I’m on a plane again, which means I have takeoff and landing time to catch up on reading.

In the bundle I packed with me this trip is the April issue of Inc. (you’re welcome, Margie…now you don’t have to read this one either).

In the “Crunching the Numbers” section, they take a look at how many of us use Google to find local businesses.

What do you think is the number?

I think you’ll be surprised.

Only 14% said they do every day…and 24% said never. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Mana Ionescu. 

During the holidays I prepared two days of meals, made three grocery trips, and cooked for about 12 hours straight.

In the end, we ate for 45 minutes each day, and the mashed potatoes were the most popular food item.

This reminded me of the lesser-known, and rarely-discussed side of marketing.

Behind the public side of marketing there are fundamental mechanisms that take place. And, just like cooking, marketing is a process that culminates in a quickly-consumed output.

Much too much conversation happens around the output so I decided to put together a list of the “secret sauce” ingredients that will help you improve your marketing efforts, starting with the foundation. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Molli Megasko. 

I live in New York City and finding a spot for dinner can be a daunting task.  With about 25,000 restaurants an easy cab ride away, Google just doesn’t cut it.

If my husband and I feel like eating out (which is most of the time), we have a process.  We choose a culture, pick a neighborhood, find Zagat-rated places, then look at the reviews on Yelp.

This usually narrows it down to two or three, then we choose by menu choices or which place can seat us sooner. Continue Reading »

I’m a big believer in integration. Not integration from the perspective that you’re saying the same thing through every communication channel, but from a “breaking down the silos” point-of-view.

You see, marketing, public relations, advertising, HR, IT, customer service, and all of the other disciplines are supposed to work in tandem with sales. Not in silos, but together.

But it rarely happens that way, which is why we see the fatal silo mistake, especially in B2B sales.

Consider this: You’re on the road, meeting with clients, prospecting for new business, and attending conferences, trade shows, and cocktail receptions.

You’re rocking your meetings and ready to get back to your desk in a couple of days to start closing some new deals and make your numbers for your year-end bonus.

Back in the office, your colleagues have created a campaign that integrates direct, email, public relations, and print advertising around a series of webinars. The webinars are created to generate leads that they’ll then hand over to you for conversion. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest post is written by Ken Mueller.

I’m a technical moron. (That sound you hear is Gini yelling, “A-freaking-men!”)

I spent 13 years in NYC, and part of my job was helping radio stations set up live broadcasts from our facility.

Their tech people would call me and ask technical questions. I would spout off a few specs, and quite often this was enough, until they started asking deeper questions.

Then I had to admit that I was merely parroting what my tech person had told me. I knew enough to be somewhat helpful, but it didn’t take long to realize I had no clue what I was talking about. I was giving them useful information, but I didn’t know what it all meant. Continue Reading »

Today’s guest is written by Howie Goldfarb

Twitter or Facebook? Most consumer brands use both now. But what is the difference if you are crafting your strategy related to increasing sales?

Twitter is selling and Facebook is marketing.

Twitter is selling

Selling is finding someone and persuading them to buy your product. On Twitter, I can search, contact, ask questions, overcome objections and close the sale. Continue Reading »

This guest post is by Adam Boatsman.

I should preface this blog post by telling you I’m an accountant.

I know, I know, what the heck does an accountant know about marketing? Maybe not much, but I do know how to measure.

Measurement is an ongoing topic at Spin Sucks; one that Gini Dietrich and the team of guest bloggers discuss at length.

Which is great! They know marketing. I know accounting.

Together we can help you on your quest for the Holy Grail: The ROI.

Continue Reading »

Adam Toporek is the owner of IntenseFence Management Solutions and blogs about small business and franchising.

The past decade has seen some great public relations campaigns, particularly in the for-profit realm.

Doritos knocked it out of the park when it “crashed” the Super Bowl, Tourism Queensland put its island on the map when it created The Best Job in the World, and Old Spice reignited its stodgy brand by convincing women that buying their grandfather’s deodorant will give their husbands six-pack abs. (Testimonial from my wife: “Old Spice is full of crap.”)

To me, however, the Domino’s turnaround is the most brilliant PR campaign in recent memory.

In the midst of a recession, in a hyper-competitive and mature industry, Domino’s completely realigned the perception of its product and its brand while generating measurable financial results for its stakeholders. And it did so through an innovative marketing campaign that seamlessly integrated traditional advertising, social media, and public relations. Continue Reading »

Gini Dietrich and I get the question often, “What is the point of Foursquare? Why are you on it?”

Our answer?

So we can beat one another. That’s the reason. We just want to win.

So when David Tyler, Chris Pirillo, and Mike Schneider took the stage at BlogWorld East to talk about the marketing effect of gamification, I was in for a treat.

What Is Gamification?

Gamification is the act of applying the things that make games interesting to non-game activities. Baseball isn’t fun unless you start looking at the statistics such as ERA’s and batting averages, and then talk about it with your friends at the bar. (Full disclosure, I still don’t think baseball is fun even when you look at those stats but that’s just me.) Continue Reading »

Mondays are my super busy days. I do all staff and client meetings on Mondays in order to get the week on the right foot and (kind of) prepare for anything unexpected. I’m in meetings or on the phone for 10 hours straight, with little time to use the bathroom or eat.

So yesterday, when Shelly Kramer tagged me on Facebook to read this article and then when Troy Claus sent it to me via email, I knew the title was going to make my blood boil, but I hadn’t read it yet.

And boy did my blood boil!

PR Agencies Are Ruining Facebook.

I love sweeping generalizations like this. Continue Reading »