It's Hip To Be Square- In 2018, I'm Moving My Blog from Blogger to Squarespace

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

In 2018, I am rebranding and re-launching my Marketing Blog on Squarespace. I'm saying goodbye to the blog name, format, and Blogger platform. 

Here's the scoop:

I've been blogging about social media marketing and my adventures in networking in Nashville since 2009. Over the years, I stuck with the Blogger platform because it is owned by Google and I believed that would help with my SEO juice and Google rankings. Side Note: I also used to be a believer in Google+ taking off. We all know how that turned out. 

Admittedly, I have fallen off of a regular blogging routine because it has been a hassle to populate content on Blogger. A simple post takes hours of editing to get the layout, spacing, and text to populate how it want it to appear - especially on the mobile version. This experience has deflected me from doing what I'm passionate about- sharing my knowledge and insights!

I'm taking action. Much like technology and the world of marketing, my experience has evolved, and I'm not putting all my eggs in Google's basket. I need a blog platform that reflects my lifestyle- ease of posting, with not a lot of coding to fool with. I want a magazine-style, mobile-first site that is easy to navigate and provides a pleasant user experience.

(Drum Roll, Please) 

January 2018, I am moving to the Squarespace platform with a Marketing Blog that focuses on broader "Marketing" stories and trends. The "Nashville" content will stay and evolve. In 2018, I'm adding a new section that brings in my personal inspirations, influencers, and beliefs -I'm calling this section of my blog "Karma." 

The largest catalyst for this change was "Karma" inspired. I invited a friend and former co-worker, Lisa Dunn of LisaDunnDesigns.com, to a Nashville Women in Digital event, where we struck up the conversation about my intention to rebrand my blog. She and a few others highly recommended Squarespace. I did my research with a free 2-week trial and was impressed!

Getting familiar with an entirely new blogging platform was not easy. I was two hours in, and ready to throw up my hands and go back to Blogger- when Lisa stepped in to guide me through and simplify my Squarespace blog.

As it turns out, Lisa is a talented Graphic Design Coach, who just happens to be a certified Squarespace Trainer! She helped me get started and learn to navigate the setup of my new blog website. I definitely recommend reaching out to her if you are thinking of using Squarespace, and need some help.

I still have a lot of packing, unpacking, sorting and decorating to do throughout December, but I hope to be ready to open my doors to visitors on my new blog website in January. Thank you to all of my followers on Blogger- and I hope to see you next year after my move.

Be on the lookout for my new blog coming January 2018!

Top 13 Shopper Marketing e-newsletters for Digital Divas like me

Nashville is known for Country Music, Tourism, and Publishing…but there are several hidden gem Retailers (Dollar General, Tractor Supply Company, Journey’s, Kirkland’s) and CPG companies (Mars Petcare, Oreck, GooGoo Clusters, Griffen Technology) right here, as well as the Shopper Marketing Agency I work for, Catapult Marketing…where the focus is on you- the consumer.

I’m fascinated by the intersection between digital technology (apps, beacons, targeted digital ads and coupons) and the connection between the brand, consumer, and retailer. It’s a growing segment of digital marketing, focused around ever-changing shopper habits, called “Shopper Marketing”. 

Below is the list of Top 13 Shopper Marketing e-newsletters I subscribe to in order to stay informed of the latest trends. Many of these Shopper Marketing e-newsletters feature case studies where retailers and brands are finding success in digital shopper marketing. There are no rules, so the playing field is wide open and I am a huge fan! Let’s watch it play out together. 

Get your inbox ready! The links below will take you directly to the Shopper Marketing e-newsletter’s subscribe pages. You’re welcome ;) NOTE: These are in NO particular order. 

Top 13 Shopper Marketing e-newsletters: 

13. RetailTouchpoints - Retail TouchPoints (RTP) is an online publishing network for retail executives, offering content focused on optimizing the customer experience across all channels. 

12. Retail Leader - 100% Senior Executive Focused, Retail Leader delivers news, analysis and information specific to the needs of top managers in the retail, food, and allied industries.

Joe Pulizzi on Content Marketing | Notes from 4/6/17 #nashvilleama Presentation

Pic: Me & Joe Pulizzi at #NashvilleAMA on 4.6.17.

Today I attended a local NAMA (Nashville AMA) Marketing program, and here’s what I learned about Content Marketing from Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute. 

Content Marketing is where digital marketing lives and has long term success. Hoping some of this can help you in your long-term marketing strategies! 

First things first. Some CEOs and CFOs may ask, "What's the point of content marketing?"

Per Joe Pulizzi, [it's] "building an audience in order to change a behavior" - AKA conversion.

HOW TO BUILD A CONTENT STRATEGY:

STEP 1: Find the Sweet Spot

• what is your customer's sweet spot? What do they want to know?

• What knowledge do you have that is valuable to them?

• What topic are you the leading expert on?

STEP 2: Content Tilt 

• Don’t just put out the same kind of content everyone else does on the same channels. Get crafty with resources.

• Where is there an area of differentiation that you can distribute your content to break through?

• What is your differentiator amongst your competitors? You must break through!

Best of #Nashville Instagram: Skylines

If you are like me, you love traveling and exploring new places…even in your own town. Lucky for me, I don't have to go far to see the best Nashville skyline views. I work, play, and explore in Nashville every day, capturing it all on Instagram.

I consider myself an "Instagram Photographer"- but aren't we all?! By using the #Nashville hashtag, I have discovered some great Nashville skyline views from some fellow fans of beautiful Music City. You will want to follow these Instagramers!

Here are my picks for the Best of #Nashville Instagram Skylines:

For the best "bird's eye" view- if the bird were a robot with a camera, follow the drone, @drone615!

A photo posted by Jason Hoffman (@drone615) on Oct 3, 2016 at 10:25am PDT

That Time I Hashtaged a Hot Dog in Nashville…

I gotta say, there’s nothing I love more than a good hotdog on a sunny day in Nashville. (I hear you chuckling! Let’s just get those dirty thoughts cleared away right away.)

I recently frequented Nashville’s beloved Hot Diggity Dog, and was pleased by not only their amazing menu, but by their social media suaveness. I Instagram’d a hot dog sign pic proclaiming my love with a #hotdog emoji (Thank you, Apple iOS 9.3!).

Later, I discovered @HotDiggityDog reposted my pic, giving me some love in return. They also followed me and “liked” my post. Just that little bit of social affection from them makes me love them even more. So of course, I had to tell you all about it! ‘Cause that’s how social media strategy works ;)

Here’s what they are doing right:

Social Signage:
In addition to all of their hot dog themed signage, Hot Diggity Dog has signs displayed throughout their location (on the wall, table tents, everywhere!), listing all their social media profiles and encouraging follows.

Dollar General Steps into the Digital Coupon Game

I've been following what I call the "retail wars" for a while…and what I mean by that is the technology battles retailers are playing: from e-commerce sites, to email, to digital coupons, to social media, to apps, to customer relationship management tools, to data tracking and personalization of offers…..All of our favorite stores are in a war for our attention, and ultimately our shopper dollars.

Nashville's own Dollar General is reaching the savvy shopper with digital coupons via the Coupons.com platform. 

On July 31, 2014 Dollar General in partnership with Coupons.com completed the successful rollout of its new DG Digital Coupons program to its more than 11,300 stores across 40 states.

To use the DG Digital Coupon Program, customers can sign up either online or in stores using their phone number. After signing up, customers can select coupons to be added to their profile and the discounts are then applied to a customer’s purchase at checkout. No printing, no clipping, all digital!

It's a whole new world! My journey into Digital Marketing for a CPG Brand

It's a whole new world.
I've been saying that to myself for the past ten months...since I transitioned into a Digital Account position within a Shopper Marketing Agency, working on a CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) brand. For a long time, I've wanted to work on a national brand. I wanted to be on the cutting edge of digital within this space. So finding that opportunity in Nashville, where those opportunities are few and far between, was a dream come true!

What I learned the very first day, week, month, and going on year is that it's a whole new world from anything I've ever done in the past. I needed to learn about how products are manufactured, how they are sold, how budgets are set and managed for branding, media, and promotions as well as my client's business and marketing goals.

What a great opportunity to learn and grow! I learned it's not all about what you know. Sometimes, you have to start from the bottom to get to where you need to be. Even if you are super knowledgeable in one area (for me, social media and digital branding), there are other areas that I know zero about (for me, CPG and the wonderful world of consumer promotions, couponing, and retail marketing).

#OmniNashville's Tweet-tastic Grand Opening

Pictured with Jay Cooney at Omni Nashville Hotel.

Sometimes being a socially savvy "in the know" Southern girl has it's perks. I was honored to be among some of Nashville's online influencers invited to a VIP dinner and tour of Nashville's newest luxury hotel…and participate in the #OmniNashville Twitter party at the same time!

Monday Sept. 30, 2013 Omni Nashville Hotel celebrated it's Grand Opening with an hour-long national Twitter Party & VIP Nashville gathering, hosted by @OmniNashville and @OmniHotels. The #OmniNashville hashtag was filled with pictures, facts and giveaways, including a stay at Omni Nashville.

For me, the best part was spending time with Jay Cooney, who manages Social Media for @OmniHotels from a corporate level and meeting Kellie Keyes, who manages social media for @OmniNashville (among other marketing duties), as well as others from Omni's marketing & communications team. My "marketing geek" hat was on as I learned all about how they planned the opening and manage communications as an internal team.

Think Like A Rock Star | Mack Collier on Turning Customers into Fans

I'm a fan of pop culture- just as much as I'm a fan of marketing. That's why Mack Collier's book, "Think Like A Rockstar," was such a win-win for me to read.

It's filled with stories of how rock stars and divas like Jewel, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and even one of my favorite Nashville 'ol schoolers- Johnny Cash, built their fan following by creating unique experiences that allow their fans to take ownership in helping the brand grow.

There are also examples of how companies like Red Bull, Fiskars, and Graco have used social media to build brand loyalty and celebrate the communities of their fans. If you get the book, look for tactical "Backstage Passes" throughout the book for clever ways to implement these fun learnings!

Adventures in Advertising - One Month Check In

It's been a month since my last blog post and since I've started my new job, so this is a quick post to let my friends and followers know I'm still alive! As you can imagine, I have found that starting a new job takes almost all of my focus outside of keeping Social Media Club Nashville events going and attending the occasional networking event.

I promise I'm learning a lot and will have a thoughtful and insightful blog post for you soon about my adventure in advertising aka #AgencyLife. Until then, here's a little entertainment for you in the meantime!




Related post:

• Adventures in Advertising: I'm Going Back to Agency Side!

Adventures in Advertising: I'm Going Back to Agency Side!

If you've ever had a conversation with me over coffee or at a conference or networking event, you know that my next big adventure is exactly what I've been seeking: working on integrated marketing campaigns with a national consumer brand. The needle in the haystack part has been finding that opportunity while staying in Nashville.

I've worked for ad agencies for the bulk of the beginning of my career and have been client side marketing for the past four years.

While I was not sure whether my next adventure would take me to client side (in-house marketing department) or consultant side (advertising agency), my goal is to make an impact with a national consumer brand in contributing my knowledge and expertise in traditional, digital and social media marketing.

I'm joining the Nashville office of Catapult Marketing- ranked Hub Magazine's #1 shopper marketing agency, where I'll be working on integrated marketing campaigns for the Mars Petcare account, which is known for its many consumer pet food brands, including Pedigree (woof!), Cesar, and Whiskas (meow!).

So, in a nod to one of the advertising greats, David Ogilvy, I'm celebrating the vast opportunities ad agencies have as consumer behavior changes along with technology. This is an exciting time to be working in advertising, especially with a firm like Catapult, which is rich in consumer and shopper data and analytics.

Jungle Gym Career Karma

I like the way Sheryl Sandberg put it in her well known book, Lean In, comparing career paths to jungle gyms, rather than ladders. It's not about who you step on or climb over to get to the top, in fact there really is no top because you can lose your job or have life events that change your status instantly.

Early in my career, I volunteered for committee roles in a professional organization, AAF Nashville. I did this to gain experience and meet people who could potentially help advance my career. I was reaching up to climb higher on the jungle gym.

As my career took many dips in being laid off, I held on to the connections I made through volunteering and networking at various marketing industry events. I circled my way around on the jungle gym, trying not to fall off. Often, I interact with others in similar career positions as me. We are there to hold each other up on the jungle gym.

After taking the initiative to start a professional networking group of my own in 2009, Social Media Club Nashville, I'm starting to see a shift in people reaching out to me for advice and assistance. I'm offering them a lift up on the jungle gym.

I embrace the irony in career karma, making a point to help everyone that I can because I've been in their position and am still reaching out to those more experienced than me. The person in career transition that you help today could be the one that introduces you to your next boss. You never know where your next move will be on the career jungle gym.

I recently participated in a 24 hour Design-A-Thon where Nashville's creative community donated marketing and design expertise to benefit Tennessee Literacy Coalition (TLC). I volunteered my time, not necessarily needing the experience or connections, but really giving back to the community. My role was on the Design-A-Thon marketing team, where we provided TLC with a twitter and blogging strategy, complete with SEO and social media training materials for their staff.

They were so grateful for the expertise. I was crying by the end of Design-A-Thon watching the Tennessee Literacy Coalition YouTube videos of the people we were helping. It was then that I realized the impact. It felt good to contribute and release some good career karma.

Whether you are volunteering for a professional organization, non-profit organization, or just helping someone reach their next career goal, I encourage you to remember that we are all a little higher or lower at times on the career jungle gym. Helping others will ensure that someone someday helps you. It's just jungle gym career karma.

#SMCNASH Social Care Event Recap + Top Tweets!

I'm very proud of the recent Social Media Club Nashville (SMCNASH) program I helped coordinate, which partnered HDI Music City and our wonderful event sponsor, Oracle, to bring the Nashville community a program on the hot topic, Social Care (Social Media + Customer Service). We gathered a top-notch panel of professionals to explore social care trends and best practices.

SMCNASH Social Care Panelists included:

• Penny Reynolds, Founding Partner, The Call Center School
• Anne McGraw, Customer Loyalty & Social CRM, Nissan North America
• Leah Mackey Schultz, Director of Social Media Operations, ACS Advertising/Xerox
• Brett Williams, Product Management Director, UL (Undewriters Laboratories)
• Christina McKeon, Product Marketing Executive, Oracle

The RSVP list was full!
200 Nashville business professionals registered for the event. We opened with a networking reception, with Oracle sponsoring an open bar and providing demos of their social products to get the conversation started.

We Trended on Twitter!
One of the highlights of the event was learning that @smcnash and @oracle were among Nashville's Twitter Trending topics that evening.

We reached over 30,000 people!
According to our #smcnash TweetReach Report, our conversations reached far beyond the room.

We learned a LOT about Social Care!
Check out my #smcnash + HDI Music City: Social Care Storify collection of favorite Tweets from the event >>>

From Traditional to Social Media: Tony the Tiger is Gr-r-reat!

Image via: Wikimedia Commons

If you are alive in the world today, chances are you've heard of Tony the Tiger. He's a brand icon that transcends decades. To refresh your memory...Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising since the early 1950's.

This Grrreat advertising icon, Tony the Tiger was born in 1951 as a concept of advertising agency Leo Burnett's Mad Men:  Eugene Kolkey, Raymond Anthony Wells (Tony's namesake) & Martin Provensen.  

Times have changed, but a few basic principles of good advertising have keept Tony the Tiger in the spotlight and on our breakfast tables all these years.

Consistent Brand Voice
Tony the Tiger's brand voice- stayed pretty much consistent, literally. Since 1952-For over 50 years, Kellogg's Tony the Tiger has had only one voice, that of Thurl Ravenscroft until his death in 2005.

Thurl created the brand's most famous slogan,"They're Gr-r-reat!"  Lee Marshall replaced him as the voice of Tony the Tiger in the Kellogg's commercials, but some commercials still recycle clips of Ravenscroft.

Cinderella's Social Media Engagement Lessons for Marketers

Once upon a time in a land far, far away....

Photo: wikipedia.org Creative Commons 2.5

You know the ending of the Cinderella story: She gets her prince and lives happily ever after. Before there was an "ever after," there was a path to her prince and actions she took that led to her engagement.  (Yes, engagement  has a double meaning in this blog post!)

How did Cinderella get to that magical point of engagement? Below are Cinderella's social media engagement lessons for  marketers.

1. Little blue birds are the best helpers.

Cinderella sang, and her little blue birds showed up to help her.

Marketers:  Your Twitter audience can be your best resource for product reviews, customer service and generating ideas for new products or services. Talk to to them, ask their opinions, and listen to them sing with you in the harmony of your brand. It truly is a magical thing when this happens!

2. Always have faith in your Fairy Godmother.

After her stepsisters cruelly destroyed the dress she planned to wear to the ball, Cinderella broke down in sorrow, beginning to lose her faith in dreams; However; her faith was still strong enough to summon her Fairy Godmother.

Marketers:  When your brand is attacked by online "trolls" who only seek to damage your brand reputation, have faith that your brand champions and advocates will be your Fairy Godmother to come to your rescue.  

Nashville Networking: Lessons learned from "New Business Networking"

I thought I knew a lot about networking until I read the book,  New Business Networking, by Dave Delaney. Seriously, my friends refer to me as the "queen of networking" in Nashville. Of course, I don't  claim to know everyone or everything, but I have met a few people along the way in creating and growing  Social Media Club Nashville.

Dave Delaney, author of New Business Neworking

New Business Networking has tons of stats mixed in with tips on using the latest social media and web tools. It is also peppered with stories of Dave's networking journey in Nashville. Similar to Dave, I made my way to Nashville via Jackson, TN and networked to meet friends who later ended up becoming co-workers. Small world!

I often refer to Nashville as a big small town where you are two degrees of separation from anyone you want to meet. I enjoy being a connector of people, organizing Social Media club Nashville events, and bouncing ideas off of others as I guide my Marketing career.

I'm pretty skilled at networking (if I do say so myself) but there's always more to learn!

Building Relationships Just Got Easier with LinkedIn Contacts

My LinkedIn Contacts "Rolodex" is now my personal Social Relationship Manager.

LinkedIn Contacts iPhone App views

I have over 1,700 contacts and growing on LinkedIn! I've always considered LinkedIn a digital Rolodex, adding connections as I meet them or see them pop up in LinkedIn suggestions. I've been looking at the new LinkedIn Contacts features and LinkedIn Contacts iPhone App to see what might make my life easier and improve my networking time management.

I synced my iPhone with the LinkedIn Contacts App and my LinkedIn Connections so I always have the most up to date info for my contacts. It also provides "on the go" networking with up to date activity from my network.

One feature I really like about LinkedIn Contacts is the daily reminder/task list called "your day" on the desktop version and "to do' on the app version, which conveniently suggests networking activities with my network based on things going on with them such as a new title or birthday -  Following Relationship Rule #1: make it about them! LinkedIn Contacts makes it easy to reach out to say "congratulations" and it helps me to always be "in the know" when I bump into people at events.

Lessons from Derek Young on Being a Trusted Advisor

I haven't written a blog post in a couple of weeks. I've been waiting for some inspiration to hit me in the head. Good news! Today at NAMA's Marketing Power Lunch, it did! I would describe the program as comical and amazing.

The speaker was Derek Young, a corporate advisor to companies such as Dollar General, Cracker Barrel, and Tractor Supply Company (and those are just the Nashville ones). But don't get me wrong, aside from telling us he has billionaire and Dollar General founder, Cal Turner's cell phone number, he's not a "name dropping" kind of guy.

If fact, one of the lessons learned from his presentation is to "Give people the flowers before they die," meaning don't wait to tell people they are great. Show your appreciation now.

Fake Friends and the Zombie Facebook Apocalypse

I manage Social Media Club Nashville's Facebook Group page and have noticed more and more requests to join the group from fake Facebook profiles. It has gotten to the point that I have to look at each one to see if it is someone in the Middle East that just opened a Facebook page within the last week and has no friends or photos aside from their smiling profile pic.

Here are the common things I've noticed from the fakers AKA Facebook Zombies:

• They join a lot of groups and community interest pages
• They did not fill out the about section
• They "like" a ton of pages all within a small time frame, sometimes even hundreds within as little as fifteen minutes
• They do not have any interactions, such as comments back and forth with others

Junior High 101: The Why and How of Popularity and Brand Advocacy

The opportunity for a brand to connect with an audience on an emotional level is more alive now than ever in the world of marketing.

Through social media, a brand has a personality. There's the brand voice in messaging and the visual representation in images and video. More impactful, is the ability to take advantage of a brand's popularity to make a connection and share an experience to propel brand advocacy.

photo via: Flickr.com

Why does Popularity work? How does Brand Advocacy work?

1. Junior High 101: Popularity.
Everyone wants to be popular. Using social media listening tools, you can easily see who talks about your brand favorably and shares your content the most.

For whatever reason, these people are attracted to what you have to offer, whether it be a product or a service or maybe they just feel your brand says a lot about who they are or aspire to be.