Business owners need to ‘evolve or die’.

The expression ‘evolve or die’ always felt a little over-the-top to me, but now I say it with conviction. If your business isn’t paying attention to the changes online, it will be left behind. One of the biggest changes in marketing and media is turnaround times. This is evident with the immediate nature of social […]

Want to ‘wow’ customers? Stop asking them to buy stuff.

My last column on brand journalism sparked some great discussion and more questions from my network on exactly how businesses can implement a brand journalism strategy. Just to recap: Brand journalism is a useful way for brands, big and small, to use the approach of professional journalists to create, curate and share expert content in […]

Hello Brand Journalism, Farewell ‘push’ marketing.

My career as a journalist spanned nearly a decade. When I left to launch a web-video startup, BizBOXTV, I quickly discovered storytelling was part of my DNA, evident in the process and style of my new media company and how it approached its first productions. It wasn’t about story-boarding or scripting, it was about asking […]

Cut through the ad clutter: tell a great story

Advertisers are starting to push creative boundaries in an attempt to engage, using the latest innovations, from gaming strategies to social media to branded video and Web TV content. But with all of the clutter we are surrounded by in this digital age, getting someone to pay attention to a company’s brand message seems to […]

Four ways to build your online community in 2013

The year 2012 was pivotal in many ways, introducing online trends that can’t be ignored. Nielsen’s State of the Media: The Social Media Report 2012 highlights the shifts we saw in 2012, as well as the predicted impact they will have in 2013. Social media is more popular than ever and having a presence and […]

Goodbye cute cat videos. YouTube’s top 10 list is all grown up

This year, YouTube looked at “views, shares, searches, parodies, remixes, and responses” to identify 10 videos that everyone was watching and talking about. Turns out, the majority of this year’s top 10 were not advertisements, they were videos that touched viewed on an emotional level to the point where they were compelled to share them […]

Need more proof of the power of video on the Web? Here it is.

Use of video on the Web for business has been the talk of the marketing world in 2012. If it isn’t already obvious to you, data from multiple sources confirm, yet again, the amount of video watched via the Internet continues to climb. It’s no wonder. As the benefits become more obvious, more businesses are […]

Online Video: Put Your Best Face Forward

What do people want? To connect. Marketers know that emotion plays a massive role in getting a message across. Consumers choose and stay loyal to certain products and brands because of how they make them feel – and what they broadcast about themselves. It’s no surprise that re-purposing TV commercials online is not nearly as […]

Want a higher search ranking overnight? Video is the answer

Some of the clear – and perhaps obvious – benefits of online video for businesses are: Expressing who you are and what you’re all about Educating viewers about your products, services and brand Boosting your credibility But did you know that web videos offer tremendous search engine optimization (SEO) benefits as well? More video = […]

There’s so much social media. Where do I start?

As someone who runs a business in the social media space, I’m often asked ‘where do I start? There’s so much out there these days.’ There’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and the list is getting longer and longer, with no signs of stopping. The most popular platforms are seeing their growth continue to increase. […]