Marketers often confuse content marketing with engagement. Just because you get someone’s attention doesn’t mean your audience actually cares. You spend all of this time following the work of others, listening to experts who preach soundbites and executing against a programmatic calendar only to miss the very thing that connects with people…relevance. It’s hard to gauge or appreciate something so contextual however when we base our work on the measurement of the wrong things. Numbers do not reflect engagement. They…
Attention is a Gift: Once you have my attention, why should I care?
I’m frustrated that my worth is measured more by the numbers of followers, views or visitors that I have and not the merit or impact of my work. You too must start to feel discontent when it comes to your work being judged on hollow numbers alone. The ability to cause effect or change behavior is true influence and that’s the core of what we stand for. Numbers do not mean much. Without purpose and intention, our work becomes part…
What Do You Stand For? #WDYSF
To change, to make things matter to real people, everything must begin with a new perspective and approach. Ask yourself…What do you stand for? It’s an important question you must answer before expecting anyone to stand alongside you. #WDYSF What is the value you wish to add? What is the value you wish to take away? How does engagement make things better or create new possibilities and opportunities for all involved? No matter how much we say or create, it…
It’s About the Customer Experience; So, Why Is Your Brand Ignoring Customers?
 Humans are emotional creatures and they want experiences that engage them as humans. They’re not eyeballs, impressions, views, likes, shares, clickthroughs, or conversions. A few weeks ago, I visited New York on a beautiful summer day to participate in an event that I would love to repeat everywhere around the world. Prophet, a global brand strategy firm that recently acquired Altimeter Group, hosted an intimate event to explore the new horizons of digital customer experience (DCX). I was invited…
Why Marketers Should Care About Millennials and Anyone Living a Digital Lifestyle
What is a Millennial, and why should a marketer care? That was the question Adobe’s Simon Nicholson asked me during Adobe Summit EMEA in London earlier this year. I joined Simon in a live chat on the topic and have included the fun, casual yet informative conversation below… Let’s start with this, the definition of Millennials is imprecise, with the consensus being they’re aged around 18-34. But one of the key points that I emphasized in our discussion is that…
Like Every Business, We Too Stand on the Path of Disruption
Guest post by Jay Samit (@jaysamit), a serial entrepreneur and author of the bestselling book Disrupt You! Your career is going to be disrupted. I guarantee it. Office automation is expected to make 40% of the current workforce obsolete by 2020. 3D printing is anticipated to eliminate 320 manufacturing jobs; further impacting the millions of truck drivers replaced by autonomous vehicles. We are now living in an era of endless innovation where technology continues accelerating exponentially while businesses struggle to…
Creating Truly Personal Omni-Channel Customer Experiences
During a recent trip to London, I spent time with the Smart Focus team to discuss the promise and shortcomings of omni-channel strategies. It was a pretty productive collaboration resulting in a video that explores the new digital customer, an ebook focused on omni-channel experiences and a webinar on the future of marketing. Customers are more connected and more informed than ever. Digital marketers now need an entirely fresh perspective to succeed in a world where customers and prospects experience their brand in multiple ways…
The New Marketing Contract and Why Context is the Future of Marketing
We live in a time of great technology evolution and revolution. Innovation is not only upon us; it affects, even disrupts, us as marketers and as consumers of other businesses. Your customers are more connected than ever before and they’re always on. The number of touchpoints between businesses and customers has exploded. Technology is everywhere and something new is always on the horizon. Wearables. Smart watches. The Internet of Things. Everything is changing. Indeed, today’s consumers are more empowered than…
Today’s Digital Video Revolution & The Future of Brands
Guest post by Brendan Gahan (@BrendanGahan), a YouTube marketing expert helping Fortune 500 brands with their YouTube influencer and community building campaigns. He was named Forbes 30 Under 30 in Marketing & Advertising and one of the 25 Top YouTube Business Power Players for 2013. The past month there’s been a wealth of speculation in the blogosphere regarding livestreaming services Periscope and Meerkat. Who is going to win? Which platform will crush the other? Which app is the future of…
The Moment of Truth: Connected Customers and How to Re-Imagine Customer Experiences
And then one day, it happened. Customers changed. How they make decisions changed. What they value and how they want to do business changed. The funny thing is…we didn’t. Now we can and a new generation of technologies and services make it possible to not only react but lead customer experiences moving forward. To effectively compete in the digital economy, you are left with no choice; become customer-obsessed or lose! Every moment-of-truth counts when it comes to customer loyalty. For…
