Articles
How to Consistently Find Really Amazing Content Easily
- The majority (43 percent) of small businesses spend about 6 hours per week on social media (about the equivalent of one whole workday?)
- 55 percent of small businesses have blogs...and the average post takes about 1-3 hours to create?
- Most post on Facebook and Twitter several times of week...Pinterest and LinkedIn? Not so much.
- $26 is the minimum that most small businesses…
Build a Successful Social Marketing Strategy Now
Creating a social media strategy can sound pointless and overwhelming. After all, social media is supposed to be live as it’s happening, so why would you have a plan? Then you start thinking about all of the other pl…
How to Actually Attract the Right Customers Online
It’s easy to be seduced by numbers. We assume that more is always better…and in some instances it is, but not always. If I were to offer you one million likes, fans, or followers of your choosing but none of them would be interested in doing business with you OR five hundred likes, fans, or followers of your choosing and all of them are interested in either doing business with you or interested in the services you offer which would you choose?If you only look at the numbers your initial thought …
Get Better Results with Social Media When You Stop Focusing on ROI
There is more to social media marketing than just pushing your products and services. In fact, you actually generate more and better bottom-line results if you put your emphasis on building relationships with key people like targeted industry influencers and media sources.Remember people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. So continue to nurture your existing relationships and focus on building new relationships with those who can help you spread your message—include …
How to Build the Ultimate Brand to Better Connect with Your Customers
Figuring out your brand personality can seem to be impossible. It's like figuring out who you are and what really matters to you as a person. We all struggle (whether we admit it or not) when it comes to figuring out who we really are. It can take years of self-reflection, self-care, and personal discovery only to discover that who we thought we were is not who we actually are…and then begins the process of accepting who we really are. Well, you don’t have that kind of time when it comes to buil…
Mel DePaoli Graduates the University of Washington Executive MBA Program
After two years, four scholarships totaling almost $20,000, very little sleep, moving, growing my b…
How to Respond to a Negative Comment in a Way that Generates More Business
Some people just love to hate. That hate can affect the reputation of your brand and cost you your next client.Imagine going into the office on Monday morning to discover that someone has written a scathing one-star review of your company on a site that you regularly generate leads from and currently have a five star rating. The woman who wrote the review was not a client, but someone who had asked that you meet with her and provide a quote. This woman received quotes from multiple companies and…
Really, How Well Do Your Customers Know You?
A popular question that businesses are asked is “How well do you know your customer?” It is a great question. It’s fabulous because if you actually take the time to dive into it, you’ll discover who your customer is beyond stereotypical demographics. You’ll get to the personality traits and the personal interests of your customers. Simply put—the more you know, the better you are able to target and predict their buying behavior. 
The flip side of this question is “How much do your customers know …
Me Too Branding. Don’t Be A Copycat.
Ooohhhh me too. Me too. Me too. 
When a brand so closely resembles another in communications, logo, name, or colors that it causes confusion in the market and to its customers, it is called a copycat brand or as I call it, a “Me Too Brand.”
I once met with this tech company whose whole strategy was to intentionally be a Me Too Brand. Their plan was to confuse the market so they could steal their competitor’s clients. They even went so far as to rename their company. They took the company’s two-w…
Stand Out, Don't Blend In
…just like everyone else.
We tend to travel in packs, copying what each other are doing hoping that someone will think we are different or we are special…that we are unique from our competition._____________
That doesn’t make you stand out. In fact, that makes you blend in and to be frank, forgettable.Your market isn’t stupid, they’re on to you and frustrated that you look and sound just like everyone else. They are left wondering, “If you are so different why can’t I tell the difference?”
To st…