Beware The Social Media Spell

Unfortunately, this is Social Media Marketing for many: Look deeply into my eyes… you are feeling veeeery sleepy… sleeeeepy… deeeeper… deeeeeeeeper… relax and let the social media mystique take you to a happier place. Deeeeper… Dee… Yeah, sometimes I feel like social media has cast some kind of spell over businesses, specifically throughout the marketing departments of some companies. It’s easy to be seduced. It’s easy to be swayed by viral videos, tweets, and blogs with thousands of readers. It’s easy to think that social media can be the magic pill to fix marketing mishaps. But in our passionate pursuit

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Website Security Updates – An Open Letter To Spoke Clients

Website security is no small part of providing great web development for clients. As a service to our customers, Spoke Communications is constantly striving to protect not only the aesthetic integrity of your Websites, your communications and connectivity, but the data therein. In recent months, the “hacking world” has become very aggressive with attempts on accessing the servers, Content Management Systems (CMS), and data within Websites around the Internet. These attacks have caused immeasurable amounts of damage to websites all over the World, and in turn the ability for companies or individuals to be effectively, efficiently, and economically represented online.

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We Cured Writer’s Block!

Some days I sit back in my chair and wonder, “Why the heck isn’t anyone posting?” It’s not for a lack of information.  It’s not for a lack of inspiration.  It just falls on that blank page!  It’s too intimidating.  It’s too…  blank; so your mind goes blank. In attempts to alleviate that, I’ve coached my clients to keep a journal, either digitally in EverNote, or the “Old fashioned way” in a notebook, of ideas, snippets, quips or even a doodle that would later inspire a blog post (and I’ve changed “blog post” to “article” for most clients – that’s

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Are You Prepared To Create Your Own WOW?

Growth is a positive thing.  I mean growth that produces great things: Business opportunities Professional credibility Community ties Industry stability Economical security ALL good things, right? YES! So why not join the CreateWOW team and grow with us (me)? If you have a desire to join a nimble, progressive marketing and communications company with a drive to change how companies use media, then I want to hear from you. CreateWOWmarketing, LLC has brought on a handful of new clients that will require talent and support from: Public Relations Professionals Media Buyers and Managers Account and Marketing Managers Creatives and Multi-Channel

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The Book That Blew The Dust From My Brain (Both Sides)

I just finished Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind” after about 2 months of trying to “get my read on” (it takes discipline…  go figure).  With the holidays and starting my own business (CreateWOW), I was having troubles committing the time I needed to sit down and focus on reading and figuratively feed the monster that Michael Wagner awoke 7 years ago with “Orbiting The Giant Hairball.” ANYWAY… Pink’s book inspired me.  Not simply because he says right brainers (the more empathetic, creative and “Big Picture”- type people) are  destined to run the show; it proved to me the track

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10 Tips for Improving Your Customer Engagement

They were once a prospect…. then a lead… then a presentation opportunity… Then… well, you know the routine. But now that you’ve landed this whale (for lack of a better term), what happens? You’ve finally contracted with this client. Does the attention to this particular fish scale back (no pun intended). Is it all about the conquest? Is the honeymoon over? Well, I’m here to tell you, it better not stop there. Continued customer engagement is key to your business’ sustainability – the key to your success – and honestly should be the easiest part of your job. Or would

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Put The Playbook Away – You Know This Already!

Have you ever seen a great NFL quarterback run to the sidelines and look into the playbook? Neither have I… So why is it that so many marketers out there are generating rote, boring plans for their clients based on “plays” they learned back in the bush leagues? The traditional approach to marketing is too linear for today’s world. Today’s target audience is constantly moving, growing and learning new technologies. But much of the marketing we see today is still formulaic and trite, as if someone in 1976 created “The Playbook For Successful Marketing” and it’s been dogmatically followed ever

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A Perfectly Blogable Moment?

Create page depth. Use “these” keywords and SEO-friendly content. Blog… Blog… Blog… Post… Post… Post… I sat in a client’s office earlier this week chanting the same words that I’ve been chanting for the last three years. And then, as if I was on autopilot, I detached myself and heard myself say… “Strategic social media marketing isn’t so much having the social media tools, but knowing where and when to use them to support your brand and your targeted market.” Oh my God, did I really say that out loud? I sound like I just read it out of a

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Don’t Miss The Boat: Track Conversions With Landing Pages

Companies are diving into social media with a vengeance.  It’s like they saw the boat in the port for months (years?) and just bought tickets and boarded when they saw the mooring lines being cast off.  WHY? Tracking! Everyone is out there selling the tools and the “engagement,” but no one is talking about how to measure success. We constantly hear “…what about the ROI of social media?” Well, listen up. Determining the ROI of social media marketing and your efforts through your blog/website is imperative.  Too many sites have the tools installed for great engagement, but how do you

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