At a time when companies are tightening their belts, when it comes to corporate travel, we are all on the hunt for alternatives to one of the biggest expenses of them all – the trade show. As a result, virtual trade shows, webinars and other events designed specifically for remote participation are popping up with increasing frequency. There are tangible advantages, such as saving on high travel costs, shipping and other expenses, but are there real gains to be had when doing business in a virtual environment?

With some planning and a hefty dose of teamwork, we believe the answer is yes. I’d like to share insights from a recent virtual trade show appearance that our team helped to plan on behalf of a technology client. The result was a successful promotion that drove hundreds of registrations at our destination website during a two-day period – our single biggest signup event.

Based on this experience, here are our top tips for making your virtual trade show more than a glorified website:

1. Schedule and train your staff. Even though the location may look more like Second Life than McCormick Place, don’t fall down on training and scheduling your booth staff. Make sure their laptops are ready, and they know when and how to log in and are online during their assigned booth times – even if they’re at home kicking back in their pajamas!

2. Generate content … at every step of the way. One of our most successful strategies was to invite bloggers and spokespeople within our network to stop by our virtual booth and chat about a hot topic of interest to everyone at the show. By just talking amongst ourselves, we generated content that can be used as expert Q&As on our blog, in our newsletter and other outlets.

3. Design a meaningful promotion. Sound marketing principles work just as well online as they do in person. Make sure your virtual trade show promotion is as compelling as it can be, with a strong call to action and a great reward for participation. Needless to say, after the show, offer your leads something of value and repeat the call to action from your promotion.

4. Leverage existing social media channels. Dust off those hashtags and at-replies on Twitter. One of the best ways we were able to communicate our membership promotion and group chats was via the association’s own Twitter account. The association and even the attendees themselves repeatedly retweeted our content before, during and after the event.

5. Throw your own party. If you think you’ve got these skills down and you have compelling, educational content to deliver, consider co-hosting a virtual tradeshow with your industry association. This is an emerging trend that we’re seeing in technology companies who are thought leaders in their sectors.

Next time you receive an email inviting you to a virtual trade show, check it out. Notice what draws your attention and what turns you off. I believe we’ll be seeing many more of these events as the format evolves.

Having attended the Conversational Marketing Summit held by Federated Media in NYC, June 1-2 – a virtual “who’s who” of the latest digital marketing thought leaders – I originally planned to write about all the cool digital trends taking place right now.

After all, hearing how companies such as American Express, Intel, Lenovo, GE, Blackberry, Microsoft and more are approaching social media and the latest thinking when it comes to subjects such as search strategies was incredibly eye-opening.

But what really hit home were a few of the not-so-technical points that had more to do with social interactions vs. the latest digital know-how. The first was this perspective on social media from one speaker that made everyone squirm in their chairs just a bit:

Once you have people’s attention, be prepared for them to come after you.

The point was that certainly, social media is a fantastic marketplace of different opinions, viewpoints and personalities. But that also means, no matter how altruistic, authentic or well-intended you are, you will likely encounter a myriad of individual opinions, including some that question your credibility and your motives. And the more exposure you seek, the more likely this will be true.

The second related point that caused a few of the PR folks in the room to grimace slightly was that in this new communication world, while everyone has the freedom to express their opinions, that doesn’t mean companies have to give everyone who has an opinion equal treatment. According to what’s considered by some to be “best practices” of social and PR, that’s sure to raise some hackles, as we’ve all been coached to respond – and to respond as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. But the point was this: If you’re dealing with an individual who’s hell-bent on questioning your every move, broadcasting false or damaging opinions, and you have done your best to share your point of view, clarify and communicate, sometimes the best way to win a no-win situation is to end the engagement.

For all that is good about social, there are individuals who are simply looking to pick a fight, or whose strategy is to grab attention by being controversial. But that doesn’t mean they get to set the rules. Just like you probably wouldn’t spend your entire evening at a cocktail party with the most abusive, negative or obnoxious person in the room, neither are you obligated to do so in a social media setting.

All companies cringe at the idea that they might encounter public criticism. But should the possibility of encountering a negative situation via social media be a reason to avoid it all together? Not at all. Every company represented at the summit agreed that the very fundamentals of how we communicate have already changed, for good. Trying to deny or hide is not a solution and won’t do anything to solve a problem or stem the tide of potential criticism. Doing so only makes you look unaware and out of touch – not to mention the opportunities you might miss to clear up misinformation, educate, tell your story and express your own point of view.

So what do you do when faced with someone who is trying to flame you on social media? Here are some things to keep in mind:

- Listen closely and consider the spirit of the communication. When it comes to email, everyone understands now that it’s easy to misinterpret intent. Something written lacks a lot of what makes communications effective, including body language and tone. Although responding quickly is essential with social media, it’s also important to be sure that before you fire off a response, you take the time to digest the possible meanings and motivation behind the message.

- Consider when and how to engage. If possible, find out a little more background. Is the criticism justified, is it accurate or is it coming from someone with an axe to grind? What’s the best, most timely and appropriate way to respond?

- Take it off-line, if possible. For how “social” media now is, it also provides a cover for passive-aggressive behavior, as it’s much easier to criticize and take potshots indirectly vs. face to face. If possible and it makes sense given the situation, pick up the phone, have a conversation or arrange a meeting to talk it out to see if you can solve the problem and clear the air. Don’t allow talking through the semitransparent shield to take the place of real live human contact.

- Remember, no one individual “sets the rules.” Social media is a relatively new form of communication. As far as I know, there are no official laws governing social media conversations (besides the obvious anti-criminal laws and rules of engagement established by Facebook, Flickr and others for appropriate conduct). Social media is a great form of self expression – don’t be afraid to try some things, find out what works and admit your mistakes when things go wrong. If your intent is good and you have other people’s best interests at heart, the vast majority of the response will be positive. There are many self-appointed experts, so take their social media “finger-wagging” with a grain of salt. Don’t allow it to squelch your creativity or the opportunity to utilize these powerful channels.

- Tough as it is, take the high road: When under attack, it’s easy to want to defend yourself by fighting back, which can quickly make matters worse and become a time suck for everyone involved. One company at the summit said it follows one simple rule: respect different points of view and don’t say negative things about others via social media. A simple, but effective guiding policy.

- Beware of baiters: Some people just like to stir things up and get a reaction, even if it’s negative. Others use it as a way to call attention to themselves and promote their own agenda. Weigh individual criticisms carefully before engaging – if they are a legitimate concern, an accuracy question, a misperception or a false fact, it’s a good idea to clarify, as other social media spectators may have the same impression. If they are simply personal opinion without basis of fact, consider whether or not you’d have a realistic chance at changing an individual’s point of view or if by doing so, you’ll simply be adding more fuel to the fire.

- Set your boundaries: There are three ways to engage–deep engagement, minimal, or not at all. Consider the source, the issue at hand, and make a decision. Keep an eye on the situation and change your method as needed.

Social Media Monitoring for Your Company’s Online “Health”

What’s worse than no online chatter about you or your company? That’s easy: when the chatter is all about your competitors. Ultimately, both are bad. The former means you might be irrelevant. The latter means your competitors are eating your lunch.

Whatever your situation, you need to start monitoring social media, and you need to do it now. I’ll walk you through the why, the when, and a few tools to consider.

Monitoring social media informs strategy

Social media monitoring is a “listening” practice that gives you insight into what is being said online about you, your competitors, or your industry. This practice is becoming increasingly important because the talkers out there are shaping the readers’ opinions. If they’re talking about topics you care about, it’s very likely that these groups are your customers, and the pressure is mounting to keep up with their needs. Regular monitoring gives you the information to respond and interact with these influencers in a timely manner. Once you have a handle on what is being said, you can develop a highly targeted social media strategy that takes you directly to the places your customers are gathering online.

Nightmare scenario

Picture this: You’re a VP of sales. One of your top distributors has called to say her customer saw a discussion that positioned your company as cruel and uncaring. That customer is threatening to stop doing business with your distributor. It is at that moment when knowing what is being said about you online spells the difference between losing income and protecting it. If your competitors aren’t already out there trying to chat up your customers, they soon will be. Online, you can be right there pacing them blow for blow.

Proactive response

When you employ social media monitoring, you become aware of where conversations are happening and what is being said. With this knowledge, you are able to develop and implement relevant responses, direct the responses toward the most impactful channels, and evaluate the results of your efforts. For one of our clients who undertakes daily monitoring, our team regularly identifies something as small as a tweet that deserves a response from the company. In the next day’s monitoring, we see exactly how a 140-character post can cause a ripple effect through Twitter, blogs and other channels frequented by the targeted audience.

I strongly encourage you to plan how you’ll measure the results of your actions before you execute on them – how else can you tell if you’ve succeeded? Measurement might be as simple as questions asked and answers given, or growing numbers of followers for your Twitter account or Facebook fan page.

Okay, but no one is talking about me. What now?

The fact that no one is talking about you is an opportunity to act just waiting in the wings, and social media monitoring can help. But before you jump into the deep end and start tweeting, commenting, making videos, or performing some other activity, it’s important to know who is saying what. Social media monitoring can help you identify who the influencers are and where they are conversing. So equipped, you can determine how best to proceed with a proper social media plan that might include a simple tactic such as commenting on external blogs of interest.

What tools can I use for social media monitoring?

Good news: There are plenty of free and paid tools to choose from. They all net similar results, but the paid tools will save you a tremendous amount of time.

Some examples of free search tools are Google Blog Search (http://blogsearch.google.com), forum search tool OMGili (www.omgili.com), and Twitter Search (www.search.twitter.com). Depending on the size of your organization, industry, and online audience, using free tools to compile a comprehensive social media monitoring report requires running them all and harvesting their results in a single session that can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours. Even after you’ve harvested the results, you’ll have to compile and evaluate them using metrics tools in order to determine how influential a blog or Twitter user is.

The paid tools trawl all of the sources (and some additional sites) of the free services, and give the results to you in one place. Each paid tool is different, and the companies behind these tools are constantly updating and tweaking their programs.

I have yet to find the perfect paid tool, but each one can benefit a company in its own way. CMD has chosen to use Radian6 as the backbone behind our social media monitoring program. Radian6 has great reach, and the interface is intuitive and easy to use. We have tested many paid tools, but none seem to come as close to the total package as Radian6. There are tools that use an algorithm to determine whether a blog post is positive, negative or neutral, but these automated programs still seem to have kinks and can’t quite pick up on linguistic nuances, such as sarcasm.

In the end, regardless of the tools you choose, your results will only be as good as your strategies, which will in turn only be as good as your information.

As I sit here at Gate E2 at PDX enjoying glorious free WiFi, I hearken back 15 years ago to the days when being “mobile” was much more of a big deal. I remember one particular East Coast business trip in ‘97, when because I had to be reached remotely, my cellular phone involved a backpack-sized device and a handset the size of a smallish terrier. Fast forward to now and I’m more concerned about which new, cool application to download to my iPhone.

So, we all agree that social web is on the cusp of becoming something even bigger and more valuable to large organizations and global brands. What’s more important is how it affects each of us. Everyone is writing about the stages of social media adoption, conversations, relationships, and metrics and I can’t discount any of it – as a digital strategist it’s what I live and breathe every day. As an example, just a couple weeks ago, Jeremiah Owyang of Forrester posted his take on The Future of Social Networks.

The thing I’ve noticed the most is how everyone tends to agree with what social is becoming, but nobody wants to have opinions on what’s holding back the proverbial floodgates. If I had to point at one single thing holding us back right now, I’d say it’s mobile infrastructure. Last summer, I had the chance to briefly entertain a group of Japanese ambassadors. We talked about the current state of technology in the U.S. and Japan, specifically mobile. What became glaringly apparent is the sheer proliferation of Internet usage via handheld device in Japan. It’s not only happening in Japan, but also in Western Europe. With advancing improvements like 3G and Intel’s WiMAX 4G network, devices, operating systems, and applications will also get smarter.

When we can shoot, edit, and publish video quickly from one device; when we can sync up, beam out, capture, and create other forms of media; and, with that same device we can transact, do business, entertain ourselves with downloadable and streaming media, and most importantly, do the stuff we’ve been doing already, called “social media,” then truly the social web just becomes an extension of us. A daily accessory we automatically carry like the shoes we put on every morning. In this framework social media is the interim vehicle to continue relationships and conversations when we can’t be face-to-face. It’s something more creative, more emotional and therefore exponentially more appealing than an email or text message. Consequently, in the future we’re all going to look back on Twitter (and SMS) like a scene where Indiana Jones brushes the dust off the etchings of the Ark.

Again, in this construct there will be no excuse to be AWOL from your clients, friends and family for multiple days just because you can’t get back to your hardware. That is, of course, unless you’re leaving the grid on purpose.

So don’t worry too much about whether or not you should do something because @Oprah or @Pepsi is doing it. Worry about whether WiMax is coming to your major metropolitan area and keep abreast of the latest handheld devices coming up by grabbing RSS from Techcrunch, Wired, mobile blogs, etc.

In the meantime, I’ll be firing up Tweetie (my favorite iPhone application) and getting into the conversation; that crazy social web just might lead me to a handshake (offline).

Max Kerning is NOT an idiot.

No. Max Kerning is a pundit, poet, and pontificating paragon of design. Spend a few minutes at http://www.maxkerning.com/ and you’ll hear it straight from Max himself. Max expounds on perfect letter spacing, organization, and the scourge of sloppy people. You’ll agree that whatever Max has to say is, by definition, “beyond reproach.”

Max also happens to be a resounding success. Which is remarkable since Max is a figment of imagination. He is pompous, opinionated, and fastidious to the point of absurdity. He is the ultimate typography nerd. And that was the whole idea.

Create a virtual, viral spokesman for a new release of font management software for, well, typography nerds. Strategically placed rich media Web banners introduced Max to the world. Within days, Max was accumulating Facebook friends and followers of his “Maxisms” on Twitter. Bloggers quickly picked up on Max and encouraged more people to check him out. At last count, Max had over one thousand FB friends and even more followers on Twitter.

But for the first month of his existence, Max wasn’t “selling” anything. And that, too, was the whole idea. Max is about changing the perception of a brand. Because Max says the kinds of preposterous things that every creative person has heard—from overbearing creative directors or their own inner fussbudgets—he connects with the intended audience. In a transparently exaggerated way, he’s been there and done that. He speaks the language of the creative craft. And we’re all in on the joke.

But the reasons Max works serve as serious lessons for engaging the Web and social media to connect a brand and a product to a target audience.

It’s not about where you are, it’s who you know. Max works because we have an intimate understanding of the people we’re trying to reach. Granted, this is a rare case of creative people marketing to creative people but the point is: the more deeply you understand your audience, the more your message will resonate. In other words, the best way to be interesting is to be interested.

—Don’t “talk at” the audience, talk with them. And allow them to talk back.

—Check your ego, and your logo, at the door. If you’re trying to sell—and, of course, we all are—adopt an attitude of “we know that you know that somewhere along the line, we’re going to pitch a product.” That pitch will be better received if you first establish a level of trust.

—Let your friends lead the way. And listen to the feedback you get.

—Be courageous. In the not-too-distant past, recommending Max as a corporate spokesperson would have sent a creative presentation into an uncomfortable silence. Our client was willing to take a risk. Agency and client were of one mind strategically. And tactically we agreed that, “This is so crazy, it might just work!”

It’s a line that’s become a cliché, but in the age of social networking and the ensuing rush on the part of many clients to capitalize on this phenomenon, it could well serve as the world’s shortest creative brief.

Metrics? Glad you asked. Simply search for Max Kerning on Google and you’ll see.

Have more questions about Max? Feel free to contact us.

Just like “no elbows on the table” is a dining rule, people should also mind their manners in this social media space

Poke. Poke. Tag. Poke. Tag. Poke.

Oh, the Facebook poke. Do you poke back? Is poke code for “hello”? What’s the difference between a poke from a friend and a poke from a co-worker?

All this poke talk and no idea what you should do? Here’s the best solution to deal with the pokes: ignore them. It’ll save you embarrassment. You don’t want a co-worker announcing at the next meeting, “I poked you!” Instead, send the person a private message or add them as a friend (if you know them, of course). Unless you poke someone with your finger in person, you should resist doing it with a mouse.

According to research compiled by Orange, an international telecommunications company, almost two-thirds of people on social networks (such as Facebook, Myspace or Bebo) are frustrated and confused by online etiquette. Also, more than a quarter of those surveyed were uncertain about how to respond to unwelcome “pokes” or messages.

With more than 150 million active users spending three billion plus minutes each day on Facebook, this social media application has become part of our daily lives, and manners can’t be an afterthought just because it’s an online tool.

Below are 11 Facebook etiquette rules that users should follow to ensure proper, courteous and respectable use (reference: Debretts and Orange):

1. Wait 24 hours before accepting or removing someone as a friend. During that time, decide if you feel comfortable sharing personal information with that person.

2. You don’t have to become friends with people you don’t know. Think before you poke or request someone to be your friend.

3. Don’t upload profile pictures that you wouldn’t feel comfortable appearing on the front page of the New York Times. This space can be just that public.

4. #3 applies to posting photos of friends too. Ask for their permission before you do.

5. For important events, don’t only rely on “virtual” cards. Virtual cards tend to get buried in e-mails, and you don’t want someone to forget a special occasion.

6. Block your profile so that only your selected friends and co-workers can see it. Click “privacy” toward the top of your Facebook page and you’ll have the ability to change your settings. You can decide who sees what.

7. Even if you think you’ve blocked what you needed to, double check and have a friend check from their profile. Potential companies looking to hire you will search and go out of their way to find someone who can access your full profile to see if you’re hiding any inappropriate behavior that may risk their company’s reputation.

8. Don’t agree with a news article, photo or Web link that someone posted? Refrain from posting a harsh comment on Facebook for all of your friends and theirs to see. Instead, write the person a private Facebook message.

9. Don’t spam people with invitations to participate in an online game unless you’ve asked them personally or they have asked you. Sorry, but some people don’t believe that throwing a staple at an alien is the best use of their time or attention.

10.Keep your profile updated and visit often. Take the time to read what people and friends are posting and writing on your wall. Don’t be blind-sighted if someone suddenly asks, “So you went and partied in Cancun last week?”

11. As with public relations, the best policy is always honesty, but it is also essential to show restraint and realize that broadcasting your opinions, point of view and personal feelings can have unintended consequences both positive and negative.

Have questions? Still debating if you should poke your boss and request them as a friend? If so, let us know.

Visit and join CMD’s Facebook group: click here.

Congratulations. You’ve taken the first step on the business networking site LinkedIn and created a profile. Your picture is posted and you’ve listed a few previous jobs from your past. Maybe you searched for a few old colleagues and friends. Now what do you do?

For many of our clients at CMD who ask how their companies can use LinkedIn, our recommendation is to make a plan with goals you want to achieve, designate a spokesperson who can represent the company, and start participating.

Think of LinkedIn as a networking event at your local chamber of commerce. After you walk into the room, what do you do? Do you stand by the wall and not speak with anyone, or do you make connections through conversations? Is your goal to get five business cards at the event? Well, try to do the same thing on LinkedIn.

Overall, it’s best to plan a strategy for using LinkedIn and getting your brand recognized. Part of that plan should include being active in groups.

Groups are a big benefit of LinkedIn. Joining groups gives you the chance to be part of the conversation, which is really what LinkedIn is all about. Are you a marketing professional? Join marketing groups. Are you looking to engage with customers? Join groups that your customers are members of and participate in the discussions. Answer questions to show your knowledge. This is where visibility will be your ally, raise your LinkedIn presence, and get a few more people to know who you are and learn what you can do for them. For example, here’s a little tip I read from a LinkedIn expert that can send people to your Web site to learn more about your business:

when you leave a discussion comment, you can put your URL in and have it converted to a hyperlink. So, if you put your email signature in, like this:

Darcie Meihoff
Managing Director/PR, CMD – http://www.cmdagency.com

then it will make that a clickable link. Just having the link to click might get a few more people over to your website to learn about what you do. Be sure to ask the group manager if it is OK to do this first, as some might consider it advertising and ask you to leave the group. When in doubt, ask first.

If you don’t find groups that meet your needs, or engage with the right audience, start your own group. Take the initiative and invite your customers to join your group and participate in discussions that help their businesses. We started a CMD Agency Pros LinkedIn group for CMD employees, CMD customers and potential clients to talk about topics of interest, like social media, marketing, advertising and branding.

We want our customers to join our group and look at CMD as a resource that can answer questions and provide feedback. Imagine having an entire integrated marketing agency read your question. Someone is bound to have an answer, which helps you and establishes CMD as a reliable source. We invite you to join our LinkedIn group at CMD Agency Pros. Feel free to pose a question, supply an answer, or share a link to a relevant article that deals with today’s marketing climate.

That’s the beauty of LinkedIn – you’re part of the conversation.

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about where social media should reside within the marketing world. And because it’s the hot topic that so many corporate marketing divisions and clients are buzzing about, everyone is vying for a spot at the head of the table.  Is it advertising, PR, direct, customer service – or a totally separate form of marketing that needs to be off on its own, while coordinating with other more traditional avenues?

Creating a separate social media “division” is a bit out of touch with reality – not only when it comes to the best ways to approach it, but also with what most companies can afford to do. For one, these tools will soon not be new anymore – they simply make up the world we live in and are part of a company’s overall communications strategy.  Because of that, isolating social media as its own area of expertise isn’t a sustainable long-term approach.

To maximize social media, it’s obvious that it must be driven by smart strategy, be well-managed and implemented, and live in tandem with other disciplines, as it touches many different areas. But first and foremost, it needs to be spearheaded by a fundamental sense of community, information sharing and the desire to foster long-term, ongoing relationships, directly with the public (which applies whether you’re talking B2C or B2B).

I’m a PR person, so my viewpoint is admittedly pretty biased, but I think there are some very good reasons why social media needs to be steeped in a solid public relations perspective:

• Most importantly, the objective and strategy must be the priority (before leaping straight to tools). Following the latest, shiny new tool is distracting. The PR discipline has always emphasized setting strategy and measurable goals before delving into tactics.
• The emphasis is on audience-centric content that attracts and compels, not pushes. In PR, if you don’t have something of importance to offer to the public or the press, you’re dead.
• There is a fundamental need to build leadership, credibility and reputation in order to maximize exposure. As it has been since the beginning, reputation management is core to PR discipline.
• Social media allows you to “become the media” for your audiences. It’s about great content, and essentials of journalism apply. The best PR practitioners are trained as journalists as well as marketers, and have a nose for news. In fact, many are former reporters.
• The basic PR practice of community relations – how to interact, conduct yourself, deliver on-point messages, and relate to publics at deeper, more meaningful levels – is paramount.
• Like any solid PR initiative, social media takes time, effort, planning and commitment to gain momentum and traction. It is not a flash in the pan approach.
• Generating goodwill and influence means listening to input and becoming a credible, responsive and reliable source of information.
• Proactively monitoring, spotting and responding to issues before they turn into crises is essential in PR, as it is in social media.

Now, I know a lot of people will say PR has no business in social media, as it’s about anti-spin and authenticity.  But keep in mind that social media is a very self-policing form of communication.  Similar to traditional PR practices, the bad apples will quickly get weeded out if they use these channels to be sneaky, self-serving or aggressive, put themselves and their own company’s interests before the public and the community, or behave unethically.  Those kinds of practices are and always have been shunned by the best in the profession. That said, smart PR practices: solid community relations abilities, corporate social responsibility sensibilities, and an eye for issues management and crisis communications as well as journalistic ethics and integrity are very much at home in social media.

We get it. It’s a raging battle out there.

Every day, it’s a fight for marketshare, to keep up and stay ahead of the competition. It’s a battle for position, voice and influence among internal and external audiences alike. So much of what’s been known, standard and familiar, is in the process of reinventing itself right before our eyes.

We get it, because we’ve based our entire business model on helping clients meet these challenges from day one. For 30 years, CMD has built its service around what businesses and brands have needed to create market demand by being media agnostic, willing to transform, evolve and stay ahead of trends to focus tirelessly on solutions that work for today’s markets with the deep tactical expertise to get there. We like to think we have the smarts of the bigger guys, with the stealth of a boutique and the good sense to listen without getting distracted by egos, bandwagons and flash-in-the-pan fads. Because the truth is that these are the days, and markets, that call for a humble, realistic and an effective no-nonsense approach.

In that spirit, we want to welcome you to our blog, where we hope you’ll learn more about what makes us tick, how we’ve helped clients succeed day in and day out, and meaningful perspectives that you can use. We also would love to gain your insights, opinions and ideas, as that’s what we believe true collaboration is all about.

This quarter, we’re focusing on the hottest subject around: social media. For more than two years, we’ve concentrated on honing our skills, approach and practical experience in this area, driven first and foremost by strategy. At each turn, we’ve learned more and have built a track record we’re pretty proud of. And we’ve gained some insight we hope you might find useful too. For the next several weeks, we’ll provide our perspectives on what we think some of the most effective approaches are in this space, and publish the insights we’ve gained around a few of the most popular social media channels.

Our team is also happy to share deeper perspectives, market trends, and ideas for how to apply the latest marketing tools especially related to social media since it’s on everyone’s minds these days not just because the tools are the latest shiny objects, but because they can and do work to generate demand and ROI if the approach is smart and thoughtful.

We know it’s a battle out there. We’re ready to help arm you with ideas and perspectives you need to navigate it. Tell us what keeps you up at night, and please don’t hesitate to contact us to find out more or to meet with our experts personally.

Until then, welcome to our blog and thanks for reading.