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Twitter: To Follow, or Not to Follow?
As I was writing my last blog about Twitter etiquette, a question came up: What is the etiquette on following people? Should you follow everyone who follows you, or not? I went on a quest to find out what the best practice regarding Followers vs. Following on Twitter. The answers, it seems, are largely unclear, but there are a lot of theories out there. The Naysayers �...
September 18, 2009 READ MORE
Astroturfing: The Icky Side of Social Media Marketing
It’s disingenuous. It’s dishonest. And, it’s everywhere. It’s called “astroturfing”. Chances are, you’ve been exposed to it. And, if the folks behind it have done their jobs right, the chances are pretty good that you didn’t even know it. Social media is powerful stuff. In its most basic form, it’s the high-tech equivalent of your best friend recommendi...
September 11, 2009 READ MORE
Why Copywriters and Journalists Just Can’t Get Along
Versatile writers are hard to find. For a long time I was surprised when I’d get great journalism samples from a writer, but the minute I put them on a copywriting project, it was a total flop – and vice versa. But I’ve finally discovered the disconnect: the real reason that some writers have such a hard time, fundamentally, switching between these two genres. The re...
September 4, 2009 READ MORE
Twitter Etiquette: The Dos and Don’ts
If you read my previous post, you know what’s in store for you now. As promised, I’ve put together a general list of guidelines for Twittering. These dos and don’ts are by no means comprehensive and, depending on who you talk to, all of these rules were made to be broken by braver Twitterers. For a fun read about rogue Twittering, read Scobleizer.com’s post, The 10...
September 4, 2009 READ MORE
Misused Quotation Marks are “Bad”
When it comes to writing, there are dozens of rules just begging to be broken. Some are flexible and give you a little wiggle room -- like hyphenation or deciding whether to use the comma before the “and” in lists. But there are other grammar rules that you just don’t break. You don’t tweak them; you don’t adjust them to suit your personal preferences. Ever. Ca...
September 1, 2009 READ MORE
So, we all know that social media is here to stay. Chances are, your company has a blog, a LinkedIn profile, and at least one employee whose day-to-day responsibilities include tweeting. It wasn’t long ago that companies that leveraged Twitter and the like were viewed as cutting-edge. But today, social media marketing is a given. Now, it’s all about how you use social...
August 24, 2009 READ MORE
Why Ghost Blogging For Your Company Is Needed, and Ethical.
I've been reading some great posts by Jason Falls and Mark Schaefer on ghost blogging, so I thought I'd throw in my two cents. Is it OK to hire a ghostwriter for your blog? My answer is a resounding "Yes!" Maybe. That is, under certain conditions. And here's what I think those conditions are: The ideas in your blog authentically express your ideas, your expertise, ...
August 21, 2009 READ MORE
Twitter for Small Businesses: Is it Worth it?
Have you heard yourself saying something similar to this: Social media isn’t for me or my business. Twitter is just for kids. My clients don’t care about that kind of stuff. Well, think again. Nielsen NetRatings just published a surprising research study: Teen’s don’t Tweet. That’s right, 84% of Twitter’s recent growth is due to users aged 24 and up. Chances ...
August 20, 2009 READ MORE
16 More Ways to Build Your Web Credibility
This week, I have to send a big thank-you to one of our awesome clients, Dan K. After reading our earlier blog post about building web credibility, Dan did a little research on his own and sent us some really cool information about The Stanford Web Credibility Project. This project is studying the components of website credibility, and the site is a great resource for any...
August 17, 2009 READ MORE
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