Danny Brown's Blog, page 30

Speed of Resolution Over Speed of Response is Key to Social Media Success

For a lot of consumers, companies that can respond within minutes on the social sphere send out a far more positive message than those that dilly-dally.

But does this type of instant response really benefit us, both as customers and brands? While this speed might be something that would always exist in an ideal world, unfortunately we don’t live in an ideal world.

Not only that, but by setting these expectations, we’re alsosetting companies upto fail by jumping to action as soon as their name...

What Happens When You Change Your Blog Subscribers Over to a Newsletter Format?

About three months ago, I made the decision to change up the way my blog posts were delivered to email subscribers.

While RSS subscribers would still receive the usual instant notification once a post went live, email subscribers would now get my post as part of a weekly newsletter.

This decision was driven by three key reasons:

Up until that point, I had been using Feedblitz for delivering emails to my subscribers. However, I’d become very disenchanted with that service – erratic subscriber...

Three Web Design Trends to Consider for 2015

Ever since businesses started using the internet for commerce, one thing’s been constant: the need to evolve with consumer behaviors.

Much like local brick-and-mortar stores need to adapt to compete with off-site retailers, so, too, do businesses need to adapt to the way customers interact with their sites when making a purchase.

As we move into a more mobile-driven landscape—and one where frictionless buying truly is the holy grail—website design mindsets need to change with the ever-evolvin...

The Official Annual Black Friday Rant by The Q

This is a guest post by Amanda D. Quraishi. It was originally a Facebookupdate, and is republished here with her permission.

I hate Black Friday.

I think it’s everything that is wrong with America today.

It’s a day that is made up specifically for the purpose of encouraging crass consumerism, using a religious holiday as an excuse. Let that sink in. Holy Day Sales.

It’s not just about shopping. It’s about sacrificing time with family and friends that used to be for watching movies and playing...

Should You Care About Losing Blog Subscribers?

Yes. No. Maybe. It depends. I know – crappy answer, right? But each one can be applied to the question of losing blog subscribers and whether you should care or not.

After all, as bloggers, we’re more often than not told that “it’s all about the list”. This usually refers to an email list, and why building one is important for your blog’s growth.

I’m not going to get into the “do I need a list or not?” question – there are plenty of other blog posts dedicated to that topic already.

No, for th...

When Does Convenience of Service Overcome Lack of Ethics?

If you’ve spent any time online in the last few days, you can’t help but see all the bad news that keeps seeming to appear about personal taxi service Uber.

While the service has come under plenty of criticism in the last 6-12 months over some of its practices, the last seven days or so has seen a major upsurge in negative stories around the brand.

Uber Executive Suggests Digging Up Dirt on Journalists (Buzzfeed)
The Moment I Learned Just How Far Uber Will Go to Silence Journalists and Attac...

Is It Time to Trade Your Blog for a Newsletter?

This is a guest post by Randy Milanovic, Principal of Kayak Online Marketing, and takes a look at a changing shift in how content is being presented.

A few months back, I noted that a handful of prominent bloggers were switchingthings up and taking their content straight to Google+.

As a behavioural change,I found it interesting; as an online marketing practice, it wasn’t something I waswilling to try.

G+ isn’t the only alternative to blogging, though.

Lately, another set of well-known blogge...

Of Gratitude and Recollection on Remembrance Day

When I think back to how I got to wherever I may be today, I see a lot of paths that have been taken.

I see a schoolboy who was incredibly fortunate to have a wonderful education at an amazing school that accepted children for brains as well as financial clout.

I see a teenager at high school who was able to choose the subjects he liked, as opposed to the subjects his parents thought he should take or his teachers wanted him to take.

I see a young man that left home at 19 and moved hundreds o...

Why Context Marketing is Nothing New

So, the latest buzzword in the online space is “context marketing”, or the ability to look into the context of what your customers want and deliver on that need.

And so we have another cool word to join the lexicon of other cool marketing buzzwords in the online space – content marketing, advocacy marketing, persona marketing and, yes, influence marketing (guilty of that one).

But here’s the thing – if you’re not already a “context marketer”, you need to ask yourself what kind of marketer you...

The Little Boy That Could (Or Why We Need to Make What We Do Brilliant Every Time)

Stephen was born in 1942 at a time of worldwide struggle. Europe was divided and broken, Asia was in turmoil and the United States had been dragged into a conflict it had tried to avoid.

In fact, Stephen was almost never born – a missile fell on a property just two homes away from his parents’ house.

So even before he was born Stephen was faced with adversity.

As a child, Stephen was known as a good student, but not brilliant. He chose safe subjects like math and science, and continued this t...