How to Be Properly Possessive

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I know I’ll never be able to rival Grammar Girl’s fabulous blog, but I do like to occasionally post my own tips for those who are writing their own content.

One of the biggest problems I see when I copy edit is the confusion as to when “its” should be used and when “their” is more appropriate.

“Its” as a possessive is used for singular nouns, while “their” is used for plural nouns. What is the word company? Singular or plural? Singular – so the correct pronoun to use is “it,” meaning the correct possessive word to use will be “its.” Continue reading →

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Things I’ve Learned from Podcasts – #11

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It’s been a while since I last posted my takeaways from podcasts I’ve listened to, so here’s a couple of reviews for you.

Through the Noise: Getting Social, #12 – Online Communities and Social Media

In this episode, Lauren Wolfe – Branding, Marketing, and Communications Executive for Results Direct – talks with the hosts, Kiki L’Italien and Blake Althen, about how to keep online communities engaged.

My Takeaways

How do you organize communities online? Lauren says “Don’t try to figure out which platform is best based on demographics. Figure out how you like to communicate and base your community around how you prefer to communicate.”

How do you get people involved and fired up about the community? Lauren advises to “Ask them!” Asking people to get involved and giving them examples of how they can get involved is the best way. Continue reading →

Should You Consider a Selfie Station to Promote Your Business?

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I’m not usually a selfie-taker, but there have been some selfie stations that were just so funny, I couldn’t pass them up. There was the time I posed inside a reproduction Baker’s Dunk at an old Silesian castle (#torturemuseum). Perhaps you’ve been known to stick your head through a picture of a jouster at a Renaissance Festival (#renfair), or stand inside a large speech bubble in a major city (#BeBerlin) – or even to simply pose with a costumed mascot at a sports game (#GoNats). All of these are ways businesses and institutions use to get someone else to do the marketing for them.

Small business owners have limited resources when it comes to online marketing – limits both on staff hours and funding available to dedicate to promoting the business on social media. However, this doesn’t mean they have to resolve themselves to being hindered by these limits. Continue reading →

Tips for Sharing Quotes & Memes to Your Business’ Social Media Channels

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Sharing inspirational quotes and memes is part of what makes social media … well … social. However, there are some tips to keep in mind when you are sharing quotes and memes on the social media accounts for your business.

Make sure you promote yourself.

quote exampleI see many small businesses, entrepreneurs, consultants, and coaches caught up in the circle of sharing advice by famous people, or by big name business competitors. Instagram is filled with quotes by folks like Gary Vaynerchuk and Elon Continue reading →

Things Small Businesses Can Learn from Street Artists about Standing Out on Social Media

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It’s a noisy marketplace out there on social media. When you post on Facebook or Twitter, it can seem like a leaf falling in a forest. Yours is just one among thousands of posts happening across the internet at any given moment.

How do you stand out?

Graffiti and street artists have a similar problem, so there are some great tips we can learn from them to help us stand out on social media. Continue reading →

The Call-to-Action: What is it and why do you need to use one?

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So, your blog post or newsletter article has really inspired your potential customer. Is that all you want your blog post to do? What’s next? Are you just going to leave them hanging there? What do you want them to do now?

Every blog post or newsletter article you write, every advertisement you create – and probably almost everything you generate to reach out to your potential customers – should have some sort of a “Call-to-Action” (aka CTA).

What is a Call-to-Action? It is just what it sounds like – it’s an invitation to the reader or viewer to take some sort of action. Continue reading →