Susan Does Social

Is this a definitive truth, limiting all of us to thoughts with the same depth and meaning as a Twitter post, or are we creating a machine that teaches us little of value extends beyond 8 seconds? This was part of a #socialnomics video I watched during a social media class at Northwestern. I don't think we're yet doomed to a world that can't comprehend Shakespeare or Frederick Douglass yet, but it will require a conscious choice to avoid such a fate.  I have four school-age children as well as two brands I manage on social media. I see school reaching out to the lowest common denominator, touting that as the new norm, rather than driving aspirational thinking. However, when parents demand more and create a culture of intentionality, children can leverage longer attention spans and learn, truly learn, anything. Same thing with social media--we can dedicate our entire marketing effort to the lowest common denominator, or we can speak to those who are looking for depth as well...

Image: process.st An interesting question was posed to me by the writers at Oz (@ideasbyoz)--where do you feel the bottleneck is in your work. After working with writers for a while, it seems that there are common sticking points. Now, I know every writer is unique--one only need look at the gamut of professional writers to know that (Gonzo Journalist Hunter Thompson fueled by drugs and rum, Balzac who drank 50 cups of coffee a day , Maya Angelou who had a hotel room in her hometown ). However, the problems are similar, as are the solutions. Personally, I was tormented by procrastination--I believed it was a part of my personality, the essential make-up of who I was. This belief continued through college and was only fueled by a career as a newspaper and television journalist. However, graduate school, first in creative writing then in English medieval literature, was sufficiently terrifying to kick procrastination to the curb. Out of necessity, I began scheduling draft dates and meeti...

I have met so many experts in diverse fields--people who are professionals in their field and passionate about their business. However, some of the most intriguing people I've met (some of whom are most excited about what they do) are not where they could be in business because they don't evangelize. It's all about the content. Inc. published a great article today ( This is How You Get Yourself Out There to Market Your Expertise ) that reiterates that it truly is all about the words and how you publish them. The key, however, is to be an expert before you write. While there is quite a bit on content marketing out there, if you have nothing to say, or you don't have any knowledge above and beyond the mean, don't bother. But, those business savvy people I know have lots to say, they just don't know how to say it or why. You can have a conversation with one person and change their perspective--you can blog or comment on social media and reach hundreds, or not thous...

Image: amazon.com Are you reading Guy Kawasaki right now? If you're not, you're missing out. I read a lot , and it's not often that I find a book that I have to stop every page or two and take action, but this is one of those. If you get it on Kindle, it's even better because then you can follow all the links provided (and when I say all the links, there are up to 10 on some pages). For me, this hasn't been a quick read, but I swear there's a takeaway every page or so worth noting. Some of the top tips I've found so far are in the directories and the need for personalization of your blog and Twitter feed. The feeds are helpful keeping a pulse on the news, and the Google tips are great if you're more of a Google person. That's just in the first chapter! As I said, I read a lot, but there were two other books that had an impact recently. They were both personal/professional, but highly beneficial on all fronts. The first is Essentialism by Greg McKe...

Image: localvox.com For the past two hours, I've been completely drawn into the black hole of analytics for marketing, and it's been amazing! I have to admit, my fascination with analytics is probably best described by a word I first heard from  +William Tincup  today: infobesity. So, where have I been on my black hole journey? I've visited... Neil Patel's blog on blogging tools --an outstanding piece if you have a chance Buzzsumo ...but unfortunately it's not free Simply Measured --which is addicting and I think I might run every single free report they offer because they've all been great. You can see that I've been here awhile on Twitter @MueggeMarketing  because the currency is tweets Hello bar --low profile way to get email sign ups or shares. I might have one soon. Moz Open Site Explorer Quick Sprout --another site that provides high-quality graphics and information So, I'm going to indulge my infobesity for a bit more. As G.I. Joe used to say, ...

Image: CRCConline.org If you can write a blog post without revising at least 60 times (and it's more than a paragraph), you're unlike most people. If you can stand in front of people and speak in a compelling way, you're unlike most people.  If you can calmly teach and engage a room full of preschoolers, you're unlike most people.  If you can fix a sink, you're unlike most people.  If you can bake your own cookies, you're unlike most people.  Chances are, there are ways in which you're unlike most people. But, do you realize what you've got? And are you using those unique gifts and talents to their full potential, or do you simply assume that everyone else functions like you do?  You are unlike most people, and that's a really good thing. 

Image: The Huffington Post This evening started with a great post by Bret Starr , the CEO of The Starr Conspiracy and one of the people who got me started in B2B marketing. His post reveals the why behind what he does--the passion for the business. When you work with Bret, you can see that same passion. But, when you think about most B2B sites or white papers (the name itself should give this away), there's little emotion, only facts. Part of that is because we assume that buyers are engaging in the sales process because they have to solve a business problem or that they have to justify the purchase, and the other part is because frankly, most of the products in a B2B transaction are quite complex and it is challenging enough dealing with the facts. But, this is where we stumble. The Harvard Business Review published "When to Sell with Facts and Figures, and When to Appeal to Emotions."  In the article, all the examples are B2C, but the focus is the complex sale--and, tha...