Bob Cargill’s Marketing Show

Don't Work in a Vacuum

Far too many businesses, organizations and teams of all sizes, shapes and forms have their people working in a vacuum. That's not cool. That's counterproductive. That's an easy way to eventually fail. 

Does You-Know-Who Tweet Better Than You?

If President Trump can use Twitter to make news, you can, too. Only your news will be good news. 

Red Tape and Social Media

Red tape. Unfortunately, it prevents so many businesses and brands from making progress in any way, shape or form on social media.

Whether it’s because too many chefs are in the kitchen or there is just far too much adherence to outdated rules, red tape can undermine even the success of your very best efforts.

The most successful social media practitioners have a green light in front of them, not red tape. They get autonomy and support from colleagues and management, not questions and criticism.

The most effective social media programs are authentic, transparent and immediate. They’re carried out quickly and seamlessly with very few interruptions.

If you expect to be successful as an organization on social media, you’ve got to cut to the chase and cut the red tape.

Like an Ice Cream Truck on Social Media

One of my many summer jobs as a kid was to drive an ice cream truck.

To this day, I can remember selling all those fudgicles, popsicles, creamsicles, chocolate eclairs and strawberry shortcakes.

Behind the wheel of my truck, I would wind my way through the neighborhoods of my hometown, announcing my arrival with that familiar ice cream truck jingle, that same, old melodic chime that would play over and over again. And almost as if on cue, customers would appear out of nowhere…like clockwork.

Your brand, corporate or personal, needs to be like that ice cream truck on social media.

You want your audience to be anticipating your arrival on the scene. You want them to know you. You want them to like you. You want them to see you so often on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other such online communication channels that it is almost impossible to ignore you. You want your fans, followers, connections and constituents to feel like they just can’t wait for the content you have to offer them today.

The Three A's of Social Media

Years ago, while watching our kids play baseball, I learned about the three A's from a neighbor of mine. He said these were the standards he held himself up to on the job as a pediatrician. The three A's – ability, affability and availability. I said, “You know, the three A's would apply well to social media." Ability – you have to know what you're doing on the job. Affability – you have to be friendly, courteous and kind. You have to get along well with people. Availability – you have to be online practically all the time. So, do you have the three A's of social media? 

Use Social Media as an Ice-Breaker

Think of social media - brands, personal brands and corporate brands - as your ice-breaker. You should let your fans, your followers, your customers, your constituents get to know you. The more they know you, the better they know you, the more likely they're going to be to do business with you, to support you, to be loyal to you, to share your content, to re-tweet you. So on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, you name it, any social media channel, think of social media as your ice-breaker...whether you're an individual brand or a corporate brand. Use social media to let people get to know you.

Getting Attention on Social Media

In this podcast, I talk about an interview I heard in November of 2016 on WGBH (89.7 FM) radio with Tim Wu, author of the book, "The Attention Merchants," and what I learned from it about getting attention in this day and age using social media.

How Do You Score on Social Media?

How do you score on social media? Did you know...in a typical NBA basketball game, each team takes approximately 80 to 90 shots? And if 50% or more of those shots are made, that's considered really good. How about you on social media? How about your business or brand? If you expect to score, you have to shoot. If you don't score, you can't win against the competition. Sharing content on social media is like taking shots in a basketball game. Winning businesses and brands put a lot of content up on social media because not everything they share is going to resonate with their audience. What about YOU? What about YOUR business and brand? How do you score on social media? Make sure you're taking enough shots to win!

Three Trends in Marketing to Watch

If you're a business-to-business (B2B) marketer, you need to have the areas of video, events and influencers on your radar, according to this article ("How Millennial Marketing Is Changing The Future Of B2B" by Kate Talbot on Forbes.com https://www.forbes.com/…/how-millenni...) I read recently. I couldn't agree more. Here are my thoughts...

Use Social Media Like Chloe Kim

Chloe Kim jumped, twisted, turned, somersaulted and flew her way to a gold medal recently on her snowboard in the women’s halfpipe competition at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. But what caught my attention almost as much as her prowess on a snowboard was the fact that she used Twitter during the competition. Yup. Chloe somehow found time to tweet about being “hangry” because she hadn’t finished her breakfast sandwich.