The Sunday Brief (June 29, 2014)

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Welcome to this week’s The Sunday Brief. As I sit listening to one of my favourite radio shows (and yes, I did say radio) and drinking a really great cup of coffee I decided to only write about one post this week. Why?  Well, it is a post that echoes something that I have been saying for years. So, I obviously believe strongly in what is being advocated. My influence however, does not extend nearly as far as the subject of this blog post. So, without further adieu, here is my one and only pick for this week:The Sunday Brief heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com

Richard Edelman: Traditional Marketing Is Broken

This LinkedIn post by Shane Snow  is a great example of re-examining how people are influenced and how there has been a paradigm shift in terms of who has the power – the consumer or the brand? More over it explores the importance of communicating with people in advance of trying to sell them something. It is about creating a relationship or relationships.

For years I have advocated that we need to build communities and thereby build relationships. We need to communicate and share information relevant to our community. Of course when Richard Edelman speaks, there is a great probability that people will listen. So maybe I was ahead of my time in espousing these thoughts – at least that is what I am telling myself this morning.  Hey we can all dream right..but I digress.

Regardless of who is saying it, it is being said and I am glad.  Edelman’s examples of Red Bull and Blackrock really demonstrate the point. It’s not all about you.  In fact, you are only a supporting character. It’s about your audience, your community, your customers, your prospects…whatever you label them as it is all about them.  So, listen, build “meaningful” relationships, and communicate versus pushing your product or service. Give it a try and see what happens. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised.

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4 Ways You Are Damaging Your Career

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I recently met up with a former colleague who just didn’t seem herself.  Years ago, when we worked together she was full of energy, ideas and vigor.  Now, well suffice it to say she is not.  She shared with me that professionally, and personally to some degree, that things hadn’t worked out quite the way she had wanted. From our conversation I knew that while sometimes bad things happen to good people, some of her behaviour was likely adding to the mix.  There are definitely ways that we can all damage our career.  Sometimes they are obvious like getting drunk at the Christmas party and telling each of your co-workers and your boss what you really think of them.  Others are more subtle.  Here are 4 subtle ways you could be damaging your career:

Image courtesy of mike54martin.com

Image courtesy of mike54martin.com

1.  Being Resistant to Change

Change is inevitable.  Whether change is brought on by people coming and going, new technology or a new strategic direction, it happens.  How you react to change, regardless of whether it directly or indirectly impacts you is noticed.  For example, if your duties are changed, do you embrace this change or make it difficult for the person or persons who assume some of what used to be your duties?  If you make it difficult, not only do your peers notice, but your management team will as well.  If you make it easy and take on your new role with true enthusiasm, that is noticed to and for the good.

2.  Inability to Separate Professional from Personal

Has anyone ever said to you:  don’t take it so personally?  If so, you might not be able to separate professional experiences from personal experiences.  Now, I would qualify that of course you are going to take it personally if you don’t get the job you thought you were a shoo in for.  That is only human nature and natural.  However, it is how you react and treat others that sets you a part. For example, you didn’t get the job you thought you were promised. Instead, a person from outside the organization was brought in.  Naturally that person will not have the institutional knowledge that you have.  That person may not even have the same level of product experience you have.  What that person likely has are qualities, traits and skills that management did not see in you.  Maybe you have them, but aren’t showing them.  How you handle working with this new person will be a significant measurement of who you are.  Do you resent the new person, talk about him or her every time you get a chance, do everything you can to make the person look bad?  Or, do you get over the fact that person did not deliberately go after “your” job and work with the person as opposed to against that person. Being able to do the latter will show just how professional you can be.

3.  Over Compensate in a Position

Maybe you have been demoted or passed over for promotions just once too often.  Maybe you feel like you have to show your grit when you have a chance.  Over compensating by being pushy and demanding towards others whether in a one-on-one setting or, even worse in a meeting, demonstrates that you really don’t understand the nuances and dynamics of the workplace.  Perform in this manner with your management team in the room and you have set the tone that you are not ready to manage and lead.

4.  Not Taking Direction

This one is a bit of a combo.  You might not have gotten the job you thought you should of.  You aren’t embracing change, etc.  Then on top of that your manager asks you to carry out a certain function or job and include others, including those that might have gotten the job you wanted and/or have been brought into the organization to perform a function or functions that you may have done previously.  Rather than execute as asked, you only include your manager.  This not only demonstrates that you can’t perform as asked, it also could demonstrate that you lack confidence in your abilities. In the end, your boss will likely still ask for input, recommendations from the other parties.  This shows them that you are insecure and/or not a team player. There is no question that work dynamics are interesting to say the least.  And, it is hard not to take things personally.  After all it is your career.  That being said, how we choose to act and react is entirely in our own control.  And, that is exactly what we will be judged on.  So, dig deep and thing about the long-term versus the short-term.

If you like this post, feel free to follow me on Twitter at @MacLeanHeather

4 Lessons to Lighten the Mood in Challenging Times

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It’s officially summer. It’s hot. It’s humid. It’s road construction time. This all points toward shorter tempers and potential road rage. So, how do you lighten the mood in such circumstances? Well, you create a Twitter account of course! I am not certain who created @WestmorlandBrid, but whoever it is has a great sense of humour and is creating at least some fun in spite of a loooonnnng construction project on one of two bridges in New Brunswick’s capital city, Fredericton. So, what can we learn from our humourous bridge Tweeter?  Well, a lot it turns out.  Here are 4 lessons to lighten the mood in challenging times.Have fun, Even in traffic jams, heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com, taylormade solutions

1.  Laughter is Contagious

Why not take a situation, which you have no control over, like major bridge construction on one of two bridges in a city, and create fun challenges. I love that daily challenges are being given to commuters.  As you can see in my Storify, How to Have Fun, Even in Traffic Jams, some people are taking the challenges seriously while others…well…may not quite see the humour.  #timetolightenup?

2.  Misery Loves Company

For the thousands who travel across the bridge at least twice a day going to and from work, commiserating with people “just like you” just does something to make you feel like part of something bigger.  You just feel better.

3.  Build Relationships

As strange as it might sound, relationships will be formed from this experience.  Those who see each other each day while waiting in the traffic jams, or perhaps those that are now Tweeting messages around challenges or their experiences, or even meeting people on the bus.  Who knows, maybe there will be wedding bells as a result of the bridge construction.  @Westmorlandbridge, please let us know if wedding bells are in the air.

4.  Stay Positive

In keeping with all of the above, staying positive and finding something good in an experience is just good for you mentally.  So, even though there are still 62 days to go, each day that passes, is one less day in the future.

So, have fun Freddy Beachers and follow your very own Westmorland Street Bridge Twitter handle to get your daily dose of humour while traveling to and from work. But of course, your passenger will Tweet for you and share the stories with you…cause it’s still illegal to use a mobile device while in the drivers’ seat.

 

 

Reaching the C-Suite with Content: How to Crack the Code

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C-suite: Crack the Code, Taylormadecanada.comMarketing and sales professionals all want to reach the C-Suite. But there are always two questions that come up in those discussions: 1) How do I reach the C-Suite? and 2)Does the C-Suite really even consume online content? Well, thanks to Forbes and Insights, there are some interesting answers to those questions. So, continue reading to learn how to reach the C-Suite and how to crack the code to actually get past the gatekeepers:

1.  The Internet Reigns

There has definitely been a shift happening in the C-Suite.  According to the research, in 2008 the mean age of the C-Suite was 50.7.  Fast forward to 2014 and the mean age is now 46.7.  This small and subtle shift has made for some much bigger shifts in how the C-Suite accesses and consumes business-related data.  As a part of that shift, the majority of members now prefer to use the Internet to access information. Surprisingly for many, the Internet is preferred over references from colleagues, personal networks, newspapers, TV, radio and even conferences and trade shows. This is definitely a shift from just a few years ago.

 2.  Video and Online Networks Emerge as C-Suite Tools

Don’t forgo the text communications just yet, but with the ever busy and on-the-go C-suite, easily accessed and easily consumed content that can be listened to or watched while on the go is definitely on the rise.  If you want to reach the C-Suite, don’t forget this media.

 3.  Generation PC

Did you just get used to the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, etc?  Well, Generation PC is the group that you will find most in the C-Suite these days.  These 40-50 year olds pretty much have worked with technology throughout their careers starting out with electronic spreadsheets, email and word processors.  They are comfortable with technology and even prefer searching and finding business-related information on their own.  Want to reach the C-Suite, think about this age group and their preferences.

4.  Generation Netscape

The newest group to be coming into the C-suite is Generation Netscape.  This under 40 group are the first digital natives that we will have in the top spots of corporations around the world and they are used to consuming content when, where and how they want.  To reach this group, you will want to make sure that your content is not only relevant, but accessible on multiple platforms and devices.

5.  Content is Still King

Rethinking your content strategy?  Is your C-Suite questioning you about who your audience is and whether not you can reach the C-Suite?  Before throwing the baby out with the bath water, remember that content needs to be good.  Don’t just create content for the sake of creating content.  In addition to creating great content, here are some other findings from the research to help guide you:

  •  81% of respondents under the age of 50 check the Internet daily for business intelligence
  • 58% (under 50) see high value of content from websites, blogs and other online content
  • 54% of C-Suite members under 50 prefer sourcing business content themselves (a.k.a no gatekeeper)
  • 87% (of the under 50 crowd) use search engines like Google, so your content must be searchable and more important, easy to find

Thanks for Forbes and Insights, we know that the C-Suite wants and consumes valuable content, including blog content.  The key however, is to create valuable content that can be found through search.

If you like this post, feel free to follow me on Twitter @MacLeanHeather.

 

 

4 Easy Marketing Tips for Nonprofits

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If you have ever worked for or with nonprofits, you know that resources are tight! They have some of the best people working for them and they wear many hats. With that in mind, marketing is often something that is a nice to have, but not always at the forefront of activities. Resources, while talented may not also have the necessary training or knowledge in marketing. No need to worry however, here are 4easy marketing tips for nonprofits:

4 easy marketing tips for nonprofits, taylormadecanada.com, heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com

Image courtesy of eventespresso.com

1.  Consistency in Branding

This might seem an obvious one for marketers.  For people staffing a nonprofit this might not be top of mind.

Why it is important:

Having a consistent message, imagery and overall brand is important to position your nonprofit in the minds of not only employees, but also sponsors, donors, and members. If you don’t have a consistent message or brand offering you will confuse your stakeholders. Have you ever gone looking for a website or social media site for a particular organization and wonder when you get there if you somehow selected the wrong one? If you have experienced this and you were on the right page, this is an example of brand confusion. You believe the brand is one thing, but their marketing channels don’t portray that same thought.

2.  Know Your Audience

While the big brands might have lots of different tools at their disposal, nonprofits should really focus on a few tools and doing them well.

Why is it important:

Knowing your audience will guide you in determining which tools to leverage. For example, Facebook is still a good tool for nonprofits. Unlike for profit business, Facebook can still reach vast audiences. However, if your stakeholders aren’t using Facebook, using this tool is wasted effort. Asking your stakeholders what they use for communications tool and/or what influences them is a very simple and effective way to understand exactly what where to focus your efforts.

3. Focus on Quality Versus Quantity

Your organization has taken the plunge and want to do a blog for example. You have read that frequency is important for your blog to be successful. While that is true, you also need to be realistic. What can you realistically achieve with your blog. Is it 5 posts a week or 15? Producing 15 great blog posts is doable, but even brands with many resources don’t tend to put out that much content. If you can successfully produce 5 great blog posts in one week that help your achieve your overall objectives, then that is what counts.

Why it is important:

Too many organizations look at blogs and content as a box that they need to check off.  If you really dissect what you want a blog to accomplish, it is about results.  Things like increased brand recognition, more members and more donations.  These are the things that are important.  So, remember to develop your content and content calendar with the end-results in mind. Pushing out content that is not quality will have the opposite effect.

4.  Partner

One of the areas that I see most underused is the prospect of partnering. Looking for and finding partners, either other nonprofits or for profits, can be a great way to position your organization as forward thinking and resourceful.

Why it is important:

Often times, particularly in recessionary times, getting funds or monies from people and other organizations can be difficult. By partnering you might get funding that you would not otherwise have gotten. You might have to split it, but again remember it is monies that you might not have gotten.  Also through partnering you might be able to support each other and provide services to each other that can reduce your costs.  The sky is really the limit.
These are just four easy tips. What would you add?

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The Sunday Brief (June 22, 2014)

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Welcome to this week’s The Sunday Brief.  Like every week, I had a hard time selecting just three top picks of the week.  On top of the many great reads I found during the week, I learned about someone I consider to be a remarkable young man and I want to share what he taught me. So, this week, I offer up my top four picks, instead of the standard three.The Sunday Brief heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com

1.  My top pick of the week is Modern Marketing Is About Human Connection – Not Robots by Tony Zambito I really like this post as it echoes my own personal beliefs about what marketing is “supposed” to be.  Marketers around the world talk about relationship marketing and creating a connection. We have moved away from speaking about changing buyer/consumer behaviour. In reality that is what we are still trying to do.  Now, let’s look at content marketing. I still believe it is a great tool, but so many marketers approach it from a checklist perspective that is is loosing meaning for many.

Zambito, points out quite accurately that buyers notice when you are pushing to hard and when you have become robotic in your actions. This is a must read for marketers in my opinion and that is why it is my top pick of the week.

2.  Speaking of being less robotic and thinking about things from a human perspective, my next pick is about that young man I mentioned above. In 7 Lessons in Leadership from an 8 Year Old, you will learn about Ben Hamilton, a young boy who saw something he didn’t like and how he took action versus waiting for someone else to do something about it.

It is really quite humbling to realize that an 8 year old is demonstrating more leadership than most of the adults in his community.

3.  While posted a few months back, I came across this post during the week and quite liked it.  Need New Customers? Get Happy Employees, by Michael Brenner  reinforces the importance of having engaged employees.  Report after report conclusively demonstrates that engaged employees result in organizations performing better.  This is a direct correlation to the bottom line.  Despite this however, organizations, including governments, fail to take actions to truly engage employees.

Brenner gives some good insight and steps to take to help increase employee engagement.  Definitely a good read.

4.  My last pick is Insights from Coca-Cola:  Let your Customer be the Star of the Story from the We First Blog. Again, Marketers will talk about what we should do versus what we actually do.  In this interview, Coca-Cola shares how they build relationships and promote sustainability by talking about others.

For those brands that actually practice what they preach, the results are wonderful.  A great read/listen. Well, those are my top picks from the previous week. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did.

If you like the post, feel free to follow me @MacLeanHeather on Twitter. Or, feel free to sign up for our newsletter. [contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Newsletter Sign-up’ type=’radio’ required=’1′ options=’Yes%26#x002c; sign me up’/][/contact-form]  (Note:  our newsletter is monthly and in accordance with the Canadian Anti-spam law, you can easily unsubscribe at any time)

9 Myths About the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL)

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Since the announcement that Canada is implementing new anti-spam legislation, affectionately known as CASL, there have been mixed reports on what this means. I, along with  many others began writing about this new legislation hoping to clarify points and raise questions where there were uncertainties.  Thankfully there have been many clarifications, but still many people have misconceptions about what this new law means.  Here are some of the top misconceptions that I have heard:

CASL, Anti-spam law, heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com

Image courtesy of www.inboundsales.net

1.  This new legislation is about spam

True and False. Yes, it applies to spam for the consumer, but it is first and foremost about your business.  This new legislation can have significant impacts on your bottom line.  Not only are you potentially exposing your business to very large fines, but it also means reviewing, reassessing and modifying business processes. As a result, understanding what this law means and does not mean is essential for your business.  Ensure that you have at least one person who fully understands what the implications and ramifications are for your business. Don’t leave it to chance.

2.  This law only applies to email

False.  This law applies to ALL consumer electronic messages (CEM), including text messages and social networking.  To be clear it doesn’t impact Facebook Wall Posts or even Twitter posts, but rather direct messaging using those media, and others.

3.  This law applies only to mass communications

False.  This new law applies to one-to-one communications or one-to-many (mass communications).

4.  This only applies to Canadian Companies

False.  This applies to any company sending CEMs to people living in Canada.  If you are located in the United States and sending CEMs and they could potential reach a Canadian in your database, you are subject to this law.  Admittedly,  I am not sure how this will be enforced.

5. You can no longer use LinkedIn InMail to communicate with Canadians

False.  Additional exemptions have been made.  They include CEMs sent from instant messaging platforms such as BBM messenger and LinkedIn InMail where the required identification and unsubscribe mechanisms are clearly published on the user interface. (source:  Deloitte)

6.  Canadian companies can no longer send CEMs to people in foreign countries

False.  Canadians can send CEMs to parties outside Canada, as long as listed in Schedule 1 of the CASL Regulations and they are  not in violation of similar laws in those same countries.

7. I need to go out and get permission from existing customers to communicate with them now

False.  CEMs sent to and from businesses or organizations with an existing B2B relationship, can continue to do so.  CEMs sent in response to enquiries, requests or complaints are also exempt.  However, more detail is provided below.

8. My company does not have express consent from every contact in our database, so now we must rely on telephone or snail mail

False. Express consent is not needed in the context of an existing business or non-business relationship.  (Note: there are conditions.  See #9)  The same is true in the context of  recipients who publish their electronic contact information or, voluntarily disclose it without indicating they don’t want to receive communications. (source: Deloitte)

9.  I need a business process to monitor consent from business contacts, because they expire

True and False.  The legislation does provide a transition period for implied consent. Section 66, states that consent to send CEMs is implied for a period of 36 months beginning July 1, 2014, where there is an existing B2B relationship that includes the communication of CEMs.  However, if the recipient indicates that he or she no longer want CEMs, the period has ended for that party.  It is suggested by government that this is a good time to seek out consent.

It is important to note however that express consent does not expire after a certain period of time has passed. If you obtain valid express consent before July 1, 2014, then that express consent remains valid after the legislation comes into force. It does not expire, until the recipient withdraws their consent. (Source: Government of Canada)

There is no question that organizations need to adjust to this new way of doing business and having the right information will help alleviate some of the stress/concerns that businesses have. It should also be noted that Charities and Political Parties are exempt from CASL.

For more information, feel free to reach out to TaylorMade Solutions.

7 Lessons in Leadership from an 8 Year Old

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We have all heard Hilary Clinton’s famous line of “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”, suggesting that leadership and external influences can impact a child, for good or bad.  Yesterday I learned about Ben Hamilton, an 8 year old who lives in my community. I live in a lovely little Village just outside New Brunswick’s capital city of Fredericton and while this bedroom community is a safe heaven, we aren’t absent of trouble. Recently, a group vandals tagged everything from mailboxes, bleachers to even our local elementary school. They are destroying property.  They are breaking the law.  It is disheartening to say the least.  But while most of the villagers sat and hoped it wouldn’t happen again, 8 year old Ben Hamilton didn’t sit and wait.  No, Ben took action.  I think we can all learn from Ben. Maybe it doesn’t take a village to raise a child, but a child to get a community to act.   Here are 7 lessons in leadership we can all learn from an 8 year old:  

Ben Hamilton, photo courtesy of his parents.

Ben Hamilton, photo courtesy of his parents.

1. Commitment

We all talk about commitment – how much we need it and why it is important, but Ben not only saw something he didn’t like, he decided to do something about it.  Originally setting out to raise $160 he and his friend have made more than four times that amount.  He could have stopped when he reached his goal, but he didn’t.  That is not only true commitment to the end goal, but it shows a level of maturity that many of us would not share.

2.  Confidence

I know my share of adults who aren’t comfortable speaking with the media, but 8 year old Ben did just fine being interviewed for radio.  In fact, he did better than just fine.  Fear does not hold him back. Sometimes as adults we don’t do something out of fear. Sometimes it is out of complacency.  Regardless of what our justification is, we don’t act. Ben reminded us that sitting and waiting doesn’t get results.

3.  Positive Attitude

In the words of Ben:  “So I decided I should do something about it. I was like, ‘Can we do something to help?’ And it was like, ‘Yeah.”  I don’t know many 8 year olds who would want to do something to clean up some graffiti, but Ben did!  He didn’t like what he saw, but he knew he could do something about it. He also offered a solution to the problem.

4.  Intuition

I am pretty sure that Ben hasn’t done something like this before.  After all, our sleepy little community hasn’t experienced this before and all rationale would have me believing that this is a first for Ben.  So, he didn’t have a road map to help him determine what to do, when and how.  And, as I learned from his mother, he actually did a proposal for the fundraiser and brought it to the Principal for approval.  Did I mention that Ben is just 8 years old?  That takes some natural intuition and takes me to the next characteristic of leadership – creativity.

5.  Creativity

So, how does an 8 year old raise money? An allowance? Maybe. But how about having a jersey day and a freezie day – getting them and selling them to his fellow schoolmates? Not only did he approach his problem with a creative idea, but he involved his fellow students. In other words, he has the ability to inspire, which is our next characteristic of leadership!

6.  Ability to Inspire

Setting out to raise $160 and exceeding $800 is no small feat.  While kids love freezies, being able to sell that many means that Ben is someone who truly can share a message.  He can convey what it means to respect property and to do something to fix a wrong – someone else’s wrong.

7.  Communication

Last but not least, Ben is a communicator.  He noticed a wrong, he thought about the wrong.  He asked what he could do, found a solution and then shared that solution and vision with others.  That my friends is a true communicator.

We can learn a lot from Ben Hamilton.  I can only imagine how proud his parents, Karyn and Ryan must be.  And when asked how they were feeling: “We are immensely proud of Ben and thankful he attends such a wonderful school that took the time to listen to Ben’s idea and gave him a platform to see it through.  We are also happy that Ben has learned about community activism and, that no matter how old you are, when you are doing good things, people will be supportive and will even  join in the cause.  He now knows he can make a difference in his community- and that is a wonderful gift.”

Like this post?  Feel free to follow me on Twitter: @MacLeanHeather.

The Influencer Series – An Interview with Mark Schaefer

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This week the Influencer Series speaks with Mark W. Schaefer, a globally-recognized blogger, speaker, educator, business consultant, and author who blogs for one of the top marketing blogs of the world. Mark also has written four best-selling books including The Tao of Twitter (the best-selling book on Twitter in the world) and Return On Influence,which was named one of the top business titles of the year by the American Library Association. His latest book is called Social Media Explained: Untangling the World’s Most Misunderstood Business Trend.  So, let’s get started!The Influencer Series, heather-anne maclean, taylormadecanada.com

Heather:  On your website, you speak of trust.  Specifically you say people follow you because they trust you.  Trust is clearly important to you.  How do you think trust has changed over the last three years as a result of all scandals and misguided commentary or social posts from brand channels in the digital sphere?

 Mark:  I don’t think “trust” has changed and I don’t think our expectation of trust has changed. In fact, trust has been an expectation of those we work with since the beginning of time. And I don’t think we should confuse a company making a mistake (which they all do) with a fundamental culture that inhibits trust.

 New research from Pew shows that Millennials are the least trusting generation in history. They can easily sniff out a fake in 140 characters or less : )   So I do think enabling radical trust is a key to survival in this world.

Heather:  Based on your experience, why is it that so many brands are failing to really leverage the power of social media to build trust and influence?

 Mark:  I don’t know for sure but I have a theory. Many CMOs charged with leading a marketing department probably really cut their teeth in the business before social media was really as relevant as it is today. So they weren’t immersed in it, and many just don’t understand it. I see this so often at companies big and small and that was why I wrote the new book “Social Media Explained.” I get the same questions over and over again. So here are the answers!

 I also think many ad agencies are not equipped strategically or organizationally to handle the social media shift, which contributes to the problem too.

 Heather:  Speaking of influence, who do you think really holds the power base of influence?  Big brands, Paid Influencers, such as bloggers or Citizen Influencers? And why?

 Mark: It depends. Look, people with a lot of money to spend will usually have an edge. That’s a fact of life.

 But I also point out in my book Return On Influence that we do have this amazing, historically-important opportunity for every person, every company, every brand to build legitimate influence by creating content that moves through the Internet. I certainly have influence through my content. Will I be as powerful as Nike? No. So it’s all relative.

 A paid influencer is really just the modern day equivalent of somebody wearing one of those big sandwich signs. It might look cute at first but eventually you kind of ignore it. The real trick is to identify and nurture organic advocates and that is a long-term proposition that requires patience. Most companies don’t have patience. They have quarterly sales goals, which is why they fail miserably at influence marketing programs. 

Heather:  With social media being mainstream, content marketing being used by everyone and their pet, what do you think that marketers should be focusing on next to get a leg up on the competition?  Or, put another way, what do you think marketers are failing to do and should be doing?

Mark:  That’s a pretty big question. Let me try to answer it as simply as I can. First, most companies do not understand social media marketing. They are checking a box. Second, marketing is math, and becoming more so month by month. Whoever can master the analytics will win. Finally, keep an eye on the fundamentals. Don’t be blinded by the shifts and changes on the Internet.

I want to thank Mark for taking the time to be interviewed and a part of my blog.  It says a lot about his commitment and willing to help others!

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The Sunday Brief (June 15, 2014)

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Welcome to this week’s Sunday Brief.  The Sunday Brief is intended to be my medium to share with you a few of my top picks from the previous week in one short collection. I can’t believe that we are already in the middle of June.  School is ending for another year and people’s minds will begin, if they have not already, to shift to summer holidays.  But before we drift off into the lazy days of summer, here are my top three picks from the previous week:The Sunday Brief heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com

1.  Michael Hyatt’s Why People Who Sleep Longer Achieve More  (@MichaelHyatt)

Now I confess that I like sleep. I know it does wonders for me. I am certainly at my best in the morning after a great night’s sleep and enjoy getting up early.  So, any study, theory or post on getting sleep and its importance resonates with me. I know from experience that sleep does help me remember things better and be much more focused and clear.  Definitely worth a read.

2. Why Apple Doesn’t Tweet by KISSmetrics (@KISSmetrics)

I like this post as it reinforces what many of us have known for a long time.  And, more importantly it is “the” example of what every marketer dreams of. Why Tweet and have an account when all your advocates and influencers- your customers – are doing it for you.  I am a relatively new Mac convert – only three years, but as I sit here typing on my Mac and my iPhone connected to said Mac and my iPad 15 feet away from me, I realize the true value of the product and how I have counselled many on making the purchase.  It is sheer brilliance and reinforcement that good products produce really great brand ambassadors.

3.  35 Life Lessons I Learned from My Father

And, last but not least is my fav.  Not because I wrote it, but because on this Fathers’ Day, it is special to me.  Next month will mark 34 years that my mother lost her husband and my brother and I lost our father.  While sometimes it feels like yesterday and others a lifetime, the fact is that despite only having him in my life for a few short years, I learned a tremendous amount from him.  He was an amazing man, husband and father.  Happy Fathers’ Day to all the great fathers out there.  May all kids have the kind of father I had.

Well those are my three top picks for the week.  There are always so many to choose from.  Check in next week for the next three.  Have a post you want to suggest?  Feel free to connect with me @MacLeanHeather