There is a strong online backlash to the idea that Social Media Gurus are a dime a dozen, and that most of them offer mediocre service for great amounts of money. That is probably true. But there shouldn’t take away from the fact that there are people out there who are Social Media experts, and they probably know more about social media marketing than you do. And they are worth paying money for, because they [...]

Sooner or later, when you are really actively promoting your brand online (or not!) you will come across a blog post, a Twitter message or even a fully dedicated website focussed on a negative aspect of your brand, your product or your customer service. It is never pleasant, and the knee jerk reaction is often to lash out and defend yourself at all cost, with a vengeance. This approach rarely works, and equally often backfires [...]

I love infographics, and apparently so do thousands of others, since there is a plethora of them online. They are an important resource because they allow you to quickly see the implications of data, visually, and will thus help you identify trends, hotspots and areas of potential for your brand. Most inforgraphics deal with the US space, and there are few good ones that deal with the South African market. Nevertheless, a trend is a [...]

One of the most open and social media friendly actions you can take with your website is to open it up to independent customer reviews. [Note: This post appeared in the Social Media Digest, 2. Download it for free now, for more articles, or subscribe for regular future delivery] If you are like Amazon, and are selling other people’s (authors’) product, there isn’t very much risk. You are actively encouraging people to recommend good products [...]