David Meerman Scott's Blog, page 19

Free COVID Tests is a US Government Program That Works Great

At the turn of the new year, I started following news about the rollout of free at home COVID tests. To be honest I was pessimistic. Boy was I wrong! I think it’s great that the website launched early, works flawlessly, and my test kits arrived much earlier than promised. How cool is that?

Two Super Simple Actions You Can Do Right Now to Create Fans of Your Business

It’s increasingly clear based on my years of studying fandom that people are attracted to that which is personal to them. An athletic activity, sports team, company, service, rock band, author, or idea that encourages people to be part of a tribe of like-minded people serves to develop fans. However, most organizations don’t communicate in a human way, resulting in a purely transactional business relationship.

These Are The Good Old Days

My friend, HubSpot co-founder and Executive Chairperson Brian Halligan, who is my co-author on our book Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead loves the expression: “These are the Good Old Days!”

Back to the Basics: The Story Customers Tell Themselves

Stories are universal. No culture has survived without them. Stories are widely recognized as an essential part of human cognitive development.

Your Big Decisions May Require The Rocking Chair Test

As we move from 2021 into 2022, many people are contemplating a life change or a major business project. Perhaps you are considering a career transition such as going freelance or starting your own company. Maybe you’re weighing a personal decision such as moving from the city to the countryside. Or you might be considering writing a book or starting a podcast.

Back to the Basics: The Importance of Buyer Personas

The way most marketers operate is by making stuff up. They sit in nice comfortable offices and imagine what interests buyers and then create “copy” and “campaigns” typically with the help of equally clueless agencies. But a focus on buyer personas helps eliminate this behavior.

Excellent Customer Service Is Also Excellent Marketing

When you can buy most anything you want online, the retailers who serve us seem interchangeable. But they don’t have to be. Recently I placed my first order with Sweetwater, a music instrument and pro audio retailer, and was amazed by how well they treated me.

Extreme Fandom

There are fans. There are super fans. And then there are the most ardent and extreme fans who live their life looking for opportunities to engage with what they love. Yes, I admit I am one of them. I love the Grateful Dead.

Non-Targeted Broadcast Public Relations Pitches Are Spam

To paraphrase the Wikipedia entry, email spam is sending email that is both unsolicited by the recipient and sent in substantively identical form to many recipients. Unfortunately, way too many Public Relations people are spammers.

Newsjacking COP26 Brings Attention to Rising Seas Affecting Panama’s Indigenous Guna People

What does a small country do to generate attention at a huge global event like the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) being held now in Glasgow, Scotland? Government and NGO leaders in Panama knew they couldn’t compete the millions of dollars that large and wealthy countries and companies are spending to get their message out. They took a different approach—generating media coverage via Newsjacking.