It’s Facebook question of the week time (clap, clap, clap)!

This week, we had a plethora of questions, but only one of them was coherent (Jennifer MacDonald).

So I thought it would be fun to address Jen’s question later (in a serious video) and address all of the goofy ones at once today.

Yes, we talk Super Bowl commercials, angels, LaToya Jackson, my new favorite shirt from Frank and Eileen, and even Ken Mueller gets a mention even though he forgot his question (try again next week, Ken!).

Alright. Let’s start with the questions. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Danny Brown.

There’s an old saying that too many cooks spoil the broth.

This is equally true for businesses, particularly smaller ones.

While it’s essential to grow to continue early success, it’s also important to keep realistic with your aims.

Whether it’s launching new products, starting a PR/marketing/advertising campaign, or adding sections to your website, taking on too much will leave you thinly spread.

And, ultimately, less effective.

Instead, concentrate on one or two growth areas, and make them as strong as they can possibly be. This will allow you solid ground for increasing activity at a later date. Continue Reading »

A couple of months ago Vocus hosted a really interesting event.

They took the videos that were created during their conference (where I spoke along with the likes of Valeria Maltoni, Adam Singer, David Meerman Scott, and Ann Handley) and they created an online event where they replayed the videos and had the speakers on-hand for Q&A afterwards.

There wasn’t enough time to get through all of the questions people had so I asked the Vocus team if I could answer some of them on Spin Sucks in the coming weeks and their answer was a resounding yes.

Going through the list of questions, there were a lot around finding the right bloggers to pitch for your product or service. So that’s what we’ll cover today. Continue Reading »

Today’s #FollowFriday is a little bit different. Elissa Freeman and I thought it’d be fun to list our five brain crushes…giving you 10 people to follow.

And, seeing as it’s the holiday weekend and I’m not going to write Gin and Topics today, I thought it was only fair to give you just a little bit more.

This started when I admitted I have a serious brain crush on Jeff Jarvis, the author of “What Would Google Do?” and The Buzz Machine.

So this is the result…10 people whose brains we love. Continue Reading »

Everyone always wants to know what is the secret sauce to building a community. Well, I’ll tell you. It’s simple, really.

Stroke people’s egos.

Seriously. That’s it.

You’ve heard this from me before; it’s not a new concept. But it truly is the secret sauce. Continue Reading »

Well, to say I created a kerfuffle (to borrow from Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson) this week is putting it mildly. I learned some new blogging lessons this week; lessons I’ll likely share in a few weeks, after the dust settles.

Until then, let’s have a little fun. Both Bob LeDrew and Marc Girolimetti posted AWESOME videos of Sesame Street characters rapping. I was watching them both in the airport yesterday, crying from laughing so hard.

Yeah, I’m the crazy lady who laughs out loud while sitting alone.

There also is the news about the 50-something guy who married a 16-year-old, Google+ removing business profiles, and my heroes at the Tour de France.

So here you go…this week’s Gin and Topics. Continue Reading »

Something interesting is happening with Google+. We’re all freaking out because we can’t import our Facebook and Twitter friends (you can export Facebook friends into Gmail now, if you’re patient and have a tiny bit of tech savvy).

Here we’ve spent years (in most cases) building communities on something we don’t own and guess what? Our friends and fans aren’t moving to the newest platform with us. Or they are but we don’t know it because not only do we not have their email addresses, we don’t have their Gmail addresses.

This is why it’s so important to build community on a platform that you own. Sure, you need all the social tools and the content curation and the fun apps that make your stuff look cool, but they all should drive people back to something you own.

In this case: A database.

Following are 10 things to consider as you add the newest social network to your toolbox. Continue Reading »

You know what next week is? A short week! Oh. Wait. I guess the short week really isn’t until the following week. But most of us will leave early next Friday. Right? Right.

So sorry to rub that in the faces of my friends not in the U.S. We’ll be thinking of you as we sit outside sweltering in the heat.

Until then, though, there is plenty of work to do. Including reading/watching these five pieces I’ve pulled together for you. Some will inspire the heck out of you, while others will have you nearly peeing your pants from laughing so hard (cough, sheep expert, cough).

Without further ado, this week’s Gin and Topics. Continue Reading »

The communication industry has a perception issue. Danny Brown disagrees with me. Sort of.

He thinks communication professionals have a perception issue; that there are bad eggs in our profession, just like every other industry. But that the entire industry isn’t the problem because, well, an industry, by definition, is either a collection of businesses or the building of an idea around something or someone.

I agree an industry isn’t a living, breathing person (as he puts it), but the industry does rank at the bottom of professions, with used car salesmen and lawyers. While we’re not lucky enough to have jokes told about us like the legal industry, it’s an issue, none-the-less. Continue Reading »

eBooks are all the rage right now. Some are free and some come at a price.

Having written and produced three (you can find “Dear CEO” and “Social Media Primer” by clicking here), I know how much work they are, both from a content standpoint and working with the eReader software so it can be delivered on your Kindle or Nook.

Because of that, there are three premium eBooks I want you to consider this week: “The Parables of Business,” “Social Media 4 Direct Marketers,” and “Use Interviews to Increase Your Blog Traffic.”

Why premium eBooks, you ask? Well, for one, I recommended a whole bunch of free ones earlier this year. And, because as Erica Allison says, if you want me to play, please ask me to pay.

So I’m asking you to pay for these three books. All three won’t be applicable to everyone, but the hope is you’ll find one you will really enjoy.

Continue Reading »