Ever since Websites for business first became fashionable, small and medium business owners have commonly treated them as an unpleasant expense – a nuisance at best – that they’d just assume wasn’t their problem.  After all, these are people who work tirelessly on retaining the customers they already possess, right? The last thing they’re interested in is pledging time and money to some nebulous idea that their brochure, repurposed on the internet, is going to unleash a floodgate of new leads and customers. And they’re right. By itself, a Website isn’t the point. Often small and midsized businesses only think of a Website as important because everyone else has one. So really, they’re not remotely certain of a Website’s value and don’t understand what the ultimate goal is anyway. So the thought of a Website truly being a lead generating opportunity amounts to little more, in their mind’s, than some flimsy scheme that even worse, probably doesn’t even apply to their industry. Read the rest of this entry »

Trust. It’s not a very nebulous term. Yet in social media circles, it has lost some of its shine, some of its clarity, sort of the way Stairway to Heaven and Free Bird have due to overuse and overexposure. Trust, as a concept is, nevertheless, a fairly easy idea to digest. In much the same way we allow the time-tested, the reliable and the faithful access to our fragile and emotional squishy parts, consumers allow brands access to their wallets, if again, trust is and has been present.

Easy right? Not so much. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m beginning to see online marketers trend away from forcing social media down the greenhorn’s throat. This is wonderful news, because it shows that we’re likewise beginning to stop a bit of our own shouting too. As online evangelists, we sometimes lose sight of how noisy we can get when we’re waving the social media flag to signal the troops. Read the rest of this entry »

The other day I sat with a client to discuss tying a social media marketing program to the recent launch of the organization’s new Web site. A nonprofit with legitimate sentiment concerns, it seemed that a comprehensive inbound marketing program was the logical next step. And so having previously discussed the power in building organic traffic, I proposed an ongoing social solution that I felt suited their needs. After about an hour of discussion, the client was equally confident that the plan was indeed, a good one. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m tellin’ yah gang, my colleagues and I are getting less and less interested in the projects. The one-offs. The, here today, gone tomorrow, gigs. I suppose until we can afford that summer place in Tuscany, we’ll still accept project work, but to tell the truth, I don’t entirely dislike them, but I will confess that they hold far less appeal now, than they once did. Let me explain. Read the rest of this entry »

My customers usually do not know why they want a Web site. I mean sure; they’ll say, “Hey Scott, I need a Web site.” They’ll even insist that it needs doing immediately and that enough time’s been wasted and opportunities, subsequently missed. Thieves love this kind of client. They swoop in, cape flapping from behind and with lots of convoluted language and alien concepts, collect the booty and run. “Boom! Here’s your site,” says the opportunistic Web designer. “There’s your killer logo in the upper-left corner, your copy’s over in that spot.” And voila! Web site! Read the rest of this entry »