Blog Posts by Tag

This morning, I was sitting on my sofa sipping coffee and listening to a dove coo. It got me thinking about the importance of experiences. Little things like the sound of a dove made my morning especially nice. But what if I was hearing impaired?

I am my own customer. Here at PaperThin, we’re in the midst of rolling out a new site. No, not a new PaperThin.com. This will be the fourth generation of a website that has never, and will never, be pressed into production...yet all customers and prospects will want to use it, making it of critical importance. It’s our Demo site. We’re pouring as much energy into this as we would for a customer implementation.

Time after time, I speak with prospects and customers trying to work out the fundamental details of how to best get their content on the Web. For most, it's solved by using a solid content and experience management system. But even with the best system in place, some organizations can't get out of their own way. That is because the management of the user experience is a complex science. It takes the creative and strategic mind of the marketer, combined with the cutting edge technical skills of developers and IT departments. And that is where most power struggles begin.

"If I have to cook the dinner, why can't Ishop for the groceries?" - Bill Parcels
Even non-football fans can relate to that quote. Take control of your own destiny. Don't get sidelined by someone else's agenda, to do list, preferences, or priorities. Giving up control can cost you the win. Doesn't it go to follow then that marketers—ultimately responsible for digital marketing results—own the website and the tools that manage it?

All eyes are on the storm clouds as the Northeast prepares for a blizzard today. Dubbed Nemo, this one is going to hit hard, according to all accounts. But web managers can only relax this morning if they know their web site is safe and sound. And for many, that means a different kind of cloud.

Sorry, I couldn’t avoid the cliche title. It seems nobody can. It’s safe to say that no recent technology term has infiltrated our vocabulary so quickly and abundantly. Everywhere you look, companies are offering products and services in “the cloud”. How deep into the clouds are you?

Like many, every New Year inevitably arrives with a few extra holiday pounds. And like many, each year one of my resolutions is to rid myself of any evidence of the holiday feasts upon my waistline. A lot of the time, it's wishful thinking. As humans, we dream big and often fail to commit to living up to the dream. So this year, no resolutions. My mantra instead will be "Just for today" which takes the pressure off of the hard-to-reach end goal, and makes me instead focus on what I can do each day to achieve my goals. There is, however, real value in taking stock of where you are today in both your personal and professional lives. As a digital marketer, this means reviewing all of your digital assets and looking at them with a critical eye.

If social media is not done correctly, the consequences could be ugly. As marketers, we go to huge efforts to get consumer's attention. That consumer can be your biggest fan or your worst critic depending on how well you execute. And it only takes one angry customer with a blog to do real damage to your brand's reputation. So how do you avoid the angry-customer-screaming-at-the-top-of-their-lungs-via-every-digital-channel scenario?

If you are not empowering your raving fans in social media then you are failing. Brand awareness in all digital channels is how you reach the next phases of consumers. Communities build brand awareness and help spread your story and overall message to the masses. The question you’re asking now is...