Two of my favorite books on communication are Luke Sullivan's "Hey Whipple Squeeze This - A Guide to Creating Great Ads" and Al Ries's "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind." Although I describe them as "communications" books, they're really advertising books. Or rather, books that study communication through the lens of advertising. I'll come back to why this … Continue reading The Best Product Marketing Advice I Can Give You
Why I Think Zuckerberg is Trying to Kill Influencer Marketing
I have a new theory -- call it a prediction -- about the future of influencer marketing. Recently, Instagram has been meeting with some of its latest advertisers and media partners to council them on the social platform's latest algorithm update -- a transition that will rank newsfeed content by relevance, rather than chronology, similar to its parent … Continue reading Why I Think Zuckerberg is Trying to Kill Influencer Marketing
Why You’ll Never Measure Marketing ROI Correctly (and That’s Perfectly OK)
Today, our brand is everywhere — on mobile, across social media and messaging apps, and even exposed to new mediums like connected devices and virtual reality (VR). Marketing remains the same mix of math and magic we know and love, but the ways marketing is executed day-to-day has changed profoundly. Our work has gotten a … Continue reading Why You’ll Never Measure Marketing ROI Correctly (and That’s Perfectly OK)
The 11 Essential Elements of a Content Marketing Strategy
Content is the atomic unit of marketing — the currency of how to get attention (when done well). But simply “creating content” without a thoughtful vision is a lot like writing individual book pages for readers expecting a story. So what are the atomic units of a content strategy that will focus and sharpen your … Continue reading The 11 Essential Elements of a Content Marketing Strategy
Why the Startup You Want to Work at Skipped Your Resume (and Hired Someone Else)
I've interviewed well over 100+ (maybe 200+) job candidates over the past several years, for marketing, sales, engineering, and design roles at my startup, and wanted to share some general principles and advice for younger professionals and first-time job seekers with limited experience looking to "break into tech" and land their dream gig. I definitely … Continue reading Why the Startup You Want to Work at Skipped Your Resume (and Hired Someone Else)
Can Your Mobile Customers Afford to Watch Your Ads?
As mobile devices and borderless technology networks like Facebook, Google, and Tencent increasingly connect billions of people around the world, everything about the pace, profile, and application of modern media is changing. The new mobile customer has arrived, and she is forcing companies to rethink the tools and systems they use to reach consumers and … Continue reading Can Your Mobile Customers Afford to Watch Your Ads?
How to Build a Brand the World Will Remember Tomorrow
This essay originally appeared on Percolate. Brands want to be chosen by customers, and marketing as a discipline is aimed at increasing that likelihood. As a growing body of academic research shows, almost all customer purchases are at least partially memory-based. This means a critical priority in marketing and advertising is creating and reinforcing positive brand … Continue reading How to Build a Brand the World Will Remember Tomorrow
The Year Social Media Moves Beyond Social
Social is entering a new era in the history of its communications potential. In doing so, ‘social media’ companies like Facebook and LinkedIn are briskly redefining their identities, business models and the boundaries they are able to connect people — or brands to people — within. All told, 2015 looks more and more like the year … Continue reading The Year Social Media Moves Beyond Social
How the Human Brain Experiences Your Brand
This article originally appeared on the Percolate Blog. The best brands are built to last a lifetime. GE’s existed for over 118 years, IBM recently celebrated it’s 103rd birthday and even innovative Apple is steadily approaching 40. But while the best brands are complex, multi-dimensional and designed for longevity, a brand’s visual identity — its logo, … Continue reading How the Human Brain Experiences Your Brand
Managing A Startup’s Most Valuable Resource: Time
[The following is an excerpt from my essay "Time Management for Startups: Quantify, Prioritize, and Automate" that originally appeared on Sixteen Ventures. To read the article in its entirety, including Lincoln Murphy's forward, conclusion and other productivity recommendations, please go here.] Whenever I write a guest post or article, I start by brainstorming how I … Continue reading Managing A Startup’s Most Valuable Resource: Time