From the category archives:

Business & Entrepreneurship

In this interview, restaurant owners Joe Sorge tells us how he used Foursquare and social media tools like Twitter and Facebook to drive customers to his tables.

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Your Customers Leave A Trail Of Breadcrumbs Online

by Steffan Antonas on March 4, 2010

If you sell online, pay attention to the data trail your customers leave. There are golden nuggets of information about what your customers are like and what they want everywhere; Some really good stuff can be found in customer reviews, automated “customers also bought” or “you might also like” recommendations (just to name a few). [...]

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Depleted vs. Spent

by Steffan Antonas on February 11, 2010

I spent a couple of happy, quiet hours last night with my nose in Pamela Slim’s book Escape from Cubicle Nation. She makes some powerful arguments for why passion is a necessary ingredient to a happy work life. This well worded bit of wisdom stood out:
“What many people don’t realize is that when you force yourself [...]

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How Social Media Can Boost Restaurant Business

by Steffan Antonas on January 28, 2010

This short video was posted by Chris Brogan a few days ago. I love finding real-life stories about how small business owners are successfully using social media to increase their business. Joe Sorge, who runs AJ Bombers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin shares how he uses a tool to humanize his business and keep in touch with [...]

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The Four E’s Of Social Media Marketing

by Steffan Antonas on January 27, 2010

I’ve heard the advantages of shifting from traditional marketing to social media marketing strategies articulated many different ways, but Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer at Eastman Kodak Company, does it best in this short video. His Four Es – Engagement, Education, Excitement and Evangelism – are spot on. It’s a smart, pithy way to articulate [...]

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Consumer Expectations Are Shifting

by Steffan Antonas on January 19, 2010

Here’s a smart post from Gary Vaynerchuck. He’s right about this. The way we are connected to people, products, brands, celebrities etc is beginning to change what customers/fans are expecting from them. Because consumer behavior is changing, brands need to adjust and fast.

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When There Is No Manual

by Steffan Antonas on January 14, 2010

It’s not always easy to tell who’s really leading when an entire team is just going through the motions and following procedures in a manual that they’ve all used before for similar projects. When all the variables for a project are known and the expectations and plan are clear to everyone from the very beginning, [...]

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Simple Touch Points Of Loyalty

by Steffan Antonas on January 12, 2010

Julie got this card in the mail the other day from our dry cleaner. It probably took them only a few minutes to write and send it. I think the card speaks for itself. Simple, personal, perfect. Handwritten notes still go a long way.

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The Critical Shift

by Steffan Antonas on December 11, 2009

Five years ago, if someone from your marketing department said “Let’s market to our existing customers!” they would have risked losing their job. Why would any organization spend time or effort on customers who’ve already bought the product? Backwards you say? Not anymore. This is a winning strategy on the social web.
Social media changes the [...]

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What Would You Do Tomorrow If You Were Laid Off Today?

by Steffan Antonas on December 1, 2009

It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? There are a lot of people out there right now who’ve had the question thrust upon them when they weren’t ready. What would you do? Would you seek another job just like the one you had because it’s easy, familiar and safe? Or would you go and do the [...]

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This lecture from Seth Godin is around 2 years old, but the ideas still resonate strongly, especially in the wake of recent discussions about Chris Anderson’s new book Free and the concepts of Freemium and Freeconomics. If you’re currently writing a book, or thinking of writing a book one day, you should get a lot [...]

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Audiences are skipping TV spots with their DVRs and learning how to ignore ads on the web. Instead, they’re talking (bluntly) about products and brands on Twitter, chatting about them on Facebook and searching for the reviews and opinions of other customers on Google before they buy. Armed with free, easy-to-use tools that allow them [...]

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What Great Surfers Know

by Steffan Antonas on September 24, 2009

Timing is everything. Making “amazing” look easy isn’t just about talent and practice, it’s about being in tune with the environment. The surfers that really wow us and capture our attention repeatedly when the big waves come aren’t just getting in the water more than average, they’re watching weather patterns, studying the beach and trying [...]

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This Building43 video is a goodie. Robert Scoble does a quick 2 minute interview with Isaac Mogannam, the owner of Phat Philly Cheessteaks in the Mission District in San Francisco, CA. If you’re a restaurant or small business owner trying to figure out how to make the web work for you in your local area, [...]

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Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think and business as usual needs a new system of operating that’s more closely aligned with human nature. That’s Dan Pinks argument in a nutshell, and I think his case is strong. For those of you with some time, I’d highly recommend watching the full video. For [...]

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I find myself coming back to nuggets on Stanford’s Entrepreneurship Corner frequently. These two, taken together, are like a motivational one-two punch if you’ve got entrepreneurship in your blood. Randy is right on the money.  In the first video, he warns against the concept of a deferred life plan, when people put off what they [...]

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Here’s some practical advice on how to use online social networking tools to generate more traffic in your brick and mortar business. In this video, Sara Morris talks to Aimee Hitchner, who runs the high-end Ginger boutique in Winter Park, Florida, about the ways she creates and leverages in-store events to create online buzz through [...]

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Netflix’s Freedom And Responsibility Culture

by Steffan Antonas on August 12, 2009

I came across this awesome 128 slide presentation from the CEO of Netflix today (below). The presentation is meant to be read, rather than presented and offers a quick-fire reference guide on the values, behaviors and skills Netflix upholds in the effort to create a culture of freedom and responsibility for their business. Regardless of [...]

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Are We Innovating, Or Are We Doing Exactly The Opposite?

by Steffan Antonas on August 11, 2009

In this keynote on Constructive Capitalism, Umair Haque reminds us that not all profits are equal. While some truly innovative companies are creating authentic “thick value” in the economy, others create profit through economic harm to others that results in “thin value” and (what he calls) a “zombieconomy”. How thick is the value you are [...]

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Actions Speak Louder Than Advertising

by Steffan Antonas on July 31, 2009

Razorfish released a report this month that’s worth spending some time with. The report has some valuable insights on how social influence marketing is shifting the advertising game on the web. A survey with 1,000 consumers plus six months worth of conversational data serve as the backbone of the findings. The sections are digestible, easy [...]

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