exciting times are ahead of us, with more and more interesting topics! The year is zooming by. Tune into BlueSky on Tuesday, March 11th to hear about this topic!

Join us on BlueSky each Tuesday from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter.  If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

NEW TIME: at 7pm UK time, 8pm western Europe, 3pm ET, 12:00 NOON pm PST.

Questions

Q1. What percentage of your operation do you spend on marketing? #DigiBlogChat 

Q2. On what platforms do you currently promote your business? #DigiBlogChat 

Q3. How much time do you spend on online platforms? #DigiBlogChat 

Q4. What strategies have you found most effective in attracting new customers to your small business? #DigiBlogChat 

Q5. What unconventional approach have you taken to attract your target customers? #DigiBlogChat 

Q6. How do you reward your best customers? #DigiBlogchat 

Q7.  What flexibility do you have in spending your marketing budget? #DigiBlogChat 

Q8. How do you leverage the reviews of your super fans? #DigiBlogChat 

Q9. What is your favorite promotional channel and does your favorite generate the most income? #DigiBlogChat 

Q10. Tell us about a challenge you’ve faced and successfully overcome. What happened? #DigiBlogChat

 

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#DigiBlogChat Video Clips and Marketing November 7

November 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment

#DigiBlogChat Video Clips and Marketing November 7 | Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

We’re talking about Video Clips and Marketing this Tuesday! Do join us on Twitter (now “X”) on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 1:00 pm Pacific Standard Time for #Digiblogchat! 

Join us each Tuesday from 1:00 through 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, 10pm CST (most of W. Europe), 9pm + WEST (UK + Portugal), 4pm ET (Eastern). My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter.  If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. Why do short video clips on Tik Tok or Instagram influence users to engage with content? #Digiblogchat 

Q2. What types of video content are the most engaging for users, e.g. product or action segments? #Digiblogchat

Q3. How can a business embed branding in video clips, should it be part of the content or in the links? #Digiblogchat 

Q4. What are best practices for optimizing video  content, taking account of formats etc, and does it vary between Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X? #Digiblogchat 

Q5. How do search engine and platform algorithms impact ranking and visibility of video content over other content? #Digiblogchat 

Q6. What would you consider good ethical considerations for producers of video clips and is that affected by variations in platform policy and guidance? #Digiblogchat 

Q7. In what ways have live streaming and story platforms like Snapchat and Instagram changed the dynamic for video content producers? #Digiblogchat 

Q8. How do user-generated video clips challenge professional content creators? #Digiblogchat 

Q9. Is #AI capability on new smart devices, e.g. like cell phones, a game changer and should this refocus intellectual property considerations? #Digiblogchat 

Q10. Where does storytelling fit in terms of the short video clip, is it still significant and worth creating? #Digiblogchat 

 

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#DigiBlogChat November 22, 2022 Topic: Gratitude Marketing with @RandyLyleClark

November 18, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/huoadg5888-8934889/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4415649">huoadg5888</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4415649">Pixabay</a>

The topic for Tuesday, November 22, 2022 is Gratitude Marketing with @RandyLyleClark! Image by huoadg5888 from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, November 22, 2022 is Gratitude Marketing with @RandyLyleClark! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. What is Gratitude Marketing? 

Q2. How can a business creatively show gratitude to customers?

Q3. Can a business show gratitude to a community?  How?

Q4. How can an organization show gratitude to employees? 

Q5. How can a company show gratitude to a prospect who didn’t make a purchase?

Q6. Is it a good idea to show gratitude to a consumer who points out a flaw or mistake? Why?

Q7. Can a business overdo gratitude marketing especially over the holidays? Examples, please.

Q8. How can promotional products be used to show gratitude?    

Q9. How can transparency and honesty show an organization’s gratitude? 

Q10. Share something you and your business are grateful for.

 

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How Gratitude Marketing Helps Your Business Be Powerful

November 17, 2022 By 2 Comments

How Gratitude Marketing Helps Your Business Be Powerful

Although it’s easy to be negative right now given all the strangeness on social media, this time in November is all about gratitude because Thanksgiving. So for the purposes of this blog post, I’m going to try to stay positive. We’ll see how long that lasts! After all, Twitter is having issues, and Meta has also had a massive layoff. In fact, all over Silicon Valley, there are layoffs and rumors of layoffs, too.

Counter the negativity with gratitude marketing

What’s good about your business? Here’s some help thinking of a few things. First of all, you’re still in business, am I right? So that’s a big thank you to the universe–for keeping your business afloat after Covid (and many say it’s still here, but it’s not the same as it was a couple of years ago). So congratulate yourself just for staying in the game all this time!

Thank friends every day

Your business has a lot of people who help, even if you may not know who they are. For instance, the store where you buy your supplies. Who ships your products to you? Try to find out, and thank them. Or the guy who helps you when you get stuck with technical issues? An article in Entrepreneur states that gratitude is the best marketing plan ever. And probably you have collaborators, too. Those are also good people to thank. I’ve written about supporting your friends while supporting yourself before. You might like to read it.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/bogitw-851103/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=877121">Gerhard Bögner</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=877121">Pixabay</a>

How Gratitude Marketing Helps Your Business Be Powerful | Image by Gerhard Bögner from Pixabay

Give good reviews

For the most part, I’d rather give someone a good review than a bad review any day. If a business has bad service, I’d rather vote with my feet, as they say, and not go back. But for the ones with good customer service? They really appreciate good reviews on Google or Yelp. After all, people read those reviews! That kind of review isn’t something that’s easy to come by. Sites like Amazon or even your local grocery store are always wanting you to tell them how you feel. Did you like the product? How was the service? They want to know! Good reviews are priceless.

Read what others do to improve their gratitude marketing

There are lots of examples out there of people who use gratitude marketing. For instance, here’s an article about the Power of Gratitude in Marketing, from Duct Tape Marketing. What I like about the article is it goes beyond saying thank you, and also focuses on the benefits to your business. Another great idea from the article? Thanking your social media fans when you reach certain milestones. I’ve seen people do this on YouTube and Twitter.

What are the other benefits of gratitude (in marketing or in your life)?

When I think about expressing my own gratitude, it always gives me warm fuzzy feelings. If feelings could be warm and fuzzy, that is. And studies show that gratitude, as a practice, helps you be healthier. What benefits has gratitude marketing made in your business?

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How to Write a Perfectly Fine Blog Post in an Hour!

August 2, 2018 By 2 Comments

writing photo

Actually, you can write a perfectly fine blog post in 20 minutes, but here we’ll talk about one that takes an hour. For the ones I’ve written in 20 minutes, those usually have no images, and they’re somewhat limited by the amount of research I do, too. If you’re feeling tired and uninspired, you might want to read this article first: Content Creation: How to Inspire Yourself When You’re Tired.

Start with the Headline

Getting the headline done is the hard part. Really. After that, it’s all downhill. Choosing the subject is what takes the most time. So don’t spend too much time. Use Coscheduler’s Headline tool to help you. I try to get a headline that’s in the “green.” You don’t want it too long or too short.

Done, Not Perfect

One thing that’s important to keep in mind if you’re writing quickly, is that it won’t be perfect! But it will get done. So if you’re planning to write something that’s fast, you can definitely do it. If you’re a perfectionist, this might be the most difficult part for you, not the headline. But keep the goal in mind of finishing, not writing and rewriting ten times. If you think you’re a perfectionist, you might want to read this short article on perfectionism by Psychology Today.

You’re Allowed to Repeat Topics

Yes, you are. For instance, I wrote about this very topic before here: How to Create a Wonderful Blog Post in One Hour. But you know what? What I write today and what I wrote then will be different. And your audience won’t be the same, either.

Add Outgoing and Incoming Links

Add a few links. I like to add two outgoing and two incoming links–two links to my own blog and two to outside blogs or articles. Of course, you’ll need to read or at least scan those other links for accuracy and to make sure they support your premise.

Add An Image and Some Tags

I like ImageInject for free images, which is a nifty plugin that also includes the attribution to the image for you. Or, if you have someone to help you, that’s also a wonderful option! Adding tags can be done in probably under a minute.

Done for You

If it’s still too much pressure, shoot me an email or connect with me on social media. I’d be glad to help!

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How to Write Headlines that Will Help You Reach Introverts

October 5, 2017 By 6 Comments
How to Write Headlines that Will Help You Reach Introverts

How to Write Headlines that Will Help You Reach Introverts

Keep Your Promise

That’s not so difficult, is it? If you promise something with your headline, keep your word. Deliver what you’ve promised. So: no click-baity headlines for introverts. Instead, prove your point and show us what you mean.

Draw Us in

Draw Us in

Draw Us in

Don’t hit us over the head with your idea. Let us process all the parts of your proposition. Like most other things about introverts, we process more slowly, and perhaps more thoroughly, than others might. Luckily, we can take as much time as we need if we’re reading. By the way, here’s an article that you might like: Six Facts About Introverts and Social Media that Will Impress Your Friends.

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Stop Talking

Seriously. Don’t talk so much. We like some silence, and that can help us as much as anything. If you’re writing headlines, keep them shorter and to the point.

light show photo

Don’t Use Lots of Useless Punctuation

Any headline with an exclamation point will probably get skipped over. Quotes and an ellipses? Probably not helpful, either. And if you use both an exclamation point and ellipses? Stop right there! Let’s not even start on all the ellipses abuse that’s happening right now. Note that the definition of an ellipses is the omission of a sentence from one or more words. It’s not to show others that your voice is trailing off. So stop abusing that poor ellipses! Now that deserves an exclamation point.

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Use Humor

A little humor never hurt anybody, did it? Humor is one way to Revamp Your Social Media–when used sparingly. Light heartedness might even be part of your brand’s style. In which case it’s mandatory! Just kidding. Not really.

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We Don’t Need Glitter

While we introverts do love cats, we don’t need as much glitter as extroverts do. And by the way, did you know that Introverts tend to be better CEOs — and other surprising traits of top-performing executives? Probably written by an introvert, wouldn’t you say?

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Photo by manfred majer

Keep it Brief and Inviting

Shorter headlines rock. And another thing? Don’t repeat the headline all over the place in each paragraph, even if it’s good for your SEO. That is annoying to everyone.

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Accept That Headlines Are Limited

Sometimes even the best headline can’t convey a message accurately. So, in the body of your article or post, imagery or music may be able to express what the headline can’t. You can only say so much with words. Here’s an article that resonated with me: Introverts aren’t voiceless—they’re quietly powerful.

light show photo

What Type of Headline Draws You In?

Let me know! And tell me if you’re an introvert or an extrovert. Thank you.

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Gratitude Marketing: Spotlight on a Social Cynic

November 24, 2016 By 6 Comments
Gratitude Marketing: Spotlight on a Social Cynic

Gratitude Marketing: Spotlight on a Social Cynic

This year has been a mixed bag, both in terms of business and the political scene. On the one hand, business is up. On the other hand, people’s expectations are higher than ever. The election has created a country divided, with many unable to disagree in a civil manner.

shopping photo

Photo by iantmcfarland

What’s in it for me?

The atmosphere in the country right now seems to be “I’ve got mine–too bad for you.” There is a divisiveness to conversations on social media, with people unfriending, arguing, and a lot of spewing and venting. And it’s funny that while writing these words, I keep imagining what Andy Roony would say. I don’t think he’d be happy about what’s happening.

happy photo

Why Focus on Gratitude?

Mike Sciortino, who wrote a book and trademarked “Gratitude Marketing®”  had this to say,

“Traditional Marketing speaks at people. Gratitude Marketing® engages and connects with people. When you combine relationship-building with consistent nurturing, you create clients for life.”

Thinking of customers first is one of the hallmarks of a successful business. So maybe Gratitude Marketing is an old-fashioned idea, successfully repackaged. And it’s certainly an idea that Baby Boomers and others can take to heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ9UtuWfs3U

A Leap of Faith

Personally, I think we need all the positivity and gratitude and beauty we can get right now. As tough as it may be to have that focus, it’s critical to move forward. We all need to assume that other people are good. Most of them, anyway. And we need to find ways to engage in a civil way. It seems simplistic, but peace really is every step, as Thich Nhat Hanh states. When he talks about “deep listening,” that it can create transformation and healing, could that not also be applied to our business lives?

 happy photo

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How to Become a Digital Influencer: 10 Best Ways

September 8, 2016 By 8 Comments
How to Become a Digital Influencer: 10 Best Ways

How to Become a Digital Influencer: 10 Best Ways

How do you go about becoming that person whose every word is listened to? How do you build trust so that you become an influencer? Digital influencers have not been around that long. However, there’s already a science behind influencer marketing. It’s not easy, but there is a path.

lightroom photo

Photo by electrictuesday

Focus on Your Special Interest

Although it seems counter-intuitive, becoming more specialized makes you more likely to becoming an influencer. Pay attention to the small things.

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”

~ Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

There is already talk of a skills gap in social media, due to the fast proliferation of new platforms, and the breakneck speed of digital change. With so much going on, developing a special interest doesn’t have to be difficult.

 movie light photo

Follow Other Influencers

Read their books, read their blogs, and study them. Follow them on social media, and check in with them. Comment on their blog posts. Start conversations. Show up at their events. In my arena, that might be Mari Smith, or Gary Vanderchuk.

 party lights photo

Find Your Social Media Voice

Write and rewrite your statements until they ring true to you. If you’ve ever written a journal, writing posts can be somewhat similar. Reading a post or tweet out loud can also help make it sound natural, and more like your voice.

 party lights photo

Create Content

If you’ve followed some influencers, make yourself distinct from them. How does your opinion differ from theirs? There may be some areas where you have a strong opinion. Images and original artwork or video are becoming more and more important, so take advantage of images as well. Here’s an article about Secrets to Great Content You Forgot You Knew. It includes some tips about how to avoid procrastination.

party lights photo

Photo by volantra

Engage, Engage, Engage

Share others’ posts, and most of all talk to people online and offline. Engagement is probably the most important of the ten steps here. Why should you care about engagement? Because for your brand, you can speak to one possible client or many, you can drive people to a website to buy products, all while you work on your branding. Building relationships takes time; constant and steady engagement is the path to those relationships.

Sprout Social has a wonderful article about social media engagement: What is Social Media Engagement and Why Should I Care? 

farm photo

Photo by UT Connewitz

Be Useful

Helping others is an excellent way to build influence. Being a resource is one of the fastest ways to being influential. Find what people need and then provide it. Whether that’s giving someone a helping hand or solving a problem, being useful is a shortcut to influence success.

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Overcome Failure

Get up every time you fall down. Rinse and repeat every day. The Positivity Blog has a great little article about failure: How to Overcome Failure: 9 Powerful Habits. As Henrick Edberg says, try to learn something from the failure, even if it’s just one simple thing.

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Think Long Term

Nothing is going to happen overnight, although you can speed up the process. Unless you’re a celebrity, nobody gets a free pass. But all the organic reach, the followers and added business are worth it. Social media is more of a tortoise than a hare.

party lights photo

Photo by o. denise

Work Hard and Be Creative

Get the work done, definitely. But also be creative in how you get it done. For instance, you can recycle content, especially on Twitter. Save yourself from redoing your work. Even Guy Kawasaki reuses content! Nobody is going to read every single one of your tweets, so repeating them can be part of your strategy.

party lights photo

Photo by Aidan Jones

Be Approachable

Be like a pair of old shoes: comfortable and a little worn around the edges. I think Dale Carnegie said something like that. My friend, Bridget Willard, wrote a great post about being friendly, which you can be even if you’re shy. It’s in her Keys to Being Social: Be Friendly.

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Do You Want to Be More Influential?

What steps are you taking to be more influential? I’m sure there are many missing here. Leave me a comment, and thanks!
 stage light photo
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The Surprising Importance of the Offline Meeting

March 17, 2016 By 16 Comments
The Importance of the Offline Meeting

The Surprising Importance of the Offline Meeting

People crave connections. While those connections may begin with an online conversation on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, the best connections morph into face-to-face meetings. People sometimes then move back online, and stay in touch for years, meeting online and offline over months and years. But the offline meeting is what forges the connection.

flash bang photo

Photo by vramak

Brainstorming, Laughing, and Whispering

Brainstorming often occurs best in offline meetings, where people are talking, interrupting, laughing, whispering, and in general having a good time. Social media can provide a strong introduction–and you can feel as though you know someone you’ve met online. But you won’t truly know them as well until you meet them offline. For instance, someone you thought was the biggest extrovert IN THE WORLD could suddenly turn into an introvert. Has that happened to you?

flash bang photo

Photo by milesmilob

Technology Can Only Go So Far

Although we have wonderful technology to bridge the distances between colleagues, Google Hangouts, Skype, and Blab sessions can’t replace the face-to-face meeting, where we can see people roll their eyes, tap their fingers in frustration, or stifle a smile. And many entrepreneurs may dislike online meetings, especially Baby Boomers. By the way, here’s my post about Baby Boomers and Social Media.

brainstorming photo

Photo by kevin dooley

Real-Life Meetings Drive Business

In an article from Entrepreneur, 3 Benefits of Meeting Face to Face, Katherine Duncan mentions that Simone uses a personal approach because it’s about “how you make them feel.” You’d never know without meeting in person that a serious person could be the class clown. Or that the class clown online is deadly serious offline. For me, meeting in person has led to more solid connections, and more business.

brainstorming photo

Photo by jeanbaptisteparis

Body Language

How a person stands, sprawls on a chair, or crosses their arms say a lot about what they’re thinking. None of that comes through online. In this article about The Surprising Power of Body Language, Ronald Riggio writes about how power poses and eye gazes can cause a shift in power. We all know someone whose body language is intimidating. And we all know that person who shrinks when you meet them in person. That first meeting in person is always a surprise.

vanity phone photo

Photo by PeterTea

Get Off Your Phone

Instinctively, we know that meeting in person helps build trust, although being connected to a smart (or dumb!) phone doesn’t. It’s similar to receiving a handwritten card in the mail–something unexpected and unusual, and a good way to stand out. Not to mention when you’re in person you can show off your good manners.

Face to Face Still Matters

Face to Face Still Matters

Face to Face Still Matters

One story stands out to me, and that’s the day a year ago that I met some online friends at WordCamp San Diego. Bridget Willard (You Too Can Be a Guru), my bestie, was going to see Heather Steele of Blue Steele Solutions, since Heather was speaking, so we all decided to meet up. Then we also got to meet Frank and Adam (also of Blue Steele Solutions). We all still talk about that meeting and the long dinner we had with Tracy Phillips and Chef Ivan Flowers. Even though it was a year ago, we all remember that day. Could a tweet go that far? Or a Google Hangout? I don’t think so.

fairy tale photo

Photo by reggiepen

Your Turn

Who have you met and how did that meeting surprise you?

 

 

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