What’s the best customer service experience that you have ever had? I want you to take a couple of minutes and think about all the recent and/or not-so-recent customer service experiences you have had. Many of them are probably pretty “meh.” Nothing great, nothing outrageously terrible. But, what was that stand-out customer experience? What made that experience so outstanding...
6 Tips from ForumCon for Building Addicting Online Communities That Scale
I just got back from ForumCon yesterday, and I’m now crazy inspired after a couple of days of general community management awesomeness. This conference was a perfect blend of of high-level strategy and real-time tactics. This was anchored by top-notch speakers, like Jeff Atwood, Richard Millington, David Spinks, Justin Isaf, and many more. ***Major kudos to Lucy Bartlett, of Viglink, for...
Reddit for Bloggers: A Step By Step Guide For How To Use Reddit To Supercharge Your Blog
When most people think about growing or getting traffic to your blog, podcast or even just a basic website, you probably think of the usual suspects: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and/or if you are lucky enough to have a large one- your email list. The reality is the traditional social media channels – especially Facebook and Twitter- tend to perform badly for driving loads and loads of...
5 Tips To Help You Kickstart A Brand New Blog
I have been blogging since 2009. There’s no doubt that blogging has changed a lot since then. While the tools and number of resources to help new bloggers have grown tremendously, there is no question that’s it harder to get your new blog noticed out of the crowd today. As someone who just started a new lifestyle blog a few months ago, I wanted to share five tips to help you get your...
Why I Deleted My Snapchat Account and Started Writing More
I was on Snapchat for a good half-second. The reason I joined in the first place was to do my due-diligence, research and test out a new, up-and-coming platform. I tried to keep an open mind and “like it,” but the only thought going through my mind is this is a waste of time. It’s all about creating micro content – or “snaps” that disappear in a matter of...
Why You Should Think Twice Before Removing Blog Comments
Recently, a few top-notch bloggers, including Jay Dolan, of The Anti Social Media, and Copyblogger, have made the decision to get rid of blog comments. I have read (and re-read) each of their posts multiple times, trying desperately to understand the logic behind this move. They stated a number of reasons for removing comments including: Too much spam No meaningful discussions The conversations...
Why All Community Managers Need To Read Spin Sucks? (It’s Not Just For PR Pros!)
I’ve been a fan of Gini Dietrich’s blog, “Spin Sucks” for a few years. So when I learned that she was writing a second book, Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age, after “Marketing in the Round” (another must-read by the way), I knew I just had to read it. It definitely didn’t disappoint. First, if you have ever read one...
Why You Shouldn’t Invest In “Real-Time Marketing”
It all seemed to start with a dunk in the dark in February 2013. The tweet from an infamous cookie brand heard round the world at last year’s Super Bowl. Yes, the famous Oreo dunk in the dark tweet. It was like a simultaneous lightbulb went off for thousands of brand marketers and agency folks. We can do this too. Suddenly, a trend was born. A really, really bad trend, I would add. Now...
The Little Thing That Separates An Ordinary Community From An Extraordinary One
When it comes to building a loyal, strong community (be it online or offline), it’s often the little things that can make the biggest difference. A community will have these four principles in common. People not ideas Shared identity Rules and Guidelines Similar Values However what separates an ordinary community from a thriving, fanatical one are the little things. It’s when...
Do Introverts Make The Best Community Managers?
Many people tend to assume that the best community and/or social media managers are classic extroverts. While there are certainly some, I believe that the best community managers are actually introverts. Here’s my reasoning behind it. You see, extroverts can be your classic outgoing types, that love to talk (especially about themselves). This ME-ME-ME outgoing attitude doesn’t always...